Chapter 1 Flashcards
What are organizations defined as?
Organizations are tools: they are purpose, goal-orientated instruments designed to achieve a specific objective.
How does a tool relate to human agency?
A tool is an extension of human agency, enabling humans to make decisions.
What management style characterized large organizations in the post-war era?
People were managed through their career aspirations.
What was a consequence of executives having no single responsibility for decisions?
Executives became risk adverse.
What significant change began in the 1980s due to digitalization?
The rise of the new economy led by digitalization began.
Who are digital nomads?
Digital nomads are mobile workers armed with a laptop and connected to wifi.
What lifestyle do digital nomads typically choose?
They choose mobility rather than a fixed abode.
What impact do digital nomads have on Airbnb prices?
They often increase the prices for Airbnb because they rent so much.
What is one major implication of digitalization for organizations?
Programs and robots are replacing work done by employees.
What is a potential policy implication of digital developments?
Making labor gradually more expensive.
What is the debate around taxing robots?
Taxing robots could slow down digitalization and innovation.
What shift is occurring in management styles in the digital age?
From managing through ‘hard power’ to ‘soft power’.
What is the goal of using ‘soft power’ in organizations?
To create highly skilled knowledge workers.
What concept became a theme for reforming the public sector?
The idea of an organization as a culture.
What is ‘new public management’?
The idea that organizing the public sector more like a business creates better outcomes.
What was a consequence of the reinvention of the public sector?
Many public sector organizations went bankrupt, leading to job losses.
What does Davis (2016b) argue is a root cause of income inequality?
The decline in corporate jobs.
What economic policies favor the rich?
Low taxation, minimal control of offshore accounts, ease of intergenerational wealth transfer.
What major tax change did the Trump Administration implement in December 2017?
A permanent 40% corporate tax reduction.
What is the relationship between tax cuts for the wealthy and economic inequality?
Tax cuts for the wealthy may stimulate the economy but increase inequality.
What shift occurred in the balance of wages and profits in the economy?
Employers have lost to shareholders.
What does principal agency theory describe?
Employees benefit because they are not closely monitored.
What type of work is increasingly required in organizations due to digitalization?
Knowledge-intensive work.
What is tacit knowledge?
Knowledge that is difficult to teach to another person.
