Techniques of Team Building for Organizational Development

Techniques of Team Building for Organizational Development Abstract In organizational development the team building process can benefit the corporation by grouping people together with common skills and providing them with a clear and concise mission and common goal. Team building is also a function that does not end when the team comes together, but is an ongoing process that runs throughout the project. Teams are a necessary part of organizations and will be important far into the future. The knowledge of team cultures and dynamics can be an invaluable tool for organizations. Techniques of Team Building for Organizational Development A Review of Forming and Managing Teams within an Organization A team is a small number of people with complementary skills, who are committed to a common purpose, set of performance goals and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable (Gordon p. 489). Teams are also described as groups of two or more people who interact and influence each other, are mutually accountable for achieving common goals associated with organizational objectives, and perceive themselves as a social entity within an organization (McShane 2010, p. 234). Since the beginning of time there have been teams such as hunting teams, where each member of the team has a specific task, but the overall goal for the team was to kill an animal for food. When man began building large structures there were work teams that would be in charge of producing the stones for the structure, work teams that would be in charge of moving the stones from the quarry to the structures construction site, and work teams that constructed the structure. The purpose of building teams is to allow employees to participate in the planning problem-solving and decision-making to better produce products and provide services. When companies grow they become more complex, therefore having groups or teams within the company allows the company to perform tasks more efficiently and effectively. An example of this can be seen in the automotive industry. Small car companies can have as few as seven employees performing specific skills to produce one vehicle at a time. Over time if this company is successful and begins to grow it will need to hire more employees. These employees will need to be placed into teams with each team performing a certain task or group of tasks in a certain area such as a body shop, and engine shop, a chassis shop, or an interior shop. Each shop has a group of employees that specialize in a particular area in the company that is necessary to produce the product. When the company was small one person could build an engine in a day for one car, but as the company grew more people are required to build more engines for more cars each day. There are various different types of teams: work teams, project and development teams, parallel teams, management teams, transitional teams, virtual teams, and self-managed teams. Work teams perform operations like manufacturing, assembling, selling, or providing services (Gordon p. 490). Work teams are the most common type of teams because theyre the most basic. Project and development teams work on projects that take a long time and they have specific tasks such as research and development. The teams new members usually contribute expert knowledge and judgment to the project, so they must be trained in that particular area for the work that is being performed. These teams work on one project and then disband when it is completed. Parallel teams are made up of individuals who are picked from various different teams in the organization and brought together to work outside the organization temporarily. Parallel teams are different in that they are formed to produce a product or service that is not normally done within the organization. Management teams provide direction to and work within, to other teams under their leadership. Management teams are a group of managers responsible for different subunits were together form a team and establish should take a direction and manage the companys overall performance. Transnational teams have members in multiple countries and are different from other work teams because they are multicultural and geographically dispersed. Also transnational teams also tend to be virtual teams. A virtual team has members that are not located in the same location. They communicate through e-mail, telephone, or with a teleconference system. Virtual teams created difficult challenges because of the way they operate and communicate. Virtual teams are usually made up of self-managing professionals. Some of them are made up of individuals that are trained to do all or most the jobs for specific task and have no supervision. Usually, as with virtual teams, self managed teams make the decisions that are usually made by their supervisors. There are advantages and disadvantages of forming teams. Early studies have shown that under the right conditions teams make better decisions, develop better products and services, and create a more engaged workforce than do employees working alone (McShane p. 237). Most teams create an environment that promotes communication, motivation, and better work ethics. Most employees prefer to work in teams because it gives them a sense of belonging. The motivation to work can be strong when the team is part of the employees social identity and by being accountable to their team members who watches their performance and quality of work more than their supervisor would. The drawbacks of developing teams is that the teams take a lot of energy and resources to develop and that some of the members of the team may not be trained to the level of skills that are required to be at to perform the certain task asked of them. Another disadvantage of developing teams is that adding new members to an ex isting team may drawdown the process and quality of work performed by the team. Source: Retrieved from PM: Program Manager (Online) July August 2002 Issue p. 79 There are five stages of team development; they are forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjoining. Forming is when the members get acquainted with each other and figure out the benefits of staying in the team. During this stage the members learn about the evolving culture within the team and the social boundaries in its environment. The storming stage is when the members become more comfortable in the team that they begin to test the boundaries and become more competitive with each other. During this stage norms of appropriate behavior are established. Norms are the shared rules and expectations that are established to regulate the behaviors that are important to the members of the team. The norming stage is when the team members come together and gain trust within the team. As objectives are established the team members begin to form a consensus on the goals. During the performing stage the team member are resolving conflicts by themselves. The members adjust to changes in the environment easier than at any other time. The adjourning stage comes at the completion of the project, the members disband and move on to other projects and teams or as an old team they take on a new project and start the process all over again. Teambuilding is an ongoing process, even though the team is formed, the process of maintaining the team goes on throughout the project. The most important property of a team is cohesiveness. Cohesiveness is the degree to which a group is attractive to its members, members are motivated to remain in the group, and the members influence one another (Gordon 2010 p. 501). The two reasons why cohesiveness is important in the team is first, it contributes to the member satisfaction and second, cohesiveness has a major impact on the teams performance. An organizational planner may be called on by company to assist them in developing or managing their teams. To be successful in this you need to know about personal behaviors, team dynamics, and about the individual roles within a team. When constructing teams it is best to select team members who are trained to perform the required roles necessary for that job so they may become effective contributors to the team. There are two roles that must be performed within the team, first the team specialist is a role that is filled by an individual who has a particular job-related ski ll and ability, secondly the team maintenance specialists develop and maintain harmony within the team by boosting morale, giving support, providing humor, soothing hurt feelings, and generally exhibiting a concern with team members well-being. The most important facet for team effectiveness that an organization must know is that to enable the teams productivity and cohesiveness the members must have a clear and concise knowledge of what tasks and duties they are responsible for. As a team performs a job, the individuals within the team perform specific tasks the culmination of these tasks make up the jobs at the team is responsible for. Allowing team members to be involved with the leadership and decision-making process will also motivate them toward superior performance as well as assisting them in the understanding of what they are required to perform through clear communication. Being able to identify performance norms allows for adjustments in the team to achieve optimal output and member satisfaction. In an article about building a better team Kevin Mehok stated: Picking the right players is critical to building a solid team. There are so many aspects of this process. You need to have the right people for the right job (2010 p. 2). The following chart displays the high and low cohesiveness versus the high and low performance norms. (High cohesiveness and low performance norms shows that there is high goal attainment based on the groups perspective but there is a low task performance based on managements perspective. Source: retrieved from, /imagecache/book/28776/fwk-bauer-fig09_004.jpg>. Low cohesiveness and low performance shows that there is poor goal attainment and poor task performance. With high cohesiveness and high performance norms there is a high goal attainment and a high task performance whereas with the low cohesiveness and high performance norms there is moderate goal attainment and task performance. Non-cohesive groups with high performance norms can be effective from the companys standpoint; however they wont be as productive as they would be if they were more cohesive (Gordon 2010 p. 502). Being able to understand the teams cultural environment makes it easier to make adjustments if necessary to enhance the teams cohesiveness. Some of the cultural environments are the clan, adhocracy, market, and hierarchy. A summary of the Hawthorn White Paper (2009) described the four different cultures as in a clan when the members identify with the group like they would a family where the emphasis is on team and teamwork and the members are loyal and friendly. Adhocracy is when the members have a large amount of independence with an emphasis on developing cutting-edge products and services. Hierarchy is where tradition and formality are dominant values and the emphasis is on stability, rules, and efficient processes. Market is where the members are competitive, hard-working, and demanding with the emphasis on productivity and beating the competition. Teams that are operating effectively and efficiently can identify problems faster. This allows the members to feel more confident in the decision making process. Having confident team members also reduces constructive conflict. When building an effective team there are a few activities that can be performed to boost morale, communication, and trust, along with having a lot of fun. Activities can range anywhere from a simple 10 minute exercise to a week long adventure. Measuring how effective such one-time activities are in changing a culture is difficult, so team building now employs more subtle methods to break down mistrust, inadequate leadership, and weak communication among employees (Laff 2006 p. 1). The greatest effect of these activities is the members are awakened by the obstacles of working with others, this comes out at the end of the exercise when they discuss there experience with each other. Usually a company will hire someone to facilitate these team building activities. One of the activities is that Alan Chapman (2010) posted on his web site that a developer can facilitate. It is an experiment to explore the brains capability to estimate scale. Using sticky notes have the team members mark a distance of ten feet on the floor, a height of three feet on a wall, and a distance of one yard on a table. They must do this without a measuring device. Review the activities as appropriate for your purposes, points for example: What surprises did we find? What clues are there to peoples different abilities? What differences are there in guessing different types of scale? What creative methods were used in measuring? How does the brain guess something? In work/life how do we decide when to guess and when to measure, and are these the best criteria? How can we make our guessing more reliable? (If exercises are performed in teams) are team guesses more reliable than individual guesses? What merit is there in the Wisdom of Crowds in guessing and making intuitive judgments? At the end of the exercise the facilitator will provide an assessment of the effectiveness that the activities provided the organization along with possible follow up events to maintain team cohesiveness. Have a facilitator draw out the dynamics using the Socratic Method of learning to tie together what happens in the office setting with what the members just experienced. Also remember to remind participants that they are not at the office, many of the activities still contain some form of gaming (Laff 2006, p. 1). Training team members to operate in the environment around them and not to hide from it, ignore it, and to not fight it will further enhance their efficiency in the team. May organizations are looking to streamline their operations, one of the tools they can turn to is hiring team building facilitators to perform exercises and give feedback. Of all of the functions an organizational developer performs to analyze, troubleshoot, and coach an organization toward their optimal output, team building is one of the most effective.

Security and the OSI Model Essay -- Networks Telecommunications

Abstract The Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) model is a standard reference model for the communication between two end users. Seven different layers make up the OSI model: physical, data link, network, transport, session, presentation, and application. This paper will cover the type of security that is associated with each level of the OSI model. Physical Layer The physical layer is where the actual communication occurs between devices. The security of the physical layer pertains to the actual hardware. The vulnerabilities of the physical layer include: • Power outage • Environmental control loss • Hardware theft, damage or destruction • Unauthorized hardware changes (i.e.; removable media, data connections) • Detachment of the physical data links • Unnoticeable Data Interception • Keystroke Logging Certain measures can be implemented to ensure the physical layer is secure. This would be done by storing all hardware in a locked environment. The use of electronic locks would control and log all access to the room containing the hardware. The electronic locks could be a PIN and password or fingerprint scanner (biometrics). The use of video and audio surveillance would provide physical proof of unauthorized access that could compromise the hardware. Data Link Layer The second layer of the OSI model is the data link layer. This is the layer that transports the data between network nodes in a wide area network (WAN) or on the same local area network (LAN) between nodes. The data link layer makes available the procedural and functional means to move data between network devices and could provide the measures to find and possibly correct errors that may occur in the physical layer. The security vulnerabi... ...on. This is to stop any unauthorized use of the network. Conclusion In conclusion, the information covered in this paper shows the different types of security that is associated with each level of the standard OSI model. From the physical layer to the application layer, each layer has a different type of security which must be applied at each layer to prevent any security leaks, spoofing, and infinite loops. These are just a few of the different vulnerabilities that must be protected on a WLAN or LAN. References Reed (November 21, 2003). Applying the OSI seven layer model to Information Security. Retrieved on January 11, 2008, from SANS Institute. Website: http://www.sans.org/reading_room/whitepapers/protocols/1309.php Haden (2008). The OSI Model. Retrieved on January 11, 2008, from Data Network Resource. Website: http://www.rhyshaden.com/osi.htm Security and the OSI Model Essay -- Networks Telecommunications Abstract The Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) model is a standard reference model for the communication between two end users. Seven different layers make up the OSI model: physical, data link, network, transport, session, presentation, and application. This paper will cover the type of security that is associated with each level of the OSI model. Physical Layer The physical layer is where the actual communication occurs between devices. The security of the physical layer pertains to the actual hardware. The vulnerabilities of the physical layer include: • Power outage • Environmental control loss • Hardware theft, damage or destruction • Unauthorized hardware changes (i.e.; removable media, data connections) • Detachment of the physical data links • Unnoticeable Data Interception • Keystroke Logging Certain measures can be implemented to ensure the physical layer is secure. This would be done by storing all hardware in a locked environment. The use of electronic locks would control and log all access to the room containing the hardware. The electronic locks could be a PIN and password or fingerprint scanner (biometrics). The use of video and audio surveillance would provide physical proof of unauthorized access that could compromise the hardware. Data Link Layer The second layer of the OSI model is the data link layer. This is the layer that transports the data between network nodes in a wide area network (WAN) or on the same local area network (LAN) between nodes. The data link layer makes available the procedural and functional means to move data between network devices and could provide the measures to find and possibly correct errors that may occur in the physical layer. The security vulnerabi... ...on. This is to stop any unauthorized use of the network. Conclusion In conclusion, the information covered in this paper shows the different types of security that is associated with each level of the standard OSI model. From the physical layer to the application layer, each layer has a different type of security which must be applied at each layer to prevent any security leaks, spoofing, and infinite loops. These are just a few of the different vulnerabilities that must be protected on a WLAN or LAN. References Reed (November 21, 2003). Applying the OSI seven layer model to Information Security. Retrieved on January 11, 2008, from SANS Institute. Website: http://www.sans.org/reading_room/whitepapers/protocols/1309.php Haden (2008). The OSI Model. Retrieved on January 11, 2008, from Data Network Resource. Website: http://www.rhyshaden.com/osi.htm

Urban study :: essays research papers

Tampa’s future, something each resident of Tampa and its sprawl should care about. The Tampa Planning Commission offered a chance to residents to come up with ideas, over looked problems, and solutions to be considered and added to Tampa’s Plan. The planning Commission held five meetings that consisted of the resident â€Å"study circle† and Tampa planners together they hoped to move forward in a progressive and positive way. Session One 10-1-04 Session one was held at New Tampa Library and its topic was â€Å"How is change or the lack of change affecting our community?† I walked into the meeting and immediately I was out of place. In fact I was asked if I was there for the story time across the hall. It was strange to see what I think is the future of Tampa not represented. It was obvious by the story time remark that these people were not expecting my age range to be represented either. Our topic came with a couple of reports for our review and for us to add personal perspective to. The first meeting explained how we were to interact with each other and that it was just a big conversation. The meeting started with introductions, and Tampa was well represented and most people there have lived in more than one part of Tampa. The meeting started with a question to get the conversation started and the Planning Commission members took notes to pull out the major concerns and ideas of what we were saying. The facilitator asked â€Å"Is the character of Tampa’s neighborhoods better than eight years ago?† This got the circle to talk about the individual neighborhoods that make up Tampa. One point realized in examining our neighborhoods is that change is not consistent or even. One problem mentioned was an increase in traffic and its effects on residential areas. Back roads are no longer safe for residents or bikes. One solution to this problem was the widening of I-275. On the other hand, what will this new construction do to one of Tampa’s oldest and most history holding communities of Tampa Heights. The solutions are turning into more effects and impacts . This made me realize that there is still a divide even among one city. Person A who needs to get to his high paying job from far away in sprawl doesn’t care about person B’s semi lower-income neighborhood or the people or history that make it up.

High School Dropouts Essay

In The Great Gatsby money is a symbol of success. Money controls the lives of the characters in the story, but it is easy to see that it could not bring happiness. Each of the characters thinks that having money will solve all of their problems and make them successful, but that is not true. These are a few examples of characters in the story who think that money is the answer to being successful, when it actually does not bring them true happiness. Daisy is a character who was born into a wealthy family, but she does not have any good values or purpose in her life. Her life is boring, so she tries to use her wealth to make her happy. She is a socialite, always goes to parties with her wealthy friends, and she wears clothes that are white with a lot of gold and silver. Even though she thinks that these things will make her happy, she is still bored and always wonders what she will do next. She has an affair with Gatsby even though she is married to a wealthy man, Tom, because she is bored. She does not value herself or anyone else. Her money has not made her a happy person even though everything she does is based on wealth. Gatsby has a lot of money. Even though he has a huge house, fancy cars and clothes, and has parties all the time, he is not really corrupted by the money. He does everything he does just to get Daisy and prove to her by his wealth that he is good enough for her. He thinks that all he has will get her to marry him, but he does not realize that Daisy will never leave her husband because he is so wealthy. Daisy’s husband Tom is very wealthy. He gambles, goes to horse and car races, and has many affairs. He has a mistress that he supports, but obviously not happy with his life. When he finds out that Daisy has been having an affair, he gets angry with her even though he is guilty of doing  the same thing. Daisy and Tom are not happy, their money and success have not made them happy, but daisy will not leave Tom because he is wealthy. In The Great Gatsby money is seen as a symbol of success by the characters. They have all of the clothes, cars, houses, and social events that they want and that money can buy. Despite all of this, they are unhappy, have no real values or friends, and no real purpose in life.

Music Appreciation Essay

Something new made me very motivated today to review an extraordinary piece of music. Actually this my first time reviewing or even talking about piece from that style of music. Today, I am going to introduce very nice piece of music for all my classmates in the musoc appriceation class, and this piece call â€Å" Symphony No. 5† for one of greatist musicians and composers in the entire universe, who is â€Å" Beethoven â€Å". Usually , my favorite style of music is that kind of light music that expresses happiness and how good is the life, but this time, I left this track moving to another style. Beethoven 5th symphony is piece of music refers to the classic period, and it’s composer â€Å" Beethoven† was one of the most important composers on that era. The 5th symphony has all the charcteristics that all music in the classic period had. Very simple notes could expresses very hard feelings that beethoven felt during his life. Beethoven started this piece with repeated basic motive followed by suden, and powerful notes that can attract the audiance get intersting to listen to it. Strings played very important role on the attractive introduction of the symphony. After that, the orchestera playes very quick and repeatative notes, and right after beethoven changed that high pitch to lower pitch. That change of the pitch and the texture gave this piece a different taste from the other pieces of music. Although the 5th Symphony is considered one of Beethoven’s greatest musical works because it was very good example to express Beethoven life. Understanding this piece of music will give fear’s feeling to anyone listen to it. I believe that Beethoven 5th symphony became very succesful and famous piece of music because it was expressing a real feeling associated with its composer. In my opinion , Beethoven felt each note he wrote on this music, and that was reason who made this music very touchy to everyone listen to it. I personally felt this piece of music since I heard it on my first time in the music appriceation class. When I first heard this piece, I felt as it was playing just for me to express what I feel, so Beethoven succes was on this point, which is write notes express many people’s sad feelings. In summary, the reason for the great fame and popularity of this Symphony is that it distills so much of Beethoven’s musical style. One feature is its â€Å"organicism,† the fact that all four movements seem to grow from seeds sown in the opening measures. While Beethoven used the distinctive rhythmic figure of three shorts and a long in other works from this time, so I encourage everyone to listen to at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4IRMYuE1hI. Works Cited Beethoven. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4IRMYuE1hI

Team Leading

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS – M2. 04 DEVELOPING THE WORK TEAM Learner name Learner registration number UNDERSTAND THE NATURE OF TEAMS AND THE FEATURES OF TEAM ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDING THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES 1. How does a team differ from a group? Give 3 examples of the differences. (3 marks) hell 2. Leading the team is an important team role. Briefly describe 2 other roles that members of a team might fill using a recognised model (2 marks) . Describe the 4 stages in team development (4 marks) R6434c v2 13. 01. 11 4. Briefly describe 2 advantages and 2 disadvantages for an organisation of using teams to organise people to produce goods and services. (4 marks) KNOW HOW TO IDENTIFY TRAINING NEEDS OF A GROUP OR TEAM AND HOW THOSE NEEDS MAY BE MET 5. Explain briefly why an organisation might want to carry out a ‘Training Needs Analysis’ of its employees (4 marks) R6434c v2 13. 01. 11 6.State 1 advantage and 1 disadvantage of each of the following ways of training your team: a. Going on a 1 day training course away from the workplace b. Having a trainer come in and train them in the workplace c. You coaching them individually in the workplace (6 marks) Total marks available for unit M2. 04 (23) Marks required to pass 12 + VLA decision Total Marks Total 50%+ overall Outcome (mark as applicable) PASS FAIL Section fail if applicable: Name of VLA: Assessment date: R6434c v2 13. 01. 11

Labor Disputes Essay

â€Å"Labor Disputes† includes any controversy or matter concerning terms or conditions of employment or the association or representation of persons in negotiating, fixing, maintaining, changing or arranging the terms and d conditions of employment, regardless or whether the disputants stand in the proximate relation of employer and employee. (Art. 212) Remedies in Labor Disputes A.Grievance Procedure—in-house adjustment of complaint, problem, or dispute following the steps prescribed in CBA or company policy. B.Conciliation (literally means â€Å"to draw together†) – a process where a disinterested third party meets with management and labor, at their request or otherwise, during a labor dispute or in collective bargaining conferences, and, by cooling tempers, aids in reaching an agreement. C.Mediation (literally means â€Å"to be in the middle†) – a third party studies each side of the dispute then makes proposal for the disputants to consider. But a mediator, like a conciliator, cannot render an award or render a decision; they do not adjudicate. Conciliation and mediation, usually combined, are done primarily by â€Å"Conciliators-Mediators† of the National Conciliation and Mediation Board. D.Enforcement or compliance order – an act of the Secretary of Labor (through Regional Director or the representative) in the exercise of his visitorial or administrative authority to enforce labor laws, policies, plans, or programs, or rules and regulations (Art. 128). E.Certification of bargaining representatives – determination of which contending unions shall represent employees in collective bargaining. This is handling by â€Å"Med-Arbiters† of DOLE Regional Offices after certification of consent elections. F.Arbitration – the submission of a dispute to an impartial person for determination on the basis of evidence and arguments of the parties. Arbitration, unlike conciliation or mediation, is adjudication and the arbitrator’s decision or award is enforceable upon the disputants. A dispute pending in arbitration cannot be a ground for strike or lockout; to do so will be a sabotage of the arbitration process. Section 3. Article 211 of the same Code, as amended by Executive Order No. 111, is hereby further amended to read as follows: â€Å"Article 211. Declaration of policy. – A. It is the policy of the State: â€Å"(a) To promote and emphasize the primacy of free collective bargaining and negotiations, including voluntary arbitration, mediation and conciliation, as modes of settling labor or industrial disputes; â€Å"(b) To promote free trade unionism as an instrument for the enhancement of democracy and the promotion of social justice and development; â€Å"(c) To foster the free and voluntary organization of a strong and united labor movement; â€Å"(d) To promote the enlightenment of workers concerning their rights and obligations as union members and as employees; â€Å"(e) To provide adequate administrative machinery for the expeditious settlement of labor or industrial disputes; â€Å"(f) To ensure a stable but dynamic and just industrial peace; and â€Å"(g) To ensure the participation of workers in decision and policy-making processes affecting their rights, duties and welfare. â€Å" B. To encourage a truly democratic method of regulating the relations between the employers and employees by means of agreements freely entered into through collective bargaining, no court or administrative agency or official shall have the power to set or fix wages, rates of pay, hours of work or other terms and conditions of employment, except as otherwise provided under this Code.† Sec. 4. Article 212 of the Labor Code of the Philippines, as amended, is further amended to read as follows: â€Å"Article 212. Definitions. – (a) â€Å"Commission† means the National Labor Relations Commission or any of its divisions, as the case may be, as provided under this Code. â€Å"(b) â€Å"Bureau† means the Bureau of Labor Relations and/or the Labor Relations Divisions in the regional offices established under Presidential Decree No. 1, in the Department Labor. â€Å"(c) â€Å"Board† means the National Conciliation and Mediation Board established under Exec utive Order No. 126. â€Å"(d) â€Å"Council† means the Tripartite Voluntary Arbitration Advisory Council established under Executive Order No. 126, as amended. â€Å" (e) â€Å"Employer† includes any person acting in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly. The term shall not include any labor organization or any of its officers or agents except when acting as employer. â€Å"(f) â€Å"Employee† includes any person in the employ of an employer. The term shall not be limited to the employees of a particular employer, unless this Code so explicitly states. It shall include any individual whose work has ceased as a result of or in connection with any current labor dispute or because of any unfair labor practice if he has not obtained any other substantially equivalent and regular employment. â€Å"(g) â€Å"Labor organization† means any union or association of employees which exists in whole or in part for the purpose of collective bargaining or of dealing with employers concerning terms and conditions of employment. â€Å"(h) â€Å"Legitimate labor organization† means any labor organization duly registered with the Department of Labor and Employment, and includes any branch or local thereof. â€Å" (i) â€Å"Company union† means any labor organization whose information, function or administration has been assisted by any act defined as unfair labor practice by this Code. â€Å"(j) â€Å"Bargaining representative† means a legitimate labor organization or any officer or agent of such organization whether or not employed by the employer. â€Å"(k) â€Å"Unfair labor practice† means any unfair labor practice as expressly defined by this Code. â€Å"(l) â€Å"Labor dispute† includes any controversy or matter concerning terms or conditions of employment or the association or representation of persons in negotiating, fixing, maintaining, changing or arranging the terms and conditions of employment, regardless of whether, the disputants stand in the proximate relation of employer and employee. â€Å" (m) â€Å"Managerial employee† is one who is vested with powers or prerogatives to lay down and execute management policies and/or to hire, transfer, suspend, lay-off, recall, discharge, assign or discipline employees. Supervisory employees are those who, in the interest of the employer, effectively recommend such managerial actions if the exercise of such authority is not merely routinary or clerical in nature but requires the use of independent judgment. All employees not falling within any of the above definitions are considered rank-and-file employees for purposes of this Book. â€Å" (n) â€Å"Voluntary Arbitrator† means any person accredited by the Board as such, or any person named or designated in the collective bargaining agreement by the parties to act as their voluntary arbitrator, or one chosen, with or without the assistance of the National Conciliation and Mediation Board, pursuant to a selection procedure agreed upon in the collective bargaining agreement, or any official that may be authorized by the Secretary of Labor and Employment to act as voluntary arbitrator upon the written request and agreement of the parties to a labor dispute. â€Å"(o) â€Å"Strike† means any temporary stoppage of work by the concerted action of employees as a result of an industrial or labor dispute. â€Å" (p) â€Å"Lockout† means the temporary refusal of an employer to furnish work as a result of an industrial or labor dispute. â€Å"(q) â€Å"Internal union dispute† includes all disputes or grievances arising from any violation of or disagreement over any provision of the constitution and by-laws of a union, including, any violation of the rights and conditions of union membership provided for in this Code. â€Å" (r) â€Å"Strike-breaker† means any person who obstructs, impedes, or interferes with by force, violence, coercion, threats or intimidation any peaceful picketing by employees during any labor controversy affecting wages, hours or conditions of work or in the exercise of the right of self-organization or collective bargaining. â€Å"(s) â€Å"Strike area† means the establishment, warehouses, depots, plants or offices, including the sites or premises used as runaway shops, of the employer struck against, as well as the immediate vicinity actually used by picketing strikers in moving to and fro before all points of entrance to and exit from said establishment.†