MOB Final Exam Short Answer Questions
15-4.What are the behavioral implications of different organizational designs?
- work specialization contributes to higher employee productivity, but reduces job satisfaction - the benefits of specialization have decreased rapidly as employees seek more intrinsically rewarding jobs - the effect of span of control on employee performance is contingent upon individual differences and abilities, task structures, and other organizational factors - participative decision making in decentralized organizations is positively related to job satisfaction
14-6. What are the roles and functions of third-party negotiations?
1)extraverts reveal more information than they should 2)angry negotiators are more focused and assertive 3)anxiety will lead someone to be more deceptive 4)Men are perceived to be tougher negotiators, women are expected to be nice - dammed if they do, damned if they don't.
16-1. What is organizational culture, and what are its common characteristics?
A system of shared meaning held by members that distinguishes the organization from other organizations. 1. Innovation and risk taking 2. Attention to detail 3. Outcome orientation 4. People orientation 5. Team orientation 6. Aggressiveness. 7. Stability
17-4. What are the similarities and differences among the main types of training?
Basic Skills- involve comprehension of writing and math. Every person must have the basic skills. Technical Skills- companies give training on available software's and updating the newly coming technologies. Improving technical skills can reduce working time Interpersonal Skills- refer to how to treat others and how to communicate with others Problem Solving Skills- solving a problem with sharp logic, reasoning within short time. Poor problem solving skills takes more time to solve a problem
14-3. What are the differences between distributive and integrative bargaining?
Distributive is a negotiation that seeks to divide up a fixed amount of resources; win-lose situation. Integrative bargain in is a negotiation that seeks one or more settlements that can create a win-win solution
15-3. How might downsizing affect organizational structures and employees?
Downsizing almost always has a negative effect on the employees as well as the reputation of the company as a result. While downsizing is necessary in some cases, especially when a company is no longer able to sustain the current structure in the long run, we can say that it not only gets the employee morale down, the employees that remain do not feel safe for their position in the company and their work output is affected as a result. Stability is a necessary factor for any process. We can say that a stable work environment is what breeds creativity, motivation and therefore increases the throughput of the employees.
16-2. What are the functional and dysfunctional effects of organizational culture?
Functional Effects: -Creates distinction between one organization and others -Enhances the stability of social system -Defines the rules of the organization -Provides standards for the employees Dysfunctional Effects: -Barriers to change- can serve as a liability when it provides resistance to change -Barriers to diversity- may differ from one company to other therefore hiring employees from different organization could result in clash of organizational cultures
15-2. What are the characteristics of the functional, divisional, and matrix structures?
Functional Structures: A functional structure is one of the most common organizational structures. Under this structure, the organization groups employees according to a specialized or similar set of roles or tasks. (High productivity, Development of Specialists, One-line Reporting Rules, Ignorance in Big Picture)
17-6. What are the various roles of HR in the leadership of organizations?
HR plays a key leadership role in nearly all facets of the workplace environment, from designing and administering benefit programs to conducting attitude surveys to drafting and enforcing employment policies. HR is on the front lines in managing adversarial employment conditions such as work-life conflicts, mediations, terminations, and layoffs. 1. Leadership by HR begins with informing employees about HR practices and explaining the implications of decisions that might be made around these practices. 2. It is not enough to simply have a practice in place; HR needs to let employees know about it. When a company successfully communicates how the whole system of HR practices has been developed and what function this system serves, employees feel they can control and manage what they get out of work. 3. The effectiveness of HR practices also depends on employee attitudes. a. One review found that HR practices were more likely to lead to positive outcomes when employees felt motivated.
17-2. What are the methods of initial selection?
Initial Selection- application forms and background checks Substantive Selection- include written tests, performance-simulation tests, and interviews Cognitive Selection- assess abilities involved in thinking (e.g., reasoning, perception, memory, verbal and mathematical ability, and problem solving). Such tests pose questions designed to estimate applicants' potential to use mental processes to solve work-related problems or to acquire new job knowledge
13-1 How is leadership different from power?
Leadership is different from power because power does not require goal compatibility just dependence while leadership requires some congruence between the goals of the leader and those being led. Also leadership focuses on the downward influence on followers while power maximizes lateral and upward influence patterns
14-5. How do individual differences influence negotiations?
Personality Traits- The extent to which personality influences negotiation effectiveness depends on the situation. Understanding personality traits with negotiation poses an advantage. Moods/Emotions- Moods and emotions, particularly negative ones, can have an impact on negotiations Culture- People from different cultures negotiate differently. Cross-cultural negotiations are typically less effective that those within the same culture Gender Differences- Men and women tend to negotiate differently, which can influence negotiation outcomes
13-5 What are the causes and consequences of abuse of power?
Power leads people to place their interest above others. Powerful people react negatively to any threats to their competency. Power leads to over confident decision making. Causes: -People who have power want to show others they can do anything with their power -People who have power want to create a high self-esteem -The people who have money want to earn money Consequences: -Can abuse power -People won't respond to a person who abuses his power -The crime rate in the society will increase due to the abuse of power
13-4 What are the most often identified power or influence tactics and their contingencies?
Power tactics are actions ( manifested or latent) which an individual takes to get the things done from other. They can be: 1.Legitimacy=basing request on formal authority or support from superiors 2.Rational persuasion (VERY EFFECTIVE)=convince with facts or logic 3.Inspirational appeals (VERY EFFECTIVE)=building enthusiasm by appealing to others emotions or values 4.Consultation(VERY EFFECTIVE)=getting other to participate in planning, decisions, and changes 5.Exchange=making or implying promises or trading favors 6.Personal appeals=eferring to friendship and loyalty when making a request 7.Ingratiating=getting someone in a good mood prior to making request 8.Pressure :(LEAST EFFECTIVE)=demanding compliance with threats. TENDS TO BACKFIRE 9.Coalitions=getting others to support your effort
17-1. What is the value of various recruitment methods?
Recruitment is an initial part for the selection of an employee. Retain long-term employees that are devoted to the organization -Popular recruiting methods like internal referrals and internship programs can give maximum information about the job to the potential employees -Social media helps organizations to pick the right candidates -Helps find employees from different regions/cultures
14-2. What are the steps in the conflict process?
Stage 1: potential opposition or incompatibility (antecedent conditions: communication, structure, and personal variables) Stage 2: cognition and personalization (perceived conflict and felt conflict) Stage 3: intentions (conflict handling intentions: competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding, accommodating) Stage 4: behavior (overt conflict: party's behavior, others reaction) Stage 5: outcomes (increased group performance, decreased group performance)
14-4.What are the five steps in the negotiation process?
Step 1: preparation and planning (before negotiating, do your hw) Step 2: definition of ground rules (who will do negotiating and where will it take place, will you follow specific procedures) Step 3: clarification and justification (you and other party will explain, amplify, clarify, bolster and justify your original demands) Step 4: bargaining any problem solving (where both parties need to make decisions) Step 5: closure and implementation (formalizing agreement and developing procedures necessary for implementing and monitoring it)
17-3. What are the most useful methods of substantive selection?
Substantive Selection is the second step in the selection process Useful methods: -Written Test (Find whether person is suitable for the job) -Performance Simulation Test (Check real time performance) -Interviews (Final stage of this process)
15-1. What are seven key elements to define an organization's structure?
The 6 Building Blocks of Organizational Structure 1) Chain of Command One of the most basic elements of an organizational structure, chain of command is exactly what it sounds like: an unbroken line of authority that extends from the top of the organization (e.g. a CEO) all the way down to the bottom. Chain of command clarifies who reports to whom within the organization. 2) Span of Control Span of control refers to the number of subordinates a superior can effectively manage. The higher the ratio of subordinates to superiors, the wider the span of control. 3) Centralization Who makes the decisions in an organization? If decision-making power is concentrated at a single point, the organizational structure is centralized. If decision-making power is spread out, the structure is decentralized. While a decentralized structure promotes a more democratic decision-making process, it can also slow down the decision-making process, making it harder for organizations to operate efficiently. 4) Specialization Also known as division of labor, specialization is the degree to which activities or tasks in an organization are broken down and divided into individual jobs. High specialization can be beneficial for an organization, as it allows employees to become "masters" in specific areas, increasing their productivity as a result. However, low specialization allows for more flexibility, as employees can more easily tackle a broader array of tasks (as opposed to being specialized for a single task). 5) Formalization Similar to specialization, formalization deals with the how jobs are structured within an organization. The key differentiator here is that formalization also takes into account the degree to which an employee's tasks and activities are governed by rules, procedures, and other mechanisms. A formal organizational structure seeks to separate the individual from the role or position, as the role or position stays the same regardless of who's holding it. An informal organization, on the other hand, places more value on the individual. It allows for the evolution of a role or position based on an individual's preferences, skill set, etc., and places less importance on what team or department that individual is part of. 6) Departmentalization Departmentalization refers to the process of grouping jobs together in order to coordinate common activities and tasks.If an organization has rigid departmentalization, each department or team is highly autonomous, and there is little (or no) interaction between different teams. In contrast, loose departmentalization entails that teams have more freedom to interact and collaborate.
13-2 What are the similarities and differences among the five bases of power?
The differences of the five bases of power can be understood from the meaning of these bases: Legitimate - This type of the power of a leader comes from his formal position or designation in an organization. Reward - This type of the power of a leader comes from the ability of a leader to reward the team members for compliance Expert - This type of the power of a leader comes from the skills levels, knowledge, expertise or experience of the leader. Referent - This type of the power of a leader comes from the perceived attractiveness or respect worthiness of a leader. Coercive - This type of the power of a leader comes from the ability, perceived or real. of a leader to punish for non-compliance. The similarities among these five bases of power are that different types of leaders draw power from these different sources. All these sources giver power to a leader and enable him/her to get work done from his/her subordinates. So, technically, all these sources can result in similar team output in the short-term. All these bases of power can equally compel team members to comply with the demands of the leader.
16-3. What factors create and sustain an organization's culture?
The first is selection practices which aims to hire people with knowledge, skills, and the ability to preform successfully. The second is top management where senior executives through words and behaviors establish norms to filter throughout the organization. The third and last is socialization, the factor helping employees adapt to the prevailing culture
14-1. What are the three types of conflict and the three loci of conflict?
The three types of conflict are task conflict, relationship conflict, and process conflict. The two loci of conflict is intra group conflict and intergroup conflict and these together are dyadic conflict.
13-7 What are the causes, consequences, and ethics of political behavior?
There are several individual and organizational factors that impact political behavior. Individual factors include: high self-monitors, internal locus of control, organizational investment, perceived job alternatives, and expectations of success. Organizational factors are: promotion opportunities, low trust, reallocation of resources, role ambiguity, unclear performance evaluation system, democratic decision making, and self-serving senior managers. Organizational politics may threaten employees and lead to fall in job satisfaction, increase anxiety, stress, and turnover, and reduce performance levels
16-4.How is culture transmitted to employees?
Training, hiring process, team work Culture is transmitted to employees in number of ways such as stories, languages, rituals, materials symbol
13-3 What is the role of dependence in power relationships?
When you possess anything others require that you alone control, you make them dependent on you, and therefore you gain power over them. The greater B's dependence on A, the more power A has power over B. Dependent increases when the resource you control is important, scarce, and nonsubstitutable
13-6 How do politics work in organizations?
Workplace politics is the process and behavior in human interactions involving power and authority.[1] It is also a tool to assess the operational capacity and to balance diverse views of interested parties. It is also known as office politics and organizational politics. It is the use of power and social networking within an organization to achieve changes that benefit the organization or individuals within it. Influence by individuals may serve personal interests without regard to their effect on the organization itself
17-5. What are the methods of performance evaluations?
Written Essays Critical Incidents Graphic Rating Scales Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales Forced Comparisons Group Order Ranking Individual Ranking