Lesson 2 - Managers and organizations

Question 1

What is organizational behaviour?

Answer 1

the study of what people think/feel and the effect that has on the organization

Question 2

Why is it important to know the results and data?

Answer 2

Understanding results and data allows management to increase workplace effectiveness and overall business goals (like more profits or customer satisfaction)

Question 3

What is the 3 systems of organization behaviour?

Answer 3

1. The individual
2. The group
3. how both individual and group act to accomplish goals

Question 4

What is management? What does it have to do with people centered practices? What makes O.B successful?

Answer 4

• Process of working with and through others to make sure things are effective, efficiently and ethically
• Research suggests that people-centered practices have higher profits and lower employee turnover
• O.B is successful only when it is accepted by all staff

Question 5

Why study O.B?

Answer 5

• Allows one to identify and analyze main behaviours that go on at work -> this allows greater understanding for employees
• also to help others develop some sort of feeling to be sensitive around organizational structure, corporate strategy, business culture, standard practices and leadership (ex. if working in company and only one who care, it means you aren’t going to be motivated to work, if everyone is on board, things will be better → if everyone does well, it pushes people to do well also)
  a) this would allow better understanding and cause better job performance
• lastly provide good examples of good business practices to follow legally
  a) to show that a people-centered business does not have to be sacrificed to make higher profits

Question 6

What is a manager?

Answer 6

• Person responsible for the work of others → overseeing work
• combine human resources and material resources (raw material or information) to produce goods and services
• they must find ways to get the best performances without doing a lot of work

Question 7

What is an organization?

Answer 7

collection of people working together to achieve a common purpose

Question 8

What is the purpose of organizations?

Answer 8

provide useful goods/services that return values to society and satisfy needs and wants

Question 9

What is synergy?

Answer 9

the creation of a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts (bringing people together → like cleaning up at the end of the day as everyone needs to do it) or everyone has a special talent, faced with a task but if each didn’t have these talents the task wouldn’t be done as well

Ex.
- Stuck in a bind, employees came together to gather their skills and made something happened
-this occurs when a team brings together all of its individual talents and efforts to create extraordinary things that would otherwise not be achieved

Question 10

what are the 3 characteristics of organizations?

Answer 10

1. purpose: to create a good (something you get, like a drink or binder) or service (cleaning, car detailing, something you are not physically getting)
2. division of labor: different tasks assigned to different people
3. hierarchy of authorities: level by level management structure of increasing responsibility (higher you go, the more responsibility you have)

Question 11

How do organizations measure organizational performance?

Answer 11

1. Productivity
   - Quantity of work done in relation to resources used productivity = output/input (how much you are putting out or putting in)
2. Performance effectiveness
   - Measures how well output goals are met
   - Ex. meeting production targets each day in the morning to see what can be done to improve (have a goal for the day)
3. Performance efficiency
   - Measures costs associated with outputs (how to get the best grade with doing the least amount of work)

Question 12

How do you know if organization is doing well performance wise?

Answer 12

Organizations perform well when resources are used efficiently and customers are served well → enjoying the service

Question 13

What is synergy?

Answer 13

is the creation of a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts (bringing people together → like cleaning up at the end of the day as everyone needs to do it) or everyone has a special talent, faced with a task but if each didn’t have these talents the task wouldn’t be done as well

• Stuck in a bind, employees came together to gather their skills and made something happened
• This occurs when a team brings together all of its individual talents and efforts to create extraordinary things that would otherwise not be achieved

Question 14

How is performance measured?

Answer 14

1. productivity
2. performance effectiveness
3. performance efficiency

Question 15

How do effective managers use their resources?

Answer 15

1. Achieve high performance outcomes and also help others to do so as well
2. Help others experience satisfaction in their work

Question 16

Why must managers be accountable?

Answer 16

• Managers can be supervisors and subordinates at the same time
• have accountability for work unit performance while depending on the accomplishments of subordinates
• Accountability is requirement of one person to answer or show performance results to one’s immediate supervisor

Question 17

What does upper management do?

Answer 17

1. Establishes organizational objectives
2. Guides performance of the organization as a whole or one major part of the organization
3. Monitors external environment and trends

Question 18

What do middle management do?

Answer 18

• Interpret direction from above
• Oversees work of large departments or divisions
• Guide lower management

Question 19

What do lower management do?

Answer 19

• Manages operating employees
• In charge of small work group comprised of non-managerial workers

Question 20

What is QWL?

Answer 20

indicator of quality of human experiences in workplace - like fair pay, safe working conditions, opportunities to learn and use new skills, and room to grow and progress in different careers

Question 21

What are technical skills needed for managers?

Answer 21

• Specialized skills like engineering, accounting, marketing, information technology
• Most important in lower management
• Ability to use skills necessary to understand tasks (have some sort of knowledge)
• Ex. a software manager → need to know software to really understand

Question 22

Why are human skills needed in a manager?

Answer 22

• Ability to interact with people
• Important in all management levels
• Build positive relationships
• Emotional intelligence: ability to manage ourselves and understand or empathize with the feelings of others

Question 23

What is conceptual skills?

Answer 23

• Ability to think critically and analytically →solve complex situations
• Overall see the bigger picture and anticipate things (if we do this today, tomorrow this will occur)
• Understand overall workings of the organization and its environment, how parts fit together
• Most important in upper management

Question 24

What is diagnostic skills?

Answer 24

An ability to visualize the most appropriate response to a situation: define the problem, recognize possible causes, and solve the problem

Question 25

What are the four functions of management?

Answer 25

1. planning
   - to set goals and decide how to accomplish them
2. organizing
   - arranging tasks, resources and work of indi. and groups to meet goals
3. leading
   - inspire and influence others to work
4. controlling
   - measure results, comparing results to goals and take actions