Questions and Answers of Management And Organisational Behaviour

Discuss critically how you view the relationships between organisational culture and change.
Attempting to analyse culture in terms of different levels or generic typologies is too simplistic and prescriptive. it serves no useful purpose in evaluating applications of management and
To what extent do you believe the culture of an organisation can be likened to the personality of an individual?
The idea that culture is a form of management control over the behaviour and identities of individuals is far too nebulous. it all depends on the personality and actions of immediate supervisors
What value do you place on different typologies of organisational culture?
The extent to which an individual’s needs and expectations at work are compatible with the culture of an organisation is probably the most important determinant of motivation and job satisfaction.
Discuss critically the extent to which the climate within your own university has influenced the enjoyment of, and motivation towards, your course of study.
The proliferation of definitions and explanations of culture, its anthropological origins and lack of clarity undermine its value to our understanding of organisational behaviour. it is too ambiguous
Explain fully how you see the main subject and focus of change.
Continuing organisational change is inevitable. it is Nothing new and a simple fact of life. there is no point in dwelling on the subject. it is easier just to accept the need to adapt to change as
Give specific examples of major change confronting management today and probable implications for your university and/or an organisation of your choice.
Some people actively thrive on new challenges and constant change, while others prefer the comfort of the status quo and strongly resist any change. it is all down to the personality of the
Explain fully why you think many people appear to exhibit a strong resistance to change. Where possible support your answer with actual examples.
The biggest difficulty with change is the associated fear and uncertainty. this is a natural reaction for most people. however, a participative style of management with full and open continuous
An organisation cannot develop, or change. it is the people comprising the organisation who determine the culture of the organisation, and who develop and change. the study of organisational culture
Explain fully what you believe are the most important features in the successful implementation and management of organisational change.
Given a forced-choice situation most people would prefer to work for an effective organisation that offers long-term job security and consistent high wages rather than an organisation that is more
Give your own views on the importance and contribution of managers to organisational effectiveness. support your answer with reference to your own university.
Technical competence can easily be learned and not all managers require conceptual ability, but someone with poor social and human skills can never become an effective manager. these attributes are
Explain what you see as the essential attributes, qualities and skills for a successful manager today.
Octavius Black, as above, draws attention to the emotional side of work and claims that a degree in psychology would be a better training ground for managers. What do you think? How well is your
What specific criteria and measures would you use to judge managerial effectiveness in any organisation of your choice?
The philosophy and actions of successful managers should include acknowledgement of mea culpa, the admission of responsibility for their failings and a clear open apology for their mistakes. Do YOU
Explain in your own words your understanding of what is meant by the learning organisation. to what extent is your own organisation a learning organisation?
Organisations have no separate identity of their own and do not exist without their members. the idea of a systematic, hierarchical and structured organisational learning approach is contrary to the
Discuss the practical applications of total quality management and related concepts.
Give your views on the relevance of: (i). Investors in people;(ii). The EFQM model for improved organisational effectiveness.
Explain fully those factors that have contributed to and/or detracted from your strength of engagement with and commitment to your university and/or any work situation.
Discuss the extent to which you believe there is a responsibility for your own continuous professional development and self-development.
Give your own views on how you see the future of management and the nature of successful organisations.
Detail the questions you would ask, and the specific criteria you would apply, in attempting to evaluate the performance and effectiveness of your own university.
Managers do not really have much influence. they follow where the organisation appears to be going, and avoid upsetting other people or making serious errors. People regarded as good managers are
How would you summarise the essential nature of managerial work? in what ways does the job of a manager differ from any other job in a work organisation?
According to Foppen, management is of pivotal importance for modern society and thinking about management at university level is of great relevance to management practice. To what extent is your
Give detailed reasons for whether you believe: (i) Managers are born or made;(ii) Management is an art or a science.
Despite criticisms of the prescriptive nature of activities and principles of management, they do provide important guidelines for establishing a framework within which the work of an organisation is
To what extent is it possible to establish rules or principles of good management? Assess critically the practical applications of these rules or principles.
The idea of ‘getting work done through the efforts of other people’ may not satisfy all possible criteria for the role of the manager. it does, however, have the advantage of simplicity and
Contrast critically the nature of management in private-enterprise and public-sector organisations.
The basis of ownership and finance, public accountability, demand for uniformity of treatment and the political environment in which they work mean the nature of management in the public sector is
Why do organisations need managers? suggest which one writer has in your opinion made the greatest contribution to our understanding of the nature of management. Justify your answer.
The work of a manager is not easy to describe as aspects that are common in many applications escape us in others and all managers have their individual way of working. Understanding the nature of
Give your own views on the importance of managerial style.
Although published in 1960, the underlying concepts of mcgregor’s theory X and theory Y are still some of the most significant and meaningful insights into our understanding of managerial
Contrast sets of attitudes and assumptions about people at work that might be held by managers. suggest how these attitudes and assumptions might influence actual managerial behaviour.
Whatever the talk about a more consultative style of managerial behaviour, the main complaint from disgruntled members of staff is usually about lack of clear direction and strong decisive
Discuss critically the suggestion that management is a much more human activity than is commonly suggested in management textbooks. support your discussion with practical examples.
The idea of basic philosophies such as managing by consideration, respect and trust may seem enlightened but is naive and idealistic. given the natural skepticism of staff, such philosophies are
Give your own critical views on the practical implementation of basic underlying philosophies for managing with and through people.
Explain fully, with supporting reasons, how you see the future of management in work organisations.
Assess the practical value to the manager of: (i) Fiedler’s contingency model of leadership effectiveness;(ii) Hersey and Blanchard’s readiness of the followers or group situational model.
Leadership is one of the holy grails of management and organisational behaviour. however complex or nebulous the subject area may appear, an understanding of leadership is an essential part of your
Explain clearly what you understand by the meaning of leadership and give your own definition. to what extent do you believe leadership differs from management?
In universities, many lecturers inspire students and are viewed usually as leaders not managers. in sport, we hear frequent talk about great leaders who are not managers of the team. there appears to
Distinguish between different approaches to the study of leadership and discuss critically what you see as the relevance today of each of these approaches.
Leadership is all about determination, personality and innate ability at the right time for a particular competitive situation. Many effective business leaders have no formal academic qualifications
Using the tannenbaum and schmidt continuum, identify, with reasons, what would be your preferred style of leadership.
The tannenbaum and schmidt continuum is the single most relevant study of leadership. successful managers need to be consistent in both personality and behaviour, yet adaptable to forces that
Common sense suggests that situational factors are clearly a major determinant of the most appropriate leadership style. But, realistically, contingency models appeal only to teachers rather than
Discuss critically the contention that in times of uncertainty or economic depression a confident, authoritarian style of leadership is likely to be the most effective.
Transactional and transformational leadership should not be seen as alternatives. any effective leader will clearly use a balance of both legitimate authority and attention to higher ideals and
Explain clearly the nature and main features of transformational leadership. give your own examples of people you would regard as transformational leaders. discuss critically the relevance of
Charisma and the ability to inspire and move loyal followers in the desired direction are among the most controversial leadership qualities. despite the apparent attraction of charisma by itself, it
Discuss the main sources of power and leadership influence. give a practical example of each of these main sources of power and influence within your own university or organisation.
Whatever the debate on leadership relationship and ideas such as servant leadership, the harsh reality is that influence exercised by a leader depends on the amount of power and authority the leader
Explain why self-awareness is increasingly highlighted as an important feature of leadership. to what extent are you aware of who you are, and what you are thinking and feeling?
There is much commentary on the need for less hierarchical structures and a changed culture of leadership based on skills and competencies throughout the organisation as a whole. How realistic do you
If you were a consultant on leadership, what areas of needs would you include in designing a leadership development programme for managers in a large work organisation? Justify your ideas.
Despite vast amounts of writing on the subject, it is extremely difficult to give a precise and agreed meaning of leadership. nor is there agreement on one best model or style of leadership, or how
Discuss the main situational forces and variables likely to influence the most appropriate form of managerial leadership. give an example of when a particular style of leadership is likely to be most
Give your own views on the changing nature of the work organisation. Give examples from your own organisation.
‘The study of organisational behaviour is really an art that pretends it is a science and produces some spurious research findings in a vain attempt to try to prove the point.’ How far do you
Discuss how organisations may be viewed in terms of contrasting metaphors. How would you apply these metaphors to an understanding of your own organisation?
This case examines two organisations that have many similarities as well as a number of significant differences. The essential technology and systems behind each organisation may be very similar, but
From your own organisational experience, provide for classroom discussion short descriptions (suitably disguised if necessary) to illustrate the practical application of:1. The Peter Principle; and2.
Suggest main headings under which factors influencing behaviour in work organisations can best be identified. Where possible, give practical examples based on your experience.
You are required to start by asking yourself this question: is it a good thing to be a worker? Then think carefully about your responses to the following questions.How do you feel . . .■ When you
Five figures are shown below.You are required to:1. Select the one that is different from all the others.2. Discuss in small groups reasons for the individual selections and be prepared to justify
Paul Belche uses a culinary metaphor to explain how he tries to coax the best qualities from the mix of cultures at the steel plant he runs in western Germany, close to the borders with France and
‘Teamworking is no more than a fashionable term used by management to give workers an exaggerated feeling of importance and empowerment. In reality an emphasis on teamworking is only likely to lead
‘With the continual increase in globalisation and advances in new technology and communications the days of people spending most of their time working alongside the same colleagues are gone. Global
Distinguish between formal and informal groups and provide your own supporting examples. What functions do informal groups serve in an organisation?
‘The most important factor influencing group cohesiveness and performance is the style of leadership. Leaders are the role models who set the culture and values for the organisation and the group.
Those studying organisational behaviour often find themselves reading about the issues faced by global businesses, whose managerial excellence is supported by cutting-edge technology and major
Obtain, or prepare, a chart depicting the formal groupings within your organisation or a large department of the organisation.1. Using this chart, identify clearly the informal groups that exist
Explain the main distortions or errors that can occur in perceiving other people and support your answer with practical examples.
Explain what you understand by the underlying concept of motivation. Summarise the main needs and expectations to be taken into account in considering the motivation of people at work.
Employee of the month (or the week, or the year) awards have a bad image. They are popularly associated with low-paid, low-status service sector jobs – a dollop of worthless recognition on top of
a. List, as far as possible in rank order, the specific needs and expectations that are most important to you as an individual. (Do not include basic physiological needs such as to satisfy thirst or
a. Answer each question ‘mostly agree’ or ‘mostly disagree’. Assume that you are trying to learn something about yourself. Do not assume that your answer will be shown to a prospective
Using the example from Figure 2.2 as a model, you are required to develop a detailed programme using scientific management techniques for any two of the following simple domestic tasks:■ Booking an
The growth of the home personal computer (PC) market is one of the most remarkable success stories of the last quarter century. If you own a home PC or an electronic notebook and you live in the
Summarise the main features of the neo-human relations approach to organisation and management. How does it differ from other approaches?
‘The idea of postmodernist organisation can be likened to the “Emperor’s new clothes”. In reality it is too theoretical and too vague, and lacks any real adaptive value for the practical
Identify, and outline briefly, major trends in management theory since the beginning of this century. Debate critically the extent to which the ideas of management gurus have any practical relevance
How would you define an organisation and why do organisations exist? What are the common factors in any organisation?
The economist J. K. Galbraith asserted that fraud rose in a bull market and shrank in a slump. The discovery of Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme suggests Galbraith may be right about large-scale
Undoubtedly you have had recent experiences with numerous organisations. Ten to fifteen minutes of reflective thinking should result in a fairly large list of organisations. Don’t be misled by
You are required to set out a detailed PESTEL (political, economic, socio-cultural, technological, environmental, legal) analysis of your college department or faculty, or any other organisation with
‘Despite the current popularity of new forms of social enterprise organisations, attempting to maintain a triple bottom line of social, environmental and financial objectives will detract from

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