Identify the key principles of scientific management that are applicable in today’s business organizations. Provide examples that demonstrate the ways they can/should be used today.
2. Identify an organization for which you can provide a specific example of how it can be efficient and a specific example of how it can be effective in accomplishing a single goal.
3. In today’s fast-paced, global, and technological environment, it is important for an organization of any size and its managers to be able to adapt to change. Identify a firm and indicate how it has adapted in the past and/or how it should adapt to specific environmental changes now.
4. Identify key abilities managers need in order to be successful in the 21st century. Provide examples that demonstrate the need for these abilities.
5. As a manager, what type of quality improvement results should you strive for to achieve success over both the short and long run? Provide examples.
6. What are four things that you, as a manager, can do to lead the way to higher levels of organizational effectiveness? Provide examples.
Ch 2
1. Organizational culture is a difficult concept to diagnose. How would you diagnose the culture of an office or a manufacturing plant? Provide specific examples.
2. Hofstede’s research indicates that national cultures exist. Identify at least three aspects of an organization that would be affected by dominant national cultures. Provide examples.
Ch 3
1. Have you ever had a “bad attitude” toward a situation, a certain course that you didn’t like, or an unattractive job assignment? How did that attitude affect your behavior (i.e. performance, attendance, and so on)? Did you attempt to improve your attitude? If so, explain how. If not, explain how you should have done so.
2. As the U.S. workforce becomes much more diverse, what implications will that have for managers as they attempt to create and maintain a work environment that allows all types of employees to contribute to the organization Explain how employees’ individual differences should be treated. Provide examples.
3. Do you have an internal or an external locus of control? Explain how that negatively and/or positively affects your work. Would you rather have a boss and/or colleagues who are internals or externals? Explain.
4. Of the Big Five personality dimensions, conscientiousness is the most important factor in predicting job performance across most occupations. How can a person develop a greater amount of conscientiousness in his/her work? What steps can you, as a manager, take to encourage employees to be more conscientious? Provide specific examples.
5. As a manager, how might you increase a subordinate’s feelings of self-efficacy regarding a job assignment? How might you attempt to increase the creativity of your subordinate?
Ch 4
1. Think back to a teacher, manager, or coach who believed in your ability and potential. To what degree did this Pygmalion effect impact your behavior and performance? Provide an example of how you have seen similar or different impacts on other workers.
2. Assume you have a team leader who always expects the worst from certain team members. To what degree can this Golem effect negatively impact team performance? Provide an example.
3. Why are the perceptions of your skills and abilities typically different from the perceptions that others have of your skills and abilities? Provide examples.
4. Why are selective attention, the halo effect, similar-to-me errors, and other perceptual inaccuracies such a problem in organizations? Explain each and provide examples
5. When a normally high performing employee makes a mistake or has a bad day, why should his/her manager not commit a fundamental attribution error when deciding how to respond or what to do? Provide an example and explain.
Ch5
1. Explain the need hierarchy, expectancy theory and equity theory. Which offers the best explanation of motivation? Explain or provide an example.
Motivation is just one of several factors that influence productivity. What are other factors? Explain and provide examples
3. What implications does Herzberg’s two-factor theory have for the design of organizational reward systems? Provide examples and explain.
4. As a manager, would you rather the people for whom you are responsible be extrinsically or intrinsically motivated? Is one better than the other. Explain. Provide examples.
5. How important a role does perception play in determining whether an employee is receiving equitable treatment? What kinds of things might a manager do to influence those perceptions? Provide examples and explain.
