D073 Study Guide
A cognitive bias is a pattern of deviation in judgment that occurs in particular situations and can lead to perceptual distortion, inaccurate judgment, illogical interpretation, or what is broadly called irrationality. There are many different types of bias. Please discuss and describe five different types.
1. Confirmation bias: Humans have a strong tendency to manipulate new information and facts until they match their preconceived notions. This inappropriate confirmation allows for poor decision-making that ignores the true implications of new data. 2. Self-serving bias: Another common bias is the tendency to take credit for success while passing the buck on failure. Managers must monitor this in employees and realize when they are guilty themselves. Being objective about success and failure enables growth and ensures proper accountability. 3. Belief bias: Individuals often decide before they have all the facts. In this situation, they believe that their confidence in their decision is founded on a rational and logical assessment of the facts when it is not. 4. Framing: It is quite easy to be right about everything if you carefully select the context and perspective on a given issue. Framing enables people to ignore relevant facts by narrowing down what is considered applicable to a given decision. 5. Causality: Humans are pattern-matching organisms. People analyze past events to predict future outcomes. Sometimes their analysis is accurate, but sometimes it is not. It is easy to see the cause-effect relationship in entirely random situations. Statistical confidence intervals are useful in mitigating this perceptive distortion.
What are the six strategies that leaders can do to be successful in change management. Please name and describe each strategy in detail.
1. Create a clear strategy that aligns with the vision: Define measurable stakeholder goals; create a business case for their achievement (and keep it continuously updated); monitor assumptions, risks, dependencies, costs, return on investment, and cultural issues affecting the progress of the associated work. 2. Communicate effectively: Explain to stakeholders why the change is necessary, what the benefits of successful implementation will be, and methods for rolling out changes stresses the importance of effective communication and states that if all employees cannot understand the vision in less than 5 minutes, then it is not well articulated. 3. Empower employees: Devise a comprehensive education, training, or skills upgrading scheme for the organization. 4 Remove obstacles so employees can try new ways of doing things without fear of being reprimanded. 5. Counter-resistance: Identify employee issues and align them with the overall strategic direction of the organization. Adapt the change initiative when necessary to mitigate discontent. 6. Support employees: Provide personal counseling (if required) to alleviate any change-related fears. Track progress: Monitor the implementation and fine-tune as required.
What are the five steps in project management? Please name and describe each one in detail.
1. Define the project: Whole Pine Inc. plans to use 30 percent of its production capabilities to allow customers to have increased options when customizing chairs and tables. 2. List all the tasks associated with the project: · Customers will choose between various specialized furniture characteristics and embellishments - including style, stain, wood type, and engraving. 3. Estimate resources needed (Time and Cost): · Including of existing and expected materials costs. · Addition of new costs - design consultation, manufacturing equipment adjustments, custom supplies. 4. Identify constraints and considerations: · Inventory requirements · Quarterly production demands · Employee resourcing · Retail pricing adjustments · External economic forces · Competing priorities 5. Develop implementation plans: · Adjust inventory levels across quarters · Initiate new training programs for staff · Add new materials, supplies, and equipment to manufacturing · Advertisement and marketing of new products
What are the FOUR major components of transformational leadership?
1. Individualized consideration: The degree to which the leader attends to each follower's concerns and needs and acts as a mentor or coach. 2. Intellectual stimulation: The degree to which the leader challenges assumptions, takes risks, and solicits followers' ideas. 3. Inspirational motivation: The degree to which the leader articulates a vision that is appealing and inspiring to followers. 4. Idealized influence: The degree to which the leader provides a role model for high ethical behavior, instills pride, and gains respect and trust.
Cognitive biases are flaws in logical thinking that may adversely affect your decision-making skills. Please identify and describe seven of the many common decision-making biases.
1. Irrational stubbornness can be illustrated by the desire to stick to the original plan even though it no longer seems to be the best plan. 2. Zero-sum thinking or fixed-pie bias is the interpretation of any gain made by another person as naturally leading to a loss at your expense. 3. Being unduly influenced by an anchoring number can be exemplified by a salesperson throwing out a ridiculously high amount to start with to make the original price seem low by comparison. 4. Framing bias is when the same option is presented in two different ways, and one option seems more appealing than the other. 5. Overreliance on first impressions or information that is easily obtained as opposed to waiting for more data or digging deeper can lead to poor decision-making. 6. Failing to consider that there is more than one person in the negotiation can lead to conflict. 7. Overconfidence that the result will favor you.
The concept of the "Big Five" personality traits includes five broad domains that describe personality. These broad domains were broken down to lower-level, specific traits. Please list and discuss the five traits. Out of the five personality traits, which one would be most helpful in accepting change readily?
1. Openness to experience: It describes a person's degree of intellectual curiosity, creativity, and preference for novelty and variety. Some disagreement remains about how to interpret this factor, which is sometimes called intellect. 2. Conscientiousness: It is a tendency to show self-discipline, act dutifully, and aim for achievement. Conscientiousness also refers to planning, organization, and dependability. 3. Extraversion: It describes energy, positive emotions, assertiveness, sociability, talkativeness, and the tendency to seek stimulation in the company of others. 4. Agreeableness: It is the tendency to be compassionate and cooperative towards others rather than suspicious and antagonistic. 5. Neuroticism: It describes vulnerability to unpleasant emotions such as anger, anxiety, depression, and vulnerability. Neuroticism also refers to an individual's level of emotional stability and impulse control and is sometimes referred to as emotional stability.
What are the five major functions of a manager? Please provide examples.
1. Planning: Managers develop the roadmap or series of objectives that must be met to achieve the goals of the organization. Planning is not a static process, and managers must be willing to adapt to a changing internal and external environment. To achieve a good plan, one must assess the current resources available and anticipate future needs. Managers must continually watch for changes in the business environment and monitor business indicators. Managers need to be able to handle people well, as well as have considerable energy, moral courage, some continuity of tenure (to assure familiarity with the organization's goals and processes), and professional competence and general business knowledge. Plans include both short and long term goals and objectives as it relates the mission and vision of an organization. 2. Organizing: Managers must utilize resources in the most effective way, assigning tasks, delegating responsibilities, and establishing authority.. The two most important resources the manager has are people and money. Managers must effectively match the resources to the organization's direction, coordinate all activities, and evaluate the results. 3. Leading: Managers must be influential leaders who can negotiate between parties, complete tasks, and lead employees. Individual employees and various departments must work together to form a cohesive group, united to meet the organization's goals. To command and direct personnel effectively, managers must have a thorough knowledge of each employee and be able to maintain a balance between the needs of the organization and the needs of an individual. 4. Coordinating: There must be an ongoing balance in coordinating the resources and functions of a business. The first two steps, planning and organizing, operationalize coordination efforts by identifying and assigning responsibilities and keeping focus on outcomes. A key element to coordination includes regular meetings between management and staff to provide status updates. Managers often must coordinate the work of others both inside the work unit and out. The manager must make sure that the right amount and type of resources get to the correct employees and that they are efficiently and effectively used to meet the goals of the organization. 5. Controlling: This includes the process of monitoring progress and correcting for any veering off path. Managers continually oversee the work of their subordinates. Managers are ultimately responsible for the actions of employees under their supervision. Managers must be willing and able to correct any employee misbehavior as well as to adapt to any changes in the path toward a goal or any changes in the external environment that may influence completion of the organization's goal.
What are the eight essential components of the communication process?
1. Source: The source imagines, creates, and sends the message. In a public speaking situation, the source is the person giving the speech. Speakers also convey messages through their tone of voice, body language, and choice of clothing. A speaker begins by first determining the message—what to say and how to say it. The second step involves encoding the message by choosing just the right order or perfect words to convey the intended meaning. The third step is to present or send the information to the receiver or audience. Finally, by watching for the audience's reaction, the source perceives how well the audience received the message and responds with clarification or supporting information. 2. Message: "The message is the stimulus or meaning produced by the source for the receiver or audience". Whether you plan to give a speech or write a report, your message may seem to be only the words you choose that will convey your meaning. However, that is just the beginning. The words are brought together with grammar and organization. You may decide to save your most important point for last. The message also consists of the way you say it—in a speech, with your tone of voice, your body language, and your appearance—and in a report, with your writing style, the punctuation, and the headings and formatting you choose. 3. Channel: "The channel is how a message or messages travel between source and receiver". Channel selection depends on many factors, such as how quickly the recipients need the information, the confidentiality level of the message, the hierarchal relationships of the communicators, and even such factors as the location, gender, culture, and education level of the recipient. 4. Receiver: "The receiver receives the message from the source, analyzing and interpreting the message in ways both intended and unintended by the source". All messages, when decoded, pass through the receiver's filter. Your mood or mindset is one such filter. The more alike the sender and receiver are, the more likely the message will be understood as it was intended. The more different they are, the more likely a mistake can be made in both translating and interpreting the message. 5. Feedback: When you respond to the source, intentionally or unintentionally, you are giving feedback. Feedback is composed of messages the receiver sends back to the source. Verbal or nonverbal, feedback signals allow the source to see how well and how accurately the message was received. Feedback also provides an opportunity for the receiver or audience to ask for clarification, to agree or disagree, or to indicate that the source could make the message more interesting. As the amount of feedback increases, the accuracy of communication also increases. A lack of feedback can lead you to jump to an incorrect conclusion. You might think your message was heard but then be disappointed or surprised when no one follows through. 6. Environment: "The environment is the atmosphere, physical and psychological, where you send and receive messages". The environment can include the tables, chairs, lighting, and sound equipment that are in the room. The room itself is an example of the environment. People may be more likely to have an intimate conversation when they are physically close to each other and less likely when they can only see each other from across the room. In that case, they may text each other, itself an intimate form of communication. The choice to text is influenced by the environment. As a speaker, your environment will impact and play a role in your speech. It is always a good idea to go check out where you will be speaking before the day of the actual presentation. 7. Context: "The context of the communication interaction involves the setting, scene, and expectations of the individuals involved". A professional communication context may involve business attire (environmental cues) that directly or indirectly influences expectations of language and behavior among the participants. 8. Noise, also called interference, can come from any source. "Interference is anything that blocks or changes the source's intended meaning of the message". Psychological noise is what happens when your thoughts occupy your attention while you are hearing, or reading, a message. Interference can come from other sources, too. Noise interferes with standard encoding and decoding of a message carried by a channel between source and receiver. Not all noise is detrimental, but noise interferes with the communication process.
Name all the parts to the Strategic Management Process. Describe each in detail using an example.
1. Strategic objectives and analysis: An evaluation called a SWOT analysis is commonly used to perform both a thorough internal investigation of an organization to assess its strengths (S) and weaknesses (W) and an appraisal of the external competitive environment looking for any opportunities (O) or threats (T). A useful acronym, PESTLE, can be used to evaluate political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal factors that may affect an organization's strategy. 2. Strategic formulation: Goals and objectives are written based on the information obtained from the PESTLE and SWOT analyses. Goals are broad, primary outcomes the organization is hoping to achieve. Objectives are measurable, quantitative statements a manager can use to evaluate an organization's, department's, or employees' progress toward meeting their goals. Having a defined set of goals and objectives can help identify whether the organization needs to obtain additional resources, watch for a specific threat, or change a set of internal processes. 3. Strategic implementation: Sometimes referred to as strategic execution, this stage is when the planning stops, and the action begins. The best plans will not make up for poor implementation. Employees in the organization should be aware of their assignments, responsibilities, and authority. Management should provide any additional employee training necessary to meet the plan objectives during this stage, as well as allocate any necessary additional resources. Offering employees the tools required to implement the strategic plan, combined with personal motivation, leads to the best chance for successful implementation. 4. Strategic evaluation and control: Because internal and external conditions are always changing, this stage is crucial. Performance measurements (determined by the nature of the goal) will help determine if critical milestones are being met. Corrective actions are taken if the actual result varies from the strategic plan. Reexamining the goals or the measurement criteria to determine success may be necessary. If it becomes apparent that the strategy is not working according to plan, then new plans need to be formulated (see step 2) or organizational structures adjusted. Personnel may need to be retrained or shifted to other duties. The strategic management process may need to be reexamined or even redeveloped.
. Change management is the study of how to integrate changes without damaging the organizational culture or efficiency. There are many different types of changes in an organization. Please list three types of organizational change and define each one in detail.
1. Structural change has to do with the changes in the overall formal relationships within an organization. Examples of structural change include reorganizing departments or business units, adding employee positions, or revising job roles and assignments. These changes should be made to support broader objectives such as to centralize or decentralize operations, empower employees, or find greater efficiencies. 2. Technological change involves adjustment to existing or implementation of new technologies. For example, an industry upgrade in a commonly used software platform may require that employees learn new ways of working. Upgraded machinery or hardware may require employees to learn new procedures or restructure the way that they interact with one another. Technological change often induces structural change, because it requires different ways of connecting across an organizational system. 3. Cultural Change refers to adjustments to the typical patterns of thinking and behaving within an organization. Culture is rooted in the underlying beliefs and assumptions that people hold of themselves and the organization. These beliefs and assumptions create mindsets that shape the culture. Culture change is one of the most challenging kinds of changes to implement within an organizational system. We'll revisit this topic in Module 5.
Please describe the Master Budget, its two components, and provide definitions for the series of budgets that operationalize the organization's strategy.
A master budget is an overall budget a company uses to make sure its expenses in all areas fall within its financial parameters. It is used to evaluate an organization's success at operationalizing its strategy. The master budget comprises the operating budget and the financial budget. The operating budget can be made up of the sales plan, production plan, materials purchasing plan, labor hiring and training program plan, and administrative and discretionary spending data. Sales Budget Production Budget Cost of Goods Sold Variable and Fixed Expenses Direct Materials Direct Labor Budget Overhead Costs Selling and Administrative Expense Budget Cash Budget
. Please describe in detail the process for conducting a SWOT analysis and provide examples of each element.
An evaluation called a SWOT analysis is commonly used to perform both a thorough internal investigation of an organization to assess its strengths (S) and weaknesses (W) and an appraisal of the external competitive environment looking for any opportunities (O) or threats (T). A useful acronym, PESTLE, can be used to evaluate political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal factors that may affect an organization's strategy.
. Please describe and discuss the most common conflict triggers in an organization.
Conflict between team members comes from several sources. Some conflicts have their basis in how people behave, while others come from disagreements about the nature of the team's work and how it is being accomplished. Whetten and Cameron categorize the sources of conflict into four types: personal differences, informational deficiencies, role incompatibility, and environmental stresses. People come to an organization with different values and backgrounds. Sometimes, these values clash with the values and experiences of others. The more diverse the group, the more likely this is to occur. A diversity of opinion may lead to each member having less confidence in individual performance but will ultimately lead to a higher level of overall performance. A team member creates conflict when displaying attitudes or behaviors that go against the team's agreement about how it will function. If a group norm calls for prompt arrival at meetings and prohibits the use of mobile devices during discussions, ignoring these practices can engender conflict. Value conflict involves incompatibility in ways of life. This type of conflict includes the different preferences and ideologies that people may have as their principles. Value conflict is challenging to resolve because the differences are belief-based and not fact-based. An international war in which each nation asserts its beliefs is an example. According to Shetach, an organizational consultant in team process and development, conflict is a healthy state of affairs and is neither positive nor negative by nature. Conflict can result from a diversity of attitudes, such as race, gender, looks, education, opinions, feelings, religion, and cultures. Conflict may also arise from differences in values, affiliations, roles, positions, and status. These differences in background, values, and attitudes are compounded by taking place in an environment where jockeying for power and politics is commonplace. Conflict can arise when people have mutually incompatible desires or needs. For example, two team members with similar skills may both want a specific assignment, leaving the one who does not receive it resentful. Individuals may clash over their respective work habits, attention to detail, communication practices, or tone of expression. While these can affect the coordination of interdependent tasks, they can especially inhibit direct collaboration. Informational deficiencies can also lead to conflict. When team members do not share relevant information, people may make decisions or take actions that others consider inappropriate or even harmful. Blame and questions about motives can result, creating discord among the team. Conflict due to a lack of information tends to be easier to solve because it is usually due to a misunderstanding of factual information. After clarification, team members generally can move forward without resentment. Lack of clarity about tasks, strategies, or goals can lead people to make assumptions that others do not share or agree with, which can result in conflict. Role incompatibility is a frequent cause of conflict in organizations that have complex reporting structures and when tasks are highly interdependent. Each unit in an organization has different goals and metrics to measure its success. Frequently, these indicators for success are mutually incompatible. When some team members are either not contributing their share of effort or not performing at the expected level of quality, the impositions that result can create friction, which may be heightened when critical or highly visible tasks are involved.1 Power conflict occurs when each party tries to exert and maintain its maximum influence in the relationship and social setting. For one party to influence the other, one party must be stronger (in terms of influence) than the other. Imbalance of power may result in a power struggle that may end in winning, losing, or a deadlock with continuous tension between both parties. Scarcity of resources naturally leads to increased conflict. Managers are less likely to collaborate as they attempt to secure the necessary resources to meet their departmental needs. For example, if two people both rely on the action of a third person to meet identical deadlines, disagreements might arise over whose work should receive that person's attention first. Sometimes conflict is structural, which means that no matter who is in charge or how many personnel changes occur, the conflict will persist. Structural sources of conflict include unfair, unclear, or inefficient policies, procedures, organizational cultures, or ingrained practices. Overlapping job descriptions that create turf battles that are never resolved can lead to extended conflict. Organizations that encourage or fail to punish racism, sexism, harassment, bullying, or other negative workplace behavior engender conflict. Setting goals unrealistically high or malalignment between the needs of the organization and the individual leads to a sense of frustration, which can cause conflict.
What are the benefits of conducting an HR demand forecast and describe the two underlying forecasts.
Forecasting, an organization's HR needs, also known as an HR demand forecast, is an essential aspect of managerial planning that can improve an organization's current capabilities, reduce its costs, and help it survive a radical change in economic conditions. This process involves two forecasts: (1) determining the quantity and quality of people necessary to provide trained staffing for a future opportunity and (2) estimating the internal supply of people currently employed by the organization who have the required skills to fill anticipated future jobs.4 Consider the organization's objectives, business units, budgets, retirement policy, and attrition rates when estimating staffing needs.
Please describe and discuss the three main types of conflict and provide an example of each.
Of the many reasons for conflict, there are three main types of conflict: simple, pseudo, and ego. Simple conflict traditionally stems from different standpoints, views, or goals. With simple conflict, you understand each other but disagree. To resolve simple conflict, focus on issues, not on individual personality traits. With simple conflict, you may feel misunderstood, rejected, or isolated. Pseudo conflict (pseudo, meaning "fake" or "false") is a misunderstanding in communication due to miscommunication or incomplete information. Either one or both have failed to comprehend what the other was attempting to convey. Left unchecked, this type of communication may further feelings of frustration and misunderstanding. Ego conflict occurs when the discussion moves from the issues to the inadequacies of the opposing party and can include personal attacks and character assassination. When this happens, it is best to shift ego conflict to pseudo or simple conflict. Ego conflict may cause heated exchanges and may require separation in order to properly reset the conversation.
Please discuss in detail the three primary approaches to conflict resolution.
The primary aim of conflict management is to promote the positive effects and reduce the adverse impact that disputes can have on team performance without necessarily fully resolving the conflict itself. Teams use one of three primary tactics to manage conflict: smoothing, yielding, and avoiding. 1. The smoothing approach attempts to minimize the differences among the people who conflict with each other. This strategy often focuses on reducing the emotional charge and intensity of how the people speak to each other by emphasizing their shared goals and commitments. 2. The yielding approach describes the choice some team members make to give in when others disagree with them rather than engage in conflict. Conceding is more common when the stakes are perceived to be small or when the team member's emotional ties to the issue at hand are not particularly strong. 3. In the avoiding approach, team members may choose to ignore all but the most contentious disagreements. While this can have short-term benefits and may be the best option when the team is under time pressure, it is the approach least likely to produce a sense of harmony among the group.1
. What is the Transaction Model of communication?
The transaction model of communication describes communication as a process in which communicators generate social realities within social, relational, and cultural contexts. In this model, you do not just communicate to exchange messages; you communicate to create relationships, form intercultural alliances, shape your self-concepts, and engage with others in dialogue to create communities. In short, you do not communicate about your realities; communication helps to construct your realities (and the realities of others). The roles of sender and receiver in the transaction model of communication differ significantly from the other models. Instead of labeling participants as senders and receivers, the people in a communication encounter are referred to as communicators. Unlike the interaction model, which suggests that participants alternate positions as sender and receiver, the transaction model indicates that you are simultaneously a sender and a receiver. For example, when meeting a new friend, you send spoken messages about your interests and background, and your companion reacts nonverbally. You do not wait until you are done sending your verbal message to start receiving and decoding the nonverbal messages of your new friend. Instead, you are simultaneously sending your verbal messages and receiving your friend's nonverbal messages. Having simultaneous communications between both parties is an important addition to the model because it allows you to understand how you can adapt your communication—for example, modifying a verbal message—in the middle of sending it based on the communication you are simultaneously receiving from your conversation partner.
Please describe the elements of the SMART goal format and provide an example of each.
Writing objectives in a SMART format makes it easier to assess whether they have been successfully met. The acronym is as follows: · S is for specific. Answer the questions: who, what, where, when, which, and why. · M is measurable. An objective must be measurable, so it is clear whether you have met it or not. · A is attainable. Are the goals written in such a way that they follow a logical sequence? · R is for realistic. Can you accomplish the goal in a reasonable period using available resources? Goals should be challenging but attainable. · T is for time-based. Time-based objectives keep you focused
