Questions and Answers of Organizational Behaviour And Management

What is knowledge management and how does learning impact on it?
‘Sub- and counter-cultures have no part to play in the formal organization and so are irrelevant in relation to managerial activities.’ Discuss this statement.
‘The way we do things around here is the most appropriate definition of culture for practicing managers as it reflects the artefacts level in the Schein model of the three levels of culture.’
Explain Handy’s views on the factors that determine organizational culture.
Outline the cultural web and explain its significance in being able to articulate the culture of an organization.
‘The concept of culture is of little practical value to managers because it simply describes tendencies and ignores the variation between individuals.’ Discuss this statement.
It has been suggested that strong organizational cultures are essential to the achievement of success. It has also been suggested that strong cultures could predispose an organization to failure. Can
How would you set about achieving a change in an organization’s culture?
‘The concept of culture is intended to provide managers with an opportunity to increase the level of control without increasing the level of management.’ Discuss.
‘National culture will always get in the way of global organizations becoming truly successful as it will never align with the internal organizational culture and problems will result.’ Discuss
‘Culture is such an imprecise term that it is not possible to measure it let alone change it within an organization.’ Critically evaluate this statement.
Can compliance as an employee response to the application of power by a boss ever create an effective organization? Justify your answer.
The inevitable power imbalance in the employment relationship leads to employee exploitation and the creation of self-protection groups such as trade unions. Why might this power imbalance exist, is
Describe the main sources of organizational power and provide examples of each from an organization with which you are familiar.
‘Influence in an organizational context is no more than the use of the iron fist in a velvet glove.’ To what extent do you agree (or disagree) with this statement and why?
Identify the differences and similarities between the concepts of power and influence.
Management is ultimately about acquiring and using power successfully. To what extent is this correct and therefore should it be a major component of management training and development programmes?
Managers must compete for scarce resources. Political behaviour can influence decisions. In what ways might it be possible to encourage competition while minimizing the potentially harmful effects of
‘Management is at its heart a political not a technical activity.’ Discuss this statement.
‘Understanding organizational politics represents the biggest challenge for every manager.’ To what extent and why do you agree with this statement?
‘Politics is a process which cannot be eliminated from an organization but is not central to achieving its objectives; therefore it should be ignored in running a business.’ Discuss this
‘Close relationships are not possible between bosses and subordinates as it is a power based relationship. Equally close relationships between subordinates are not in management’s interest as
Explain social exchange theory and discuss the significance of networking in it?
What is assertiveness in terms of communication and how might it help to deal with difficult relationships?
‘The psychological contract is the means by which managers and subordinates both achieve what they want from the working relationship on a day-to-day basis without having to make constant reference
To what extent are networks essential for the achievement of efficient company operations? What is their role in organizations with high degrees of formalization, standardization and extensive formal
Discuss the significance of organizational justice in the creation of fairness in an organization.
‘Trust can only ever exist in successful and profitable organizations because when those conditions are not present people often lose their jobs, change is often forced onto people and promotions
To what extent do you agree with the view that trust is easy to break and virtually impossible to restore?
‘Management is at its heart a manipulative process in that employee behaviour must be directed and channelled in order to achieve management determined objectives. Consequently fairness in the true
As a manager how would you try to create trust with your subordinates when your boss is always demanding that you increase productivity and reduce labour cost?
Management represents the combination of experience and practical skill, it cannot be taught. Therefore there is no point in studying management. Discuss this question and in so doing justify the
‘Management is a manipulative process.’ Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with this statement and explain why.
‘It is not possible to generate robust social science theories because there are so many variables at work. It requires the development of a totally new science.’ To what extent would you agree
‘There is no such thing as a typical organization or management job therefore it is pointless attempting to theorize about them.’ To what extent would you agree with this view? Justify your
‘The anthropomorphic view of organizations held by many managers and writers is unhelpful to the theory and practice of management as it imbues qualities to an entity that does not have them.’
‘Because employees actually do the work of the organization they are in a stronger position than managers to know how to do things more effectively.’ To what extent might this be taken to imply
What is an organization and why do you think that individual human beings seek jobs as managers in them?
‘The study of organizational behaviour enables managers to become more effective at their job.’ DiscFigure 1.2 identifies that people bring variety, uncertainty and complexity to the
The performance imperative of old where managers were expected to achieve their goals has been turbocharged: today’s performance imperative requires managers to do more with ever decreasing
Management is about managing the present, within the constraints imposed by the past, whilst seeking to prepare for an unknowable future. It is therefore an impossible task. Discuss this statement.
‘The only thing that people learn from history is that people learn nothing from history.’ To what extent does this statement explain why some of the management and organizational issues
Scientific Management postulated that it was a management responsibility to identify the ‘one best way’ for workers to perform, and it was the employee’s responsibility to follow the prescribed
‘Ethics has no part to play in managerial activities.’ Discuss this statement.
Human beings are their own worst enemy as they demand high quality products and services at very low prices whilst at the same time demanding high quality jobs and high wages. These demands are
Provide a brief explanation for five of the individual reasons for resisting change.
Distinguish between planned and unplanned change, adaptive and fracturing change. What are the consequences of these distinctions?
Discuss the statement that globalization provides managers with more opportunities than problems.
‘The true skill in management is to keep change happening so that everyone has to pay attention to what they are doing and they do not have any spare time to cause trouble for managers.’ Discuss
‘Psychometric tests make it easy to sell consultancy services to senior managers and that is the only value that they have.’ Discuss this statement.
To what extent does personality explain individual differences between people?
Describe the genetic and environmental origins of personality. Which do you consider the most important to the development of adult personality? Why?
Would it be desirable for all the employees within an organization to have similar personality characteristics? Why, or why not?
‘Emotional intelligence has no value in an organizational setting as emption plays no part in business.’ Discuss this statement.
Can personality be measured accurately by any form of psychometric test? Why or why not?
It has often been suggested that Freudian theory tells us more about Freud than it does about personality. Discuss.
To what extent is the ‘Big five’ model of personality the best as it concentrates on the five most important dimensions of personality from an organizational perspective?
‘Any organization needs “different” people within it in order to optimize performance and effectiveness through the unique contribution of each individual.’ Discuss.
Because perception is a process containing many elements and influences one person can never fully understand another. To what extent does that imply that managers will never understand employees and
Describe the perception process and explain the organizational significance of each stage in the process.
Impression management is the key to being a successful manager. It is not what a manager actually does that matters, but how it is ‘sold’ to others that is important.’ To what extent would you
To what extent are attitudes based on perception?
‘The real world only exists in the mind of the individual.’ To what extent do you agree with this statement and what implications does it hold for managers seeking to achieve maximum performance
Employees need the money that they earn through work and so managers can never be certain if employees simply comply with what is expected of them in order to maintain their income. Consequently talk
Why might different people interpret the same situation differently? Provide examples from your own experience.
To what extent can managers influence the attitudes and perceptions of their subordinates? How could they set about doing so?
‘Management reflects the exercise of power and control, which is why employees tend to hold negative attitudes towards managers. Managers should therefore ignore the attitudes of subordinates and
‘Attribution theory reflects the application of perception and attitude processes to other people.’ To what extent and why would you agree with this viewpoint?
If you were a manager, would you prefer to have your team extrinsically or intrinsically motivated? Why?
Motivation is best achieved through offering employees a monetary reward for working harder. Discuss this statement in the light of the material presented in this chapter.
Briefly explain Bandura’s his Social-Cognitive Theory and compare its approach to motivation as compared to that of Maslow. What conclusions about motivations at work do you draw from your answer?
Imagine that you are the manager of a call-centre selling car insurance and dealing with customer queries in relation to the same product range. How and to what extent could you build
What is motivation? Describe two theories of motivation and suggest in what organizational circumstances you think they might be most useful. Justify your answer.
To what extent would you support the view that motivation in an organizational context presents managers with techniques and processes that allow them to exercise more effective control over employee
It is impossible for an organization to fully motivate all employees all the time. Discuss.
There are no ethical issues surrounding motivation, it simply represents the ways in which manager’s seek to encourage employees to contribute effectively. Critically evaluate this statement.
Motivation is an individual level response, yet managers must operate at a collective level in following company policies. Therefore because motivational practice cannot be personalized it is not
Compare and contrast the views on the management process as outlined by Fayol and Mintzberg’s description of the 10 management roles.
‘Successful management is about acquiring power and using it to ensure that you achieve your objectives.’ Based on the material introduced in this chapter to what extent could this viewpoint be
To what extent might the context play a significant part in determining what managers actually do?
Discuss what it is that managers spend their time doing, in the process making use of the material presented in this chapter.
‘The top leaders in an organization are there simply to provide a symbolic focus for the world outside the organization. It is the management in the middle ranks of the organization that actually
Discuss the differences and similarities between the concepts of management and leadership.
‘Cometh the hour, cometh the leader.’ Discuss this statement in the light of the approaches to leadership discussed in this chapter.
‘Leaders need to find the right group and context before they are able to exercise their leadership.’ Discuss this statement.
To what extent is leadership simply a means of expressing management in a way that employees would find more acceptable and therefore work harder?
‘Charismatic leaders are not appropriate in the middle ranks of managerial jobs because they could encourage an organization within an organization to develop.’ Discuss this statement.
What is role theory and how might it offer an insight into how groups form and function within an organization?
Groups within organizations are different from groups in other contexts. To what extent and why might this statement be true? Do any differences that exist matter in an organizational context?
The use of ‘team’ rather than ‘group’ in an organizational context represents an attempt by managers to retain control whilst appearing to delegate power and authority to employees. Discuss
To what extent is the distinction between the concept of formal and informal groups a useful one in an organizational context?
What is ‘social loafing’? How and to what extent can managers and/or fellow group members control or eliminate it?
Should management do everything it can to prevent informal groups from forming in the organization? Justify your answer.
Should individuals be trained in the theories of group formation and structure in order to ensure that they can become effective contributors to group activities? Why or why not?
Tuckman and Jensen (1977) describe a model of group development which describes the process that a new group goes through. How might the process differ when a new member joins an existing group?
To what extent is the creation of formal groups within an organization an attempt to provide managers with the means of social control?
Individuals within an organization belong to so many formal and informal groups as part of their work that it is not possible for managers to control individuals with any degree of success. Discuss
Describe how communications can be thought of as a perceptual process.
Is rationality the only basis on which decisions are taken? Illustrate your answer from your own experience.
Whetten and Cameron (2010) define communication as constructive if it helps overcome defensive behaviour in others and patronising behaviour in ourselves. Explain the significance of this view in

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