Midterm Study Guide

4 - SA - What advantages do geographic structures have compared to a functional structure?

Geographic structures are structured based on locations, where functional structures are structured by department and by an overarching hierarchy within the company. It gives the advantage of serving customers faster with more focused products and services, since they can be chosen separately between different locations. It is also very beneficial to organizing companies that are nation-wide or world-wide.

2 - SA - What is confirmation bias? Explain how it can be a barrier to effective decision-making.

Confirmation bias is when people already make up their mind and tend to pay more attention or seek out information that confirms their preset opinions. It can be a barrier to effective decision making because decision-makers may turn away from making the right decision because their mind has already been made on the wrong decision.

4 - Which of the following is NOT a type of general macro environments and forces?

Corporate culture

4 - Which of the following is NOT an advantage of a divisional structure?

Cost savings, greater access to a diverse labor force not encumbered by 8-hour workdays, and less harmful effects on the environment.

5 - When leaders believe they can do no wrong because of who they are, it refers to which of these symptoms of the failure of ethical leadership?

Ethical complacency

1 - T/F - According to Mintzberg, disturbance handler is an interpersonal role.

F

1 - T/F - The influence of managers is most clearly seen, according to Mintzberg, in the figurehead role.

F

2 - T/F - Ad hominem fallacy refers to â If we have always done it one particular way, that must be the right or best way.â

F

2 - T/F - Research finds that the logical, analytical route always leads to superior decisions.

F

4 - T/F - Open systems are less sensitive to environmental resources and possibilities, and closed systems are more responsive and adaptive to environmental changes.

F

5 - T/F - The Ethics & Compliance Initiative found more than half of global workers reported pressure to compromise their standards.

F

5 - ______ are preferred means of behavior used to obtain oneâ s goals.

Instrumental values

5 - SA - Can an individual be ethical without using ethical principles described in the chapter? Explain.

It is my belief that ethics and morals are decided in the eyes of the beholder. People can have many different views on what is right and wrong, but the chapter gives a good outline on what most people perceive as right and wrong. If you're not sure if what you are doing is ethical, you should probably refer to the book's definition...

1 - James is the production manager at a large toy manufacturing company. James believes that one of his critical role is to train, counsel, motivate, and direct his subordinates. This represents which role, according to Mintzberg?

Leader

2 - SA - What are the benefits of decision-making in a group, instead of individually?

Making decisions in a group offers the benefit of having multiple points of view on the issue at hand. A group of people with different viewpoints can deter any biases that individuals may have if making decisions on their own.

1 - SA - What responsibilities do managers have towards people within the organization? How do they express these responsibilities?

Managers are responsible for long-range strategic planning for the company and its workers, supervising and coordinating their subordinates and coworkers, and solving internal problems within the company. Managers use their highly developed consulting skills to plan and work on solving problems within the business and/or between workers. They also use leadership skills to drive the workforce into making their plan become the company's reality.

5 - Which of the following describe values of an organization?

What do we stand for and believe in? What standards can be used to evaluate us and judge us

4 - An organizationâ s external environment is also referred to as the

general environment

5 - Rebecca has always touted social recognition, friendship, accomplishment, and comfort as her desired goals that she is working towards in life. These are examples of ______.

terminal values

2 - When Dianna does not know the outcome of each alternative until she has actually chosen that alternative, she is facing conditions of _______.

uncertainty

1 - Kotter studied a number of successful general managers over a five-year period and found that they spend most of their time: ...

with others

4 - According to the environment-industry-organization fit model, Cell 4 represents which of these environments?

Complex-unstable environment

1 - According to Mintzberg, managers averaged ____ written and _____ verbal contacts per day with most of these activities lasting less than ____ minutes.

36; 16; 9

1 - SA - How do managers perform their job according to John Kotter?

According to John Kotter's studies, most successful managers spend the majority of their working hours with others. Kotter found that collaboration and communication are very big parts of the day to day lives of successful managers. Whether making big company decisions or having small talk with subordinates, Kotter believes managers should be spending time with those around them if they want to be successful. Kotter also notes the importance of managers dealing with seemingly small tasks, finding that successful managers tended to spend small amounts of time each day working on things that appeared unimportant or unrelated to the company.

5 - Which of these describe a belief that corporations have a social responsibility beyond pure profit?

CSR

5 - SA - What is CSR, and why is it important?

CSR stands for Corporate Social Responsibility. It means that companies have a responsibility to society that is more than just turning a profit. It is important because responsible companies are likely to get more customers because of consumer's trust. But it also is important because it shows the true ethical moral values of a company and the people in charge of it. It can build or break a reputation. Which in most people's opinion is much more important than profit.

4 - According to the environment-industry-organization fit model, industries and firms such as computer, aerospace, airlines, and telecommunications firms would operate more effectively in which of these cells?

Cell 4

2 - While _______ decisions will generally need to be processed via the ______ system in our brains in order for us to reach a good decision, with ______ decisions, heuristics can allow decision makers to switch to the quick, _____ system.

Nonprogrammed; reflective; programmed; reactive

2 - Which of the following describe conflict between individuals that is more personal and involves attacks on a person rather than an idea?

Relationship

2 - Which two elements in emotional intelligence represent toggling back and forth between emotions and logic so that we analyze and understand our own emotions and then exert the necessary control to manage them as appropriate for the situation?

Self-awareness and self-regulation

1 - T/F - According to Mintzberg, managers averaged 36 written and 16 verbal contacts per day with most of these activities lasting less than nine minutes.

T

1 - T/F - Executive managers are at the top of the hierarchy and are responsible for the entire organization, especially its strategic direction.

T

1 - T/F - For managers, threats include technological breakthroughs on the part of competitors, obsolescence in their organization, and dramatically shortened product cycles.

T

2 - T/F - An advantage to involving groups in decision-making is that you can incorporate different perspectives and ideas.

T

2 - T/F - For programmed decisions, managers often develop heuristics, or mental shortcuts, to help reach a decision.

T

2 - T/F - Maximizing shareholder wealth is often a short-sighted decision because it can harm the organizationâ s financial viability in the future.

T

4 - T/F - Advantages of virtual teams and organizations include cost savings, decreased response time to customers, and less harmful effects on the environment.

T

4 - T/F - Companies and organizations change leadership and strategies and make structural and systems changes to meet changing competition, market forces, and customers and end users needs and demands.

T

4 - T/F - Early organizational theorists broadly categorized organizational structures and systems as either mechanistic or organic.

T

4 - T/F - Overall, while economic data indicates that globalization has had a positive effect on the world economy, a dark side also shows that two-thirds of all households in 25 advanced-economy countries had incomes stagnate and/or decline between 2005 and 2014.

T

5 - T/F - A meta-analysis of 52 studies with a sample size of over 33 thousand observations suggested that corporate virtue in the form of social responsibility and, to a lesser extent, environmental responsibility, is likely to pay off.

T

5 - T/F - Identifying and separating terminal from instrumental values in any given situation can assist individuals, groups, and work units in distinguishing between the â ends (goals) from the means (methods to reach the goals)â and vice versa in making decisions, thereby helping us choose more ethical optionsâ or at least less unethical onesâ in situations.

T

5 - T/F - Our choices and decision-making processes and our moral principles and values that govern our behaviors regarding what is right and wrong are also part of ethics.

T

4 - SA - What purposes does an organization's culture serve when considering the external environment?

The company's culture show how the company looks at its environment and how it reacts/proacts in betterment of the company. THEN GO IN DEPTH

1 - While entrepreneur is a type of _______ role, leader is a(n) ______ role.

decisional; interpersonal

1 - In the role of ______, managers seek to improve their businesses, adapt to changing market conditions, and react to opportunities as they present themselves.

entrepreneur

2 - The tendency of decision makers to remain committed to poor decision, even when doing so leads to increasingly negative outcomes refers to: ...

escalation of commitment