Questions and Answers of Organizational Behaviour Understanding

Describe authentic leadership and explain how it differs from other theories of leadership.
Describe empowering leadership and explain how it differs from other theories of leadership.
Describe servant leadership and explain how it differs from other theories of leadership.
What is global leadership and how does it compare to other theories of leadership. Are global leaders born or made?
Why is Canada ahead of some big countries like the United States when it comes to global leaders? What can other countries learn about developing global leaders from Canada?
Do men and women have different leadership styles? What are the implications of these differences for organizations?
Why are there so few women in senior leadership positions in organizations? What can organizations do to increase the number of women who occupy senior leadership positions?
Consider the relationship between leadership and organizational culture. Using the approaches to leadership discussed in this chapter (e.g., leadership traits; behaviours; situational theories;
Refer to the material in Chapter 3 on perceptions and gender stereotypes, and compare and contrast it with the material presented in this chapter on women and leadership. What does the material in
What effect does leadership have on employee motivation? Using each of the theories of motivation described in Chapter 5, discuss the implications for leadership. In other words, according to each
Refer to the material in Chapter 2 on learning and discuss the implications of learning theories for ethical leadership. In other words, what should ethical leaders do to create an ethical workplace?
Refer to the theories and styles of leadership discussed in the chapter. Describe the kind of leader that Brenda Lucki should be and the type of leadership that is required to modernize and reform
1. What do you think the manager is likely to do in this situation? What should she do, and why?2. Explain the relevance of ethical leadership in this situation. What will an ethical leader do, and
it was still weeks before Elsa was to be formally appointed as the leader of a newly formed group, she decided to show her boss and the other group members that she was worthy of a promotion. She was
1. Discuss the problems facing ICRISAT. To what extent are these problems the result of its leadership over the past several years?2. Describe Dr. Dar’s leadership experience. What kind of
Why is computer-mediated communication attractive? What are its problems?
List six reasons why employees might respond with silence rather than voice to an organizational problem. Then, for each reason, explain how the organization could act to encourage voice.
Discuss the pros and cons of the existence of the grapevine in organizations. Suppose an organization wanted to “kill” the grapevine. How easy do you think this would be?
Under what conditions might body language or clothing have a strong communicative effect? When might the effect be weaker?
Debate: As more women move into management positions in organizations, the gender differences in communication between men and women will eventually disappear and so will communication problems.
Describe a communication episode that you have observed in an organization. Who were the sender and receiver? Was the episode effective? Why or why not?
Debate: Since more and more global business is being conducted in English, North Americans will not have cross-cultural communication problems in the future.
Discuss a case in which you heard one message communicated verbally and “saw” another transmitted non-verbally. What was the content of each message? Which one did you believe?
What is the communication process?
What are some of the deficiencies in the chain of command?
What is voice and why should organizations encourage it?
Who is inclined to exercise voice and when?
What is the grapevine? Of what value is it to the organization? What are the pros and cons?
Discuss the following statement: Non-verbal communication is more effective than verbal communication.
What are the factors that contribute to communication problems between men and women?
How can organizations improve communication?
How can individuals improve communication?
What are the dimensions of cross-cultural communication and how does it influence the effectiveness of cross-cultural communication?
What is computer-mediated communication and how does it compare to other forms of communication media?
How can an organization create a positive climate for voice and what impact does it have on employees?
What role do perceptions play in gender differences in communication? Refer to the perceptual system in Chapter 3 and use its components—the perceiver, the target person, and the situation
How does a manager’s leadership style affect manager-employee communication? Refer to the theories of leadership described in Chapter 9 (e.g., ethical and authentic leadership, leadership traits,
1. How does the concept of cultural context apply to the events that transpired?2. If you were a culturally aware Canadian executive doing the negotiating here, how would you have proceeded to avoid
The email just said, “Cancel it.” Carol Graves couldn’t believe her eyes. Carol was a marketing coordinator for Monkland Pharmaceuticals. One of her duties was to organize a professional
1. Discuss how the web and new media such as Facebook have (a) aided, and (b) complicated organizational communication. Be sure to consider the implications of sending a message when you do not know
The director of an urban hospital feels that there is a turnover problem among the hospital’s nurses. About 25 percent of the staff resigns each year, leading to high replacement costs and
1 to explore how the director might proceed to solve this problem. Discuss probable bounds to the rationality of the director’s decision.
Describe a decision-making episode (in school, at work, or in your personal life) in which you experienced information overload. How did you respond to this overload? Did it affect the quality of
A very cohesive planning group for a major oil company is about to develop a long-range strategic plan. Serena, the head of the unit, is aware of the groupthink problem and wishes to prevent it. What
Discuss the implications of diffusion of responsibility, risky shift, and conservative shift for the members of a parole board. Also, consider the role of emotion and mood.
Many universities must register thousands of students for courses each semester. Is this a well-structured problem or an ill-structured problem? Does it require programmed decisions or non-programmed
An auditing team fails to detect a case of embezzlement that has gone on for several months at a bank. How might team members use hindsight to justify their faulty decisions?
Explain how the rational decision-making process works.
Compare and contrast perfect rationality and bounded rationality.
What are sunk costs? How do they affect solution evaluation?
What is hindsight? Cite two specific cases of hindsight.
Compare and contrast programmed and non-programmed decision making.
What can organizations do to improve the decision making of their members?
How can emotion and mood affect decision making?
What is groupthink and what can organizations do to prevent it?
How do groups handle risk? What is a risky shift? What is a conservative shift?
Consider the role of communication in decision making. Explain how various communication problems can affect decision making in organizations. How can personal and organizational approaches for
Does group structure influence group decision making? Explain how each of the following structural characteristics might influence group decision quality, acceptance and commitment, and diffusion of
What factors are likely to affect the accuracy of the admissions yield estimate? Why do you think decision errors often compound themselves? That is, why is one error often followed by others?
1. Is this an example of a well-structured or an ill-structured problem? Explain your reasoning.2. Who are the stakeholders in this decision? That is, whose interests are affected by the outcomes of
1. What are some of the factors that might lead Christophe to make a poor decision about the review?2. What would you do in this situation, and why?
1. Is selecting applicants for business school a well-structured or an ill-structured problem? Explain your reasoning.2. Is it possible to program the decision to select applicants for admission for
How should Anisha Anderson decide on which of the bonus plans to implement? That is, what process should she use?
As a CRS, which bonus plan would you prefer, and why?
Many millionaires continue to work long, hard hours, sometimes even beyond the usual age of retirement. Use the ideas developed in the chapter to speculate about the reasons for this motivational
Discuss a time when you were highly motivated to perform well (at work, at school, in a sports contest) but performed poorly in spite of your high motivation. How do you know that your motivation was
What are the implications of goal orientation for motivating a group of employees? Describe a situation in which it would be best to set a learning goal and a situation in which it would be best to
Describe self-determination theory, and provide an example of when your motivation was controlled and when it was autonomous. What factors contributed to your autonomous motivation and controlled
What is the relationship between cognitive ability and emotional intelligence with job performance? When would emotional intelligence be most important for a person’s job performance? When is
Use Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and Alderfer’s ERG theory to explain why assembly line workers and executive vice-presidents might be susceptible to different forms of motivation.
Colleen is high in need for achievement, Eugene is high in need for power, and Max is high in need for affiliation. They are thinking about starting a business partnership. To maximize the motivation
Debate the following statements: Of all the motivational theories we discussed in this chapter, goal setting theory is the simplest to implement. Goal setting is no more than doing what a good
Critique the following assertion: People are basically the same. Thus, the motivation theories discussed in the chapter apply equally around the globe.
Refer to the cross-cultural dimensions of values described in Chapter 4 (i.e., work centrality, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity/femininity, individualism/collectivism, and
Consider the basic characteristics of motivation in relation to operant learning theory and social cognitive theory. What are the implications of operant learning theory and social cognitive theory
1. Do you think it was a good idea for Professor Hackenbush to use goal setting to motivate the TAs? How effective was this motivational strategy?2. Use goal setting theory to explain why Professor
1. Discuss the motivation and the motivational strategies being used at Ruffian Apparel for each group of employees (store manager, assistant manager, part-time and full-time associates). How
1. What factors do you think contribute to the performance of the employees at DATATRONIC? Refer to Exhibit 5.1 to explain your answer.2. Consider the needs of the employees at DATATRONIC. What is
1. What factors do you think contribute to the performance of the employees at DATATRONIC? Refer to Exhibit 5.1 to explain your answer.2. Consider the needs of the employees at DATATRONIC. What is
1. Describe the practices that Lincoln Electric uses to motivate employees. What are some of the consequences of these practices for employees and the company?2. Discuss the motivational system at
Use one of the need theories of motivation (Maslow’s hierarchy, Alderfer’s ERG, or McClelland’s need theory) to characterize the state government’s current motivational system. What kinds of
Use expectancy theory to analyze the state government’s current motivational system. Consider motives to “produce” and motives to “participate.” Use the concepts of outcomes, valences,
Given your answer to question 3, what special demands do your proposed changes make on supervisory personnel, especially with regard to their roles as motivators and developers of employees?
Will your new and improved civil service system require a revised hiring strategy? What changes in hiring will have to take place?
Imagine two insurance companies that have merit pay plans for salaried, white-collar employees. In one organization, the plan truly rewards good performers, while in the other it does not. Both
Imagine an office setting in which a change to a four-day week, flex time, or telecommuting would appear to be equally feasible to introduce. What would be the pros and cons of each system? How would
What work design characteristics are most important for you, and why? If you were to redesign the job you currently hold or a job you have previously held, what work design characteristics would you
What is the relational architecture of jobs, and why is this important for job design? Discuss your current or most recent job in terms of its relational architecture. How can the relational
Describe some jobs for which you think it would be difficult to link pay to performance. What is there about these jobs that provokes this difficulty?
You are, of course, familiar with the annual lists of the world’s 10 worst-dressed people or 10 worst movies. Here’s a new one: A job enrichment consultant has developed a list of the 10 worst
What are the essential distinctions between gainsharing, profit sharing, and employee stock ownership plans? How effective is each pay plan, and what are the advantages and disadvantages?
Some observers have argued that the jobs of the prime minister of Canada and the president of the United States are “too big” for one person to perform adequately. This probably means that the
Why do you think employees and managers seriously underestimate the importance of pay as a motivator? What are the implications of this for organizations’ use of pay to motivate employees? What are
How is the concept of workforce diversity related to the motivational techniques discussed in the chapter?
Although an increasing number of organizations are offering their employees the opportunity to telecommute, many employees who have tried it don’t like it and prefer to be in the workplace. Why do
Why would workers consciously restrict their productivity under piece-rate?
What are some of the reasons that merit pay plans are often ineffective and what can be done to make them more effective?
What are some of the reasons that wage incentive plans are often ineffective and what can be done to make them more effective?
Contrast the traditional view of job design with the more recent approach.
How do the moderating variables influence outcomes in the Job Characteristics Model?

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