MGMT ch3 Practice

Information systems

Within the organization, most firms have also established computer-based information systems to gather and organize relevant information for managers and to assist in summarizing that information in the form most pertinent to each manager's needs

An organization's culture

can become a weakness

A major way to shape the culture of an organization is to _____.

bring outsiders into important managerial positions

What is considered to be a driving force that influences many organizational decisions?

Degree of uncertainty,

Azim is using an enterprise resource planning system to help monitor the activities of consumers and competitors. He plans to use this to make recommendations for future planning. Which process is Azim engaged in?

Environmental scanning

Kamiya owns a small business that has always put customer service first, even if it meant a loss in profit. Kamiya's company is being bought by another firm that has always emphasized profits, to the point that some employees are fired if they cost the company profit. What will be the greatest challenge of integrating the two companies?

Establishing a single organizational culture

Kaia's organization just formed a strategic alliance with an overseas firm and will be working with her overseas counterparts for the next several years. This will require Kaia to travel to the strategic partner's company and work closely with them. How will this relationship change her organization?

Her company is likely to become more diverse and multicultural.

Rabeya's organization allows managers to use their discretion and have flexibility when making decisions in order to adapt to their environment. They have relatively few standard operating procedures. Which type of environment are they operating in?

High level of uncertainty: flexibility, adapt to environment, few standard operating procedures

Which of the following is true of the glass ceiling in many organizations?

It keeps women from advancing to top management positions in organizations.

How does the aging of the workforce affect organizations?

Older workers make greater contributions to productivity.

Ugar is on the board of directors for a firm that lost millions of dollars this past year. During the board meeting, the discussion turned to providing an increase in salary for the CEO of the organization. Ugar felt he would be held accountable for this unwarranted pay raise, as did several other board members. What is their responsibility to the organization referred to as?

To ensure corporate governance

How does an organization adpt to its environement through strategic response

maintaining status quo, altering strategy a bit, or adopting an entirely new strategy (the strategic response cannot be formed without an initial understanding of the environmental change.)

Math-A-Mazing requires all employees to wear something math-related to work every day. They help by providing pins, scarves, and caps printed with numbers or math signs. Employees can wear one of these items or come up with their own. According to the company, this policy makes the company a fun and exciting place to work. This management decision affects the _____.

organizational culture

In addition to the rate of change, how does the environment affect an organization?

rate of change (dynamic vs stable) degree of homogeneity (simple vs compex)

Determinants of organizational culture include _____.

shared experiences

environmental scanning

the process of continually acquiring information on events occurring outside the organization to identify and interpret potential trends

The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 requires organizations to recognize and bargain with a union if that union has been legally established by an organization's _____.

employees (owners typically discourage unionization)

An organization's culture _____.

helps members understand what it stands for

When is information management especially important to an organization?

When forming an initial understanding