Unit 1 Short Answers

Question 1

Discuss what the challenges of working in the new economy are.

Answer 1

Talent: People and their talents are the ultimate foundations of organizational performance.
Diversity: Workforce diversity reflects differences with respect to gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and able-bodiedness.
Glass ceiling Effect
Technology
Globalization

Question 2

How is technology affecting the workplace?

Answer 2

• Increasing demand for knowledge workers with the skills to fully use technology.
• Taking away jobs such as self checkout at grocery stores

Question 3

Choose a product and identify the resource inputs, the transformation process
and the outputs of the organization as an open system. What sort of customer
and client feedback could you expect?

Answer 3

look at canva

Question 4

Identify who stakeholders of a business are.

Answer 4

are people or institutions affected by an
organization
includes:

• Customers
• Suppliers
• Competitors
• Regulators
• Investors/owners

Question 5

What are the levels of management? Define each and provide an example.

Answer 5

Top manager - owner of a company, president
Middle manager - department heads
team leaders -

Question 6

What types of managers are there? Provide a situation that describes each type
of manager.

Answer 6

• Line managers are responsible for work activities that directly affect organization’s outputs.
• Staff managers use technical expertise to advise and support the efforts of line workers.
• Functional managers are responsible for a single area of activity.
• General managers are responsible for more complex units that include many functional areas.

Question 7

How has the upside down changed the nature of management?

Answer 7

• rather than the boss making decisions the customers are more responsible for changes in a company.
• The customer is the most important person to the organization. As a consequence, the most important people to the customer are the frontline staff.

Question 8

Identify types of competitive advantages that can be achieved by a business or
organization.

Answer 8

• Cost efficiency
• Higher quality
• Better delivery/customer service
• Greater flexibility
• Better technology
• First mover advantage

Question 9

Explain the ethical expectations for modern businesses. What are your views
about ethics and business?

Answer 9

• Integrity and ethical leadership at all levels
• Natural environment protection
• Consumer protection
• Human rights

Question 10

What roles to managers play? Provide examples.

Answer 10

• Managerial performance and accountability: Accountability is the requirement of one person to answer to a higher authority for performance results
• interpersonal
• informational
• decisional

Question 11

.Explain PLOC. Which function do you feel is the most important?

Answer 11

• Planning: setting performance objectives and deciding how to achieve them.
  -Leading: Inspiring people to work hard to achieve high performance
  -Organizing: Arranging tasks, people, and other resources to accomplish the work
  -Controlling: Measuring performance and taking action to endure desired results

Question 12

What are QWL indicators?

Answer 12

• Quality of work life:An indicator of the overall quality of human experiences in the workplace.
  Examples:

• Fair pay
• Safe working conditions
• family/social/work time balance
• Opportunities to learn and use new skills
• Room to grow and progress in a career • Investment in education

Question 13

List essential skills that managers should have

Answer 13

• Skill — the ability to translate knowledge into action that results in
desired performance.
• Technical skill — the ability to apply a special proficiency or expertise to perform particular tasks.
• eg. accounting/software design
• Human skill — the ability to work well in cooperation with
others. - social worker/teacher
• Emotional intelligence is the ability to manage ourselves and relationships effectively-
• Conceptual skill — the ability to think critically and analytically to solve complex problems. eg-Research/science

Question 14

Explain each of the different management theories discussed in class in detail.

Answer 14

Maslow’s theory of human needs
- Self Actualization: need for self fulfillment to grow and use abilities to fullest and most creative extent
Mcgregor
- theory X: dislike work, lack ambition, are irresponsible
- theory Y: willing to work, accept responsibility, imaginative and creative
Argyris’s theory of adult personality
– Management practices should accommodate
employees:
• Increasing task responsibility
• Increasing task variety
• Using participative decision making