Please respond to the post below. Please provide specific examples and evidence to support your arguments. Here are some thought-provoking questions you can use as a starting point to engage in a meaningful discussion:

1. How does the idea or thoughts in your classmate's post diverge from your perspective? Use the elements of reasoning as you read their discussion board post and see where your points of view diverge and why.
2. Can you identify any potential challenges or barriers in implementing the ideas presented in your classmate's original post? How would you propose to overcome these challenges?
3. How do the ideas presented in your classmate's post align or conflict with any current trends or shifts in the business landscape? Can you provide an example to illustrate your point?
4. Can you relate your classmate's post to a real-life case study or example from your own professional experience? If so, how did the situation unfold, and what lessons can be learned from it?
5. How do the concepts discussed in your classmate's post relate to ethical considerations in business? Can you think of any ethical dilemmas that might arise, and how would you address them?
6. How can the ideas presented in your classmate's post contribute to an organization's competitive advantage? Can you think of any examples where a company successfully leveraged a similar concept or strategy? If so, please describe.
7. Can you think of any alternative approaches or solutions to the problem or issue discussed in your classmate's post? How do these alternatives compare in terms of effectiveness, feasibility, and potential impact?

1) Based on everything you know from the case above, and working under the assumption that Alex used cunningness, manipulation, deceit, and sabotage for his own self-interest, what dark personality characteristic would you think Alex is closest to displaying? Use your critical thinking skills and the elements of reasoning to justify your answer.

I think Alex is demonstrating Machiavellian-like behaviors. What points me the most in this direction is the manipulation Alex has used again Susan and Daniel in trying to achieve a personal goal of becoming a manager. Alex was very strategic thinking. He identified his two biggest competitors for this role and decided to pick them off one-by-one. For Susan, he feigned sincerity by offering sympathy for what was going on at home "don't be upset. I know you've had personal stuff going on", but in almost the same breath he ran and told me that Susan can't keep up. Additionally, the timeline he gave Susan was completely arbitrary because he knew Susan would not be able to complete it in the time allowed. With Daniel, Alex was acting very emotionally detached and selfish. He didn't care how stealing Daniel's files would make Daniel, nor the position it would put you in to reschedule everything. Alex was very calculating, strategic, and played the long game. Aside from doing what he did to Susan and Daniel, he found out who the other decision-makers were, which floor they worked on, and went up there to rub elbows with them. He lied about the departments' accomplishments, making them 1) appear bigger than they were and 2) assigning himself as solely responsible for those accomplishments. Machiavellians can also still be charming so long as it serves their goals and this is exactly what Alex was doing when he went up to meet those decision makers.

1. Explain how you would go about addressing the problems in this workplace dynamic in an effort to keep your workplace from turning into a toxic workplace environment. Describe the issues you see in this workplace scenario and how you would speak to each individual and what you would speak to them about.

Ideally Alex would be outed at the first chance possible; however, I can't necessarily write him up for what he did to Susan, nor can I write him up for rubbing elbows upstairs. I can however look on internal company cameras to see what he was doing with Daniel's computer and launch an IT investigation to determine what happened to the missing files. If it is determined he did steal the files, Alex will be gone. However, in the interim time, every subordinate of Alex's would be moved out from under him and he would begin emotional intelligence training. For Susan, I would make it clear that all of her deadlines going forward will be no sooner than 21 days out, and she will no longer be reporting to Alex. For Daniel, his extension for his presentation is granted and hopefully the files will be recovered relatively quickly with the IT investigation. Going forward, any conversations like the one I had with Daniel where I told him to apply for the management position will happen behind closed doors. That was careless on my part, and I will make a concerted effort to be more discreet in the future.

1. Think about the various motivational theories we learned about in the beginning of the semester. Choose a motivational theory you would use to influence Alex's behaviors and describe how you would apply that motivational theory to change Alex's behavior. Be specific about the steps you would take, the conversations you might have, and any potential challenges you foresee.

For Alex, I feel like I would have to use positive punishment. It would start by applying an unpleasant stimulus like the aforementioned emotional intelligence trainings, as well as once weekly check-ins with me. I also applied negative punishment because I imagine he liked being over Susan and similar people, but now I have removed him from that leadership position, which I presume he will not like because I think he likes the power he can hold over people. Honestly, if Alex hasn't already started looking for other jobs to find his next victim, I anticipate he would go along with whatever I say so as to keep up the optics of being a good worker and a person worthy of a management position.

1. How would you measure the success of your strategy in addressing Alex's behavior and improving the overall team dynamics?

If Alex really did secretly delete Daniel's files and we have proof, in my eyes that's grounds enough to let him go, and I would consider that a success. I would also consider it a success if Susan doesn't miss any more of her 21-day deadlines, and if Daniel is prepared for all subsequent presentations. Lastly, I would have to team up with human resources to have a more robust, well-rounded hiring process to ensure someone like Alex isn't hired again in the future.