People Management Flashcards
Cutting temporary staff is not an alternative to employment downsizing for temporary downturns.
False
Firms that downsize during temporary financial downturns perform better in the long-term than firms that do not downsize.
False
Freezing salaries is not an alternative to employment downsizing for temporary downturns.
False
Self-managed teams and decentralisation is an essential component of high performance work systems.
True
Both downsizing and restructuring are disruptive.
True
Managers who consider employees as assets to be developed tend to downsize during temporary financial downturns.
False
Managers with an ‘expense’ mental model consider employees as costs to be cut.
True
Managers who consider employees as costs to be cut are responsible restructurers.
False
Both downsizing and restructuring are disruptive.
True
Employment security is an essential component of high performance work systems.
True
A performance measurement system is an example of an alignment mechanism.
True
A permanent cross-unit group is a linking mechanism.
True
A change in organisation design often requires a change in the way careers are designed.
True
Organisational design involves strategic groupings, as well as linking and alignment mechanisms.
True
An informal network is not considered to be an alignment mechanism
False
Alignment in supporting systems and processes can pull people in different directions.
False
There are six (6) basic strategic groupings in organisational design.
False
Which of the following is NOT a basic strategic grouping structure:
Modular organisation structure.
Pooled interdependence is the most difficult to manage.
False
Managers who view employees as costs are inclined to see in employees the potential to grow their businesses.
False
A permanent cross-unit group is a linking mechanism.
True
An informal network is not considered to be an alignment mechanism.
False
The strategic planning process is an alignment mechanism
False
A manager who views employees as assets to be developed is inclined to see the workforce as a source of innovation and renewal.
True
Obstacles to change can be, for example, people, organisation structure or systems.
True
Which of the following is not on Kotter’s list of steps that should be undertaken to transform an organisation?
Avoid creating panic
Kotter identified eight specific steps to transform an organisation.
True
The organisational change process usually goes through a series of steps
True
Dysfunctional organisational cultures are often the reason for large-scale change efforts.
True
Transformational organisational change can usually be accomplished in a short period of time.
False
The fewer people involved in the organisation change effort, the better the outcome.
False
A pitfall of change is relegating team leadership to a function manager rather than to a senior line manager.
A pitfall of change is relegating team leadership to a function manager rather than to a senior line manager.
The only time employees resist change is when they feel personally threatened by the change.
False
The organisational change process usually goes through a series of steps
True
During an organisational change initiative, managers should discourage risk taking.
False
Which of the following is not on Kotter’s list of steps that should be undertaken to transform an organisation?
Consolidate improvements and still produce more change
Create a vision
Anchor changes in the organisation’s culture
Avoid creating panic
Form a powerful coalition
Avoid creating panic
Top management commitment to a change initiative is only required in the initial stages of the initiative.
False
Transformational change efforts are usually introduced rapidly.
False
Virtual teams are less likely than face-to-face teams to share unique information.
False
Team conflict can be avoided by engaging in conversations on team member expectations and preferences up front
True
Team diversity likely hinders team performance.
False
Debriefs after each performance episode are useful to review positive and negative aspects of coordination efficiency.
True
There are six (6) core processes and emergent states, and three (3) influencing conditions important to team functioning.
True
We hold perceptions of others based on our culture, beliefs and experiences.
True
Team culture and climate can influence team performance.
True
Teams are a distinguishable set of two or more people who interact, dynamically, interdependently, and adaptively, toward a common and valued goal / objective / mission.
True
Which of the following is not a critical consideration for teamwork and collaboration?
Equanimity
Teams that utilise routines and distribute responsibilities have been found to be more effective than those that do not.
True
Leadership sharing in teams is beneficial to team performance.
True
Team culture and climate can influence team performance.
True
A psychologically safe climate is one in which team members feel comfortable sharing information, but are cautious of being open with one another for fear of repercussions.
False
Individuals can draw on 10 critical considerations or guidelines to understand what is needed to ensure teamwork is successful.
False
