Week 3

Question 1

Corporate executive

Answer 1

Has direct responsability to his employers (business owners)
—> conduct the business in accordance to their desires

Question 2

How can asymmetric information happen btw principal and agent

Answer 2

There may be agency relations btw principals themselves

Question 3

Talk about CSR goals

Answer 3

CSR are alligned with the firm’s operative goals in the domain of HCM
(Employer attractiveness, retention and motivation)

Question 4

Mission

Answer 4

Organisation’s “high-level” goals
—> communicated to internal and external stakeholders by a mission statement

Question 5

Operative goals

Answer 5

Describe specific measurable outcomes (mostly concerned with short-run)

Question 6

Strategy

Answer 6

Plan for interacting with the competitive environment
—> used to achieve official and operative goals within the environment

Question 7

Porter’s Competitive Strategies

Answer 7

DIFFERENTIATION : distinguish their products or services from others in the industry
LOW COST LEADERSHIP : increase market share by emphasising low cost compared to competitors
FOCUS : focused low cost and focused differentiation
—> company concentrates on a specific regional market or buyer group

Question 8

What is organisational culture

Answer 8

Set of values, norms, guiding beliefs and understanding that is shared by members of an organisation and is taught to new members

Question 9

Internal/external integration

Answer 9

INTERNAL : members develop a collective identity
EXTERNAL : how the organisation deals with the outside world

Question 10

What are the three main theories

Answer 10

• Scientific Management
• Administrative Theory
• Bureaucracy Theory

Question 11

S.M. emerged because of the…

Answer 11

Need to increase productivity and efficiency

Question 12

Main points of Taylorism

Answer 12

1. Work, equipment and processes should be standardised
2. Time and task study should be used to determine standards for workers
3. Selecting, training and developing workers
4. Full cooperation with workers
5. Divide work and responsibility
6. Only monetary incentives matter

Question 13

What did the assembly line achieve and who invented it

Answer 13

The a.l. by Henry Ford allowed:
1. Job semplification and specialisation
2. Pursue task efficiency by reducing the n° tasks one person must do

Question 14

Bureaucratic organisation (6 points)

Answer 14

1. WELL DEFINED HIERARCHY (higher positions supervise/control lower positions)
2. DIVISION OF LABOUR AND SPECIALISATION (each employee has the necessary expertise to do a particular task)
3. FORMAL RULES AND REGULATIONS (standard operating procedures should govern all organisation activities to provide certainty and facilitate coordination)
4. IMPERSONALITY (managers should maintain an impersonal relationships with employees)
5. COMPETENCE (staff is selected based on technical qualifications and abilities)
6. RECORDS (maintain complete files regarding all its activities)

Question 15

Mayo’s Human Relations Movement

Answer 15

Worker’s productivity is bounded to workplace-based “human and social” conditions, and can be enhanced by changes of these conditions

Question 16

The Hawthorne Studies (process)

Answer 16

It’s an experiment involving workers (monitored how the changes in working conditions affected the workers morale and productivity)

Question 17

The Hawthorne Studies (result)

Answer 17

Some of the workers were affected by the changes and some were indifferent to them
1. People may improve their performance or behaviour simply because of all the attention that they receive
2. People respond positively to any novel change in work environment
—> conclusion: workers are motivated by more than self-interest (higher employee morale = higher output)

Question 18

CLOSED vs OPEN System Design

Answer 18

CLOSED SYSTEM DESIGN:
Focuses exclusively on the organisation without considering its dependence from its external environment
OPEN SYSTEM DESIGN:
Pays attention to the boundary between the organisation and its external environment

Question 19

Organisational environment

Answer 19

Set of forces and conditions that operate beyond an organisation’s boundaries but affect its ability to acquire and use resources to create value

Question 20

Types of Interdependencies

Answer 20

1. POOLED I. : things are done separately and then conjoint together
2. SEQUENTIAL I. : tasks must be performed sequentially
3. RECIPROCAL I. : tasks must be performed together
   N.B. Interdependencies across departments should be minimised