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Organizational Studies Exam Review
Challenges of Working in the 21st Century Workplace
Intellectual Capital
o Collective brainpower of a workforce
o Challenge because change jobs often
Globalization
o Worldwide interdependence of resource flows, product markets and business
competition that characterize the new economy
o No national business boundaries
o Challenge because have to be wordly and know everything
Technology
o Transformation of workplace through internet, computers, information
technology
o Challenge because increasing demand for skills and always changing
Diversity
o Reflects differences with respect to gender, age, race etc.
o Challenge because hard to keep everyone happy
Ethics
o Moral principles society requires
o Emphasis on strength of corporate governance
o Challenge because everything is online and gets out
Careers
o Not uniformly full0time or limited to one employer
o Challenge because skills must be portable and of current value
Critical Skills in the New Workplace
Mastery
Contacts
Entrepreneurship
Love of technology
Marketing
Passion for renewal
Organization: collection of people working together for a common purpose
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Organizations as Open Systems
Composed of interrelated parts that function together to achieve a common purpose
Interact with their environment
Transform resource inputs into product outputs
Organizational Performance
Productivity: overall measure of the quantity and quality of work performance
Performance Effectiveness: output measure of task or goal accomplishment (reaching goal)
Performance Efficiency: input measure of resource costs associated with goal accomplishment
(reaching goal with minimal effort)
Levels of Managers:
Top managers: responsible for whole organization
Middle managers: in charge of large departments
Project manager: coordinate complex spontaneous projects
Team leader/ supervisor: in charge of small working group of non-managerial workers
Accountability: the requirement of one person to anser to a higher authority for relevant
performance results
Types of Managers
Line managers: responsible for work activities that directly affect organization’s outputs
Staff managers: use technical expertise to advise and support the efforts of line workers
Functional managers: responsible for a single area of activity
General manager: responsible for more complex units that include many functional
areas
Administrators: work in public and non-profit organizations
The Organization as an upside-down pyramid
Every individual adds value
Manager must support the workers
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Qualities of High Performing Managers
Build working relationships
Help others develop skills and performance competencies
Create work environment that is performance driven and provides satisfaction with
workers
Functions of Managers- POLC
Planning
o Set objectives and operational plans
Organizing
o Assigning tasks, allocating resources, arranging and coordinating activities of
individuals
Leading
o Arousing people’s enthusiasm to work hard
Controlling
o Measuring work performance and taking corrective action
Scientific Management
Fredrick Taylor
“father of management”
Studied time
Support working by planning and removing obstacles
The Gilbreths
Studied motion
Eliminate wasted motions to improve performance
Administrative Principles
Henri Fayol
Management can be taught though POLC
Mary Parker Follett
Started Human resource approach
Made every employee an owner-creates responsibility
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Bureacratic Organization
Max Weber
Ideal, intentionally rational efficient organization
Characteristics
Clear division of labour
Clear hierarchy of authority
Formal rules and procedures
Impersonality
Disadvantages
Excessive paperwork or “red tape”
Slow
Rigidity
Resists change
Employee apathy
Hawthorne Studies
Elton Mayo
Tested if lighting affects productivity
Failed, but discovered social and human concerns are keys to productivity
Hawthorne Effect- people who are singled out for special attention perform as expected
Scalar Chain: there should be a clear unbroken line of communication from the top to the
bottom of the organization
Unity of Command: everyone should have one boss
Unity of Direction: one person should be in charge of each department
Maslow’s Theory of Human Needs
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Deficit principle: a satisfied need is not a motivator of behaviour
Progression Principle: a need becomes a motivator once the preceding lower-level need is
satisfied
McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y
Theory X assumes workers dislike work, lack ambition nd prefer to be led
Theory Y assumes workers are willing to work, capable of self control and self-direction
Creates self-fulfilling prophecies
Argysis’ Theory of Adult Personality
Classical management are inconsistent with mature adult
Mature adult needs increasing task responsibility, increasing task variety and uses
participating decision making
Ethical dilemma: a situation that requires a choice regarding a possible course of action where
there is no clean consensus on “right” and “wrong”
Reasons and Rationalizations for Ethical Dilemmas
1. The behaviour is not really illegal
2. The behaviour is in everyone’s best interests
3. Nobody will ever find out what you’ve done
4. The organization will “protect” you
Ethics Training: seeks to help people understand the ethical aspects of decision making and
incorporate high ethical standards into their daily lives
Whistle-blower: exposes the misdeeds of others
Corporate Social Responsibility: Obligates organizations to act in ways that serve both its own
interests and the interests of society at large.
Views of Ethics
Utilitarianism View- greatest good to the greatest number of people
Individualism View- primary commitment is to one’s long term self-interests
Moral Rights View: respects and protects the fundamental rights of all people
Justice View: fair and impartial treatment of people according to legal rules and
standards
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Cultural Relativism: ethical behaviour is always determined by cultural context
Cultural Universalism: behaviour that is unacceptable in one’s home environment should not be
acceptable anywhere else.
Strategies for Pursuing Social Responsibility
Obstructionist: meets economic responsibilities
Defensive: meets economic and legal responsibilities
Accommodative: meets economic, legal and ethical responsibilities
Proactive: meets economic, legal, ethical and discretionary responsibilities
Corporate governance: the oversight of the top management of an organizatioan by a board of
directors.
Perspectives on Corporate Social Responsibility
Classical View
o Management’s only responsibility is to maximize profits
Socioeconomic View
o Management must be concerned for the broader social welfare, not just profits
Competitive Advantage: a competency that sets an organization apart from competitors and
gives it an advantage over them in the marketplace
Crosby’s Four Absolutes of Management for Total Quality Control
Conformance to standards
Defect prevention, not defect correction
Quality as a performance standard must mean defect-free work
Quality saves money
Organizational Culture: the system of shared beliefs and values that develops within an
organization and guides the behaviour of its members
How to Read an Organization’s Culture
Structure Change-oriented? Outcomes are valued? Risk-taking? Empowerment? Style
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Observable Culture: what one sees and hears when waling around an organization (ex. Stories,
heroes, symbols, rites and rituals)
Core Culture: the underlying assumptions and beliefs that influence behaviour and contribute
to observable culture.
Characteristics of Multicultural Organizations
Pluralism
Structural integration
Informal network integration
Absence of prejudice and discrimination
Minimum intergroup conflict
Organizational Subcultures: cultures based on shared work responsibilities and/or personal
characteristics
Diversity Leadership Approaches
Affirmative/ Advancing Action
o Commits the organization to hiring and advancing minorities and women
Valuing Diversity
o Omits the organization to education and training programs
Managing Diversity
o Commits to changing the organizational culture
Leadership: the process of inspiring others to work hard to accomplish important tasks
Contemporary Leadership Challenges
Shorter time frames
Expectations for success on the first attempt
Complex, ambiguous, and multidimensional problems
Taking a long-term view while meeting short-term demands
Visionary Leadership
Vision: a future that are hopes to create or achieve in order to improve upon the
present state of affairs
Visionary Leadership: a leader who brings to the situation a clear and compelling sense
of the future as well as an understanding of the actions needed to get there successfully
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Power: The ability to get someone else to do something you want done or make things happen
the way you want
Sources of Power
Position Power
o Based on manager’s official status in the organization’s hierarchy of authority
o Reward Power (temporary)
Capability to offer something of value
o Coercive Power
Capability to punish or withhold positive outcomes
o Legitimate Power (temporary)
Organizational position or status confers the right to control those in
subordinate positions
Personal Power
o Expert Power (enduring)
Capacity to influence others because of one’s knowledge and skills
o Referent Power (enduring)
Capacity to influence others because they admire you and want to
identify positively with you
Power and Influence are affected by:
Centrality
Criticality
Visibility
Empowerment: the process through which maagers enable and help others to gain power and
achieve influence
Effect Leaders Empower with:
Information
Responsibility
Authority
Trust
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Leadership Behaviour
Blake and Mouton Leadership Grid
Classic leadership styles:
o Autocratic Style (authority-obience)
Emphasizes task over people
o Lassiez-faire style (country club)
Emphasized people over task
o Democratic Style (team)
Committed to task and people
Fiedler
o Fiedler fits
o Leadership style is a part of personality
o Leadership style must fit to situation
o Task oriented: high or low control
o Relationship-oriented: moderate control
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Hershey-Blanchard
o Leaders adjust their styles depending on situation
House’s Path-Goal Leadership Theory
Make a path and remove obstacles for subordinates
o Directive Leadership
~ Set expectations, directions, schedule, standards
~ Use when job assignments are ambiguous
o Supportive Leadership
~ Work is pleasant, treat equally, friendly, concerned with others
~ Use when worker self-confidence is low
o Achievement-oriented Leadership
~ Set challenging goals, expect a lot, emphasize improvement
~ Use when task challenge is insufficient
o Participative Leadership
~ Involves subordinates, consults, asks and uses suggestions
~ Use when performance incentives are poor
Participating
• low task
• high relationship
Delegating
• low task
• low relationship
Telling
• high task
• low relationship
Selling
• high task
• high relationship
Ab
ility
Willingness
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Vroom-Jago Leadership Participation Theory
Helps leaders choose the method of decision making
Choices:
o Authority decision
o Consultative decision
o Group decision
Superleaders: person whose vision and strength of personality has an extraordinary impact on
others
Charismatic Leaders: develop special leader-follower relationships and inspire others in
extraordinary ways
Transactional Leadership: someone who directs the efforts of others through tasks, rewards,
and structures
Transformational Leadership: someone who is truly inspirational as a leader and who arouses
others to seek extraordinary performance accomplishments
Drucker’s Old Fashioned Leadership
Leadership is more than charisma; it is good old fashioned hard work
Common Problems with Teams
Personality conflicts
Ambiguous agendas
Individual difference in work styles
Ill-defined problems
Poor readiness to work
Team Effectiveness=quality for inputs + (process gains-process loss)
Stages of Team Development
1. Forming
2. Storming
3. Norming
4. Performing
5. Adjourning
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Motivation: The forces within the individual that account for the level, direction, and
persistence of effort expended at work
Reward: A work outcome of positive value to the individual
Intrinsic Reward: valued outcomes that occur naturally as a person works on a task
Extrinsic Reward: valued outcomes given to someone by another person
When linking reward and performance:
respect diversity and individual differences, understanding what everyone wants
allocate rewards to satisfy interests of both organization and individual
Content Theories of Motivation
Maslow: Hierarchy of Needs
Deficit Principle: a satisfied need is not a motivator of behaviour
Progression Principle: a need at one level does not become activates until the previous
is satisfied
Alderfer: ERG Theory
Frustration Regression Principle: an already satisfied lower-level need becomes
reactivated when a higher level need becomes reactivated when a higher-level need is
frustrated
Herzberg: Two-Factor Theory
Hygiene Factor: Source of job dissatisfaction; external
Satisfier Factor: Source of job satisfaction and motivation; internal
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McClelland: Acquired Needs Theory
Need for Achievement (nAch)- desire to do something better
Need For Power (nPower)- desire to control others
Need for Affiliation- (nAff)- desire to establish relationships
Equity Theory of Motivation
When people think there is unfairness, they try to eliminate discomfort and restore
perceived equity
Employees change work inputs, rewards received, comparison points and situation
Do not underestimate pay as a source of equity controversy (overpaid=guilt, underpaid=
anger)
Expectancy Theory- Victor Vroom
Expectancy- belief that working hard will result in desired level of performance
Instrumentality- belief that successful performance will be followed by reward
Valence- value a person assigns to rewards
M= ExIxV (if one is low, motivation will be low)
Goal Setting Theory
Developed by Edwin Locke
Properly set and well managed task goals are very motivating
Motivational effects and key principles:
o Provide direction with specific goals
o Set challenging goals with clear expectations
o Establish a frame of reference for and provide goal feedback
o Reward goal accomplishments
Management by Objective(MBO) promotes participation
Incentive Compensations
Skill-Based Pay: pay links to job relevant skills
Bonus Pay Plan: lump-sum pay based on specific performance
Profit-Sharing Plans: employees receive portion of profits
Gain-Sharing Plans: group share in savings realized through their specific efforts
Employee Stock Ownership Plans: employee s own stock in their employer
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Operant Conditioning Strategies
Controls behaviour by manipulating its consequence
Law of Effect- impact of type of consequence on future behaviour
Communication: The process of sending and receiving symbols with meanings attached
Elements of Communication Process: Sender, Message, Communication Channel, Receiver,
Meaning, and Feedback
Communication Barriers
Anything that interferes with the communication process
Includes noise, poor choice of channels, poor written or oral expression, failure to
recognize non-verbal signals, physical distractions and status effects.
Active Listening: the process of taking action to help someone say exactly what he or she really
means
Feedback: The process of telling others how you feel about something they did, said, or the
situation in general
Punishement Positive
Negative Extinction
Rem
ova
l- P
rese
nta
tio
n
Unpleasant Pleasant
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Constructive Feedback Guidelines: direct, specific, when willing to accept, valid, in small doses
Proxemics
the use of interpersonal space, an important non-verbal cue
workspace layout has an impact on communication and behaviour
Ethnocentrism: the tendency to consider one’s culture superior to any or all others and act in a
negative way towards them
Barriers to Effective Communication
Stereotypes: when attributes commonly associated with a group are assigned to an
individual
Halo Effect: when one attribute is used to develop an overall impression of a person or
situation
Selective Perception: the tendency to define problems from one’s own point of view
Projection: the assignment of personal attributes to an individual
Major Causes of Conflict
Role ambiguity
resource scarcities
task interdependencies
competing objectives
structural differentiation
unresolved prior conflict
Types of Conflict
Substantive: disagreements about specific goals, resources etc
Emotional: disagreement from feelings
Functional: constructive conflict
Dysfunctional: destructive conflict
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Co-operativeness: desire to satisfy someone else’s needs
Assertiveness: desire to satisfy own needs
Distributive Negotiation: focuses on claims made by each party, leading to a win-lose outcome
Principled Negotiation: based the outcome of merit of individual claims, leading to win-win
outcome
Mediation: a neutral third party aims to improve communication, coming up with solution ideas
Arbitration: a neutral third party acts as a judge and creates a binding decision
Corporate Strategy: sets long term direction for the total enterprise
Electronic Commerce: the process of buying and selling goods thought the use of the internet
B2B: Business to Business
B2C: Business to Consumer
Programmed Decisions: applies solutions that are readily available
Non-Programmed Decisions: develop novel solutions to meet demands of unique situations
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Crisis: an unexpected problem that could lead to a disaster
Decision Support System: interactive system that allows users to organize and analyze data for
complex problem solving
Problem Avoiders: inactive in gathering information
Problem Seekers: Proactive in anticipating difficulties
Problem Solvers: reactive in gathering information
Systematic Thinkers: approaches problems rationally, step by step
Intuitive Thinker: flexible approach, spontaneous and uses gut feelings
Short Range Plan: covers one year or less
Long Range Plan: Covers three or more years into the future
Management by Objective (MBO)- structured process of regular communication where
supervisors and workers jointly set objectives
Strategic Plans: Identifies long term directions for the organization
Operational Plans: Identifies activities to implement strategic plan
Retrenchment: corrects weaknesses by making changes to current ways of operating
Diversification: Acquiring of new investment in new and different business areas
Strategic Alliance: Organizations join together in partnership to pursue an area of mutual
interest
Portfolio Planning: Seeks the best mix of investments amount alternative business
opportunities
Planning Process
1. Define Objective
2. Where you stand
3. Develop Premise of future condition
4. Analyze/choose among alternatives
5. Implement plan/evaluate results
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BCG Matrix
Analyzes business opportunities according to market growth rate and market share
Control Process
1. Establish objectives
2. Measure actual performance
3. Compare results with objectives
4. Take corrective action
Concurrent Controls: Focuses on what happens during action
Feedback Controls: focuses on past action
Standing plan: used more than once i.e. policies
Zero-based budget: allocate resources as if it were the first time
Progressive discipline: tying reprimands to the severity of the infraction
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Expert Systems: software systems use AI to mimic the thinking of human experts using codes
“if...then...”
Availability Heuristic: people use information that is readily available from memory as a basis
for assessing a current event/situation
Representative Heuristic: people assess the likelihood of something happening based upon its
similarities to a stereotypes set of occurrences
Anchoring and Adjustment Heuristic: people make decisions based on adjustments to a
previously existing value or starting point
Escalating Commitment: tendency to increase effort and apply more resources to a course of
action that is not working
Mechanistic Designs- stability
Predictable goals
Centralized authority
Many rules and procedures
Narrow spans of control
Specialized tasks
Few teams and task forces
Formal and impersonal means of coordination
Organic Designs- growth
Adaptable goals
Decentralized authority
Few rules and procedures
Wide spans of control
Shared tasks
Many teams and task forces
Informal and personal means of coordination
Stress: Is a state of tension experienced by individuals facing extraordinary demands,
constraints, or opportunities.
Stressor: Is anything that causes stress
Type A personality: Is a person oriented toward extreme achievement, impatience, and
perfectionism
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Constructive stress: Acts in a positive way to increase effort, stimulate creativity, and encourage
diligence in one’s work.
Destructive stress: Impairs the performance of an individual.
Job burnout: Is a physical and mental exhaustion
Small-batch production: A variety of custom products are tailor-made to order.
Mass production: A large number of uniform products are made in an assembly-line system.
Continuous-process production: A few products are made by continuously feeding raw
materials through a highly automated production system with largely computerized controls
Top-down change
Strategic and comprehensive change that is initiated with the goals of comprehensive
impact on the organization and its performance capabilities.
Success depends on support of middle-level and lower-level workers
Bottom-up change
The initiatives for change come from any and all parts of the organization, not just top
management.
Made possible by:
– Employee empowerment, involvement and participation
Integrated change leadership.
Successful and enduring change combines advantages of top-down and bottom-up
approaches.
Transformational and incremental change
Unplanned change
Organizational Design: the process of creating structures that accomplish the organization’s
objectives
Organizational Structure: a system of reporting relationships and communication linkages
Divisional Structure: Divisional structures are derived from groups working on a similar product,
in the same geographical location, serve the same customers or participate in the same work
process and are grouped together under common management
Functional Structure: groups together people with similar skills who work on similar tasks
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Matrix Structure: combines functional and divisional approaches to create a permanent cross
functional project
Functional Chimney’s Problem: a lack of communication across functions
Boundaryless Organization: eliminates internal boundaries among subsystems and external
boundaries with the external environment
The Phases of Planned Change
1. Unfreezing
~ The situation is prepared for change
2. Changing
~ The change takes place
3. Refreezing
~ He change is stabilized
Departmentalization: the process of grouping people together in formal work units or teams
Organizing: arranging people an resources to work toward a goal
Process re-engineering: systematically analyzes work processes to design new and better ones