Management 200-ORAL EXAM 1
3.Why do we plan? What aspects of the planning process have you implemented for your Service Learning Project? What would happen in your service learning project if you didn't plan?
we plan for new ideas to be encouraged. Thru planning direction and momentum are provided. Lastly planning helps the firm develop a sustainable competive advantage. The aspects of the planning process we have implemented for our service learning, is contingency planning. Ben is our back up team leader incase anything would happen to nick! we have a raindate (April 16th) for our event (April 18th) in the case that it rains on our event day.
11. Why is Change so difficult to manage? How does Lewin's approach to handling the change process facilitate change? How are employees threatened by change and how can you help them adjust? What will you do as a manager to overcome a resistance to change by your subordinates
Change is difficult to manage because we get accommodated to how things are and we get upset when things aren't the way they used to be. We blame the change on ourselves thinking we deserved the change. Unfreeze to changing to refreezing. Lewin's approach to change is handling the change bc it directs the implementation of change in a safe way for employees to adjust and assimilate comfortably. Employees are threatened by a change bc change prompts fears of the unknown. We can help them adjust by gradually changing the outcome. This is done by unfreezing, helping them realize that something needs to be done. To overcome resistance, its key to unfreeze and put the motor back into the employees in order to change, then gradually change rather than doing one big change at once.
6.In The Case of the Forgotten Team Member", how could Christine have built a more effective team? What was missing?
Christine could have tried to make group meetings more accessible for every member of the group, including Janet. She also could have been more forceful about every team member doing their work instead of just doing the work for the people who were slacking off. She could have established metrics at the beginning of the project so that everyone was responsible for their actions.
2.According to the articles and cases read to date, and the textbook, what are the attributes that make a manager exceptional? Mediocre?
EXCEPTIONAL 1. Technical Skills- Job specific knowledge needed to perform well in a specialized field Ex: working at a financial business you know about finance 2. Conceptual Skills- Ability to think analytically, to visualize an organizations as a whole and understand how the parts work together Ex: Entrepreneur 3. Human Skills- ability to work well in cooperation with other people to get things done Exceptional managers play chess. Mediocre play checkers and just make things work!
1.Define the four management functions. Assess your team's effectiveness with regard to these four functions. What specific suggestions do you have for how you can improve?
FOUR MGT FUNCTIONS 1. Planning- Setting goals and deciding how to achieve them 2. Organizing- Arranging tasks, people, and other resources to accomplish the work 3. Leading- Motivating, directing, and otherwise influencing people to work hard to acheive the organization's tasks 4. Controlling- Monitoring performance, comparing it with goals and taking corrective action as needed
7.Has there been evidence of groupthink on your team? What are the symptoms that you have seen? What did you do to minimize them?
Groupthink- a cohesive group's blind unwillingness to consider alternatives. Avoiding Groupthink by being aware of the symptoms, and having members perform as the Devil's Advocate. Motivation through Mutual Accountability through the development of our Team Contract Symptoms of groupthink 1.Invulnerability- group members have the illusion that nothing can go wrong, breeding excessive optimism and risk taking. 2.Inherent Morality-members may be assured of the rightness of their actions that they ignore the ethical implications of their decisions 3.Stereotyping of opposition-leads groups to underestimate their opponents 4.Rationalizing-protects the pet assumptions underlying the group's decisions from critical questions 5.Self censorship- stifles critical debate by not allowing oneself to voice their opinions 6.Illusion of unanimity-another way of saying that silence by a member is interpreted as consent since there are no official objections. 7.Peer pressure-leads other members to question the loyalty of the dissenters. 8.Mindguards-self appointed protectors against adverse information. .Our team has not experienced groupthink yet during the process of our project. Typically there is always one member that gives the opposite opinion of another group member and will try to give the devil's advocate.
13. What is the relationship between organizational culture and structure? In other words, how does structure influence culture? How would the culture differ for a mechanistic organization versus an organic structure? How would you describe the structure and culture of your sponsor organization for your service learning project?
Organization Culture: also known as corporate culture, defined as the set of shared taken for granted implicit assumptions that groups olds and determines how it perceives thinks about and reacts to various environments. Organization Structure: is a formal system of task and reporting relationships that coordinates and motivates an organization's members to that they can work together to achieve the organization's goals. Structure influences culture through because the culture spreads out from the support beams brought on by the structure.
4.What is the relationship between planning and control? Name one tool that is available to assist with this? Explain how to use it. Suggest how Hiram could have better used planning and control in Best Laid Incentive Plans.
Planning is setting goals and laying out a plan to achieve them. Controlling is looking back at the plan and the results, and making adjustments based on how what happened vs what was supposed to happen. By using controls like a weekly evaluation, you can adjust your course to make sure your plan completes the objective instead of just seeing what happens. Hiram actually planned well, he set objectives and found ways he thought would meet them. He should have periodically checked in with his programs to see if they were having the desired effects rather than assuming they would have the effect he assumed they would.
5.Which conflict handling styles were used by Christine in The Case of the Forgotten Team Member"? Why were they ineffective? What would you have done?
She didn't communicate effectively with the professor regarding Janet. She tried to communicate with Janet, but never tried to make the group meetings work for everyone's schedule. They were ineffective because the team was struggling, even if they didn't realize it, and because of their lack of communication with both the professor and Janet they never did anything to fix their struggles. We would have addressed the issue with our professor right from the start and we would have tried to work around everyone's schedule so no one felt left out or as if they were not contributing. In this situation, I would try to find a time that worked for everyone's schedules even if the time was undesirable. If someone couldn't make it I would try to meet with them one on one to make sure that they are caught up. I would let the professor know from the beginning and try to establish clear communication throughout the team so no one in left in the dark. I would establish effective communication by setting clear roles.
9.What is subordinate imposed time and why does it happen? What are three specific examples of this from the "Case of Missing Time"? How can it be avoided?
The subordinate imposed time is when a certain portion of the self-imposed time from the manager is taken by its subordinates. Managers should try to increase the discretionary component of their self-imposed time by minimizing the subordinate component. Thus by doing so, they will then add increment to get gain better control over their boss-imposed and system-imposed activities. Subordinate imposed time increase, due to the managers voluntarily accepting the monkeys, were in the beginning this monkey jumps between both of their backs. Eventually when the subordinate disappears, the responsibility of the monkey falls to the manager, and as more and more monkeys climb on the manager's back, the manager would be overwhelmed with all these responsibilities not knowing what to do. Throughout the "Case of Missing Time", Chet accepts different monkeys from his subordinates, and eventually falling into the hole of responsibilities that crippled him from doing his own work. The first acceptance of a monkey was in the parking lot with Al Noren. He promised Al Noren, to call him a half an hour later to talk about the missing men but he didn't. Walking into the office his second acceptance of a monkey and disturbance was during his important session of putting delivery dates on important and difficult inquiries received from customers and salesmen. He was interrupted twice by the sales correspondent and personnel vice president. The third example in the case is that there is not a specific time set for his subordinates to find help from him. Instead, they just ask for help when they need help and most of the time Chet would agree to do so. These examples can be avoided through these 5 steps 1.Monkeys should be fed or shot, Chet should not waste valuable time on postmortem or attempted resurrection. 2.Monkey population should be kept below the maximum number the manager has time to feed and manage. 3.Monkeys should be fed by appointment only. 4.Monkey should be fed face-to-face or by telephone but never by mail. 5.Every monkey should have an assigned next feeding time and degree of initiative. Each revisite should be specific and not vague.
8.Relate the Two Tough Calls case to the service learning project. What is so challenging about making a decision which requires application of ethical principles?
Two Tough Calls helped show us that there may be members on the team who are weaker than the rest or struggle with certain aspects of the projects. Sometimes you need to tell your teammates that they need to step it up just like the narrator of Two Tough Calls tried to do, although she received some pushback. Even if you experience pressure from other members in the group or there are other circumstances you need to do what is best for the project in order to achieve your goals and be successful.
10. What are the 8 tips to help first time managers thrive? Which are most important and why?
Understand the Business: Be prepared to address questions from your direct reports that take into account the broader landscape of the company. A manager needs to know what is happening across the business to make informed decisions. Prioritize your One-to-One Check-Ins: individualize direct reports is critical to success and overall career development. A manager needs to set up one-on-one meetings and block time on their calendar for these. Stay in the Trenches: keep an eye on things day to day. When there is an opportunity to help, take it YOU are the Example: the values you demonstrate, the way you handle adversity and ambiguity and the way you persevere through challenges are examples Understand the Importance of Delegation: You need to create an environment where you are actively relying on others to help carry projects. You'll still be informed, but you need to let others lead so hey can utilize their abilities Find a mentor: Find a mentor that you can go to when you have questions or need support. Find someone who has excelled at being the type of manager you want to be; ideally someone who has experience handling a diverse set of situations, so you can understand first hand the pros and cons for handling certain situations certain ways. Be consistent: If you constantly flip-flop on decisions or how you make decisions, your team will start to lose trust in your ability to strategically lead. They will question if you are making informed judgement, leading with emotions or worse- you are unprepared to handle your new responsibility. Don't make decisions in the moment due to pressure; be patient. Know that relationships have changed: Often first-time managers find themselves managing people that were once their peers or people that they created a personal relationship with. When you become their manager, the relationship changes, and you need to be transparent about that. You are now their boss and you will need to act like that while you're in the office. You can never allow yourself to have personal relationships cloud business decisions. You need to set clear ground rules and be transparent about this. The most important ones are know the business and be consistent. It is key to know your business and what is going on in order to make critical decisions.
12. What is the design thinking process? Why approach problem solving using design thinking? How does it differ from a more traditional approach? How could you have applied the Design Thinking process to your service learning project from the outset? Be specific. What should you look for when you observe? What does "fail early to succeed sooner" mean?
inspiration: current circumstances are evaluated Ideation: Ideas are generated, developed and tested in this stage Implementation: a new idea is introduced to the market Design thinking differs from a more traditional approach because you are Creating better and more innovative solutions that are thought out and relevant. Traditional approach deals more with idea generation
