MGMT 309 - Exam 3 Review

Twitter experienced __________________ when it made the substantive modification in its leadership.

organization change

You will often have multiple ways to communicate a message to another person. Your choice of a communication channel should consider the amount of detail and context the message requires. The richness of a communication channel is determined, in part, by the ability to facilitate rapid, two-way feedback. This means that an instant message will be richer than ___________, because:

An e-mail You can respond immediately to what the person is saying

As a new manager, you are responsible for interacting effectively with your team of employees and with all the other employees in your organization. Which of the following actions will help you be more effective, even though many managers are afraid of doing it?

Asking customers and employees for feedback

Organizations can encourage innovation by rewarding it, by designing jobs to support it, and by reinforcing a culture of innovation. Which of the following statements describes an organization's use of cultural symbols to promote innovation? Check all that apply.

A large art installation of push pins positioned prominently on a wall in Wieden & Kennedy's headquarters spells out the agency mantra, Fail Harder. Google's corporate campus features a giant slide and nap pods.

Job insecurity Focus on corporate mission Threatened self-interests Ability to compete effectively

Against Change For Change Against Change For Change

Imagine you are the division manager. You have several teams which report to you. One of the teams is tasked with new product development which requires a high level of communication and interaction. Which network type should you choose for the communication structure of this team?

All Channel

Which of the following situations are likely to cause poor interpersonal relations? Check all that apply.

Brad believes that when Jason makes a mistake, he often tells their boss that Brad is responsible for what went wrong. Billie worked her way through state college and continues to struggle to pay off student loans, while most of her coworkers attended private colleges and now vacation at their parents' second homes.

Wayne's notes include details that pertain to the characteristics of useful information. His notes about making sure the software is running at all hours of operation are in reference to the _____________ of information.

Completeness

If Denise were focusing solely on the compensation structure for employees, that analysis would not include

Considering whether the benefits provided to employees are comparable to those elsewhere

If your organization evolves to have fewer positions of authority, as a top manager of that organization, how would you ensure that the necessary control is still in place?

Distributing authority among jobs

Ancestry asks you if it could use job enlargement, which would enable the company to use fewer employees to accomplish the same tasks. Which reason do you give when you advise the company against job enlargement?

Employees may feel they should be paid more because they are doing more tasks.

You know that many different laws apply to a company's relationship with its employees. As you start your new job at Goliath Industries, you need to be familiar with laws regarding health and safety, compensation, equal opportunity, and a variety of other topics. Select the law that matches each of the following descriptions. Allows employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to address medical issues for themselves or immediate family members Prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities Requires that men and women be paid the same for doing the same work Makes sure work conditions do not endanger employees' health Makes it easier for employees to win discrimination lawsuits Banned child labor and created a federal minimum wage Protects people 40-65 years old from discrimination Prohibits discrimination based on race, religion, color, sex, or national origin

Family and Medical Leave Act Americans with Disabilities Act Equal Pay Act Occupational Safety and Health Act Civil Rights Act of 1991 Fair Labor Standards Act Age Discrimination in Employment Act Title VII of the Civil Rights Act

The owner of the business where you work has asked for your advice on restructuring the organization. You know that customer service is the cornerstone of the company. What do you recommend? Check all that apply.

Flatter structures are appropriate for organizations which empower employees to solve customer problems.

Which form of departmentalization is best if the company seeks to minimize duplication of efforts?

Function

What rate of change exists in Twitter's business environment?

Increasing

Jim says that the process should be done one way on Monday, but on Wednesday he describes a different procedure. Martin always says, "My door is always open." The trouble is, it is just closed. Jason's team has tried to explain the patterns of failure they've experienced lately, but Jason is a poor listener. Our company relies heavily on acronyms like TQM, ROI, and RPPs, which vendors have trouble understanding.

Individual Individual Individual Organizational

Which advantage would you cite if you were advising a company to group jobs by product?

Performance assessments are facilitated.

If you believe management at your company has not complied with your existing labor contract, you could initiate a _____________________.

grievance procedure

Netflix has a corporate policy of paying competitive wages to retain talented employees. In order to ___________________ , its human resource staff must monitor compensation at other organizations.

maintain equitable compensation rates

Errors, such as stereotyping, are ________________ likely to occur when managers evaluate employees based on the specific traits and characteristics they possess.

more

A major element of organizing is coordination. The primary reason for coordination is that work groups are interdependent. The lowest level of interdependence is called ____________________.

pooled interdependence

You've just received an employment offer to work as a route setter with Extreme Routes. The _______________ will be $55,000 annually, regardless of the hours worked.

salary

Suppose several employees at the company where you work are thinking about unionizing. Because you have taken a management class, you know that the law prescribes specific procedures that both employees and companies must follow. Identify the order of the steps involved in the unionization process.

1. Generate interest in unionizing among the employees. 2. Collect signed authorization cards. 3. If less than 30% of bargaining unit members sign cards, the process ends. 4. Petition the NLRB to hold an election. 5. Hold a secret-ballot election. 6. If unionization is rejected by a majority vote, the process ends. 7. The union signs up members and elects officers. 8. Collective bargaining over the first labor contract occurs. 9. The labor contract is signed. 10. A grievance procedure is used to resolve disputes during the life of the contract.

All of the department leaders were on an executive retreat over the weekend with the chief operations officer, Stacey. Stacey presented the company's new operations plan at the retreat. During her presentation, she mentioned that the efficiencies gained through equipment acquisition meant the company is currently overstaffed. Some departments will experience lay-offs sometime in the coming months. The plans for staff reduction aren't yet finalized and an official announcement won't be made until a plan is in place. The department leaders don't discuss this with each other, but each informally spreads the word with his or her department on Tuesday. Which type of communication network is this?

Cluster grapevine chain

The ranking performance appraisal system tries to improve performance ratings by forcing managers to:

Compare employees

Eastman Kodak remained entrenched in film photography, despite the innovation by its own engineers of digital modes. What were the most likely reasons for the company's failure to innovate? Check all that apply.

Complacency

In today's dynamic business environment, small start-ups can disrupt the competitive landscape at any time, just as Compass Automation disrupted the manufacturing robotics industry. Imagine that the company you work for is facing such a threat. To figure out how to respond, the CEO has assembled a team of managers with a reputation for innovative thinking, including you. The first brainstorming session resulted in many ideas for change. To structure the team's thinking, it will be helpful to organize their ideas into the three broad areas where change occurs: (1) organization structure and design, (2) technology and operations, and (3) people. Then, they might efficiently determine some initial action steps by focusing on just one category. Which of the following types of ideas relate to changes in your company's organizational structure and design? Check all that apply.

Coordination mechanisms Line-staff structure Departmentalization

Imagine that your firm has made a commitment to increasing the diversity represented at higher levels of the organization. What can you do to forecast which positions could be staffed with minorities?

Create a replacement chart

ED (THINKS TO HIMSELF): I'll bet Frank really liked my work! After hearing what Frank said, Ed's thought represents _____________

Decoding

Some of the jobs mentioned in the article didn't even exist a dozen years ago, and new jobs are emerging every year. If you needed to incorporate such new roles into your organization, which basic building block would serve as your starting point?

Designing jobs

A small chain of pizza restaurants in your area is starting to grow. Just last year, it grew from 6 to 12 locations. Now, some employees are talking about unionizing. Which of the following are likely to happen if a union is formed? Check all that apply.

Employees will have formal methods for addressing their concerns about the company. The company will be required to engage in collective bargaining with the new union.

FRANK (THINKS TO HIMSELF): I've got to get Ed to do his work faster. FRANK (SAYS TO ED): Ed, let's meet in my office and go over your last project report. In this first part of the communication, Frank's transition from thought to speech represents ________________

Encoding

Which techniques would you recommend that eBay's leadership utilize to overcome resistance to change in this situation? Check all that apply.

Encourage employees to participate in implementing the change. Announce the change well in advance.

Proposed change interventions related to your company's technology and operations include which of the following? Check all that apply.

Enterprise resource planning Equipment Control systems

Pessimistic forecasts by industry analysts Laws affecting the industry, such as internet neutrality legislation Innovation that improves user experience

External External Internal

ED (SAYS TO FRANK): Sure, Frank, what time is good for you? This response by Ed represents _________

Feedback

An international nonprofit has been experiencing high turnover among its analysts, who are experts in their areas of specialty. This inability to retain staff has prevented the organization from developing strategies to improve healthcare and education in the countries where it operates. The CEO hires you as a consultant to help solve this problem. What recommendations are you most likely to make? Check all that apply.

Give analysts a high degree of autonomy in deciding how to do their work. Pay analysts a premium relative to the market rate for their jobs. Send analysts to academic and professional seminars in their fields of interest.

Judges content; skips over delivery errors Nods and shows interest Tunes out if delivery is poor Is easily distracted; answers phone or sends text messages

Good Listener Good Listener Poor Listener Poor Listener

Imagine that you are in the following situations, and use your knowledge of nonverbal behavior to identify what message the interviewer is conveying. When you arrive for your job interview, the interviewer greets you with a warm handshake and a smile. While you speak, he smiles and nods often and occasionally takes notes. What message is the interviewer expressing nonverbally?

He is actively engaged in your interview.

Because of the value people bring to an organization in terms of their knowledge, skills, and abilities, some managers use the term ______________.

Human Capital

Under which condition would you recommend that the CEO consider a business process change?

If the change program will involve all aspects of design, technology, and people

Learning from its staffing shortages in the past, a concert venue now has extra ticket-office staff working the first few days after popular concert tickets first become available. Carlos sends a survey to customers to better understand their level of interest in two features that may be added to his company's product. Once the entire lot around a newly built home is ready, a gardener adds all of the landscaping during a 3-day period, instead of planting small sections over an extended period. The first flat-screen televisions were expensive and offered by few manufacturers. However, within a few years, most televisions incorporated that technology. Although most people thought neon Hammer pants would never come back in style, thousands of pairs sold after a popular singer wore a pair during a national television interview. A manufacturer that makes compact disk (CD) players sold fewer CD players once people began buying music in MP3 format.

Launch Development Decline Application Maturity Growth Decline

Following are some of the questions that the senior sales manager asked the job candidate. Indicate whether each question is legal or not legal. Tell me about the last time you had to deal with an angry customer. What did you do? How do you plan to get to work every day? Did you graduate from high school? Have you ever been arrested? What educational degrees do you have? What year did you graduate from high school? Tell me about a time when you had a deadline that didn't provide enough time to do your best work. What did you do? Have you ever been injured on the job and filed for workers' compensation?

Legal Not Legal Legal Not Legal Legal Not Legal Legal Not Legal

Doctor Nurse Receptionist Accountant Janitor Security guard

Line Line Staff Staff Staff Staff

As a new manager, you want the people in your work group to communicate well. Which of the following are likely benefits of improving interpersonal relations among the people in your department? Check all that apply.

Managers will be better at motivating their employees. Employees will be happier. Employees will be more productive.

Which of the following jobs are held by knowledge workers who are likely to desire the kind of management described above? Check all that apply.

Marketing analyst Operations analyst Financial analyst

Which of the following problems might occur with the new performance appraisal system at L.I.J.M.C.? Check all that apply.

Patients who feel they received very good or very poor care are more likely to complete surveys than other patients. Objective ratings, such as infection rates, might be influenced by something outside of the staff's control. Patient satisfaction ratings might be influenced by something that is not related to a particular employee.

If Denise wants to know how much the jobs in her gym are worth in comparison with one another, she should

Perform job evaluations

The other major area of organizational change addresses people, attitudes, and behavior. Changes to which of the following would relate to this category? Check all that apply.

Performance Attitudes Values

To align the jobs at Ancestry with the company's strategy, you've decided that the genealogist job should be redesigned. You've also determined that taking the job characteristics approach to job design will yield the best results.

Publicize which genealogists were involved in which completed historical projects, so that the employees feel they identify with the total job.

Innovations can be categorized as radical or incremental, technical or managerial, and product or process. Using your understanding of the differences between the different forms of innovation, categorize the innovations listed. Netflix Gmail Ford's EcoBoost engine Samsung Galaxy5 Broadband

Radical Incremental Incremental Incremental Radical

According to force-field analysis, what is the final thing you recommend Donahoe do to ensure the change accomplishes what was intended?

Reinforce and support the change, also called refreezing.

Delegation involves the assignment of responsibility, authority, and accountability. Responsibility is assigned by the subordinate. Accountability is only established if the manager assigns responsibility and the subordinate accepts it. The first step in delegation is creating accountability.

Share Do Not Share Share Do Not Share

You are a member of a project team revising the Nvidia Corporation's ethics policy. The team has representatives from five divisions: Software Engineering, Graphic Design, Business Systems, Demand Planning, and Corporate Communications. You are the Corporate Communications representative and the team's leader. Audra, a member of the project team, suggests that the team review a new draft of the ethics policy. She says the policy will have positive effects on the team's performance and on the organization as a whole. What is the most important message your colleague is trying to convey? What can you do to listen more effectively to your colleague?

She wants to present a new draft of the ethics policy. Remain objective.

At Extreme Routes, in what ways are employees paid for time? Check all that apply.

Sick leave Holidays Vacation

Based on your knowledge of labor relations, which of the following statements are true? Check all that apply.

Unions limit management's freedom regarding compensation and labor practices. Employees may desire union representation when they perceive threats such as job insecurity, potential cuts to indirect compensation, and other organization changes. Grievances between management and the union are dealt with by an objective arbitrator who is paid by both parties.

The new performance management system at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center (L.I.J.M.C.) was specifically designed to address which of the following problems with traditional performance reviews?

Traditional performance reviews lead to "grade inflation."

What is the difference between training and development?

Training usually refers to teaching operational or technical employees how to do the job for which they were hired, while development refers to teaching professionals skills that may be needed in the future.

According to the case study, which of the following are likely reasons Twitter changed its executive leadership? Check all that apply.

Twitter needed to respond to the concerns of investors. Twitter must achieve a higher conversion rate of passive to active users. Twitter needed new leadership to better establish a strong value proposition for users.

If Twitter never changed its strategies or organizational design, which of the following would be most likely to occur?

Twitter would become a less successful company.

At Ancestry, even in a job as seemingly specialized as that of genealogist, the component parts of the job are quite varied. If Ancestry asked you to advise the company on restructuring job design, how would you explain a recommendation for further specialization?

When workers perform small, simple tasks, they become very proficient at each task.

Task specialization Interdependent work flows Heavy use of unskilled labor Highly competent managers

Wide Narrow Narrow Wide

In what direction does work flow in an organization characterized by sequential interdependence?

Work flows in only one direction

You ask Paul to show Michelle, a new employee, the ropes while you are in meetings. Paul replies, "That's not my job." Which reason best explains why your attempt to delegate was not effective? Check all that apply.

You didn't grant Paul the authority to train Michelle. Paul is reluctant to accept delegation. You didn't assign Paul the responsibility for training Michelle.

Reciprocal interdependence exists when __________________________.

activities flow both ways

Which factors discouraged change in this situation? Check all that apply.

eBay's stock prices could increase amid speculation that eBay will be stronger without PayPal. PayPal will be better able to plan and implement strategies focused on acquiring market share for digital financial transactions.

Suppose your plant in Mexico City has an immediate need for someone with top-level security clearance, and the person must be fluent in Spanish. You can use the organization's _________________________ to search for current employees who meet the criteria.

employee information system

Antonio supervises six graphic designers. If he intends to fill a senior graphic designer position with one of these six people, he will use ______________________ to identify his job candidates.

internal recruiting

Your company is facing hard times, and you must cut your annual expenses by 20% in order to survive. You want to get employee feedback before making this difficult decision. How should you request that feedback? This is a ____________ message, so you should:

nonroutine Visit employees personally and talk with them individually or in small groups

Communication among employees at social gatherings tends to _____________________________, whether the gatherings are sponsored by the employer or not.

promote a strong organizational culture