Management

What is an organization?

A group of individuals who work together to achieve the goals or objectives that are important to these individuals

When the manager designs and implements changes within a work group to improve productivity, he or she is performing what managerial role?

Entrepreneur

What is meant by leading?

Influencing others' activities to achieve set goals

In your job as manager of human resources for Homer's Humongous Heroes, Inc., you carry out all the performance appraisals of employees, as well as give out all the gold watches at the annual retirement dinner. What general managerial role category do your actions fall into?

Interpersonal

Which of the following refers to activities that involve interacting with others who may be external or internal to the organization at a higher or lower level than the manager?

Interpersonal roles

You manage a group of five production-line employees and you (a) conduct their annual performance appraisals with them individually, and (b) meet with them as a group to discuss the new performance-appraisal process you are initiating. Which of Mintzberg's ten management roles have you played?

Leadership, disseminator, entrepreneur

When the manager leases a delivery truck for his bakery, he is performing what managerial role?

Negotiator

In firms that are large enough to have specialization, upper managers spend most of their time performing which functions?

Planning and leading

IBM has recently rearranged various administrative divisions and departments. This activity can be classified into which major management function?

Organizing

You are a small aerospace subcontractor, Airflite Associates, and you have a chance to land a major contract with Boeing for an in-flight stabilization device. You put together a team of seven of your brightest managers and employees to design and develop the device. In terms of the major management functions, you are primarily

Organizing

Which of the following characteristics best relates to resources?

People, equipment, finances, and data used by an organization to reach its objectives

Which of the following characteristics relates to organizational culture?

The values, norms, and artifacts shared by members of an organization

You redivide your office area at the Wausau Washer Works so that five employees who were formerly fighting constantly over space now get along famously. They praise you for taking the initiative to reallocate the space. Which of Mintzberg's ten management roles have you played?

Resource allocator, disturbance handler

Which of the following refers to a person or group that can affect, or is affected by, an organization's goals or the means to achieve those goals?

Stakeholder

Your boss assigns you three projects simultaneously, but you finish them all on time, despite a headache. What specific management skill have you displayed?

Tolerance of stress

Effective use of an organization's resources means

achieving the intended result.

When John Scully, former CEO of Apple Computer, said, "The issue is how do I get all the information I want without getting all the other junk that is out there," he was talking about

appropriate information processing.

You are the manager of the Fernwood Flailers, a professional baseball team. Feckless Fred, your slugger, has not hit a home run in his last 200 at bats. You call him in, discuss his home-run drought, and show him an inspirational videotape of Ken Griffey, Jr., hitting long home runs. You are

both leading and controlling

When a manager reasons well, processes information intelligently, and evaluates which strategic option is potentially most profitable, he or she is displaying

conceptual skills.

When a manager gathers and uses information to make a choice about how an organization's resources will be used, he or she is engaging in

decision making

As defined in the text, organizations are groups of individuals who work together to achieve

goals and objectives important to them.

You are Zapp Zapplar, a highly paid motivational speaker. Companies pay you to come in and inspire their employees to work together as a team. They are paying for your

oral communication and persuasiveness skills.

What name is given to the activities involved in designing jobs for employees, grouping these jobs together into departments, and developing working relationships among organizational units/departments and employees to carry out the plans?

organization

When the manager of the Boston Red Sox uses the scouting, player development, and travel departments to make plans for an upcoming series, he is

organizing.

All of the following are usually included in the classification of major management functions EXCEPT

staffing.