Essentials Of Contemporary Management 6th Edition Jennifer M. George, Gareth R. Jones - Solutions

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“Total customer service is the goal toward which most organizations should strive.” To what degree is this statement correct?AppendixLO1
Why is it important for managers to pay close attention to their organization’s production system if they wish to be responsive to their customers?AppendixLO1
What is efficiency, and what are some of the techniques that managers can use to increase it? [LO4]AppendixLO1
Ask a manager how quality, efficiency, and responsiveness to customers are defi ned and measured in his or her organization. [LO2, 3, 4]AppendixLO1
Explain why achieving superior quality is so important. [LO3]AppendixLO1
Why is face-to-face communication between managers still important in an organization?AppendixLO1
Many companies have reported that it is difficult to implement advanced management information and decision support systems.Why do you think this is so?How might the roadblocks to implementation be removed?AppendixLO1
Because of the growth of high-powered low-cost computing, wireless communications, and technologies such as videoconferencing, many managers soon may not need to come into the office; they will be able to work at home.What are the pros and cons of such an arrangement?AppendixLO1
Which medium (or media)do you think would be appropriate for each of the following kinds of messages that a subordinate could receive from his or her boss:(a) a raise, (b) not receiving a promotion, (c) an error in a report prepared by the subordinate, (d) additional job responsibilities, and
What is the relationship between information systems and competitive advantage?AppendixLO1
Discuss why two restaurants in the same community might have different pay levels.AppendixLO1
Evaluate the pros and cons of 360-degree performance appraisals and feedback.Would you like your performance to be appraised in this manner? Why or why not?AppendixLO1
Describe the type of development activities you think middle managers are most in need of. [LO3]AppendixLO1
Explain the issues managers face in determining levels of pay and benefi ts.AppendixLO1
Explain why performance appraisal and feedback are such crucial activities, and list the choices managers must make in designing effective performance appraisal and feedback procedures.AppendixLO1
Describe the steps managers take to recruit and select organizational members. [LO2]AppendixLO1
Imagine that you are the manager of a hotel. What steps will you take to reduce social loafi ng by members of the cleaning staff who are responsible for keeping all common areas and guest rooms spotless? [LO5]AppendixLO1
Why do some groups have very low levels of cohesiveness? [LO4]AppendixLO1
Discuss the reasons why too much conformity can hurt groups and their organizations.AppendixLO1
Explain why it is important for groups and teams to have a balance of conformity and deviance and a moderate level of cohesiveness.AppendixLO1
Explain how different elements of group dynamics infl uence the functioning and effectiveness of groups and teams.AppendixLO1
Identify the different types of groups and teams that help managers and organizations achieve their goals.AppendixLO1
Explain why groups and teams are key contributors to organizational effectiveness. [LO1]AppendixLO1
Interview a manager to fi nd out how the three situational characteristics that Fiedler identifi ed are affecting his or her ability to provide leadership. [LO3]AppendixLO1
Imagine that you are working in an organization in an entrylevel position after graduation and have come up with what you think is a great idea for improving a critical process in the organization that relates to your job. In what ways might your supervisor encourage you to actually implement your
Describe what transformational leadership is, and explain how managers can engage in it. [LO4]AppendixLO1
Discuss why substitutes for leadership can contribute to organizational effectiveness.AppendixLO1
Discuss why managers might want to change the behaviors they engage in, given their situation, their subordinates, and the nature of the work being done. Do you think managers are able to readily change their leadership behaviors? Why or why not?AppendixLO1
Describe the steps managers can take to increase their power and ability to be effective leaders. [LO1]AppendixLO1
Describe what transformational leadership is, and explain how managers can engage in it. AppendixLO1
Explain what leadership is, when leaders are effective and ineffective, and the sources of power that enable managers to be effective leaders.AppendixLO1
Interview three people who have the same kind of job(such as salesperson, waiter/waitress, or teacher), and determine what kinds of needs each is trying to satisfy at work. AppendixLO1
Discuss why managers should always try to use positive reinforcement instead of negative reinforcement.AppendixLO1
Discuss why two people with similar abilities may have very different expectancies for performing at a high level.AppendixLO1
Explain why and how managers can use pay as a major motivation tool.AppendixLO1
Identify the motivation lessons that managers can learn from operant conditioning theory and social learning theory. [LO4]AppendixLO1
Explain how goals and needs motivate people and what kinds of goals are especially likely to result in high performance. [LO3]AppendixLO1
Describe from the perspectives of expectancy theory and equity theory what managers should do to have a highly motivated workforce. [LO2]AppendixLO1
Explain what motivation is and why managers need to be concerned about it. AppendixLO1
Interview some employees of an organization, and ask them about the organization’s values, norms, socialization practices, ceremonies and rites, and special language and stories.Referring to this information, describe the organization’s culture AppendixLO1
Ask a manager to list the main performance measures that he or she uses to evaluate how well the organization is achieving its goals. [LO1, 2]AppendixLO1
What kind of controls would you expect to fi nd most used in (a) a hospital, (b) the Navy,(c) a city police force? Why?AppendixLO1
What is organizational culture, and how does it affect the way employees behave? [LO2]AppendixLO1
Why is it important for managers to involve subordinates in the control process? [LO3, 4]AppendixLO1
How do output control and behavior control differ? [LO1]AppendixLO1
What is the relationship between organizing and controlling? [LO1]AppendixLO1
Understand the role of entrepreneurship in the control and change process.AppendixLO1
Discuss the relationship between organizational control and change, and explain why managing change is a vital management task. [LO3]AppendixLO1
Explain the role of clan control or organizational culture in creating an effective organizational architecture.AppendixLO1
With the same or another manager, discuss the distribution of authority in the organization.Does the manager think that decentralizing authority and empowering employees is appropriate? [LO1, 3]AppendixLO1
How do matrix structures and product team structures differ?Why is the product team structure more widely used?[LO1, 3, 4]AppendixLO1
How might a salesperson’s job or a secretary’s job be enlarged or enriched to make it more motivating? [LO2, 3]AppendixLO1
Describe the three steps of planning. Explain how they are related. [LO1]AppendixLO1
Ask a manager to recall the best and the worst decisions he or she ever made. Try to determine why these decisions were so good or so bad. [LO1, 2, 3]AppendixLO1
What is the difference between entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship?AppendixLO1
What is organizational learning, and how can managers promote it? [LO4]AppendixLO1
Why do capable managers sometimes make bad decisions? What can individual managers do to improve their decision-making skills? [LO1, 2]AppendixLO1
Describe the six steps that managers should take to make the best decisions.[LO2]AppendixLO1
Which organization is likely to face the most complex task environment, a biotechnology company trying to develop a new cure for cancer or a large retailer like The Gap or Macy’s? Why? [LO2, 3]AppendixLO1
Why is it important for managers to understand the nature of the forces in the global environment that are acting on them and their organizations? [LO1]AppendixLO1
Understand the two major forms of sexual harassment and how they can be eliminated.AppendixLO1
Understand why the effective management of diversity is both an ethical and a business imperative. [LO5]AppendixLO1
Appreciate the increasing diversity of the workforce and of the organization environment. [LO3]AppendixLO1
Explain why managers should strive to create ethical organizational cultures.AppendixLO1
Go to an upscale clothing store in your neighborhood, and go to a clothing store that is defi nitely not upscale.Observe the behavior of employees in each store as well as the store’s environment. In what ways are the organizational cultures in each store similar? In what ways are they
Watch a popular television show, and as you watch it, try to determine the emotional intelligence levels of the characters the actors in the show portray. Rank the characters from highest to lowest in terms of emotional intelligence. As you watched the show, what factors infl uenced your
Interview a manager in a local organization. Ask the manager to describe situations in which he or she is especially likely to act in accordance with his or her values. Ask the manager to describe situations in which he or she is less likely to act in accordance with his or her values.
Why might managers be disadvantaged by low levels of emotional intelligence? [LO4]Action AppendixLO1
Assume that you are a manager of a restaurant.Describe what it is like to work for you when you are in a negative mood. [LO3]AppendixLO1
Can managers be too satisfi ed with their jobs? Can they be too committed to their organizations? Why or why not? [LO2]AppendixLO1
Discuss why managers who have different types of personalities can be equally effective and successful.[LO1]AppendixLO1
How attuned are the managers in the organization to the need to increase efficiency, quality, innovation, or responsiveness to customers? How well do you think the organization performs its prime goals of providing the goods or services that customers want or need the most?AppendixLO1
If you could give your manager one piece of advice or change one management practice in the organization, what would it be?AppendixLO1
Describe the way the organization treats its human resources. How does this treatment affect the attitudes and behaviors of the workforce?AppendixLO1
Think of the organization and its resources. Do its managers utilize organizational resources effectively? Which resources contribute most to the organization’s performance?AppendixLO1
How did your supervisor’s approach to management affect your attitudes and behavior? For example, how well did you perform as a subordinate, and how motivated were you?AppendixLO1
Do you think the tasks, roles, and skills of your supervisor are appropriate for the particular job he or she performs? How could this manager improve his or her task performance? How can IT affect this?AppendixLO1
How do you characterize your supervisor’s approach to management? For example, which particular management tasks and roles does this person perform most often?What kinds of management skills does this manager have?AppendixLO1
Think of your direct supervisor.Of what department is he or she a member, and at what level of management is this person?AppendixLO1
Find a cooperative manager who will allow you to follow him or her around for a day.List the roles the manager plays, and indicate how much time he or she spends performing them.AppendixLO1
Distinguish among three kinds of managerial skill, and explain why managers are divided into different departments. [LO4]AppendixLO1
Describe what management is, why management is important, what managers do, and how managers use organizational resources efficiently and effectively to achieve organizational goals. [LO 1-1]AppendixLO1
Distinguish among planning, organizing, leading, and controlling (the four principal managerial tasks), and explain how managers’ ability to handle each one affects organizational performance. [LO 1-2]AppendixLO1
Differentiate among three levels of management, and understand the tasks and responsibilities of managers at different levels in the organizational hierarchy. [LO 1-3]AppendixLO1
Distinguish among three kinds of managerial skill, and explain why managers are divided into different departments to perform their tasks more efficiently and effectively. [LO 1-4]AppendixLO1
Discuss some major changes in management practices today that have occurred as a result of globalization and the use of advanced information technology (IT). [LO 1-5]AppendixLO1
Discuss the principal challenges managers face in today’s increasingly competitive global environment.AppendixLO1
Describe the difference between efficiency and effectiveness, and identify real organizations that you think are, or are not, efficient and effective. [LO 1-1]AppendixLO1
In what ways can managers at each of the three levels of management contribute to organizational efficiency and effectiveness? [LO 1-3]AppendixLO1
Identify an organization that you believe is high-performing and one that you believe is low-performing. Give five reasons why you think the performance levels of the two organizations differ so much.[LO 1-2, 1-4]AppendixLO1
What are the building blocks of competitive advantage? Why is obtaining a competitive advantage important to managers?[LO 1-5]AppendixLO1
In what ways do you think managers’ jobs have changed the most over the last 10 years? Why have these changes occurred? [LO 1-6]Action AppendixLO1
Choose an organization such as a school or a bank;visit it; then list the different organizational resources it uses. How do managers use these resources to maintain and improve its performance?[LO 1-2, 1-4]AppendixLO1
Visit an organization, and talk to first-line, middle, and top managers about their respective management roles in the organization and what they do to help the organization be efficient and effective. [LO 1-3, 1-4]AppendixLO1
Ask a middle or top manager, perhaps someone you already know, to give examples of how he or she performs the managerial tasks of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. How much time does he or she spend in performing each task?[LO 1-3]AppendixLO1
Like Mintzberg, try to find a cooperative manager who will allow you to follow him or her around for a day. List the roles the manager plays, and indicate how much time he or she spends performing them.AppendixLO1
Describe the various personality traits that affect how managers think, feel, and behave. [LO 2-1]AppendixLO1
Explain what values and attitudes are and describe their impact on managerial action.[LO 2-2]AppendixLO1
Appreciate how moods and emotions influence all members of an organization.[LO 2-3]AppendixLO1
Describe the nature of emotional intelligence and its role in management.[LO 2-4]AppendixLO1

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Essentials Of Contemporary Management 6th Edition Jennifer M. George, Gareth R. Jones - Solutions

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