Chapter 01

Question 1

administrative principles

Answer 1

A closed systems management perspective that focuses on the total organization and grows from the insights of practitioners (p. 26)

Question 2

bureaucratic organization

Answer 2

An organization design that emphasizes management on an impersonal, rational basis through elements such as clearly defined authority and responsibility, formal record keeping, and uniform application of standard rules (p. 26)

Question 3

change strategy

Answer 3

A plan to guide an organizational change (p. 6)

Question 4

chaos theory

Answer 4

A scientific theory that suggests that relationships in complex, adaptive systems are made up of numerous interconnections that create unintended effects and render the environment unpredictable (p. 28)

Question 5

closed system

Answer 5

A system that is autonomous, enclosed, and not dependent on its environment (p. 15)

Question 6

contextual dimensions

Answer 6

Traits that characterize the whole organization, including its size, technology, environment, and goals (p. 18)

Question 7

contingency

Answer 7

A theory meaning one thing depends on other things; the organization’s situation dictates the correct management approach (p. 27)

Question 8

effectiveness

Answer 8

The degree to which an organization achieves its goals (p. 22)

Question 9

efficiency

Answer 9

The amount of resources used to produce a unit of output (p. 22)

Question 10

Hawthorne Studies

Answer 10

A series of experiments on worker productivity begun in 1924 at the Hawthorne plant of Western Electric Company in Illinois; attributed employees’ increased output to managers’ better treatment of them during the study (p. 6)

Question 11

learning organization

Answer 11

An organization in which everyone is engaged in identifying and solving problems, enabling the organization to continuously experiment, improve, and increase its capability (p. 28)

Question 12

level of analysis

Answer 12

In systems theory, the subsystem on which the primary focus is placed; four levels of analysis normally characterize organizations (p. 32)

Question 13

meso theory

Answer 13

A new approach to organization studies that integrates both micro and macro levels of analysis (p. 33)

Question 14

open system

Answer 14

A system that must interact with the environment to survive (p. 15)

Question 15

organizational behaviour

Answer 15

A micro approach to organizations that focuses on the individuals within organizations as the relevant units for analysis (p. 33)

Question 16

organizational theory

Answer 16

A macro approach to organizations that analyzes the whole organization as a unit (p. 33)

Question 17

organizations

Answer 17

Social entities that are goal-directed, deliberately structured activity systems linked to the external environment (p. 11)

Question 18

role

Answer 18

A part in a dynamic social system that allows an employee to use his or her discretion and ability to achieve outcomes and meet goals (p. 29)

Question 19

scientific management

Answer 19

A classical approach that claims decisions about organization and job design should be based on precise, scientific procedures (p. 25)

Question 20

stakeholder

Answer 20

Any group within or outside an organization that has a stake in the organization’s performance (p. 23)

Question 21

stakeholder approach

Answer 21

Also called the constituency approach, this perspective assesses the satisfaction of stakeholders as an indicator of the organization’s performance (p. 23)

Question 22

structural dimensions

Answer 22

Descriptions of the internal characteristics of an organization (p. 18)

Question 23

subsystems

Answer 23

Divisions of an organization that perform specific functions for the organization’s survival; organizational subsystems perform the essential functions of boundary spanning, production, maintenance, adaptation, and management (p. 15)

Question 24

system

Answer 24

A set of interacting elements that acquires inputs from the environment, transforms them, and discharges outputs to the external environment (p. 15)

Question 25

task

Answer 25

A narrowly defined piece of work assigned to a person (p. 29)