Questions and Answers of Fundamentals Of Organizational Behaviour

Provide an example of an organization that operates at a financial deficit yet is still regarded by you as effective.
How effective is the school at which you are taking this course? Use multiple criteria.
What evidence should Garwood accumulate before he can be certain that he has a true (valid) checklist for measuring organizational effectiveness?
Would a perfect score on this instrument be strong evidence that an organization was effective? Explain.
Does this checklist seem to be measuring effectiveness or efficiency? Or is it measuring underlying factors that contribute to effectiveness and efficiency?
What items would you suggest adding to these dimensions of organizational effectiveness? Why?
What items would you suggest deleting from these dimensions of organizational effectiveness? Why?
Understand the inevitability of change.
Understand the systemic (system-like) properties of change.
Identify the major reasons people resist change.
Describe several strategies for overcoming resistance to change.
Recognize organizational factors that may encourage or discourage change.
Map out a tentative strategy to prevent yourself from becoming obsolete.
What would you speculate were the real reasons that Arnold succeeded while his predecessors failed?
How do you account for the fact that management seemed to ignore the problem of crushed turbine blades in the past, but acted upon the suggestions now?
Why are not more management problems solved in this manner?
To what extent do you think Arnold's mechanical engineering background was helpful in resolving the problem of the crushed blades?
Does this case suggest any other reasons why the turbine blades might have been damaged? Explain. reach your conclusion?
To what extent has the slowed down economic growth in the mid and late 1970s influenced the rate of change in organizations? Cite an example if you can.
Can you provide an example of people resisting change that is of apparent benefit to them?
If people are supposed to be generally resistant to change, why do clothing fashions change so frequently?
Based on what you have observed personally or learned from the popular media, what types of change are most often resisted by employees? What ac- counts for this resistance?
Do you know anyone who suffers from "future shock"? Describe that situa- tion as fully as you can.
Describe two high-impact changes you have been subjected to in your lifetime. Why did they have such a high impact?
Is your general tendency to resist or welcome change? What evidence have you used to arrive at your conclusion?
Several times in American history, the Equal Rights Amendment that pro- vides equal rights for men and women has been resisted. What factors ac- count for this resistance to change?
An organization wishes to hire people for key positions who will show flexi- ble attitudes toward change. What kind of information about people might be predictive of their attitudes toward change?
What are you doing now about preventing yourself from becoming obsolete in the future?
Understand the complexity of the concept referred to as "organization development."
Explain how an OD effort creates an impact on the total organizational system.
Identify a few potential advantages and disadvantages of using encounter groups as an OD technique.
Describe the general format of at least three different approaches to OD.
Describe the conditions under which OD is likely to contribute to organizational effectiveness.
Make three generally valid criticisms of OD.
"Young people are so open and candid today that soon there will be nothing left for an OD specialist to do." Discuss this statement.
What are some of the potential disadvantages of being very open and candid in a work environment?
If you were in a team-building session with your boss, how candid would you be in criticizing him or her?
Can a manager really have high concern for people and production? Do you feel these goals are compatible in the real world of business and industry?
Assume that an OD specialist suggested that he conduct T-group sessions within your organization. What information about him would you like to know before you authorized his conducting the groups?
Do you consider budgeting to be an OD technique? Why or why not?
Describe how team-building sessions might be used to make a hospital run more smoothly.
Name two approaches aimed at improving organizational effectiveness that you think do not fit on the D/D Matrix.
How honest do you think people are in responding to organization surveys? What factors do you think influence the extent to which they are honest?
What do you think is the biggest problem faced by an OD consultant? Why?
What is Terry, the OD change agent, doing wrong?
Does the portion of the team-building session presented here seem productive? Why or why not?
How should Lou behave toward Boris when he returns to the job environment?
How should Terry handle Rick's suggestion that the session be terminated?
What does this case illustrate about team building?
See the relevance to career planning of knowledge about the future.
Understand how adhocracy differs from bureaucracy.
Identify a few trends likely to be characteristic of work organizations in the future.
Understand the concept of QWL.
Understand the difference between a traditional and a protean career.
Do you consider a junior executive with an MBA degree to be a professional person? What criteria do you use to determine if a given occupation is a "profession"?
What do you think are the prospects of any major business corporation having a black female president within the next ten years? Explain the basis for your conclusion.
What evidence can you cite that the Quality of Working Life is (or is not) already of concern in large organizations?
What is your prediction about the type (or style) of manager who will be in demand in the future?
What are you doing now to increase the chances that you will prosper in organizations of the future?
Understand the meaning of the concept "organizational behavior."
Define and describe the three main subareas or schools of management thought.?
Understand the difference between knowledge work and nonknowledge work.?
Recognize how research and theory contribute to an understanding of organizational behavior.?
Understand how principles of human behavior influence organizational behavior.
Understand how the behavior of people in organizations is contingent upon the situation.
Understand how organizational behavior follows the properties of a system.
Understand the difference between structure and process.
What fields of knowledge outside of the physical and biological sciences do you feel are not part of organizational behavior?
Most business organizations have departments or divisions called marketing, accounting, manufacturing, and so forth. Should they also have departments of organizational behavior? Why or why not?
If Frederick W. Taylor (the father of Scientific Management) were alive today, what would his feelings be about the field of organizational behavior?
Robert J. Mockler has stated that "management is situational." What would the opposite or more traditional view of management contend?
If you were the president of Raymond College, how would you have handled the case of Professor Kindig? Why?
A basketball team can be considered a microcosm of a larger, more complex organization. What structural elements and processes can you identify that would be encountered during a game?
Assume that the change entered into the system at Biotronics Engineering was a shift from a permissive to an autocratic president. Describe the sys- tematic consequences that might take place, using
If knowledge about organizational behavior is so useful, why is it that many successful executives have never even heard of the field?
Understand how the meaning you attach to work may influence how hard you work
Explain why high motivation does not always lead to high performance.
Understand the difference between motivation and satisfaction.
Summarize the contributions of Maslow and Herzberg to understanding work behavior.
Explain the concept of achievement motivation.
Explain why j o b enrichment may lead to higher j o b performance.
Describe how positive reinforcement can be systematically applied to improve j o b performance.
Understand how peoples' expectations influence their work motivation.
Use the Work Motivation Schema to provide a comprehensive explanation of individual motivation in a work setting.
What should the principals of the firm do about Terry's situation?
Who is to blame for what happened to Terry Paquette?
What do you think of the suggestion made to Terry that he should return to a corporate job? Was it motivational?
In what way is Terry's situation more one of job satisfaction than job moti- vation?
Do you think that Terry is acting irrationally? Explain.
Learn how to apply the Decision-Making Schema to a decision you are currently facing.
Understand the difference between being given a problem and finding a problem.
Summarize the intervening variables that influence decision making.
Explain how subjective factors enter into managerial decision making.
Explain the nature of a satisfying decision.
Understand how you might be able to improve your creativity.
Explain how the organizational system influences decision making.
You are awarded $50,000 in tax exempt money by SEE (The Society for the Encouragement of Entrepreneurs). Proceed with this hypothetical situation through the Decision-Making Schema. Be careful to
How might being very intelligent and very well educated hamper decision making?
Name a satisficing decision that has been reached at your company or school. Why do you describe it as satisficing?
Does your present program of studies enhance or inhibit creativity? Discuss the evidence you have for your answer.

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