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organizational behavior
Questions and Answers of
Organizational Behavior
The following is an example of how cheating occurs in one setting. Worker solidarity in the casino industry in the USA is induced by the industry’s shared tip structure, in which individual
Compare and contrast two of the cases of organizational misdemeanour described by Punch (1996).
Would you lie when applying for a job? Some people lie on their CVs: for example, claiming that they have degrees that they do not. But beware: Digging for ‘digital dirt’ is now becoming more
Even when people are trained, paid, and told to be nice, it is hard for them to do so all of the time. Why?
The gossip in one company was that the managing director, who was rumoured to be in personal debt, was said to ‘dress down’ when she met tax inspectors in an attempt to conceal her spending and
‘Sabotage is bound up with the private ownership of the means of production and will disappear only when that does’ (Dubois, 1979: 213). Discuss.
France, Spain, and Italy have seen a rise in the strength of the cooperative movement. There are at least 25,000 cooperatives in Italy, about 17,000 in Spain, and about 2,600 in France (Perotin,
Organizations can encourage staff to get involved in voluntary work and recognize that they may want to do good for their communities. Staff who undertake voluntary work appear to be better, more
The impetus and motivation for cooperatives comes from a number of different sources, according to the research. What motivation for the establishment of alternative organizations can you find in
What are the pros and cons of an organization such as Mondragón for you? Does it have any appeal to you as an organization?For a fuller discussion of Mondragón, see, for example, Benello (1996), or
There are examples from all over the world of people taking control of their own economic destiny. The Rochdale pioneers are one such example; another is the Antigonish Movement in Nova Scotia
Imagine, when being asked by your boss to do a particular job, being able to say: ‘No, I prefer to do something else.’ This is how a worker in Warhurst’s (1998) case study explained his
Credit unions help to provide financial support to people in their local communities and are regulated by the Financial Services Authority in England and Wales. What advantages and disadvantages
Do you think that technology (such as email and mobile phones) can increase stress? Research has noted how office workers are currently reporting the highest level of stress in history and the
Companies have an interest in trying to reduce or minimize stress. At What If! a London-based inventing consultancy, stress in the workplace is minimized by creating a fun and supportive working
According to some, women cope better with stress in demanding jobs than men. What evidence can you find to support or refute this statement?
Have you noticed that, if you are under stress, you have more vivid dreams? Work stress is thought to contribute to nightmares about killing the boss. Stress at work is contributing to a regular
Customer abuse is perpetuated by a range of cost-rational and profit-centred policies’ (Boyd, 2002). Discuss.
Nicola Horlick hit the headlines by losing a top City job. She had a very large salary, a high-pressured job, and five children, but gave up her job after being falsely accused by a colleague.The
‘Some 700,000 people phone in sick on a Monday morning. One in three are faking it’ (Channel 5, 2002, UK Undercover, ‘Throwing a sickie’). These bare facts raise more questions:for example,
John Lennon is quoted as saying ‘Work is life, you know, and without it, there’s nothing but fear and insecurity’ (Solt and Egan, 1988: 75).Do you agree? What would be your reaction to facing
By looking at unemployment, we can understand more about what employment might mean to people. What can be learned about what work means by looking at research on unemployment? And what are the
As Adam Smith, moral philosopher and political economist, pointed out in 1776, if company directors manage other people’s money rather than their own, ‘it cannot well be expected that they will
Should the work that you do as a student be classed as work? If not, why not? Where does ‘student work’ fit in? What category would you need to add to the four types described earlier, given that
Cary Cooper is head of occupational psychology at Lancaster University’s Management School, and is concerned about the effect of greater frustration and anger in the workplace.‘I expect to see
If you were a practising manager, what would you want to know about people, work, and organization?
In the chapters on leadership and personality, we encountered Jack Welch, chief executive officer of General Electric. The following describes how he brought about change.General Electric’s
The following are some quotes that indicate the emotions associated with change process at one company (Clarke, 1994). ‘I don’t think the company realizes how frightened people are.’ ‘We feel
Review the evidence for and against emotional intelligence and draw your own conclusions. (See, in particular, Cartwright and Pappas, 2008.)
Claudio Ranieri is the manager at the now world famous Leicester City football club. Under his leadership Leicester won the English Premier League in May 2016, despite facing near certain demotion
This case study focuses on an unusual organization that has been set up for a specific purpose: to organize against injustices such as the following.Those who stay in expensive hotel rooms and leave
Some such as Roberts (2003) argue that CSR is little more than just talk and does little to change behaviour. What do you think?
How accessible and affordable is childcare for working parents? The Daycare Trust, a charity, found that in 2017 the cost of full-time childcare in Britain was, on average, £124.23 per week.This was
The chief executive of the largest catering firm, employing almost 430,000 staff including an army of school dinner ladies, was recently paid £4.4 million, including a £1.3 million cash bonus. The
Should chief executives and managers of charities be paid wages that match those found in other organizations? Would those who give to charity be ‘put off ’ doing so if they were to know how much
Guy Standing (2011) has warned that there is a new dangerous class in the making. He calls it the ‘precariat’: a growing number of people, a class, or people from across the world living and
It is clear from the research evidence presented in this chapter that the world of work is a very unequal one for many groups, e.g. the disabled and the poor. As a manager, would you be motivated to
A study of Oxford graduates finds that men from an Oxford college earn an average of £45,500 six months after graduating, while for women the figure is £25,900 (Times Higher Education,
To examine this question students were presented with the following case: Howard Roizen is a venture capitalist, former entrepreneur, and astute networker, is a power player in Silicon Valley, and
Men in the UK now have the right to two weeks of paid paternity leave, can request flexible hours, and are eligible for up to 13 weeks of parental leave for children under six or disabled children
Bunting (2004), in Willing Slaves, argues that instead of hard work bringing wealth and satisfaction, it brings worry, illness, poverty, and debt. She argues that we are enslaved by work when we are
What further scene-setting issues would you need to consider? This chapter has looked at the contexts in which work is organized; the next chapters will begin looking at the realities of work and
One innovation company—What If!—claims to celebrate the ideal of ‘meaningful work’. It says that it works with clients who want to innovate and grow, and that it helps clients to ‘release
In the film Billy Elliot (2000, dir. S. Daldry), a miner’s son wants to be a ballet dancer, but his dream is met with scepticism and disapproval—especially from his own family.Why do you think it
Hakim (1991) argues that women—particularly homeworkers—who willingly marry and accept the authority of husbands who have traditional views of women should take the blame for their poor situation
It might be argued that all work activity in an organizational context tends to have a basically instrumental component. To what extent is this true?
How would you explain how working-class kids continue to get working-class jobs (see Willis, 1977; Bates, 1991; Mirza, 1992)? Why is it so inevitable? Can you find any research that demonstrates that
Imagine that you have won a lottery or inherited a large sum of money and could live comfortably for the rest of your life without working: what would you do about work? Would you continue working or
Reeves (2001) argues that work gets a bad press because it is constantly portrayed as an endurance task rather than one of enjoyment—but work has changed. Read Reeves (2001) and Toynbee (2003): is
Anna Pollert (1981) asks: ‘Does it make any difference being a woman worker? Is work seen or felt differently from a man?’ How would you answer these questions?
Might the way in which people personalize objects at work— ‘my machine’, ‘my chair’—be to do with ownership and power— ‘my secretary’, ‘my office’—or the need for personal
As a manager, you will potentially have choices to make about what people earn. Will this research influence what you pay people?
This case study looks at some of the difficulties that managers face. Managers are always faced with dilemmas, such as those posed here by the need to standardize and customize, control and
Fayol believed that all managers plan, organize, motivate, control, and coordinate. Does this fit with your experience and view of reality? For example, are managers always motivating?
What are the differences between the findings of Stewart, Kotter, and Mintzberg on what managers do? How far do they help us to understand why managers do what they do?
In recent studies of managers (e.g. Holmberg and Tyrstrup, 2010; Alvesson and Sveningsson, 2003) there is a good deal of discussion about the mundane activities of managers—listening, chatting,
Representing management as a predominantly technical activity creates an illusion of neutrality’ (Alvesson and Wilmott, 1996: 12). Discuss.
A report in the New York Times (8 January 1928) described Henry Ford as the ‘Mussolini of Detroit’.From what you have read, is this a fair description of the man in your opinion? (For further
This case study looks at rationality and the response from the point of view of a university student working in a fast-food restaurant near the university campus and concerned about how the workers,
What are the advantages of scientific management according to Taylor? What disadvantages in employing scientific principles have been shown to exist?
When marking essays, lecturers often notice that students talk about ‘Taylor’ and ‘Taylorism’ as if it is history—that is, a management idea that existed in the past, but which is now
You have seen here the ‘logic’ of job design. Clegg (1984) shows how the processes of work simplification can be reversed. If you were a manager, would you try to humanize work? Why or why not?
People should be able to choose the sex of their baby, argues Professor Lord Robert Winston (Ross, 2006). The story of the Masterton family was brought to the fore by the media as a result of their
What key performance indicators are used to measure the work of teachers, police, and other groups? What evidence can you find to describe the rationale of the approach and the inherent irrationality?
Another method that managers use to increase efficiency and productivity is performance indicators, which must appear rational. If managers want to improve performance, it must be monitored, and key
The senior vice-president of global strategic marketing at Playboy Enterprises argues that her company’s business culture is ‘very progressive’ (Hunt, 2011). Images in Playboy are romantic,
In what ways can performing emotional labour be a stressful experience? (See Hochschild, 1983; Handy, 1995; Taylor and Tyler, 2000.)
It is not possible to be ‘genderless’ or ‘unmarked’ by your gender and sexuality at work. We are also perceived in terms of our ethnicity, age, and class.What experiences have you had that
What are the personal consequences of work? (See Sennett, 1998.)
Can you think of other jobs in which behaviour and appearance is tightly prescribed and enforced? Does this only happen in jobs that women do?
The qualities of emotionality and rationality are dependent upon each other’ (Ashforth and Humphrey, 1995). Discuss.
All jobs have unwritten rules attached to them. For example, when working as a temporary hospital cleaner, the author found that temporary cleaners were given all of the worst jobs to do, including
University teachers are advised not to develop intimate relationships with students. If they do develop a consensual relationship, the university teacher is asked to declare that a relationship has
Clegg et al. (2011) argue that there has been a clear shift away from motivation theory’s original objective which was first and foremost about the psychological well-being and esteem of
The following case study focuses on a company that tried to improve motivation.A loan company called Purple Loans (part of the GE Capital group of finance brokers) invested in Special Air Service
It can be argued that people have greater needs than self-actualization and greater management problems, including providing for those without food or clean water. What would be on your hierarchy of
Watson (2002) argues that students only ‘surface learn’, so that motivation is linked with Maslow. This approach is typified in the phrase: ‘Motivation, that’s Maslow, isn’t it?’Is he
Martina Horner (1972) concluded that there was a high, and perhaps increasing, incidence of the motive to avoid success found in women. The predominant message was that highly competent women, when
Read the list of principles that comprises McGregor’s Theory X. Are these your assumptions about work?
‘The pathway to company profit is also the pathway to self-actualization’ (Rose, 1996). Discuss.
Overvold (1987) argues that harmony disvalues autonomy for the individual, discourages any critical stance towards organizational goals, and invites the kind of exploitation that excessive obedience
‘Motivation theory leads us into addiction because it constructs work as a compulsion, and this renders us vulnerable to work addiction’ (Boje and Rosile, 2006: 79). Do you agree?
Keith Grint (2005b) argues that we need to learn how to lead without authority. He also says that seeing leaders as ‘gifted’, ‘charismatic’, or ‘inspirational’ promotes the assumption
Tourish and Pinnington (2002) draw on the similarities between the components of transformational leadership and the characteristics of leadership found in cults. How do they do this? To what effect?
Mary Parker Follett has been hailed as the ‘prophet of management’ and has recently received much attention (Graham, 1996). She is considered to be ahead of her time in her thinking about the
A frightening irony is that those who actively seek leadership are perceived as narcissistic and grandiose, wanting it too badly, and those who are emotionally healthy and could be exceptional
Sir Alex Ferguson has been teaching at Harvard Business School. His leadership technique has been described as ‘largely based on the application of fear’ (White, 2012). He is well known for his
Women are advised in books about women and leadership to maintain their sense of humour. This can be demonstrated in one-liners such as ‘Better to be big in the backside than have bullshit for
Alice Eagly (2008) argues that some women who have risen to high places (Margaret Thatcher was a good example) may have had to emulate men and in fact ‘overachieve’—that is, be more
Teams, companies, and universities buy in ‘star’ players in an attempt to boost performance. Yet research on highly paid ‘stars’ typically brings about a sense of inequity and unfairness
Is it time to stop talking about gender differences between men and women in leadership? (See Epstein, 1991; Eagly and Carli, 2007.)
Why do you think that men continue to have far more access to elite leadership positions than do women?
The ‘new psychology’ of leadership (Haslam et al., 2011) argues that leadership emerges from a relationship between leaders and followers who are bound together by their understanding that they
Lord Kitchener is best known for the famous First World War recruitment posters bearing his heavily mustachioed face and pointing hand over the legend ‘Your country needs YOU’. Kitchener
A size zero body (a UK size 4) is perceived by many as desirable and ideal (Grabe et al., 2008). Yet the ubiquitous portrayals of size zero models by the fashion industry and media organizations have
Companies test for competencies (that is, attributes that they perceive are valuable in employees) in both the recruitment and appraisal processes. What are these competencies?Do organizations differ
Brian May was lead guitarist and vocalist with the rock group Queen. He has a PhD in astrophysics, and does not drink or smoke.Teri Hatcher, who plays Susan Mayer in Desperate Housewives and played
Does how you see yourself impact on how you subsequently perform? For example, if you see yourself as a capable, knowledgeable student, does this impact on exam or essay performance?
What is your stereotype of a person who falls victim to drink spiking in pubs? Is it an 18-year-old ‘Essex girl’, wearing high heels and a short skirt, and out with her friends? The statistics
Sir Patrick Moore, ex-presenter of the TV programme The Sky at Night, perceived that the BBC is worse than it used to be because it is ‘run by women’ (Sky News, 18 May 2007). What evidence can
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