1. d 2. c 3. a 4. b 5. a 6. a 7. c 8. a 9. b 10. b 11. c 12. a 13. b 14. c 15. c
16. Managers must value people and respect subordinates as mature, responsible, adult human beings. This is part of their ethical and social responsibility as persons to whom others report at work. The work setting should be organized and managed to respect the rights of people and their human dignity. Included among the expectations for ethical behavior would be actions to protect individual privacy, provide freedom from sexual harassment, and offer safe and healthy job conditions. Failure to do so is socially irresponsible. It may also cause productivity losses due to dissatisfaction and poor work commitments.
17. The manager is held accountable by her boss for performance results of her work unit. The manager must answer to her boss for unit performance. By the same token, the manager's subordinates must answer to her for their individual performance. They are accountable to her.
18. If the glass ceiling effect were to operate in a given situation, it would act as a hidden barrier to advancement beyond a certain level. Managers controlling promotions and advancement opportunities in the firm would not give them to African American candidates, regardless of their capabilities. Although the newly hired graduates might progress for a while, sooner or later their upward progress in the firm would be halted by this invisible barrier.
19. Globalization means that the countries and peoples of the world are increasingly interconnected and that business firms increasingly cross national boundaries in acquiring resources, getting work accomplished, and selling their products. This internationalization of work will affect most everyone in the new economy. People will be working with others from different countries, working in other countries, and certainly buying and using products and services produced in whole or in part in other countries. As countries become more interdependent economically, products are sold and resources purchased around the world, and business strategies increasingly target markets in more than one country.
20. One approach to this question is through the framework of essential management skills offered by Katz. At the first level of management, technical skills are important, and I would feel capable in this respect. However, I would expect to learn and refine these skills through my work experiences.
Human skills, the ability to work well with other people, will also be very important. Given the diversity anticipated for this team, I will need good human skills. Included here would be my emotional intelligence, or the ability to understand my emotions and those of others when I am interacting with them. I will also have a leadership responsibility to help others on the team develop and utilize these skills so that the team itself can function effectively.
Finally, I would expect opportunities to develop my conceptual or analytical skills in anticipation of higher-level appointments. In terms of personal development, I should recognize that the conceptual skills will increase in importance relative to the technical skills as I move upward in management responsibility. The fact that the members of the team will be diverse, with some of different demographic and cultural backgrounds from my own, will only increase the importance of my abilities in the human skills area.
It will be a challenge to embrace and value differences to create the best work experience for everyone and to fully value everyone's potential contributions to the audits we will be doing. Conceptually I will need to understand the differences and try to utilize them to solve problems faced by the team, but in human relationships I will need to excel at keeping the team spirit alive and keeping everyone committed to working well together over the life of our projects.
1. c 2. b 3. d 4. a 5. a 6. b 7. a 8. c 9. a 10. a 11. c 12. a 13. d 14. c 15. b
16. Theory Y assumes that people are capable of taking responsibility and exercising self-direction and control in their work. The notion of self-fulfilling prophecies is that managers who hold these assumptions will act in ways that encourage workers to display these characteristics, thus confirming and reinforcing the original assumptions. The emphasis on greater participation and involvement in the modern workplace is an example of Theory Y assumptions in practice. Presumably, by valuing participation and involvement, managers will create self-fulfilling prophecies in which workers behave this way in response to being treated with respect. The result is a positive setting where everyone gains.
17. According to the deficit principle, a satisfied need is not a motivator of behavior. The social need will only motivate if it is not present, or in deficit. According to the progression principle, people move step-by-step up Maslow's hierarchy as they strive to satisfy needs. For example, once the social need is satisfied, the esteem need will be activated.
18. Contingency thinking takes an "if-then" approach to situations. It seeks to modify or adapt management approaches to fit the needs of each situation. An example would be to give more customer contact responsibility to workers who want to satisfy social needs at work, while giving more supervisory responsibilities to those who want to satisfy their esteem or ego needs.
19. The external environment is the source of the resources an organization needs to operate. In order to continue to obtain these resources, the organization must be successful in selling its goods and services to customers. If customer feedback is negative, the organization must make adjustments or risk losing the support needed to obtain important resources.
20. A bureaucracy operates with a strict hierarchy of authority, promotion based on competency and performance, formal rules and procedures, and written documentation. Enrique can do all of these things in his store, since the situation is probably quite stable and most work requirements are routine and predictable. However, bureaucracies are quite rigid and may deny employees the opportunity to make decisions on their own. Enrique must be careful to meet the needs of the workers and not to make the mistake—identified by Argyris—of failing to treat them as mature adults. While remaining well organized, the store manager should still be able to help workers meet higher-order esteem and self-fulfillment needs, as well as assume responsibility consistent with McGregor's Theory Y assumptions.
1. b 2. a 3. d 4. c 5. c 6. d 7. b 8. a 9. c 10. d 11. c 12. d 13. b 14. d 15. c
16. The individualism view is that ethical behavior is that which best serves long-term interests. The justice view is that ethical behavior is fair and equitable in its treatment of people.
17. The rationalizations are believing that: (1) the behavior is not really illegal, (2) the behavior is really in everyone's best interests, (3) no one will find out, and (4) the organization will protect you.
18. The socioeconomic view of corporate social responsibility argues that socially responsible behavior is in a firm's long-run best interest. It should be good for profits, it creates a positive public image, it helps avoid government regulation, it meets public expectations, and it is an ethical obligation.
19. Management scholar Archie Carroll describes the immoral, ammoral, and moral manager this way. An immoral manager does bad things on purpose, choosing to behave unethically. The ammoral manager does bad things sometimes, but this is not intentional or calculated; it happens because the ammoral manager just doesn't incorporate ethics into his or her analysis of the situation. The moral manager, by contrast, always includes ethics as a criterion for evaluating his or her approach to decisions and situations. This manager strives to act ethically and considers ethical behavior a personal goal.
20. The manager could make a decision based on any one of the strategies. As an obstructionist, the manager may assume that Bangladesh needs the business and that it is a local matter as to who will be employed to make the gloves. As a defensive strategy, the manager may decide to require the supplier to meet the minimum employment requirements under Bangladeshi law. Both of these approaches represent cultural relativism. As an accommodation strategy, the manager may require that the supplier go beyond local laws and meet standards set by equivalent laws in the United States. A proactive strategy would involve the manager in trying to set an example by operating in Bangladesh only with suppliers who not only meet local standards, but also actively support the education of children in the communities in which they operate. These latter two approaches would be examples of universalism.
1. a 2. b 3. c 4. b 5. d 6. a 7. b 8. b 9. a 10. c 11. d 12. d 13. a 14. d 15. c
16. When it comes to organizational stakeholders, the list should always begin with customers and suppliers to establish the output/input players in the value chain. Employees should be included as well as shareholders/investors to identify the interests of the "producers" and the "owners." Given the importance of sustainability it is important to include society at large and future generations in the stakeholder map; it is also important to include the local communities in which the organization operates. Beyond these basic map components the stakeholders for any given organization will include a broad mix of people, groups, and organizations from regulators to activist organizations to government agencies, and more.
17. To make "sustainability" part of any goal statement or objective for an organization the basic definition should reflect the concept of sustainable development. That is: the organization should act in ways that while making use of the environment to produce things of value today the potential for that environment to meet the needs of future generations is also being protected and ideally being enhanced.
18. Product innovations affect what goods and services an organization offers to its customers. Process innovations affect how the organization goes about its daily work in producing goods and services. Business model innovations affect the way the organization makes money and adds value to society.
19. Reverse innovation means finding innovations in alternative settings such as emerging markets and moving them into uses in established markets. An example would be portable and low cost medical diagnostic equipment developed in markets like India and China and then brought to the U.S. and sold there.
20. First of all it sounds like a good idea to have a Chief Sustainability Officer, or CSO, in order to focus attention on sustainability goals and also bring some point of accountability at the senior executive level for their accomplishment. In terms of the job description I would argue that things like this would need to be reflected. First, there should be some acknowledgement of the "triple bottom line" of economic, social, and environmental performance. Second there should be a clear focus on sustainable development in respect to moving the organization forward in ways that while making use of the environment and its resources, the capacity of the environment to nurture and serve future generations is also being protected. This sets the foundation for further priorities or objectives to be set in the areas of pushing for green management practices that support sustainability in all aspects of an organization's operations. And finally there should be a responsibility to serve as the "champion" for sustainable innovations that advance the capability of the organization to be sustainable by green products, green processes and even green business models.
1. c 2. c 3. b 4. d 5. a 6. a 7. d 8. c 9. a 10. d 11. d 12. a 13. c 14. c 15. c
16. The relationship between an global corporation and a host country should be mutually beneficial. Sometimes, however, host countries complain that MNCs take unfair advantage of them and do not include them in the benefits of their international operations. The complaints against MNCs include taking excessive profits out of the host country, hiring the best local labor, not respecting local laws and customs, and dominating the local economy. Engaging in corrupt practices is another important concern.
17. The power-distance dimension of national culture reflects the degree to which members of a society accept status and authority inequalities. Since organizations are hierarchies with power varying from top to bottom, the way power differences are viewed from one setting to the next is an important management issue. Relations between managers and subordinates, or team leaders and team members, will be very different in high-power-distance cultures than in low-power-distance ones. The significance of these differences is most evident in international operations, when a manager from a high-powerdistance culture has to perform in a low-power-distance one, or vice versa. In both cases, the cultural differences can cause problems as the manager deals with local workers.
18. In Project GLOBE the cultural dimension of institutional collectivism describes the degree to which members of a society emphasize and reward group actions, rather than individual actions. In-group collectivism describes a society in which members take pride in family and their group or organizational memberships.
19. For each region of the world you should identify a major economic theme, issue, or element. For example: Europe—the European Union should be discussed for its economic significance to member countries and to outsiders; the Americas— NAFTA should be discussed for its current implications, as well as its potential significance once Chile and other nations join; Asia—the Asia-Pacific Economic Forum should be identified as a platform for growing regional economic cooperation among a very economically powerful group of countries; Africa—the new nonracial democracy in South Africa should be cited as a stimulus to broader outside investor interest in Africa.
20. Kim must recognize that the cultural differences between the United States and Japan may affect the success of grouporiented work practices such as quality circles and work teams. The United States was the most individualistic culture in Hofstede's study of national cultures; Japan is much more collectivist. Group practices such as the quality circle and teams are natural and consistent with the Japanese culture. When introduced into a more individualistic culture, these same practices might cause difficulties or require some time for workers to get used to them. At the very least, Kim should proceed with caution; discuss ideas for the new practices with the workers before making any changes; and then monitor the changes closely, so that adjustments can be made to improve them as the workers gain familiarity with them and have suggestions of their own.
1. c 2. a 3. b 4. b 5. b 6. a 7. d 8. a 9. b 10. a 11. b 12. d 13. c 14. b 15. d
16. Entrepreneurship is rich with diversity. It is an avenue for business entry and career success that is pursued by many women and members of minority groups. Data show that almost 40% of U.S. businesses are owned by women. Many report leaving other employment because they had limited opportunities. For them, entrepreneurship made available the opportunities for career success that they had lacked. Minority-owned businesses are one of the fastest-growing sectors, with the growth rates highest for Hispanic-owned, Asian-owned, and African American-owned businesses, in that order.
17. The three stages in the life cycle of an entrepreneurial firm are birth, breakthrough, and maturity. In the birth stage, the leader is challenged to get customers, establish a market, and find the money needed to keep the business going. In the breakthrough stage, the challenges shift to becoming and staying profitable, and managing growth. In the maturity stage, a leader is more focused on revising/maintaining a good business strategy and more generally managing the firm for continued success, and possibly for more future growth.
18. The limited partnership form of small business ownership consists of a general partner and one or more "limited partners." The general partner(s) play an active role in managing and operating the business; the limited partners do not. All contribute resources of some value to the partnership for the conduct of the business. The advantage of any partnership form is that the partners may share in profits, but their potential for losses is limited by the size of their original investments.
19. A venture capitalist, often a business, makes a living by investing in and taking large ownership interests in fledgling companies, with the goal of large financial gains eventually, when the company is sold. An angel investor is an individual who is willing to make a financial investment in return for some ownership in the new firm.
20. My friend is right—it takes a lot of forethought and planning to prepare the launch of a new business venture. In response to the question of how to ensure that I am really being customer-focused, I would ask and answer for myself the following questions. In all cases I would try to frame my business model so that the answers are realistic, but still push my business toward a strong customer orientation. The "customer" questions might include: "Who are my potential customers? What market niche am I shooting for? What do the customers in this market really want? How do these customers make purchase decisions? How much will it cost to produce and distribute my product/service to these customers? How much will it cost to attract and retain customers?" After preparing an overall executive summary, which includes a commitment to this customer orientation, I would address the following areas in writing up my initial business plan: a company description—mission, owners, and legal form—as well as an industry analysis, product and services description, marketing description and strategy, staffing model, financial projections with cash flows, and capital needs.
1. c 2. c 3. c 4. a 5. c 6. c 7. b 8. a 9. c 10. b 11. c 12. a 13. a 14. b 15. d
16. An optimizing decision is one that represents the absolute "best" choice of alternatives. It is selected from a set of all known alternatives. A satisficing decision selects the first alternative that offers a "satisfactory" choice, not necessarily the absolute best choice. It is selected from a limited or incomplete set of alternatives.
17. The ethics of a decision can be checked with the "spotlight" question: "How would you feel if your family found out?" "How would you feel if this were published in the local newspaper?" Also, one can test the decision by evaluating it on four criteria: (1) Utility—does it satisfy all stakeholders? (2) Rights—does it respect everyone's rights? (3) Justice—is it consistent with fairness and justice? (4) Caring—does it meet responsibilities for caring?
18. A manager using systematic thinking is going to approach problem solving in a logical and rational fashion. The tendency will be to proceed in a linear, step-by-step fashion, handling one issue at a time. A manager using intuitive thinking will be more spontaneous and open in problem solving. He or she may jump from one stage in the process to another and deal with many different things at once.
19. It almost seems contradictory to say that one can prepare for crisis, but it is possible. The concept of crisis management is used to describe how managers and others prepare for unexpected high-impact events that threaten an organization's health and well-being. Crisis management involves both anticipating possible crises and preparing teams and plans ahead of time for how to handle them if they do occur. Many organizations today, for example, are developing crisis management plans to deal with terrorism and computer "hacking" attacks.
20. This is what I would say in the mentoring situation: continuing developments in information technology are changing the work setting for most employees. An important development for the traditional white-collar worker falls in the area of office automation—the use of computers and related technologies to facilitate everyday office work. In the "electronic office" of today and tomorrow, you should be prepared to work with and take full advantage of the following: smart workstations supported by desktop computers; voice messaging systems, whereby computers take dictation, answer the telephone, and relay messages; database and word processing software systems that allow storage, access, and manipulation of data, as well as the preparation of reports; electronic mail systems that send mail and data from computer to computer; electronic bulletin boards for posting messages; and computer conferencing and videoconferencing that allow people to work with one another every day over great distances. These are among the capabilities of the new workplace. To function effectively, you must be prepared not only to use these systems to full advantage, but also to stay abreast of new developments as they become available.
1. d 2. a 3. a 4. d 5. b 6. c 7. a 8. d 9. a 10. b 11. a 12. c 13. c 14. d 15. c
16. The five steps in the formal planning process are: (1) define your objectives, (2) determine where you stand relative to objectives, (3) develop premises about future conditions, (4) identify and choose among action alternatives to accomplish objectives, (5) implement action plans and evaluate results.
17. Benchmarking is the use of external standards to help evaluate one's own situation and develop ideas and directions for improvement. The bookstore owner/manager might visit other bookstores in other towns that are known for their success. By observing and studying the operations of those stores and then comparing her store to them, the owner/manager can develop plans for future action.
18. Planning helps improve focus for organizations and for individuals. Essential to the planning process is identifying your objectives and specifying exactly where it is you hope to get in the future. Having a clear sense of direction helps keep us on track by avoiding getting sidetracked on things that might not contribute to accomplishing our objectives. It also helps us to find discipline in stopping periodically to assess how well we are doing. With a clear objective, present progress can be realistically evaluated and efforts refocused on accomplishing the objective.
19. Very often plans fail because the people who make the plans aren't the same ones who must implement them. When people who will be implementing are allowed to participate in the planning process, at least two positive results may happen that help improve implementation: (1) through involvement they better understand the final plans, and (2) through involvement they become more committed to making those plans work.
20. I would begin the speech by describing the importance of goal alignment as an integrated planning and control approach. I would also clarify that the key elements are objectives and participation. Any objectives should be clear, measurable, and time-defined. In addition, these objectives should be set with the full involvement and participation of the employees; they should not be set by the manager and then told to the employees. That understood, I would describe how each business manager should jointly set objectives with each of his or her employees and jointly review progress toward their accomplishment. I would suggest that the employees should work on the required activities while staying in communication with their managers. The managers, in turn, should provide any needed support or assistance to their employees. This whole process could be formally recycled at least twice per year.
1. a 2. b 3. c 4. c 5. d 6. b 7. c 8. a 9. b 10. a 11. d 12. c 13. d 14. b 15. a
16. A corporate strategy sets long-term direction for an enterprise as a whole. Functional strategies set directions so that business functions such as marketing and manufacturing support the overall corporate strategy.
17. A SWOT analysis is useful during strategic planning. It involves the analysis of organizational strengths and weaknesses, and of environmental opportunities and threats.
18. The focus strategy concentrates attention on a special market segment or niche. The differentiation strategy concentrates on building loyalty to a unique product or service.
19. Strategic leadership is the ability to enthuse people to participate in continuous change, performance enhancement, and the implementation of organizational strategies. The special qualities of the successful strategic leader include the ability to make trade-offs, create a sense of urgency, communicate the strategy, and engage others in continuous learning about the strategy and its performance responsibilities.
20. Porter's competitive strategy model involves the possible use of three alternative strategies: differentiation, cost leadership, and focus. In this situation, the larger department store seems better positioned to follow the cost leadership strategy. This means that Kim may want to consider the other two alternatives.
A differentiation strategy would involve trying to distinguish Kim's products from those of the larger store. This might involve a "made in America" theme, or an emphasis on leather, canvas, or some other type of clothing material. A focus strategy might specifically target college students and try to respond to their tastes and needs, rather than those of the larger community population. This might involve special orders and other types of individualized service for the college student market.
1. b 2. a 3. b 4. a 5. b 6. c 7. b 8. b 9. a 10. d 11. c 12. b 13. b 14. c 15. b
16. The functional structure is prone to problems of internal coordination. One symptom may be that the different functional areas, such as marketing and manufacturing, are not working well together. This structure is also slow in responding to changing environmental trends and challenges. If the firm finds that its competitors are getting to market faster with new and better products, this is another potential indicator that the functional structure is not supporting operations properly.
17. A network structure often involves one organization "contracting out" aspects of its operations to other organizations that specialize in them. The example used in the text was of a company that contracted out its mailroom services. Through the formation of networks of contracts, the organization is reduced to a core of essential employees whose expertise is concentrated in the primary business areas. The contracts are monitored and maintained in the network to allow the overall operations of the organization to continue, even though they are not directly accomplished by full-time employees.
18. The term "contingency" is used in management to indicate that management strategies and practices should be tailored to fit the unique needs of individual situations. There is no universal solution that fits all problems and circumstances. Thus, in organizational design, contingency thinking must be used to identify and implement particular organizational points in time. What works well at one point in time may not work well at another, as the environment and other conditions change. For example, the more complex, variable, and uncertain the elements in the environment, the more difficult it is for the organization to operate. This situation calls for a more organic design. In a stable and more certain environment, the mechanistic design is appropriate, because operations are more routine and predictable.
19. Several options for answering this question are described in the chapter.
20. Faisal must first have confidence in the two engineers—he must trust them and respect their capabilities. Second, he must have confidence in himself, trusting his own judgment to give up some work and allow the others to do it. Third, he should follow the rules of effective delegation. These include being very clear on what must be accomplished by each engineer. Their responsibilities should be clearly understood. He must also give them the authority to act in order to fulfill their responsibility, especially in relationship to the other engineers. And he must not forget his own final accountability for the results. He should remain in control and, through communication, make sure that work proceeds as planned.
1. b 2. a 3. b 4. c 5. c 6. b 7. a 8. c 9. d 10. d 11. a 12. d 13. b 14. a 15. b
16. Core values indicate important beliefs that underlie organizational expectations about the behavior and contributions of members. Sample values for high-performance organizations might include expressed commitments to honesty and integrity, innovation, customer service, quality, and respect for people.
17. Subcultures are important in organizations because of the many aspects of diversity found in the workforce. Although working in the same organization and sharing the same organizational culture, members differ in subculture affiliations based on such aspects as gender, age, and ethnic differences, as well as in respect to occupational and functional affiliations. It is important to understand how subculture differences may influence working relationships. For example, a 40-year-old manager of 20-year-old workers must understand that the values and behaviors of the younger workforce may not be totally consistent with what she or he believes in, and vice versa.
18. Lewin's three phases of planned change and the relevant change leadership responsibilities are: unfreezing-preparing a system for change; changing- moving or creating change in a system; and refreezing-stabilizing and reinforcing change once it has occurred. In addition, we might talk about an additional or parallel phase of "improvising." This calls for change leadership that is good at gathering feedback, listening to resistance, and making constructive modifications as the change is in progress to smooth its implementation and make sure what is implemented is a best fit for the circumstances and people involved.
19. Use of force-coercion as a strategy of planned change is limited by the likelihood of compliance being the major outcome. People "comply" with force only so long as it remains real, visible, and likely, but they have no personal commitment to the behavior. So, when the force goes away, so does the behavior. Also, a manager who relies on forcing people to get changes made is likely to be viewed negatively by them and suffer from additional negative halo effects in other work with them. Rational persuasion and shared power are likely to have more long-lasting impact on behavior since the person responds to the change strategy by internalization of the value of the behavior being encouraged. Because of this commitment the influence on their actions is more likely to be long-lasting rather than temporary as in the case of force-coercion.
20. I disagree with this statement, because a strong organizational or corporate culture can be a positive influence on any organization, large or small. Also, issues of diversity, inclusiveness, and multiculturalism apply as well. In fact, such things as a commitment to pluralism and respect for diversity should be part of the core values and distinguishing features of the organization's culture. The woman working for the large company is mistaken in thinking that the concepts do not apply to her friend's small business. In fact, the friend—as owner and perhaps founder of the business—should be working hard to establish the values and other elements that will create a strong and continuing culture and respect for diversity. Employees of any organization should have core organizational values to serve as reference points for their attitudes and behavior. The rites and rituals of everyday organizational life are also important ways to recognize positive accomplishments and add meaning to the employment relationships. It may even be that the friend's roles as diversity leader and creator and sponsor of the corporate culture are more magnified in the small business setting. As the owner and manager, she is visible every day to all employees. How she acts will have a great impact on any "culture"
1. a 2. b 3. c 4. d 5. b 6. c 7. d 8. b 9. b 10. c 11. d 12. a 13. b 14. a 15. b
16. Internal recruitment deals with job candidates who already know the organization well. It is also a strong motivator because it communicates to everyone the opportunity to advance in the organization through hard work. External recruitment may allow the organization to obtain expertise not available internally. It also brings in employees with new and fresh viewpoints who are not biased by previous experience in the organization.
17. Orientation activities introduce a new employee to the organization and the work environment. This is a time when the individual may develop key attitudes and when performance expectations will also be established. Good orientation communicates positive attitudes and expectations and reinforces the desired organizational culture. It formally introduces the individual to important policies and procedures that everyone is expected to follow.
18. The graphic rating scale simply asks a supervisor to rate an employee on an established set of criteria, such as quantity of work or attitude toward work. This leaves a lot of room for subjectivity and debate. The behaviorally anchored rating scale asks the supervisor to rate the employee on specific behaviors that had been identified as positively or negatively affecting performance in a given job. This is a more specific appraisal approach and leaves less room for debate and disagreement.
19. Mentoring is when a senior and experienced individual adopts a newcomer or more junior person with the goal of helping him or her develop into a successful worker. The mentor may or may not be the individual's immediate supervisor. The mentor meets with the individual and discusses problems, shares advice, and generally supports the individual's attempts to grow and perform. Mentors are considered very useful for persons newly appointed to management positions.
20. As Sy's supervisor, you face a difficult but perhaps expected human resource management problem. Not only is Sy influential as an informal leader, he also has considerable experience on the job and in the company. Even though he is experiencing performance problems using the new computer system, there is no indication that he doesn't want to work hard and continue to perform for the company. Although retirement is an option, Sy may also be transferred, promoted, or simply terminated. The latter response seems unjustified and may cause legal problems. Transferring Sy, with his agreement, to another position could be a positive move; promoting Sy to a supervisory position in which his experience and networks would be useful is another possibility. The key in this situation seems to be moving Sy out so that a computer-literate person can take over the job, while continuing to utilize Sy in a job that better fits his talents. Transfer and/or promotion should be actively considered, both in his and in the company's interest.
1. d 2. d 3. b 4. a 5. c 6. a 7. b 8. c 9. b 10. a 11. b 12. a 13. d 14. a 15. b
16. Position power is based on reward; coercion, or punishment; and legitimacy, or formal authority. Managers, however, need to have more power than that made available to them by the position alone. Thus, they have to develop personal power through expertise and reference. This personal power is essential in helping managers to get things done beyond the scope of their position power alone.
17. Leader-participation theory suggests that leadership effectiveness is determined in part by how well managers or leaders handle the many different problem or decision situations that they face every day. Decisions can be made through individual or authority, consultative, or groupconsensus approaches. No one of these decision methods is always the best; each is a good fit for certain types of situations. A good manager or leader is able to use each of these approaches and knows when each is the best approach to use in particular situations.
18. The three variables used in Fiedler's model to diagnose situational favorableness are: (1) position power—how much power the leader has in terms of rewards, punishments, and legitimacy; (2) leader-member relations—the quality of relationships between the leader and followers; and (3) task structure—the degree to which the task is either clear and well defined, or open-ended and more ambiguous.
19. Drucker says that good leaders have more than the "charisma" or "personality" being popularized in the concept of transformational leadership. He reminds us that good leaders work hard to accomplish some basic things in their everyday activities. These include: (1) establishing a clear sense of mission; (2) accepting leadership as a responsibility, not a rank; and (3) earning and keeping the respect of others.
20. In his new position, Marcel must understand that the transactional aspects of leadership are not sufficient to guarantee him long-term leadership effectiveness. He must move beyond the effective use of task-oriented and people-oriented behaviors and demonstrate through his personal qualities the capacity to inspire others. A charismatic leader develops a unique relationship with followers, in which they become enthusiastic, highly loyal, and high achievers. Marcel needs to work very hard to develop positive relationships with the team members. In those relationships he must emphasize high aspirations for performance accomplishments, enthusiasm, ethical behavior, integrity and honesty in all dealings, and a clear vision of the future. By working hard with this agenda and by allowing his personality to positively express itself in the team setting, Marcel should make continuous progress as an effective and moral leader.
1. c 2. b 3. d 4. a 5. c 6. d 7. b 8. c 9. a 10. b 11. d 12. d 13. c 14. a 15. c
16. A psychological contract is the individual's view of the inducements he or she expects to receive from the organization in return for his or her work contributions. The contract is healthy when the individual perceives that the inducements and contributions are fair and in a state of balance.
17. Self-serving bias is the attribution tendency to blame the environment when things go wrong—"It's not my fault; 'they' caused all this mess." Fundamental attribution error is the tendency to blame others for problems that they have—"It's something wrong with 'you' that's causing the problem."
18. All the Big Five personality traits are relevant to the workplace. Consider the following basic examples. Extraversion suggests whether or not a person will reach out to relate and work well with others. Agreeableness suggests whether or not a person is open to the ideas of others and willing to go along with group decisions. Conscientiousness suggests whether or not someone can be depended on to meet commitments and perform agreed-upon tasks. Emotional stability suggests whether or not someone will be relaxed and secure, or uptight and tense, in work situations. Openness to experience suggests whether or not someone will be open to new ideas or resistant to change.
19. The Type A personality is characteristic of people who bring stress on themselves by virtue of personal characteristics. These tend to be compulsive individuals who are uncomfortable waiting for things to happen, who try to do many things at once, and who generally move fast and have difficulty slowing down. Type A personalities can be stressful for both themselves and the people around them. Managers must be aware of Type A personality tendencies in their own behavior and among others with whom they work. Ideally, this awareness will help the manager take precautionary steps to best manage the stress caused by this personality type.
20. Scott needs to be careful. Although there is modest research support for the relationship between job satisfaction and performance, there is no guarantee that simply doing things to make people happier at work will cause them to be higher performers. Scott needs to take a broader perspective on this issue and his responsibilities as a manager. He should be interested in job satisfaction for his therapists and do everything he can to help them to experience it. But he should also be performance-oriented, and should understand that performance is achieved through a combination of skills, support, and motivation. He should be helping the therapists to achieve and maintain high levels of job competency. He should also work with them to find out what obstacles they are facing and what support they need—things that perhaps he can deal with in their behalf. All of this relates as well to research indications that performance can be a source of job satisfaction. And finally, Scott should make sure that the therapists believe they are being properly rewarded for their work, because rewards are shown by research to have an influence on both job satisfaction and job performance.
1. c 2. d 3. d 4. b 5. b 6. d 7. c 8. d 9. a 10. b 11. c 12. a 13. b 14. a 15. b
16. People high in need for achievement will prefer work settings and jobs in which they have (1) challenging but achievable goals, (2) individual responsibility, and (3) performance feedback.
17. Participation is important to goal-setting theory because, in general, people tend to be more committed to the accomplishment of goals they have helped to set. When people participate in the setting of goals, they also understand them better. Participation in goal setting improves goal acceptance and understanding.
18. Maslow, McClelland, and Herzberg would likely find common agreement in respect to a set of "higher order" needs. For Maslow these are self-actualization and ego; they correspond with Alderfer's growth needs, and with McClelland's needs for achievement and power. Maslow's social needs link up with relatedness needs in Alderfer's theory and the need for affiliation in McClelland's theory. Maslow's safety needs correspond to Alderfer's existence needs. Herzberg's "satisfier-factors" correspond to satisfactions of Maslow's higher needs, Alderfer's growth needs, and McClelland's need for achievement.
19. The compressed work week, or 4-40 schedule, offers employees the advantage of a three-day weekend. However, it can cause problems for the employer in terms of ensuring that operations are covered adequately during the normal five workdays of the week. Labor unions may resist, and the compressed workweek will entail more complicated work scheduling. In addition, some employees find that the schedule is tiring and can cause family adjustment problems.
20. It has already been pointed out in the answer to question 16 that a person with a high need for achievement likes moderately challenging goals and performance feedback. Participation of both manager and subordinate in goal setting offers an opportunity to choose goals to which the subordinate will respond, and which also will serve the organization. Furthermore, through goal setting the manager and individual subordinates can identify performance standards or targets. Progress toward these targets can be positively reinforced by the manager. Such reinforcements can serve as indicators of progress to someone with a high need for achievement, thus responding to their desire for performance feedback.
1. d 2. b 3. b 4. d 5. b 6. d 7. b 8. b 9. a 10. b 11. c 12. b 13. a 14. b 15. a
16. Input factors can have a major impact on group effectiveness. In order to best prepare a group to perform effectively, a manager should make sure that the right people are put in the group (maximize available talents and abilities), that these people are capable of working well together (membership characteristics should promote good relationships), that the tasks are clear, and that the group has the resources and environment needed to perform up to expectations.
17. A group's performance can be analyzed according to the interaction between cohesiveness and performance norms. In a highly cohesive group, members tend to conform to group norms. Thus, when the performance norm is positive and cohesion is high, we can expect everyone to work hard to support the norm—high performance is likely. By the same token, high cohesion and a low performance norm will yield the opposite result—low performance is likely. With other combinations of norms and cohesion, the performance results will be more mixed.
18. The textbook lists several symptoms of groupthink, along with various strategies for avoiding groupthink. For example, a group whose members censor themselves from contributing "contrary" or "different" opinions and/or whose members keep talking about outsiders as "weak" or the "enemy" may be suffering from groupthink. This may be avoided or corrected, for example, by asking someone to be the "devil's advocate" for a meeting, and by inviting in an outside observer to help gather different viewpoints.
19. In a traditional work group, the manager or supervisor directs the group. In a self-managing team, the members of the team provide self-direction. They plan, organize, and evaluate their work, share tasks, and help one another develop skills; they may even make hiring decisions. A true self-managing team does not need the traditional "boss" or supervisor, because the team as a whole takes on the supervisory responsibilities.
20. Marcos is faced with a highly cohesive group whose members conform to a negative, or low-performance norm. This is a difficult situation that is ideally resolved by changing the performance norm. In order to gain the group's commitment to a high-performance norm, Marcos should act as a positive role model for the norm. He must communicate the norm clearly and positively to the group and should not assume that everyone knows what he expects of them. He may also talk to the informal leader and gain his or her commitment to the norm. He might carefully reward high-performance behaviors within the group and may introduce new members with highperformance records and commitments. And he might hold group meetings in which performance standards and expectations are discussed, with an emphasis on committing to new high-performance directions. If his attempts to introduce a high-performance norm fail, Marcos may have to take steps to reduce group cohesiveness so that individual members can pursue higher-performance results without feeling bound by group pressures to restrict their performance.
1. b 2. a 3. c 4. b 5. c 6. b 7. b 8. d 9. c 10. a 11. d 12. b 13. d 14. d 15. a
16. The manager's goal in active listening is to help the subordinate say what he or she really means. To do this, the manager should carefully listen for the content of what someone is saying, paraphrase or reflect back what the person appears to be saying, remain sensitive to nonverbal cues and feelings, and not be evaluative.
17. The inverted "U" curve of conflict intensity shows that as conflict intensity increases from low to moderate levels, performance increases. This is the zone of constructive conflict. As conflict intensity moves into extreme levels, performance tends to decrease. This is the zone of destructive conflict.
18. Win-lose outcomes are likely when conflict is managed through high-assertiveness and low-cooperativeness styles. In this situation of competition, the conflict is resolved by one person or group dominating another. Lose-lose outcomes occur when conflict is managed through avoidance (where nothing is resolved), and possibly when it is managed through compromise (where each party gives up something to the other). Win-win outcomes are associated mainly with problem solving and collaboration in conflict management, which result from high assertiveness and high cooperativeness.
19. In a negotiation, both substance and relationship goals are important. Substance goals relate to the content of the negotiation. A substance goal, for example, may relate to the final salary agreement between a job candidate and a prospective employer. Relationship goals relate to the quality of the interpersonal relationships among the negotiating parties. Relationship goals are important, because the negotiating parties most likely have to work together in the future. For example, if relationships are poor after a labor-management negotiation, the likelihood is that future problems will occur.
20. Kathryn can do a number of things to establish and maintain a system of upward communication for her department store branch. To begin, she should, as much as possible, try to establish a highly interactive style of management based upon credibility and trust. Credibility is earned by building personal power through expertise and reference. In regard to credibility, she might set the tone for the department managers by using MBWA—"managing by wandering around." Once this pattern is established, trust will build between her and other store employees, and she should find that she learns a lot from interacting directly with them. Kathryn should also set up a formal communication structure, such as bimonthly store meetings, where she communicates store goals, results, and other issues to the staff and listens to them in return. An e-mail system whereby Kathryn and her staff could send messages to one another from their workstation computers would also be beneficial.
1. a 2. b 3. d 4. b 5. b 6. b 7. d 8. b 9. b 10. c 11. a 12. b 13. c 14. c 15. c
16. The four steps in the formal planning process are: (1) establish objectives and standards, (2) measure actual performance, (3) compare actual performance with objectives and standards, and (4) take necessary action.
17. Feedforward control involves the careful selection of system inputs to ensure that outcomes are of the desired quality and up to all performance standards. In the case of a local bookstore, one of the major points of influence over performance and customer satisfaction is the relationship between the customers and the store's employees who serve them. Thus, a good example of feedforward control is exercising great care when the manager hires new employees and then trains them to work according to the store's expectations.
18. Douglas McGregor's concept of Theory Y involves the assumption that people can be trusted to exercise self-control in their work. This is the essence of internal control—people controlling their own work by taking personal responsibility for results. If managers approach work with McGregor's Theory Y assumptions, they will, according to him, promote more self-control—or internal control—by people at work.
19. A progressive discipline system works by adjusting the discipline to fit the severity and frequency of the inappropriate behavior. In the case of a person who comes late to work, for example, progressive discipline might involve a verbal warning after three late arrivals, a written warning after five, and a pay-loss penalty after seven. In the case of a person who steals money from the business, there would be immediate dismissal after the first such infraction.
20. There are a very large number of activities required to complete a new student center building on a college campus. Among them, one might expect the following to be core requirements: (1) land surveys and planning permissions from local government, (2) architect plans developed and approved, (3) major subcontractors hired, (4) site excavation completed, (5) building exterior completed, (6) building interior completed and furnishings installed. Use Figure 18.5 from the chapter as a guide for developing your AON diagram.
1. c 2. c 3. c 4. a 5. a 6. b 7. d 8. b 9. d 10. c 11. b 12. c 13. b 14. c 15. a
16. Possible operating objectives reflecting a commitment to competitive advantage through customer service include: (1) providing high-quality goods and services, (2) producing at low cost so that goods and services can be sold at low prices, (3) providing short waiting times for goods and services, and (4) providing goods and services meeting unique customer needs.
17. External customers are the consumers or clients in the specific environment who buy the organization's goods or use its services. Internal customers are found internally in the workflows among people and subsystems in the organization. They are individuals or groups within the organization who utilize goods and services produced by others who are also inside the organization.
18. Supply chain management is important due to the cost of resources, the costs of holding things in inventory, and all the costs of transporting resources and supplies for the organization. SCM uses the latest technologies and systematic management to oversee all aspects of inbound logistics so that the various elements and activities in the organization's supply chains operate as efficiently and as effectively as possible.
19. The focus of process reengineering is on reducing costs and streamlining operations efficiency while improving customer service. This is accomplished by closely examining core business processes through the following sequence of activities:
(1) identify the core processes; (2) map them in a workflows diagram; (3) evaluate all tasks involved; (4) seek ways to eliminate unnecessary tasks; (5) seek ways to eliminate delays, errors, and misunderstandings in the workflows; and (6) seek efficiencies in how work is shared and transferred among people and departments.
20. Although the appropriateness of the measure would vary by department or area of each organization that one is addressing, possible productivity measures are:
(a) U.S. Post Office—# letters delivered per day / # letter carriers on payroll
(b) University—# students enrolled / (# full-time 1 parttime faculty)
(c) Hospital—# patients per day / # available hospital beds
(d) Amusement park—# paid admissions per day / # available rides
(e) Restaurant—# meals served per day / # servers on payroll