Chapter 3 Key Concepts

Question 1

human relations approach

Answer 1

view of organizations that emphasizes the importance of human needs in the workplace

Question 2

Hawthorne studies

Answer 2

research that attempted to discover aspects of the task environment that would maximize worker output and hence improve organizational efficiency, but which lead to explanations that revolved around the social and emotional needs of workers

Question 3

Hawthorne effect

Answer 3

the phenomenon whereby mere attention to individuals causes changes in behavior

Question 4

Hierarchy of needs

Answer 4

Abraham Maslow’s idea that humans are motivated by a number of basic needs, including physiological, safety, affiliation, esteem, and self-actualization needs

Question 5

hierarchy of prepotency

Answer 5

lower-level needs have to be satisfied before an individual can move on to higher-level needs

Question 6

family metaphor

Answer 6

a comparison used to describe a human relations approach that emphasized that people thrive when needs are fulfilled and opportunities are provided for self-actualization

Question 7

Theory X

Answer 7

assumptions of a manager who is influenced by the most negative aspects of classical management theories; he thinks everyone is lazy

Question 8

Theory Y

Answer 8

assumptions of a manager who adheres to the precepts of the human relations movement

Question 9

human resources approach

Answer 9

view of organizations that acknowledges contributions of classical and human relations approaches to organizing an approach that concentrates on the contributions of all employees in reaching organizational goals

Question 10

managerial/leadership grid

Answer 10

Robert Blake and Jane Mouton’s tool for training managers in leadership styles that would enhance organizational efficiency and effectiveness and stimulate the satisfaction and creativity of individual workers

Question 11

Rensis Likert

Answer 11

founder and longtime director of the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan

Question 12

learning organizations

Answer 12

workplaces that emphasize mental flexibility, team learning, a shared vision, complex thinking, and personal mastery

Question 13

knowledge management

Answer 13

identifying and harnessing intellectual assets to allow organizations to build on past experiences and create new mechanisms for exchanging and creating knowledge

Question 14

team management

Answer 14

structuring an organization in ways that maximize the contribution of employees, both individually and collectively

Question 15

employee involvement

Answer 15

participative processes in the workplace designed to enhance employee commitment and organizational productivity