342 Chapter 6,7

Question 1

Vertical Source of Power

Answer 1

formal position- resources can be anyone no matter how high or low their position a person with minimal power can create a schedule , control of decision premises and information- could be someone in HR who writes job descriptions so a friend you know is the perfect candidate for a job- network centrality could be an assistant and the power they have to report to their boss and personal loyalty of people .

Question 2

Strategic contingencies that affect horizontal power

Answer 2

among departments or among peers- not all may have the same amount of power or established clout

Question 3

Horizontal organizations

Answer 3

are not equal power and many people think they have more power then they do
Both vertical and horizontal power are important but are different

Question 4

“Within Ourselves:
Psychological Needs That Make Us Seek Leaders”
by Jean Lipman-Blumen

Answer 4

• This article states that those who grew up in abusive homes find themselves dealing with abusive authority figures and are often attracted to them and think that they could fix them. Abusive figures have a way to manipulate peer pressure Someone who grew up in a loving family would have a different outlook on dealing with poor authority figures.

Question 5

Levels of Conflict: Political Landscape

Answer 5

Political landscape: learning this can be helpful to avoid being unliked and telling the difference between who has power and who has less within the department. Know the unwritten rules and understand who you have to coax to promote your idea. Make sure everyone knows who you are, small interactions will allow you to meet new people and judge how much you can trust other employees. If you do not have these interactions this will not be good. When you ask for a favour you want a foundation so that others do not brush you off.

Question 6

Levels of Conflict: Office Politics

Answer 6

Office power/ politics: use of power outside organizational channels, using power that is out of sink with the formal organizational can be constructive such as using their influence to get things done. Like developing a new product that needs to be approved

Question 7

Levels of Conflict: Job Duties

Answer 7

Job Duties: not carved in stone and continuing to change, think of things you can add to your job description. As employees come and go job descriptions change. Always look for ways to shape it so you can do as many important things as possible instead of mindless things. Look for things that you’re the only person that can do where you have monopoly and harder to replace and more powerful.

Question 8

Levels of Conflict: Differentiation

Answer 8

Differentiation: personality traits can be dependent on the way you pick your major

Question 9

Prescriptive vs Descriptive

Answer 9

• Prescriptive: The way things ought to be. (Think of a “prescription.”)
• Descriptive: The way things actually are, which might be quite different than how they ought to be.
• The Rational Approach and Management Science models are prescriptive. The other models that follow are descriptive.

Question 10

The Rational Approach

Answer 10

1. Monitor decison environemnt
2. Define decison environment
3. Specify decision objectives
4. Diagnose the problem
5. develop alternative soloutions
6. Evaluate alternatives
7. Choose best alternative
8. Implement chose alternative

Question 11

Positive side of office politics

Answer 11

learn the political landscape
make sure everyone knows you
add job duties in a strategic way
look for tasks where you have monopoly
become an expert in something

Question 12

Garbage can model

Answer 12

likely to occur in organized anarchy, excessively organic organization with the following characteristics
- goals are defined
- cause and effort relationships are poorly understood
-high turnovers of decision-makers
• Characteristics:
o Problematic preferences
Goals, problems, alternatives, and solutions are ill defined
o Unclear, poorly understood cause-and-effect relationships

Question 13

Incremental Decision Process

Answer 13

Try something and if it does not work out you can always try something else

Question 14

Carneige Model

Answer 14

key decision makers grab the first alternative that is good enough, this is necessary because o Organizational goals are often ambiguous and operative goals of departments are inconsistent
o Individual managers intend to be rational but function with human cognitive limitations and other constraints

Question 15

Source of Conflict: Task Interdependence

Answer 15

Dependence of one unit on another for materials, resources, or information
o Pooled interdependence – little interaction
o Sequential interdependence – output of one department goes to the next department
o Reciprocal interdependence – departments mutually exchange materials and information
* As interdependence increases, potential for conflict increases

Question 16

Source of Conflict: Differentiation

Answer 16

Differentiation
* Departments/divisions often differ in values, attitudes, and standards of behaviour

Question 17

Source of Conflict: Goal Incompatibility

Answer 17

Goal incompatibility
* Achievement of one department’s goals often interferes with another department’s goals

Question 18

Source of Conflict: Limited Resources

Answer 18

Limited resources
* Competition between groups for what members perceive as limited resources
* Resources symbolize power and influence within organizations

Question 19

Rational vs Political Model

Answer 19

o Rational vs political model
 Rational model – when goals are in alignment, little differentiation, departments are characterized by pooled interdependence, and resources seem abundant
* Behaviour is not random or accidental
* Goals are clear and choice are made logically
* When a decision is needed, goal is defined, alternatives are identified, and choice with highest probability of success is selected
* Centralized power and control, extensive information systems, and efficiency orientation

 Political model – when differences are great, organization groups have separate interests, goals, and values
* Disagreements and conflict are normal -> power and influence needed to reach decisions
* Groups will engage in debate to decide goals and reach decisions
* Information is ambiguous and incomplete
* Organizations that strive for democracy and participation in decision making by empowering workers

Question 20

Power

Answer 20

potential ability of one person (or department) to influence other people (or departments) to bring about desired outcomes

Question 21

Individual sources of power: types of power

Answer 21

• Legitimate power – authority granted by the organization to the formal management position a manager holds
• Reward power – stems from the ability to bestow rewards to other people
• Coercive power – authority to punish or recommend punishment
• Expert power – derives from a person’s greater skill or knowledge about the tasks
• Referent power – derived from personal characteristics (respect and admiration)

Question 22

Authority

Answer 22

Authority: force for achieving desired outcomes, but only as prescribed by the formal hierarchy and reporting relationships
* Authority is vested in organizational positions
* Authority if accepted by subordinates
* Authority flows down the vertical hierarchy

Question 23

 Horizontal sources of power

Answer 23

• Strategic contingencies
  o Events and activities both inside and outside the organization that are essential for attaining organizational goals
  o Departmental activities provide strategic value by solving problems or crises for the organization

Question 24

Organizational decision making

Answer 24

• Structural change
  o Change responsibilities and tasks – affects the underlying power base from strategic contingencies
  o Managers may bargain and negotiate to maintain the responsibilities and power bases they have
• Management succession
  o Hiring new executives, promotions, and transfers have great political significance
  o Hiring decisions can generate uncertainty, discussion, and disagreement
• Resource allocation
  o Resources are so vital that disagreement about priorities exists, and political processes help resolve the dilemmas

Question 25

Management science approach

Answer 25

Rational approach for organizations
Best when applied to problems that are analyzable, measurable, and can be structured in a logical way

Question 26

Incremental Decision process model

Answer 26

 Identification phase
* Recognition – one or more managers become aware of the problem and need to make a decision
* Diagnosis – information is gathered if needed to define the problem situation
o Systematic – used for mild problems
o Informal – used for severe problems
 Development phase
* Solution is shaped to solve the problem defined in the identification phase
* Two directions
o Search – seek out alternatives within the organization’s repertoire of solutions
o Design a custom solution
 Trial-and-error screening process
 Selection phase
* Solution is chosen
* Evaluation and choice may be accomplished in three ways:
o Judgement – used when a final choice falls upon a single decision maker, choice involves judgment based on experience
o Analysis evaluation – alternatives are evaluated on a systematic basis, such as with management science techniques
o Bargaining – selection involves a group, and discussion and bargaining occur until a coalition is formed