Questions and Answers of Essentials Contemporary Management

Identify the focus and goals of organisational behaviour (OB). LO2
Explain the role that attitudes play in job performance. LO2
Describe different personality theories. LO2
Describe perception and the factors that influence it. LO2
Discuss learning theories and their relevance in shaping behaviour. LO2
Discuss contemporary issues in OB. LO2
Explain how each of the six goals of organisational behaviour are influenced by (a) individual behaviour, (b) group behaviour and (c) organisational aspects. LO2
Does the importance of knowledge of OB differ based on a manager’s level in the organisation? If so, how? If not, why not? Be specific. LO2
Write down three attitudes you have. Identify the cognitive, affective and behavioural components of those attitudes. LO2
Clarify how individuals reconcile inconsistencies between attitudes and behaviours. LO2
Describe what is meant by the term emotional intelligence. If two team members got into a workplace conflict, how would you expect that a manager who is high in emotional intelligence would handle
‘When times are tough, organisations don’t need to worry about employee engagement: employees will work hard any way just to keep their jobs.’ What’s your reaction to this statement? Do you
Imagine you are made responsible for establishing a zero-tolerance culture towards bullying in your workplace.Which learning theory would you use to do this? How would you use it? LO2
Describe the implications of social learning theory for managing people at work. LO2
A Gallup Organization survey shows that most workers rate having a caring boss even higher than they value money.How should managers interpret this information? What are the implications? LO2
Identify some strategies that manager can use when managing physical and mental disability in the workplace. LO2
What factors do you think influence people’s perceptions of disability? How do they affect perceptions? LO2
How do you think attitudes about disability are affecting the behaviour of managers and employees? LO2
How could emotional intelligence help managers support an employee with a disability? LO2
What learning is Fighting Chance enabling? For whom? LO2
Which forms of employee behaviour is Mia trying to explain, predict and influence? LO2
Using the Myers Briggs personality types or Holland’s personality job fit, work out what personality types you think would be best suited to being a cleaner.Justify your responses. LO2
How is Mia’s use of perception being illustrated in this scenario? How might this be undermining her decision making as a manager? LO2
How could Mia and Sierra use social learning theory to successfully hire people who will perform well as cleaners? LO2
Describe the decision-making process. LO4
Explain the three approaches managers can use to make decisions. LO4
Describe the types of decisions and decision-making conditions managers face. LO4
Discuss group decision making. LO4
Discuss contemporary issues in managerial decision making. LO4
Why is decision making often described as the essence of a manager’s job? LO4
Describe the eight steps in the decision-making process. LO4
We all bring biases to the decisions we make. What would be the drawbacks of having biases? Could there be any advantages to having biases? Explain. What are the implications for managerial decision
Powerful decision tools and big data are often celebrated for their value in enhancing decision-making processes. Are there any ways in which they could undermine these processes? LO4
Describe a decision you’ve made that closely aligns with the assumptions of perfect rationality. Compare this decision with the process you used to select your university. Did you depart from the
Explain how a manager might deal with making decisions under conditions of uncertainty. LO4
Why do you think organisations have increased the use of groups for making decisions? When would you recommend using groups to make decisions? LO4
How do policies and procedures enhance decision making in organisations? LO4
What is big data? How can managers effectively use big data to improve their decision making? Should managers be cautious when using big data? LO4
Why does a decision maker need to be creative? In which steps of the decision process is creativity likely to be the most important? LO4
List some of the decision criteria you think Dean and Gill used in their decision making. Are there any other criteria they could have used to help them make better decisions? LO4
How do you think they weighted the criteria?Which ones were they likely to consider of more importance? Which ones might they have considered less important? LO4
Would Dean and Gill’s decision-making conditions have been characterised by certainty, risk or uncertainty? Explain. LO4
What do Dean and Gill’s experiences indicate about the challenges of trying to engage in rational decision making? LO4
Review the common decision-making errors detailed in Figure 5.2 . Which of these have influenced Mia’s decision making? LO4
Consider Mia’s approach of intuitive decision making. How has this been useful to her? What are its drawbacks? LO4
How has Mia used policies and procedures to improve decision making in her company? LO4
Consider Mia’s approach to group decision making. Which advantages of group decisions does this approach offer? Which disadvantages of group decisions might result? LO4
How have cultural influences affected Mia’s approach to decision making? LO4
Describe six key elements in organisational design. LO8
Compare and contrast the mechanistic and organic organisational forms. LO8
Identify the contingency factors that affect choice of organisational structure. LO8
Compare and contrast traditional and contemporary organisational designs. LO8
Discuss the design challenges faced by today’s organisations. LO8
Discuss what is meant by the term organisational design. LO8
Describe the traditional and contemporary views of each of the six key elements of organisational design. LO8
Can an organisation’s structure be changed quickly? Why or why not? Should it be changed quickly? Why or why not? LO8
Small organisations don’t really need a formal structure.’Do you agree of disagree with this statement? Explain. LO8
Most organisations now operate in dynamic and fluid environments, for which organic organisational structures are most suitable. Yet, mechanistic and bureaucratic structures are still very common.
Explain the contingency factors that affect organisational design. LO8
Why would organisations that use a boundaryless structure need to be especially good at organisational design, delegation and control? LO8
Researchers are now saying that efforts to simplify work tasks actually have negative results for both companies and their employees. Do you agree? Why or why not? LO8
What advantages does an organisation get from outsourcing work through the gig economy? What does it trade off for those advantages? LO8
How could managers use effective delegation to help employees use flexible work arrangements successfully? LO8
Which principles of organisational design has the Australian Red Cross used to develop its organisational structure? How has it used these principles to design the organisation? LO8
What kind(s) of organisational structure does the Australian Red Cross use? LO8
How has the ‘One Red Cross’ strategy and environment influenced the organisation’s structure? LO8
How could the Australian Red Cross use its organisational design to encourage a learning organisation? LO8
Describe HHH’s organisational design. How has it used the six principles of organisational structure? LO8
Does HHH use a mechanistic or an organic organisational form? LO8
Which contingency factors do you think are influencing HHH’s organisational structure? LO8
What sort of organisational structure does HHH currently use? LO8
Which contemporary design challenges do you think are most relevant to HHH? LO8
Explain what entrepreneurship is and who engages in it. LO5
Describe what’s involved in planning an entrepreneurial venture. LO5
Explain how entrepreneurial ventures can be organised. LO5
Discuss what’s involved in leading an entrepreneurial venture. LO5
Discuss what’s involved in controlling an entrepreneurial venture. LO5
Discuss how entrepreneurs can manage personal challenges. LO5
How are entrepreneurial ventures, small businesses and self-employed persons similar? Different? LO5
Why are necessity-based entrepreneurs also known as ‘accidental’, ‘unintended’ or ‘forced’ entrepreneurs? LO5
Describe some of the personality characteristics that researchers have associated with being an entrepreneur. LO5
How can an entrepreneur develop a new idea for a business venture? LO5
Why is it important to assess the feasibility of an entrepreneurial venture before developing a full business plan? LO5
If you were starting an entrepreneurial venture, would you create a sole proprietorship, a partnership or a company?Why? LO5
Think of an entrepreneur who has created a compelling vision of what their organisation was created to achieve. How have they done that? LO5
Why do you think many entrepreneurs find it hard to delegate and empower their employees? LO5
How can an entrepreneur plan for downturns in business activity? LO5
How can entrepreneurs balance the demands of their personal and work lives? LO5
What kind of entrepreneur is Daniel Flynn? LO5
What opportunities did Daniel identify to (a)create a change in the environment and (b) generate a competitive advantage by making Thankyou stand out from other charities and not-for-profit
What sort of structure do you think Thankyou would use? LO5
Describe Daniel’s leadership approach. LO5
What challenges might Thankyou face as it grows? LO5
What type of entrepreneur is Nate? LO5
What advantages are there for Nate in operating his business as a company, rather than as a partnership? LO5
How has Nate used empowerment in his leadership approach? LO5
How is Nate managing the future growth of his venture? LO5
Identify some historical examples of management practices. LO3
Describe the behavioural, classical, quantitative and contemporary approaches to management. LO3
Explain how managers can determine which approaches to management they should use. LO3

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