MAN3027- Lesson 12-Managing Individuals and a Diverse Workforce

Power Plate Inc., a consumer electronics manufacturer, introduced a new solar cooker in the market. The team responsible for the successful launch of the product consisted of product designers, innovators, engineers, marketing professionals, and sales professionals. This is an example of a(n) _____.

Cross-functional Team

Which of the following is a declining stage when teams are not effectively managed?

De-forming

as a director of human resources at your organization, you have noticed an increase in drug abuse among your employees. You are at which stage of the decision making process?

Defining the problem

__ is a method of subdividing work and workers into separate organizational units that take responsibility for completing particular tasks.

Departmentalization

A job candidate is rejected on the pretext that he is hearing impaired. Which of the following types of discrimination does this exemplify?

Disability discrimination

_____ is the process of developing a pool of qualified job applicants from outside the company.

External recruiting

Horizon Inc. employs people from different cultural and religious backgrounds. It encourages all employees to work together in harmony. In this scenario, Horizon is promoting _____ in the workplace.

diversity

Alexander is a consultant at a finance company. Other employees approach him for help in all types of stressful situations. He always keeps calm and is quick at finding solutions to problems. In the context of personalities, Alexander can be described as being _____.

emotionally stable

Mara and Osman believe that they are the spokespersons for their team, and all the other team members are incapable of coming up with any plans on their own. As a result, they do not allow any other team member to speak during meetings and discussions. This work team is most likely experiencing _____.

minority domination

Kevin's organization is trimming costs by eliminating office space and allowing employees to work from home instead. Kevin has been assigned the job of making decisions as to how to set up each employee's home work center and how meetings will take place. These types of choices would represent _____ decisions for Kevin.

non-programmed

You and some classmates decided to join a bowling league. You know one another pretty well at this point and have a good idea of what you are trying to accomplish. Which stage of development is your bowling team in?

norming

The function of ___ concerns deciding where decisions will be made, who will do what jobs/tasks, and who will work for whom

organizing

You and some classmates decided to join a bowling league. You formed a team and are now competing with other teams in the league. You are all focused on winning the league trophy and a strong sense of commitment exists. Which stage of development is your bowling team in?

performing

A team of scientists is assembled to conduct research on a new source of renewable energy. Research and development will continue for one year after which the team will be disbanded. This team is an example of a(n) _____.

project team

A(n) _____ is created to complete specific, one-time tasks within a limited time.

project team

Which of the following statements is true of members of virtual teams?

they use email and videoconferencing for business communication

The smallest amount of autonomy is found in:

traditional work groups

Someone whose personal and gender identity differ from the person's birth sex is a(n)

transgender person

Objective performance measures can be easily and directly counted or quantified.

true

Valuable resources allow companies to improve efficiency and effectiveness.

true

Peter disagrees with the automation of many of the company's processes but decides not to speak against it as his team is in favor of the changes. Peter believes that disagreeing with his team will have negative effects on the team. This scenario illustrates the concept of _____.

Group thinking

___ is a barrier to good decision making caused by pressure within the group for members to agree.

Groupthink

consists of a small number of people with complementary skills

True of a work team

Which of the following is TRUE with regard to group decision making?

Using groups for decision making is usually more time consuming

Chester, the operations manager at a chemical manufacturing company, finds that the air pollutants released by the company have become very high. To arrive at a decision to resolve the issue, he defines the problem and then identifies decision criteria. In the context of rational decision making, which of the following is the next step that Chester should ideally take?

Weighing the decision criteria

Three companies perform different activities in order to transform inputs into outputs. Their combined efforts result in the creation of a product that is valuable to customers. This represents:

an interorganizational process

The nonmanagerial employees at Piper Pies are allowed to come up with new pie flavors of their choice, as long as they meet the company's quality standards. They are also allowed to decide how to market the new pies to customers. Which of the following is best illustrated in this scenario?

decentralization of authority

DramPharma is a company that manufactures and sells medicine to treat Huntington's disease, a rare genetic disorder. The company controls 80 percent of the world's industry in its segment. The company aims to seek steady growth in the industry. In terms of adaptive strategies, DramPharma would most likely be categorized as a(n) _____.

defender

Your organization concentrates its efforts on distinguishing its products from the competition based on superior quality. This means you are able to charge a premium price. Your organization pursues a(n) ___ strategy.

differentiation

_____ is a mental or physical impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.

disability

Funsase, a clothing company in Rockbourne, manufactures clothing with micro-cool, a special type of fabric that can absorb heat and keep the individual wearing the clothes cool in the summer. None of its competitors have been able to manufacture this type of clothing. This ability of producing superior quality clothing is the company's _____.

distinctive competence

The extent to which team members are attracted to a team and motivated to remain in it is known as:

Cohesiveness

Flagon Inc., a specialty bottle manufacturing company, pays its employees a percentage of the purchase price of every bottle they sell to a customer. Which of the following compensation systems has Flagon adopted?

Commission

A chain of stores sells computer accessories, and all the marketing activities are planned at the company headquarters. These plans are required to be carried out by the employees without any deviation. In the context of organizational authority, which of the following is best illustrated in this scenario?

Centralization of authority

example of customer departmentalization

A travel agency organizes its labor force into departments based on the category of clients the respective department serves. These departments include individual travel, couple travel, family travel, and group travel. In this scenario, the travel agency most likely follows _____.

difference between centralization and decentralization

Centralization should occur where standardization is important, whereas decentralization should occur where standardization is unimportant.

___ is the process of finding, developing, and keeping the right people to form a qualified workforce.

Human resource management

Which of the following is a difference between sequential interdependence and reciprocal interdependence?

In sequential interdependence, work is performed in succession because one group's or job's outputs become the inputs for the next group or job, whereas in reciprocal interdependence, different jobs or groups work together in a back-and-forth manner to complete a process.

Which of the following is an advantage of product departmentalization?

It allows managers and workers to specialize in one area of expertise

an advantage of product departmentalization

It allows managers and workers to specialize in one area of expertise.

which of the following statements is TRUE of functional departmentalization?

It allows work to be done by highly qualified specialists.

an advantage of geographic departmentalization

It can reduce costs by locating unique organizational resources closer to customers.

Which of the following best defines an interorganizational process?

It is a collection of activities that take place among companies to transform inputs into outputs that customers value.

Which of the following best defines strategic dissonance?

It is a discrepancy between a company's intended strategy and the strategic actions taken by managers while implementing that strategy.

Which of the following best defines competitive inertia?

It is a reluctance to change strategies or competitive practices that have been successful in the past.

Which of the following best defines delegation of authority?

It is the assignment of direct responsibility to a subordinate to complete tasks for which the manager is normally responsible.

In the context of the job characteristics model, which of the following best defines autonomy?

It is the degree to which a job gives workers the discretion, freedom, and independence to decide how and when to accomplish their work.

Which of the following is true of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA)?

It requires that employers provide employees with a workplace that is free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm.

Skrugetech Inc. designs its jobs in such a way that each job profile has a number of tasks associated with it. The employees are also given a substantial amount of liberty to make decisions about their work as long as they fulfill other work and quality requirements. In the context of job design, Skrugetech Inc. is most likely using _____.

Job Enrichment

Billy works as a book editor in a publishing company. The chief supervisor of the company makes Billy work with a different department every month. In the context of job design, this is an example of _____.

Job Rotation

difference between mechanistic organizations and organic organizations

Mechanistic organizations work best in stable, unchanging business environments, whereas organic organizations work best in dynamic, changing business environments.

__ is a work environment where all member are empowered to contribute to the organization and the individuality of each member is respected by not segmenting or polarizing people on the basis of their membership in a group.

Organizational plurality

Which type of plan indicates the general course of action that should be taken in response to a particular event or situation?

Policy

In the context of the BCG matrix, which of the following businesses would be classified as a star?

PrimeSmart, a smartphone manufacturer that is the market leader in a rapidly growing industry

A design firm organizes its workforce into departments based on the service the department provides, such as web designing, magazine designing, and portfolio publishing. In this scenario, The design firm most likely follows _____.

Product Departmentalization

Flagon Inc., a specialty bottle manufacturing company, pays its employees a percentage of the organization's profits over and above their regular compensation. Which of the following compensation systems has Flagon adopted?

Profit sharing

In ___, members control and manage all of the major tasks of producing a product/service.

Self-managing Team

___ deal with unique, one-time-only events

Single-use plans

the stage of team development when team members jockey for position and try to establish a favorable role for themselves on the team.

Storming

In the context of adaptive strategies, which of the following is true of defenders?

They aggressively hold their current strategic position by doing the best job they can to hold on to customers in a particular market segment.

a disadvantage of modular organizations

They are characterized by a loss of control that occurs when key business activities are outsourced to other companies.

true of mechanistic organizations

They are characterized by specialized jobs and responsibilities.

Which of the following is true of virtual organizations?

They use a broker to create and assemble the knowledge, skills, and resources from different companies for customers.

true of virtual organizations

They use a broker to create and assemble the knowledge, skills, and resources from different companies for customers.

true of members of virtual teams

They use email and videoconferencing for business communication.

Which of the following is an example of a TEAM?

You and three of your neighbors decide that you would like to build a neighborhood playground. You meet on a Saturday and work together to complete this task.

Michonne works at a small bakery. There isn't much of a disparity between the salaries earned by those at the top of the organization and those at the bottom. Compensation is fairly similar regardless of the job that someone performs. Michonne most likely works at an organization with:

a compressed pay structure

stacy is uncomfortable at work because her male colleagues occasionally make lewd sexual remarks. In the context of employment legislation, this scenario best illustrates _____.

a hostile work environment

Matrix departmentalization

a hybrid organizational structure in which two or more forms of departmentalization are used together.

You are looking for a job and see an advertisement for an open position at a local bakery. In the advertisement, you see a list of the basic tasks, duties, and responsibilities required of someone performing the job. This would be known as:

a job description

During new employee orientation at your job, you are walking down the hall on a guided tour of the organization. You see a plaque on the wall with the phrase "We will be the most innovative product design company in the world, and provide our customers with the highest levels of quality and service." This phrase is most likely:

a purpose statement

In the context of portfolio strategy, ___ is the purchase of a company by another company.

acquisition

In the process of performance appraisal, _____ occurs when assessors rate all workers as average.

central tendency error

Larry's sales team members often argue with each other while addressing a problem and seemingly resolve their differences as soon as the appropriate solution to the problem has been found. The focus of the disagreement is usually on differences of opinion. This scenario illustrates the concept of _____.

cognitive conflict

Skylar is the owner of Pirate Pizza Bus, a popular food truck. The food truck was so successful that she decided to open a brick-and-mortar location several years ago. While the truck continues to earn a good profit, the physical restaurant has been performing poorly. She has continued to invest a lot of energy and money into trying to make the restaurant profitable, but nothing is working. Current projections show that the restaurant will continue to lose money, but she decided to go ahead and invest a large sum of money into more advertising for it. Skylar is demonstrating which bias?

commitment

Power Plate Inc., a consumer electronics manufacturer, introduced a new solar cooker in the market. The team responsible for the successful launch of the product consisted of product designers, innovators, engineers, marketing professionals, and sales professionals that come from various areas of the organization. This is an example of a(n) ___.

cross-functional team

Benjamin, a creative director at a marketing firm, is responsible for conducting the final round of interviews for those who apply for the posts of advertising and editorial photographer, graphic artist, and graphic designer. As part of the interview, he asks candidates to furnish contact details of the supervisors of their previous jobs. This scenario illustrates that Benjamin gives high importance to _____.

employment references

In the context of the job characteristics model, _____ is the amount of information the job provides to workers about their job performance.

feedback

Which strategy answers the question of "how should we compete against a particular firm?"

firm-level

Your organization concentrates its efforts on targeting males with ages ranging from 18 to 25. Your organization pursues a(n) ___ strategy.

focus

As a director of human resources at your organization, you are creating a list of possible activities that could be used as team building exercises during your next company party. You are at which stage of the decision making process?

generating alternatives

A(n) ___ is a desired future circumstance, while a(n) ___ is a plan of action for goal attainment.

goal; strategy

in the process of performance appraisal, _____ occurs when assessors rate all workers as performing at the same level in all parts of their jobs.

halo error

Wyatt is a user experience designer. He is quiet and shy, tends to keep to himself, and is very focused on his work. He is usually the first person in his team to come up with ideas for new projects. Wyatt's superior prefers working with him on critical projects because he is very good at his job. In the context of personalities, Wyatt can be described as being a(n) _____.

introvert

Ralph uses his gut feelings and instincts to make decisions. This would be an example of:

intuitive decision making

Unlike surface-level diversity, deep-level diversity consists of differences that are:

learned only through extended interaction with others

Zircon is a family-run wedding planning agency. Its employees are carefully recruited based on their unique personalities and beliefs. The agency is able to operate effectively because the employees work together in harmony despite their varied beliefs, which are reflected in their work. The employees know that they can speak openly, and their opinions will be heard and valued. In the context of diversity paradigms, the management of Zircon uses the _____.

learning and effectiveness paradigm

Chad is the human resources manager of a chain of stationery stores. The company intends to open two new outlets, and Chad plans to recruit staff for both the outlets by the end of the month. In this scenario, Chad's staffing target serves as a _____.

proximal goal

In ___, members control and manage all of the major tasks of producing a product/service, and also control team design, work tasks, and membership.

self-designing teams

In the context of surface-level diversity, _____ occurs when people are treated differently because of their sexual orientation

sexual orientation discrimination

In the context of surface-level diversity, _____ occurs when people are treated differently because of their sexual orientation.

sexual orientation discrimination

When Tamara applied for the position of a fashion photographer at a monthly magazine, she had to go through an interview test that assessed her photography skills and her capability to operate effectively under pressure. Given this information, which of the following selection tests did Tamara most likely undergo?

specific ability test

The purpose of a(n) ___ strategy is to continue doing what a company has been doing, just doing it better.

stability

Brenda, the finance manager of a fast-moving consumer goods company, advises Ben, the marketing manager of the company, on good financial practices that could be followed when implementing various marketing strategies. In this scenario, Brenda most likely has _____ over Ben.

staff authority

When managers base decisions on what has worked in the past and fail to explore new options, this is consistent with:

status quo bias

Your manager just walked into your office and asked you to come up with a list of positive internal characteristics that your organization could exploit to achieve its goals. It looks like you'll be working on generating a list of ___.

strengths

Differences such as age, sex, race/ethnicity, and physical disabilities that are observable, typically unchangeable, and easy to measure are categorized as:

surface-level diversity

delegation of authority

the assignment of direct responsibility to a subordinate to complete tasks for which the manager is normally responsible.

Organizational structure

the vertical and horizontal configuration of departments, authority, and jobs within a company

In the context of organizational environments, which of the following is true of mechanistic organizations?

they are characterized by specialized jobs and responsibilities.