Supervision Today 8th edition Stephen P. Robbins, David A. DeCenzo, Robert M. Wolter - Solutions

1. Do you think Joe would have handled the situation differently if Tim had been a less valued worker?Why?2. What is the probable outcome of not filing the accident report on time and with complete honesty?3. If you had been the supervisor in the case, what would you have done to deal with Tim and
“Supervisors should be concerned with helping their employees cope with both job-related stress and off-the-job stress.” Do you agree or disagree?Discuss.
Differentiate among physiological, psychological,and behavioral stress symptoms. Which are the greatest concerns for supervisors?
What is stress? How can it be positive?
How are incidence rates calculated? Give an example.
Identify three methods of preventing accidents. How can supervisors assist in ensuring that accidents are prevented?
Describe the priority of OSHA investigations.
What are the objectives of the Occupational Safety and Health Act?
1. Why do you think Bill Martin is so concerned about his meeting with his area manager? Should he change the rating methods he uses to evaluate his employees? Why or why not?2. What are some of the benefits Bill Martin’s employees get from their performance reviews? What are some drawbacks?3.
1. Many supervisors say that evaluating an employee’s performance is one of their most difficult tasks. Why do you think they feel that way?2. What can supervisors do to make performance appraisal an effective process?3. What could J.C. Penney leadership have done to make this process more
Do you believe employee counseling is preferable to disciplining employees? Support your position.
What is a 360-degree appraisal? What are the advantages and disadvantages of using this method of appraising?
What can a supervisor do to minimize distortions in the appraisal process?
Would human errors in the appraisal process be eliminated in small organizations where one person does all the appraisals? Explain.
Compare written essay appraisals with BARS appraisals.
If appraising behaviors are superior to appraising traits, why do you think so many organizations evaluate their employees on criteria such as effort,loyalty, and dependability?
Contrast intrinsic and extrinsic feedback.
What is the relationship between goal setting and performance appraisal?
Contrast the advantages of supervisor-conducted appraisals, self-evaluations, and peer evaluations.
Why, in your opinion, do many supervisors dislike or even avoid giving employees performance feedback?
1. Thomas’ coach survived the fallout, but was heavily criticized for claiming he was unaware of the fraternity-house behavior happening in the locker room. Is it reasonable to believe a coach or any supervisor responsible for creating and monitoring the workplace environment could not know what
1. Why do you think a team was needed for the design of a complex project like the distribution center for HP? How would you classify this team?2. Do you believe that the advantages accrued from specialization (see Chapter 4, “Organizing”) are lost or diminished when individuals from different
In two to three pages, explain whether you would prefer to work alone or as part of a team.
Describe why work teams are more acceptable in Japan than in the United States or Canada.
What is the supervisor’s role in gaining external support for teams?
How do you build trust in a team?
Contrast a team’s purpose and its goals.
What skills do all teams need to perform effectively?
Compare a pseudo team with a real team.
Explain the increasing popularity of teams.
Why can’t formal systems be designed to completely eliminate the need for informal groups?
Do cohesive groups always outperform less cohesive groups? Explain.
Give examples of low performance-related norms.
How do norms affect the behavior of employees?
1. What barriers were there to communication between the employees of General Mills and Pillsbury?2. Although not a “different language” per se, how might the language of the functional areas within the organization have interfered with communication?3. How did the employee roles from the
1. Analyze the communication between the lead supervisor, Sam Case, and the new supervisor in Section A, Paul Banks. What did Sam do wrong?2. How could the problem have been prevented? In your answer, discuss the requirement for active listening.3. Discuss the barriers to effective
Contrast the nominal group technique and electronic meetings.
When should supervisors use groups for decision making? When should they make the decisions themselves?
Which view of ethics do you believe dominates in business firms? Justify your response.
What rationalizations do people use to justify questionable conduct?
How does escalation of commitment affect decision making? Give an example.
How might certain decision styles fit better with specific jobs? Give examples.
Why are feedback skills so important to a supervisor’s success?
Contrast passive and active listening.
Do you believe that supervisors can control the grapevine? Explain your position.
What use, if any, can the grapevine serve? Provide a specific example.
How can nonverbal messages be powerful communicators?How can supervisors use non-verbal messages to their advantage?
“Do as I say, not as I do.” Analyze this phrase interms of supervisors being effective communicators,and in terms of its effect on credibility and trust among the supervisor’s employees.
Which type of communication method do you prefer to use at work when sending a message to someone else? Why? Do you have the same preference when messages are being sent to you? Explain.
When is a written communication preferable to an oral one? When is it not preferred?
Why isn’t agreement necessarily a part of good communication?
“Everything a supervisor does involves communicating.”Build an argument to support this statement.
1. How would you describe Galwal’s leadership style?Why?2. Do you think these leadership styles were beneficial for this organization? Why or why not?3. Imagine you are a supervisor working for Galwal. How would his style influence your behavior as a leader? Is he trans-formative or transnational?
1. What critical factors will affect Lesley’s success as a leader? Do you believe these factors would be the same if success were defined as group satisfaction rather than group productivity?2. Do you think that Lesley can choose a leadership style? If so, describe the style you think would be
“Given the emphasis on caring for employees,women may be more effective supervisors.” Do you agree or disagree? Support your position.
What role do credibility and trust play in leadership?
How could a professor apply situational leadership with students in a classroom setting?
How can supervisors be both flexible and consistent in their leadership styles? Aren’t these contradictory?Explain.
Compare and contrast consultative, democratic, and free-rein styles of participative leadership.
What’s the difference between a task-centered and a people-centered supervisor? Which do you believe employees would rather work for? Why? Which would you prefer to work for? Explain.
How are technical, conceptual, networking, and human relations skills linked to effective leadership?
What is charismatic leadership? Why might high self-monitors be more effective leaders? Discuss.
How is intelligence related to leadership?
“All supervisors should be leaders, but not all leaders should be supervisors.” Do you agree or disagree?Support your position.
1. What can Caroline do to become more motivated about her work and overcome the reputation of being passionless about her job?2. What motivational opportunities could Caroline expect from her bosses at the dentist office?3. Explain Caroline’s behavior using the equity theory.4. How would
1. Using what you have learned from studying the various motivation theories, describe the situation at the cafeteria.2. Describe what you think might be Sean’s biggest challenge in motivating the employees at the cafeteria.3. Recommend a motivational approach for Sean to use and explain why it
How can a supervisor enrich a job?
What motivational challenges does a diversified workforce create for supervisors?
Describe expectancy theory. What are the critical link ages?
What role would money play in (a) the hierarchy-of-needs theory, (b) motivation-hygiene theory, (c)equity theory, (d) expectancy theory, and (e) the case of employees with a high nAch?
What does a supervisor need to do to motivate a high achiever?
What is the importance of the dual continuum in the motivation-hygiene theory?
Compare the assumptions of Theory X with those of Theory Y. Do you believe that there are types of jobs that require one focus or another? Explain.
Contrast behavioral predictions about people with an internal versus an external locus of control.
How does an unsatisfied need create motivation?
1. What was the difference in the way Scott and Perez viewed the problem in this case?2. How did the initial problem definition affect the approach to, and solution of, the problem?3. How does this case illustrate any advantages or disadvantages of group decision making?4. List some ways Scott can
1. In her new job, how might Toby make use of the knowledge she has about decision-making styles?2. How would Toby benefit by examining the styles of her boss and those of the other supervisors?
In which step of the decision-making process do you think creativity would be most helpful? In which step would quantitative analysis tools be most helpful?
Contrast symptoms with problems. Give three examples.
1. Identify and describe each of the various types of controls used in the situation at the Plucky Chicken.2. Identify and describe the focus of control used by the supervisor at the Plucky Chicken.3. Identify and describe where the steps in the control process were applied at the Plucky Chicken.
1. Refer to the steps of the control process (Exhibit 6-1). Where in the process do the steps taken by the Florida resort hotel fall?2. As a supervisor, do you think the $10 test is a fair and appropriate method to measure the performance of the housekeeping staff? Why or why not?3. Describe which
Describe how you can use the concepts of control in your own personal life. Be specific in your examples and think in terms of the preventive, concurrent, and corrective controls that you use for different parts of your life.
“Controls have to be sophisticated to be effective.” Present arguments for and against this statement. Conclude your paper with a persuasive argument why you agree or disagree with the statement.
What can a supervisor do to minimize the problem of people trying to look good on control criteria?
How can a supervisor lessen employee resistance to controls?
Why should a supervisor control by exception?
In terms of characteristics of an effective control system, where do you think most control systems fail? Why?
What is the challenge of monitoring inventory costs?Of implementing a just-in-time inventory system?
Which type of control is preferable: preventive,concurrent, or corrective? Why? What type do you think is most widely used in practice?
Why may what we measure be more critical to the control process than how we measure it?
Why may what we measure be more critical to the control process than how we measure it?
1. Why is it important for Jameel to know about thelaws and regulations that affect human resource practice?2. Why is it important for Jameel to know how to determine staffing needs?3. What are some recruiting methods that Jameel might use to ensure that he has the right employees to match the
1. Describe the potential risks of permitting romance in the workplace. How and to what degree may these risks affect the organization and its employees?2. As a department supervisor, what decision(s) should Destiney make in regard to this romance? How would you respond to other employees’
“Victims of downsizing are not those employees who were let go. Rather, the victims are the ones who have kept their jobs.” Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Defend your position.
Why should supervisors be concerned with diversity in the workplace? What special HRM issues does diversity raise for them?
Should a supervisor have the right to choose employees without government interference in the hiring process? Explain your position.
Compare and contrast orientation and employee training.
What is the relationship among selection, recruitment,and job analysis?
What are the major problems of the interview as a selection device?
Contrast reject errors and accept errors. Which one is most likely to open a supervisor to charges of discrimination? Why?

Showing 1200 - 1300 of 1343

Supervision Today 8th edition Stephen P. Robbins, David A. DeCenzo, Robert M. Wolter - Solutions

Step by Step Answers