Chapter 1 - Leading Edge Management

After attending a management conference, your CEO tells you that he is thinking about changing your company to a bossless organization. Which of the following outcomes will you tell your CEO is likely to result from this change? Check all that apply.

- The company will become more flexible in responding to consumer needs. - Employees in the company may make better decisions than they did previously. Explanation: When companies become bossless, they become more flexible and they also see better decisions being made by their employees. Bossless organizations become less, not more, hierarchical, and the money they save in reduced costs needs to be spent on training employees so that they can make effective decisions in their new roles. Refer to 1.1B: The Trend Toward Bosslessness.

Recent research found that both male and female managers across five different countries reported that they __________ enjoy activities such as leading others, networking, and leading innovation.

most Explanation: In general, many managers enjoy leading others, networking, and leading innovation, but they find it less pleasurable to control subordinates, handle paperwork, and manage time pressures. Refer to 1-5: Challenges Facing New Managers.

On your first day as a driver for Road-O-Rama Freight, you realize that something just isn't right. Trucks go out half full, and drivers often get the wrong addresses so freight doesn't arrive at its destination. When telling a friend about your new job, how would you describe this company's operations?

Neither effective nor efficient Explanation: Road-O-Rama Freight is neither effective nor efficient. Sending trucks out half full wastes resources, and when the trucks don't arrive at their destinations, the company does not achieve its goal of delivering products to customers. Refer to 1-3: Organizational Performance.

These managers focus on strategy for the entire organization, therefore conceptual skills are important at this level.

Top managers Explanation: The answer is top-level managers. Top-level managers oversee the long-term planning for organizations, and it is their vision that can make or break a company. Equally important, top-level managers establish a climate for the organization. Top-level managers focus on the long-term future and strategy of the organization.

The skills that Jack is failing to use are important for __________.

all managers Explanation: All managers need to use human skills, because they are getting work done through other people. If managers don't have human skills, they cannot interact effectively with their employees. Refer to 1-4: Management Skills.

New managers often think that they will have __________ to do what they think is best for the organization.

greater freedom Explanation: New managers think they will have greater freedom to do what they think is best for the organization. In reality, managers find that they are constrained by a highly interdependent system of people and work and must become a motivator and organizer instead. Refer to 1-5: Challenges Facing New Managers.

Identify the management function associated with each of the following examples of managerial work.

Leading - Blake Mycoskie, founder of Toms, encourages social entrepreneurship through the company's slogan "One for One." Organizing - A construction project manager from Iron Horse Construction uses a team of experts to design the development of a new property on the top of a very steep ridge. The team includes geotechnical consultants, erosion control specialists, and contractors. Planning - Author Simon Rich spends time every day reading. He says, "I try to read about subjects that I'm interested in, and that usually helps me come up with ideas for stories and characters and jokes." Controlling - At the Ritz-Carlton hotel, employees can spend up to $2,000 per guest, per incident to satisfy customers. But managers at the Ritz-Carlton monitor how much is actually spent, and they know that employees can often satisfy customers for much less than $2,000.

Rajiv is a manager at Best Buy. He knows that his store will be changing rapidly because of new advances in technology. Which of the following actions should Rajiv take in order to motivate his employees?

Rajiv should train his employees and allow them to make decisions about the changes. Explanation: Today's workplace is changing. Rajiv needs to empower his employees by training them and then letting them make decisions. Traditional leadership styles such as telling employees what to do and threatening them do not allow employees the flexibility needed to navigate through unpredictable situations. Refer to 1.1: Management Competencies.

Here, Jack is yelling at Samantha because she was late last week. Unfortunately, the whole office can hear. Now Samantha is not only upset, but also angry and planning to go to Human Resources to file a complaint against Jack. In this case, Jack's __________ skills failed.

human Explanation: Jack should use human skills to deal with Samantha, but he is not. Human skills help managers relate to others. Conceptual skills are used for high-level planning activities. Technical skills include any kind of specialized knowledge used to produce products or provide services.

The roles of __________ are critical for managers in nonprofit organizations.

leader, spokesperson, and resource allocator Explanation: Nonprofits need the goodwill of many constituencies, not least of which are donors. Thus, while nonprofit managers play all roles, they often emphasize the spokesperson role to give donors, the public, and members of stakeholder communities a positive view of the organization. They also need to excel in the leader role to build a mission-driven community of employees and volunteers. In addition, they often act as a resource allocator to distribute resources such as from grants or government contracts. Refer to 1-7: Managing in Nonprofit Organizations.

Management in Life You have lunch with a friend who was recently promoted to a management position. "Congratulations!" you say. But she looks at you and says, "I'm not so sure." She goes on to tell you that she's overwhelmed with the pace of the work and demands on her time. "I used to just think about myself and my own performance," she says, "and now I'm constantly dealing with all these interdependent aspects of the organization. I'm expected to motivate other people to work hard--just working hard myself was a lot easier. And the interruptions! I have to shift gears constantly." She asks for your advice: "I would love to get more done in less time, be more relaxed, and have more time to enjoy my job and my life. Do you know any time management tips?" Which of the following techniques should your friend use? Check all that apply.

- Give each task your complete focus, as though you're shining a spotlight on it. - Prioritize tasks according to their consequences. Time management tips for new managers include the following: •Keep a to-do list. Even if your priorities are constantly changing and you keep adding more to the list, you'll get more done than if you try to keep track of everything in your head. •Use an A-B-C-D system to prioritize tasks. If not completing a task would have serious consequences, give it an A. If consequences would be minor, give it a B. If you would like to accomplish the task, but there are no consequences for not getting it done, give it a C. If you can delegate the item to someone else, give it a D. •Schedule your workday. Some experts propose that every minute spent in planning saves 10 minutes in execution. Plan to tackle the big tasks first because people are at peak performance early in the day. •Do one thing at a time. Multitasking may feel efficient, but it's actually less so. Doing one thing at a time will help you be more effective.

Unlike other levels of management, these managers spend a fair portion of time supervising the work of their subordinates.

First-line managers Explanation: The answer is first-line managers. First-line managers supervise the employees who do the everyday work of the organization. They need to have good technical skills because employees will turn to them whenever there is a problem. First-line managers may start out believing that they have to command and control their employees, but they quickly find out that employees perform better when they are empowered and given the freedom they need to develop and grow.

Thanks to the dean's excellent planning and the student groups' hard work, __________ is achieved. The campus looks beautiful for the educational conference.

effectiveness Explanation: Effectiveness is the degree to which the organization achieves a stated goal, or succeeds in accomplishing what it tries to do. In this scenario, the dean and the student groups were successful in accomplishing the task which made their efforts effective. Refer to 1-3: Organizational Performance.

Managers of small businesses often find that __________ are their most important roles.

spokesperson and entrepreneur Explanation: Small businesses are often in a period of rapid growth and change. Therefore, while managers play all roles, the entrepreneur role is especially critical, as managers seek to innovate to gain a competitive position in the marketplace and grow profits. They are also promoting the company to investors, customers, and other stakeholders, so the spokesperson role is important. Refer to 1-7: Managing in Nonprofit Organizations.

Alexis is a barista at a local coffee shop. She uses her __________ skills to operate the espresso machine.

technical Explanation: Technical skills are a person's ability to perform specific job tasks. These are important for all employees but tend to be most important for individual contributors and lower-level managers. As one rises in the organization, conceptual and human skills become more important. Refer to 1-4: Management Skills.