EXAM 3

Question 1

Personality

Answer 1

The stable psychological traits and behavioral attributes that give a person his/her identity.

Affects how a person perceives and acts within an organization.

Question 2

Proactive Personality

Answer 2

Someone more apt to take initiative and influence the environment

Good at identifying and acting on opportunities

Question 3

Rules of using psychological tests for hiring:

Answer 3

Rely on professionals to do the tests.

Don’t base hirings exclusively on these tests.

Avoid gender, racial, and ethnic biases in tests.

Integrity tests are good.

Graphology tests are bad (looking at penmanship)

Question 4

5 important personality traits that influence workplace behavior

Answer 4

Locus of control

Self-efficacy

Self-esteem

Emotional stability

Emotional Intelligence

Question 5

Locus of control

Answer 5

How much you believe that you are in control of your own fate.

Internal locus of control (high degree of control) - more motivated, have less anxiety, earn more, need high initiative jobs, and reject managerial control

external locus of control (low degree of control) - need a lot of structure and merit/sales based pay

Question 6

Self-efficacy

Answer 6

A person’s belief in his/her ability to do a task

Low self-efficacy is linked to “learned helplessness” - the debilitating lack of faith in one’s ability to control their environment

How managers can build self-efficacy:

• Give autonomous jobs, not boring ones
• Goals should be challenging
• Provide guidance, mentors, etc.

Question 7

Self-esteem

Answer 7

The extent to which people like or dislike themselves.

High self-esteem people: focus on their strengths, are positive, take risks, and take failure well (can be egotistical and violent)

Low self-esteem people: focus on their weaknesses, are negative, are dependent on others

Question 8

Emotional stability

Answer 8

The ability to feel secure and confident when working under pressure

Low emotional stability: experience negative emotions under stress

High emotional stability: perform well under stress

Question 9

Emotional intelligence

Answer 9

The ability to cope, empathize with others, and be self-motivated

High emotional intelligence = psychological well-being, better academic achievement, positivity, and good relationships

Includes:
Self-awareness (reading your own emotions and your effect on others)
Self-management (controlling your emotions and acting with integrity)
Social awareness (understanding others and showing them you care)
Relationship management (ability to build bonds)

Question 10

Organizational behavior

Answer 10

Interdisciplinary field dedicated to the better understanding and management of people at work

Can be used to understand and predict employee behavior

Question 11

Values

Answer 11

Abstract ideals that guides one’s thinking and behavior across all situations

Solidifies during early teens, but a life-altering event can change them

People are willing to work hard and make sacrifices for their values

Common workplace values:

• recognition
• compensation
• status
• work-life balace

Question 12

Attitude

Answer 12

A learned predisposition toward a specific person or object

Can change significantly over time

3 components of attitudes

• Affective component: the feelings or emotions one has about a situation
• Cognitive component: the beliefs and knowledge one has about a situation
• Behavioral component: how one intends/expects to behave in a situation

(see example on page 4)

Question 13

Cognitive dissonance

Answer 13

The psychological discomfort a person experiences as a result of behavior incompatible with his/her cognitive attitude.

People will try to reduce the tension of the inconsistency.

How people handle it depends on 3 factors

• Importance: the more important the issue causing the dissonance, the more likely they will try to reduce it
• Control: the more control a person has over the factors creating the dissonance, the more they will try to reduce it
• Rewards: the more invested someone is in a cognitive attitude, the less likely that they will adopt a new cognitive attitude

To reduce cognitive dissonance, you must change your attitude, reduce your perception of the importance of the behavior, or emphasize consonant elements that outweigh the dissonant ones

Question 14

Common distortions in perceptions:

Answer 14

Stereotyping

The Halo Effect

The Recency Effect

Causal Attribution

Question 15

Stereotyping

Answer 15

The tendency to attribute to an individual the characteristics one believes are typical of the group to which that individual belongs

Sex-role stereotype: beliefs that men and women are better suited for different roles (usually effects promotions)

Age stereotype: beliefs that older workers are less involved, committed, motivated, productive and satisfied with their work (research contradicts this)
-Some people also believe there’s a higher rate of absenteeism in older people

Race/ethnicity stereotypes: beliefs that individuals of certain races or ethnicities are less suited to perform a job (minorities currently occupy a very low percentage of managerial jobs)

Question 16

Halo effect

Answer 16

When someone created their impression of someone based on a single trait

EX) attractive people are usually treated better and paid better

Question 17

Recency effect

Answer 17

The tendency to remember recent information more readily than earlier information

This strongly effects performance reviews, when managers often think only about an employee’s most recent performance

Question 18

Causal attribution

Answer 18

The activity of inferring causes for observed behaviors

EX) When a manager yells at an employee for being “lazy” when in reality they are just poorly trained

Types of attribution
-Fundamental attribution bias: when people attribute another person’s behavior to his/her personal characteristics rather than to situational factors

-Self-serving bias: when people tend to take more personal responsibility for success rather than for failure (ex: a student who says they did well on an exam for studying, but did poor on exam because the teacher was bad)

Question 19

Self-fulfilling prophesy (pygmalion effect)

Answer 19

When people’s expectations of themselves or others lead them to behave in ways that make those expectations come true.

EX) managers who expect their employees to perform well will have high performing employees

Question 20

Work-related attitudes:

these affect employee behavior

Answer 20

Employee engagement - an individual’s satisfaction, involvement, and enthusiasm for work (linked with job security, physical safety, and a culture of trust)

Job satisfaction - the extent to which you feel positive or negative about aspects of your job (driven by feelings about pay, supervision, promotion, and coworkers)

Organizational commitment - the extent to which an employee identifies with an organization and is committed to its goals (strong relationship between this and job satisfaction and job performance)

Question 21

Work-related behaviors:

Answer 21

Performance and productivity - methods for evaluating this will vary based on the type of job

Absenteeism and turnover - both are related to job dissatisfaction

Ways to reduce turnover:

• Hire employees who fit company values
• Onboarding: programs that familiarize employees with corporate culture, policies, procedures, and polititcs
• Increase employee engagement
• Use realistic job previews when hiring
• Offer benefits that employees need and value

Organizational citizenship - not directly part of employees’ job descriptions, but those that exceed work-role requirements

Counterproductive work behaviors -behaviors that harm employees and the organization as a whole (includes absenteeism, drug and alcohol abuse, and tardiness)

Question 22

Myths about diversity in the workplace

Answer 22

• Illegal immigrants affect the US economy
• White men don’t have an advantage
• Young workers earn more than they used to

Question 23

Diversity

Answer 23

Represents all the ways people are unlike and alike (embraces both differences AND similarities)

• age
• gender
• race
• religion
• ethnicity
• sexual orientation
• capabilities
• socioeconomic background

Question 24

Barriers to diversity

Answer 24

Stereotypes and prejudices

Fear of reverse discrimination

Resistance to diversity program priorities

Unsupportive social atmosphere

Lack of support for family demands

Lack of support for career-building steps (some managers won’t give minorities tasks and responsibilities that lead to advancement)

Question 25

Stress

Answer 25

The tension people feel when faces with extraordinary demands, constraints, or opportunities and are uncertain about how to handle them effectively

Question 26

Motivation

Answer 26

The psychological processes that arouse and direct goal-oriented behavior

Is very complex and stems from both personal and contextual factors such as:

• Ability
• Personality
• Core self-evaluations
• Needs
• Emotions
• Attitudes
• Work environment
• Group norms
• Organizational culture
• Rewards

Unfulfilled needs create a motivation to perform certain behaviors, which lead to rewards that will fulfill those needs. People use feedback to determine if the rewards made it worth it.

Question 27

Ways to encourage motivation:

Answer 27

Extrinsic rewards: the payoff someone receives from others for performing a task

Intrinsic rewards - the satisfaction a person receives from performing the particular task itself

Question 28

Why is motivation important:

Answer 28

It attracts prospective workers to join the organization

It keeps talented workers in the org.

It reduces absenteeism and tardiness

It produces higher quality work and customer service

It encourages people to go above and beyond

Question 29

4 principle perspective on motivation

Answer 29

Content perspective

Process perspective

Job Design perspective

Reinforcement perspective

Question 30

Content perspectives on motivation

Answer 30

Are theories that emphasize the needs that motivate people.

Needs are the physiological or psychological deficiencies that drive behavior.

Includes:

• Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory
• McClelland’s Acquired Needs Theory
• Deci and Ryan’s Self-Determination Theory
• Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory

Question 31

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory

Answer 31

Proposes that people are motivated by 5 levels of needs: physiological (food, water, clothing, shelter)
safety (physical and emotional)
belongingness (love, friendship, affection)
esteem (reputation, self respect, recognition)
self-actualization (being the best you can be)

People try to meet lower level needs before higher ones

Question 32

McClelland’s Acquired Needs Theory

Answer 32

States that 3 needs - achievement, affiliation, and power - are major motives that determine people’s behavior

These are learned from one’s culture (not born with them)

The need for power:

• Is the desire to influence/control others
• Personal power is negative and manipulative
• Institutional power is positive and furthers organizational goals
• People with this need enjoy being in charge of people and events and are effective managers

The need for achievement:

• Is the desire to excel, solve problems, and achieve excellence
• People with this need don’t mind working alone, take moderate risk, need hard but achievable goals, and feel rewarded by the achievement of a task
• They also work best in technical fields that require skill and creativity

The need for affiliation:

• Is the desire for warm, friendly relations with others
• People with this need are not good managers but do well in sales (jobs that require building relationships)

Question 33

Deci and Ryan’s Self-Determination Theory

Answer 33

States that people are motivated by 3 intrinsic needs:

Autonomy - people who want to be able to choose what they do and how they do it (should delegate tasks to these people)

Competence - people who are driven by a need to feel capable and qualified to successfully achieve a goal (managers should give their employees the tools and praise needed to be successful)

Relatedness - people who are driven by a need to feel as though they belong (managers should create warm environments)

This theory focuses on intrinsic motivation, which is proven to have longer term effects than extrinsic motivation

Question 34

Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory

Answer 34

Proposes that work satisfaction and dissatisfaction arise from two different factors - hygiene factors and motivating factors.

Hygiene factors: are lower-level needs such as salary, working conditions, interpersonal relationships, and company policy

Motivating factors: are higher-level needs such as achievement, recognition, responsibility, and advancement

This theory suggests that employees must improve hygiene factors before working on motivating factors.

Question 35

Process perspectives on motivation

Answer 35

These theories are concerned with the thought processes people use to decide how to act.

Include:

• Equity Theory
• Expectancy Theory
• Goal-Setting Theory (don’t need to know)

Question 36

Equity Theory

Answer 36

Focuses on employee perceptions as to how fairly they think they are being treated compared to others.

When people perceive unfairness in the workplace, they act on it to restore equity (this is a big reason why employees steal money)

This is when people compare their inputs/outputs ratio to another person’s inputs/outputs ratio

What people do when they sense inequity:

• Reduce inputs: take longer breaks, call in sick, etc.
• Attempt to change outputs: ask boss for a raise
• Distort the inequity: exaggerate how much they work
• Change their comparison to others by comparing themselves to someone else
• Leave the situation: quit or move to a new department

Ways managers should handle it:

• Deal with these perceptions because it effects employee behavior (perceptions matter, reality doesn’t)
• Allow employees to participate in decision making
• Allow employees to have an appeal process

Question 37

Expectancy Theory

Answer 37

Suggests that people are motivated by how much they want something and how likely they are to get it.

Motivation is based on effort, performance and outcomes, which are all affected by:

• Expectancy (effort-to-performance) - the belief that a certain level of effort will lead to a certain level of performance
• Instrumentality (performance-to-reward) - the belief that successful performance will lead to a desired outcome
• Valence (value) - is the importance a worker assigns to a possible outcome or reward

Someone who is highly motivated has a high degree of expectancy, valence, and instrumentality

• Managers must clearly indicate what performance level is expected
• Managers must link rewards to achievement
• Managers should find out what rewards employees value the most
• Employees should believe that managers are going to deliver rewards

Question 38

Job design perspectives on motivation

Answer 38

Job design is the distribution of an organization’s work among its employees and the application of motivational theories to jobs to increase satisfaction and performance.

Originally, employers fit people to simple jobs. This led to job dissatisfaction and low motivation.

Now, employees look to fit jobs to people through:

• Job enlargement (horizontal loading) - increasing the number of tasks in a job to increase variety and motivation
• Job enrichment (vertical loading) - building responsibility, achievement, recognition, stimulating work, etc. into a job

Includes the Job Characteristics Model

Question 39

Job Characteristics Model

Answer 39

Consists of 5 core job characteristics that affect 3 critical psychological states of an employee (meaningfulness of work, responsibility for results, and knowledge of results).

These characteristics affect employe motivation, performance, and satisfaction

5 core job characteristics

• Skill variety
• Task identity: the extent to which a worker performs all of the tasks required for a job, from beginning to end
• Task significance: the extent to which the job has an effect on other people
• Autonomy: the extent to which an employee can make his or her own choices about scheduling and performance tasks
• Feedback

Not all employees respond to these in the same way.

When applying to Job Characteristics Model, managers must carry out a survey to determine where motivation currently is, then make changes.

Question 40

Reinforcement Perspective on Motivation

Answer 40

Attempts to explain behavioral change by suggesting that behavior with positive consequences tends to be repeated, whereas behavior with negative consequences tends to not be repeated.

Is based on 2 theories:

Edward L. Thorndike, Law of Effect: states that individuals tend to repeat behaviors with pleasant outcomes and tend to not repeat behaviors with unpleasant outcomes

B.F. Skinner, Operant Conditioning: the manipulation of behavior by controlling consequences

4 kinds of reinforcement

• Positive reinforcement: use of positive consequences to encourage desirable behavior
• Negative reinforcement: the removal of unpleasant consequences following a desired behavior
• Extinction: withholding or withdrawal of positive rewards for behavior so the behavior is less likely to occur in the future
• Punishment: the application of negative consequences to stop or change undesirable behavior (threats)

Question 41

Using reinforcement in motivation:

Answer 41

• Only reward employees for desired behavior, not expected behavior
• Reward employees soon after the desired behavior
• Clearly communicate your expectations
• Use different rewards for different people
• Only punish employees for undesirable behavior
• Issue punishment soon after the undesired behavior
• Punish in private
• Mix punishments with positive reinforcement

Question 42

Leadership

Answer 42

The ability to influence employees to voluntarily pursue organizational goals

Question 43

Managerial Leadership

Answer 43

A combination of management and leadership, which exists when a person influences others about what needs to be done and how to do it in the workplace.

Being a manager is different from being a leader, but both are complimentary and necessary.

Management helps organizations cope with complexity while leadership helps organizations cope with change.

Management: doing things right
Leadership: doing the right thing

Question 44

Management vs. Leadership

Answer 44

Management deals with complexity:

• Managers use planning and budgeting to determine what needs to be done
• Managers use controlling and problem solving to monitor results and make adjustments
• Managers use organizing and staffing to arrange people so they can accomplish an agenda

Leadership deals with change:

• Leaders set a direction toward change and determine what needs to be done
• Leaders align people with the organization’s goals so they can accomplish an agenda
• Leaders motivate and inspire others in order to achieve their vision

Most of the principles of management can be taught but leadership requires innate vision

Question 45

Authority

Answer 45

The right to command or perform

Question 46

Power

Answer 46

Refers to one’s ability to influence other

Question 47

2 types of power

Answer 47

Personalized power:
-power directed at helping oneself (is self serving)

Socialized power:
-power directed at helping others (selfless and useful)

Question 48

5 sources of power within organization

Answer 48

Legitimate power:
-power that results from managers’ formal positions

Reward power:
-power that results from managers’ authority to reward their subordinates through recognition, promotions, etc.

Coercive power:
-power that results from managers’ authority to punish their subordinates through termination, demotion, etc. (must use carefully if you don’t want your employees to hate you)

Expert power:
-power resulting from one’s specialized information or expertise, which can be highly technical or mundane

Referent power:

• power derived from one’s personal attraction
• usually linked more closely with leaders, not managers

ALL managers have legitimate, reward, and coercive power

Question 49

Influence

Answer 49

The ability to get others to do what you want them to do

Question 50

9 tactics for influencing others:

Answer 50

Rational persuasion: soft
-use logic, reason, or facts to persuade

Inspirational appeals: soft
-appeal to emotions, values, or ideas

Consultation: soft
-involve others in a decision or change

Ingratiating tactics: soft
-make someone feel good or important by acting humble and making them like you before asking for something

Personal appeals: soft
-making a request based on friendship or loyalty

Exchange tactics: hard
-offering to trade favors or reminding someone of past favors

Coalition tactics: hard
-gathering support for your persuasion effort

Pressure tactics: hard
-forcing compliance through demands, threats, and intimidation

Legitimating tactics: hard
-basing a request on authority or organizational policies

ALL tactics are “generic tactics” because they can be used with people both above and below you

People respond best to inspiration, rational persuasion, and consultation.

Question 51

Leadership approaches

Answer 51

Trait Approaches

Behavioral Approaches

Contingency Approaches

Full-Range Approach

Question 52

Trait approaches to leadership

Answer 52

Attempt to identify distinctive characteristics that account for the effectiveness of leaders.

Some trait theorists say managers can acquire leadership traits through learning and experience.

Mangers should prioritize personality over intelligence and perform personality tests during hiring.

Female leaders get higher ratings than male leaders.

Women excel at collaboration and teamwork, are motivated by genuine concern for the org., and exhibit humility.

Possible reasons why women have less top positions:

• Women have been in the talent pool less time
• Women aren’t willing to make the sacrifices necessary
• Women are modest and don’t take credit for success
• Women have fewer mentors
• Women usually start out lower than men

5 key traits of leaders:

• Dominance
• Self-confidence
• High energy
• Task-relevant knowledge
• Intelligence

Other traits of effective leaders:

• Intelligence
• Openness to experience
• Emotional stability
• Conscientiousness
• Agreeableness
• Extraversion
• Communication skills

Dark traits of leaders:

• Narcissism (self-centered and need to be in control)
• Machiavellianism (using unethical methods of manipulation - believe in ‘the ends justify the means’)
• Psychopathy (impulsive and erratic behavior)

Question 53

Behavioral approaches to leadership

Answer 53

Attempt to determine the distinctive styles used by effective leaders. (focuses on what leaders actually do)

Task Oriented Leadership Behavior:

-aims to use resources to efficiently achieve goals
2 types:
-Initiating-structure leadership: when managers define how employees should do their jobs to be as efficient as possible
-Transactional leadership: when a manager defines how an employee should do their job AND sets up performance-based punishments and rewards
Both types involve setting goals for employees and monitoring their performance

Relationship Oriented Leadership Behavior:

-is focused on creating positive relationships between leaders, employees, and coworkers
-the goal is to elevate employees’ skills by giving them advice and empowering them with challenges
3 types:
-Consideration Leadership: the concerns of the employees become the concerns of the leader (promotes worker loyalty and a sense of trust)
-Empowering Leadership: focuses on enhancing the sense of employees’ psychological empowerment
-Lead for meaningfulness
-Lead for self-determination (give employees useful
tasks that are challenging)
-Lead for competence (give proper mentoring,
training, etc. so they’re not overwhelmed)
-Lead for progress (monitor employees)
-Participative management: involving employees in
decision making, problem solving, etc.
-Servant Leadership: focused on ensuring that the organization and employees are successful before focusing on personal success (empathic, self-aware, conceptual-thinker, committed to growth and community, uses persuasion instead of authority)

Passive Leadership Behavior:

-is a lack of leadership
Types:
-Management by Exception: intervening only when a problem gets very bad
-Laissez-Faire Leadership: failure of a manager to take the responsibility of leading

Question 54

Contingency approaches to leadership

Answer 54

States that leadership behavior depends on the situation at hand and leaders must change their style to fit different situations

Fiedler’s Contingency Model:

-Determines if a leader’s style is task-oriented or relationship-oriented and if that style is effective for the situation at hand
-You can determine which orientation you have by:
1) Taking a Least-Preferred Coworker questionnaire (asks you to identify the coworker you like the least and rate them on 16 characteristics - a high score indicates a relationship oriented person)
2) Determining your situational control - control over the immediate work environment (has 3 dimensions)
-Leader-member relations: the degree to which the
group supports and trusts the leader
-Task structure: the degree to which tasks are
unambiguous, routine, and easily understand
(leaders have more influence in structured jobs)
-Position power: the degree to which the leader has
power to reward, punish, and make assignments
leaders can have high, moderate, or low control

-Task-oriented style is best in high OR low control situations
EX) supervising workers performing routine tasks
EX) leading a group of local volunteers
-Relationship-oriented style is best in moderate-control situations

House’s Path-Goal Model:

• Says that effective leaders make desirable awards available to followers in the workplace and increase their motivation by clarifying the paths that will help them achieve those goals
• 8 Leadership Styles:
  1) Path-goal clarifying (as stated above)
  2) Achievement oriented (leader sets challenging goals and shows that they believe in the employees)
  3) Work facilitation (leader coordinates work and provides the resources, skills, and authority to accomplish it)
  4) Supportive (leader is friendly and shows concern for well-being of others)
  5) Interaction facilitation (leader focuses on teamwork, communication, and sharing unpopular opinions)
  6) Group-oriented decision making (leader facilitates group decision making and allows groups to solve their own problems)
  7) Representation and networking (the leader networks with other influential people in the organization and positively talks about the group)
  8) Value-based (leader confidently gives employees high performance goals and positive feedback)

Each of these styles is influenced by:

• Employee characteristics (locus of control, task ability, need for achievement, experience, need for path-goal clarity)
• Environmental factors (task structure and work group dynamics)

Shared leadership: the fact that all employees, not just supervisors and managers, demonstrate leadership

Conclusions made by House’s Research:

• Effective leaders must be able to use multiple leadership styles
• The best leaders clarify goals and clear a path towards attaining them
• Managers should modify their leadership styles based on employee characteristics and environmental factors

Question 55

Transformational Leadership

Answer 55

Bass and Avolio’s model - Full Range Leadership:

• Suggests that leadership behavior varies along a full range of leadership styles
• Low end of the spectrum: laissez-faire
• Middle of the spectrum: transactional leadership*
• High end of the spectrum: transformational leadership

Transformational leadership: inspires employees to purse organizational goals over self-interests
-tries to get employees to have higher-than-average motivation, commitment, trust, and loyalty
-the leaders are extroverted, proactive, passionate, and agreeable
-this style fits best in flexible organizational cultures
EX) Steve Jobs and Indra Nooyi (Pepsi)

Key behaviors of these leaders:

• Inspirational motivation (provide followers with a vision and use their charisma - interpersonal attraction)
• Idealized influence (are ethical, committed, and make sacrifices)
• Individualized consideration (encourage personal growth in their employees by mentoring, challenging, and empowering them)
• Intellectual stimulation (make their followers view problems as a challenge that requires a creative solution)
• These leaders are highly effective and their employees often love them and follow them.
• These leaders MUST be ethical
• Employees can be trained to be this type of leader

Question 56

Communication

Answer 56

The transfer of information and understanding from one person to another

Poor communicates wastes 14% of every 40-hour work week

81% of managers’ time is spent communicating

Question 57

Efficient vs. Effective communicators

Answer 57

Efficient communicators: Transmit the intended message accurately in the least amount of time

Effective communicators: Are ultimately successful in conveying the intended message

Question 58

The communication process

Answer 58

Sender: shares the info
Message: the info that is being shared
Receiver: the person for whom the message is intended
Encoding: translating the message into understandable symbols or languages
Decoding: interpreting and trying to make sense of the message
Medium: the pathway by which the message travels
Feedback: the process by which the receiver expresses his/her reaction to the message
Noise: disturbance that interferes with transmission of the message

Question 59

Types of noise

Answer 59

Noise in the medium: if the person slurs his words or the environment is very loud

Noise in nonverbal communication: body language can distort the message

Noise in cross-cultural communication: cultural assumptions of different understandings can result in distortion

Question 60

Media richness

Answer 60

Indicates how well a particular medium conveys information and promotes learning

Most to least rich (lean media):
Face-to-face
Video conferencing
Telephone conversation
Personal written media (letters, email)
Impersonal written media (newsletter, general report)

Routine information should be given using lean media whereas important and non-routine information should be given using rich media.

Question 61

Formal communication channels

Answer 61

Include memos, reports, announcements, and letters that are routed through formal chains:

Vertical communication - flows up and down the hierarchy

• Downward communication (from top to bottom level): is done via email, meetings, memos, etc.
• Upward communication (from bottom to top level): relies on trust
• The more levels a message passes through, the more likely it is to be distorted

Horizontal communication - flows within and between work units

• It’s main purpose is coordination
• Can be supported through task forces, committees, matrix structures, etc.
• Work specialization, rivalry, and lack of managerial encouragement will hinder this type of communication

External communication - flows between people inside and outside the organization

Question 62

Informal communication channels

Answer 62

Develop outside the formal structure and don’t follow the chain of command

2 Types:
The Grapevine - unofficial communication system
-Workplace gossip and rumors
-Is surprisingly accurate source of info (75% is accurate)
-Employees get most of their work-related info from here

Management by wandering around (MBWA) - used to describe a manager literally wandering around his/her organization and talking with people across all lines of authority

Ways to streamline a meeting:

• Meeting participants should ensure that discussions remain on topic and create an organized agenda
• Meeting leaders should only call a meeting if necessary, only invite people who are needed, and make an agenda and follow-up dates

Question 63

Multicommunicating

Answer 63

The use of technology to participate in several interactions at the same time.

EX) texting someone while also talking to someone

Using technology to communicate doesn’t necessarily mean that the communication is more efficient.

Question 64

The “Always On” generation & “iGeneration”

Answer 64

This is the generation of young adults that spend around 8 hours a day looking at screens on cellphones, TVs and computers

Norms of this generation:

• Freedom (desire to experience new things and have flexibility)
• Customization (the desire to have personalized products and choice)
• Scrutiny (not taking facts and figure authorities at value)
• Integrity (a desire for transparency, honesty, and for people to stick to commitments)
• Collaboration (relationships and work/play balance are key)
• Entertainment (keep things moving and interesting)
• Speed (instant feedback is expected)
• Innovation (impatience for new and different user experiences. the traditional workplace hierarchy is rejected)

Question 65

Forms of digital communication

Answer 65

Video-conferencing (teleconferencing):

• can reduce travel expenses for an org.
• use of “telepresence technology” is common - this is very advanced technology that simulates face-to-face meetings

Telecommuting:

• the use of information technology to do work at home and send it to the office
• reduces capital costs, increases worker flexibility and job satisfaction, attracts more employees, allows access to disabled workers or inmates

Teleworking:
-is a more all-encompassing term for telecommuting because a lot of work is done from coffee shops, airports, etc. (not just homes)

Question 66

Downsides of the digital age

Answer 66

Security: a system of safeguards for protecting information technology from disaster, failure, and unauthorized access
-Protect your stuff by using good passwords, keeping data on personal hard drives, avoid file sharing, apply security updates, don’t reveal sensitive info

Privacy: the right of people to not reveal info about themselves

• Identity theft is common
• Many people post too much personal info online

E-mail:

• Hundreds are sent a day and they can become a distraction at work
• Can lead to poor forms of other communication and less feelings of cohesion
• All emails should be treated as confidential and should be concise/formal

Question 67

Controlling

Answer 67

Refers to monitoring performance, comparing performance with goals, and taking corrective action as needed. It is used to make sure everything happens as planned.

Reasons why control is important:

• Dealing with uncertainty and it helps managers foresee, monitor, and react to change
• Finding errors and irregularities in order to ward off long-term failures
• Increasing productivity, adding value, and reducing costs. Can be used to improve quality of products.
• Finding opportunities
• Dealing with complexity. Helps organize complex elements of orgs.
• Facilitating teamwork and decentralizing decision making. Allow lower-level to make monitored decisions

Question 68

4 steps in the control process:

Answer 68

1) establish control standards (performance standards)
- is the desired performance level for a given goal
- can be narrow or broad
- can be financial measures or non-financial measures
- can use the balanced scorecard

2) measure performance
- includes written reports, oral reports, and personal observations

3) compare performance to standards
- there’s usually and acceptable range of performance
- management be exception: is a control principle that says that managers should act on a situation only if data shows a significant deviation from standards

4) take corrective action, if necessary
- can take corrective action or change your set standards

Question 69

3 levels of control

Answer 69

Strategic control:

• monitoring performance to ensure that the strategic plans are being implemented, and then taking corrective action as needed
• usually done by top management who look at periodic reports

Tactical control:

• monitoring performance to ensure that tactical plans (at the divisional/departmental level) are being implemented and taking corrective action as needed
• done by middle managers

Operational control:

• monitoring performance to ensure that operational plans (day-to-day plans) are being implemented and taking corrective action as needed
• done by first level managers

Question 70

6 areas of control

Answer 70

Physical area

• monitors equipment, tangible products, and buildings
• ex) inventory management and product-quality control

Human resources area
-ex) drug testing, performance tests, and employee surveys

Informational area
-ex) sales forecasts, public relations briefings, and production schedules

Financial area
-ex) accounts payable, cash-on-hand, budgets

Structural area
-refers to the structural or hierarchical arrangement of the organization
2 approaches:
-Bureaucratic control - the use of rules, regulations, and formal authority to guide performance (encourages employee compliance)
-Decentralized control - characterized by informal and organic structural arrangements such as organizational culture and group norms (encourages employee commitment)

Cultural area
-includes the organization’s values and beliefs, which affect employee evaluation

Question 71

Dashboard

Answer 71

Easy-to-read display with up-to-date information on important organizational information such as sales and orders

Question 72

Balanced Scorecard

Answer 72

Gives top managers a fast but comprehensive view of the organization via 4 indicators:

• customer satisfaction
• internal processes
• innovation and improvement activities
• financial measures

Financial perspective:

• While it is important to look at financial measures, they will not lead to improvements on product quality, worker motivation, or customer satisfaction
• Improvements in this area are only useful if they result in long-term financial improvements

Customer perspective:

• Includes any factor that would improve customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction
• EX) number of defects, price levels, quality, time to respond to service calls

Internal business perspective:

• Measures of employee skills, productivity, and quality are used to analyze the effectiveness of internal processes
• EX) time between order placement and order fulfillment

Innovation perspective:

• Employees can only be innovative if given the resources and freedom to do their jobs and make suggestions
• Can be measured with employee surveys and training data

Question 73

Strategy Map

Answer 73

Is a visual representation of the four perspectives of the balanced scorecard that enables managers to communicate their goals so that each person in the company can understand how his or her job is linked to the overall objectives of the organization.

Link specific improvements to desired outcomes.

Question 74

Measurement Management

Answer 74

The idea that organizations with easily identifiable and measurable criteria are more likely to be industry leaders.

Reasons why this works:

• Top executives tend to agree more on strategies and goals if there are measurable objectives
• It is easier to communicate about measurable performance indicators
• There’s a greater amount of focus between divisional and departmental units
• Management tends to show more teamwork and take more risks

Barriers to effective measurement:

• It is hard to measure “soft” objectives, such as customer satisfaction
• Informal feedback, such as customer complaints, are not a reliable measure
• Employees may be resistant to adopt new forms of measurement
• Managers may spend too much time measuring and not enough trying to accomplish goals

Question 75

Tools used for financial control

Answer 75

Budget
-a formal financial projection
-form the basis against which performance is measured
-zero-based budgeting: forces every department to start at 0 when projecting its budget for the coming year
-incremental budgeting: uses the last budget as a reference point to create a new budget when need be
(this often encourages managers to avoid going to the source of the problem/need for a change)
-cash flow budget: predicts cash flows
-sales/revenue budget: predicts future sales
-expense budget: predicts costs
-financial budget: predicts cash sources and spending
-operating budget: predicts organizational output, financial requirements, and anticipated income
-non-monetary budget: predicts non-monetary needs (labor)

Fixed Budget

• allocates resources on the basis of a single estimate of costs
• does not allow for changes to the budget

Variable Budget

• allows the allocation of resources to vary in proportion with levels of activity
• allow for variation and adjustment over time

Audit:
-formal verifications of an organization’s financial and operational systems

External Audit:
-when an outside expert puts together the formal verifications

Internal Audit:
-when an organization’s staff member puts together the formal verifications

Question 76

Keys to successful control

Answer 76

Control systems must be:

• strategic and results-oriented
• timely, accurate, and objective (should provide feedback on the right things at the right time)
• realistic, positive, and understandable (employees who operate under them should feel encouraged and trustful)
• flexible

Managers should develop control standards while also creating strategic plans, because control systems support strategic plans.

Question 77

Barriers to control being successful

Answer 77

• too much control can lead to counterproductive frustration
• if employees are not involved in setting up the control system, they won’t want to abide
• it’s easy to forget the reason why you have the control system and become obsessed with checking controls
• overemphasizing paperwork (such as control reports) will waste time and resources
• overemphasizing a single approach to control (using multiple control activities increased objectivity and accuracy)

Question 78

Productivity

Answer 78

Is a measure of outputs divided by inputs over a period of time.

P = (outputs / inputs) 
P = (goods + services / labor + capital + materials)

Productivity is the primary driver of long-term profitability and the nation’s standard of living.

Information was the primary driver of increases in productivity during the early 2000’s

Enterprise resource planning systems: information systems for integrating virtually all aspects of business

Question 79

Ethnocentric manager

Answer 79

Managers who believe the practices and beliefs in their home country are superior to those of other countries.

Believe that people in other countries don’t have the proper skills, knowledge, or capabilities to carry out business well

Question 80

Polycentric manager

Answer 80

The view that managers in the host country know the best work approaches and practices for running their business.

View every foreign operation as different and hard to understand. Thus, these managers are likely to leave their foreign facilities alone and let foreign employees figure out how best to do things.

Question 81

Geocentric manager

Answer 81

This is a world-oriented view that focuses on using the best approaches and people from around the globe.

Managers with this type of attitude believe that it’s important to have a global view both at the organization’s headquarters in the home country and in the various foreign work facilities.

Major issues and decisions are viewed globally by looking for the best approaches and people regardless of origin.

Question 82

Hofstede and the Globe Model

Answer 82

GLOBE: The Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness

This study examined thousands of employees and managers across the globe to identify key values from which they developed dimensions used to define the culture of organizations and nations. It focuses on the importance of values and beliefs as a driving factor behind the cultural norms of a group. Suggests that it is important for organizations to understand the impact culture has on employee and manager interactions.

Value is the cornerstone to culture.