In the Business World

"In your business career your success will be determined more by how you manage your mistakes than the number of mistakes you make".

~ M.V.Polston

In the business world, just like in every other part of an individual's life, problems will arise and mistakes will be made. Being able to handle problems and mistakes reveals the character of an individual. The initial reaction to mistakes is very informative. If your reaction is looking for someone to blame, you will not get far in life. Having personal responsibility for your actions is an important characteristic in a trustworthy individual. In addition to having personal responsibility, having problem solving skills are also vital. Making a mistake and owning up to it, is noble. The next step is having a solution to your mistake, like when a GPS reroutes after a wrong left turn.

In the event where I am a plant manager and a mistake has been made in releasing quarantine products. My first course of action would be to understand and solve the mistake. I would need to know where the mistake was made and how to solve it. I will communicate directly to my employees to be better informed on what went wrong. Depending on the severity of the mistake will affect my following actions. If it were a "code red" type of mistake, I would communicate the problem to the police and the public, assuring that everything is being done to better the situation. However, if the mistake were more low risk, I would look into solving "in house".

In order to solve the problem, I will be speaking to those who would be able to help. I would have to know what the products are and how dangerous they are. How the products have to be dealt with and who are the people that are qualified for that type of work. In this case, I would think, locating and stabilizing the products will be the solution. Therefor, I will work on finding the products. Somebody knows where it is and how it got there. If do to the mistake made in the release of quarantined products caused a change in revenue for the plant I would have to inform those effected i.e. stakeholders, investors.

After a thrower investigation, someone might be getting laid off. Working in a plant dealing with material suspected to carry a contagious disease that must be detained in order to prevent disease from entering the country, a sense of responsibility is expected from every employee. It is dangerous to have irresponsible individuals working in such a place. The investigation is critical. Having the "pink slip" conversation with an employee should be fair and clear on the reasoning.

There are a few goals in solving this particular problem. Firstly, communicating with all whom would potentially be affected by the mistake. In doing so, the ethical action would be taken. Secondly, communicating with all those