Questions and Answers of Organizational Behaviour Understanding

Using French and Raven’s five bases of power, explain how each major change programme could or should make use of each base of power to implement effective change.AppendixLO1
Using Kanter’s model of the bases of organizational power, explain how each major change programme could or should make use of each base of power to implement effective change.AppendixLO1
Using Foucault’s notion of discourse, explain how each major change programme could or should make use of discourse analysis to implement effective change.AppendixLO1
Using Weick’s sensemaking approach, explain how each major change programme could or should make use of the sensemaking properties to implement effective change.AppendixLO1
Drawing on empirical examples, discuss situations where appeals to charismatic, traditional and/or rational legal authority are more likely to be effective in processes of change.AppendixLO1
Understand what is meant by programmatic change AppendixLO1
Be able to define organizational change AppendixLO1
Be familiar with the development of the field of change management AppendixLO1
Understand the importance of change management AppendixLO1
Be familiar with developments in both the theory and practice of change management AppendixLO1
Understand and be able to apply the sensemaking framework AppendixLO1
Do an Internet and library search of those managers listed in Figure 1.2.Make notes on any contributions they are reported to have made to organizational change; any statements they have made on
Do an Internet and library search of those companies listed in Figure 1.1.Make notes on which organizational change strategies they have adopted over time, and what they say about those changes; note
From the companies referenced in Figure 1.1 make a list of the various factors that can be said to influence organizational change. What does this tell you about the management of change?
Using the business section of a national newspaper, make a list of the companies that the paper reports on and of the reasons why they made the news. Compare this list with your answer to question 3.
Using the same national newspaper, make a list of the top managers that the paper reports on and of the reasons why they made the news.What percentage of the managers are women and what does this
Now look at the front, ‘news’, section of the same national newspaper and make a list of the main issues discussed. Which, if any, of those items are likely to have an important influence on
Define change management.AppendixLO1
Why do you think that change management is important to (a) business educators, (b) senior managers, (c) employees and (d) consultants?AppendixLO1
How do you think that the notion of change management has changed over time, and why?AppendixLO1
Who are the main stakeholders in the development of change management strategies, and why?AppendixLO1
Identify a current change in an organization from the list in Figure 1.1.Think about what sensemaking changes might need to be enacted and how you would go about doing it. Assess this in terms of the
Understand the roots of planned culture change AppendixLO1
Understand the different perspectives of organizational culture AppendixLO1
Understand planned culture change approaches AppendixLO1
Be able to critically assess the relevant models and theories of culture and culture change.AppendixLO1
How might Air Canada have created a more unifying culture? What are some problems that companies might encounter when they merge or acquire different organizations?AppendixLO1
Do you believe that culture is something that an organization ‘is’ or something an organization ‘has’? Explain your answer.AppendixLO1
Do you think culture can be planned and changed? What might be some of the pitfalls that an organization thinking of changing its culture might encounter and what might they do to prevent problems
Why were the culture changes at SAS and BA successful? What, if anything, could they have done differently?AppendixLO1
How important do you think the role of the leader is in planned culture change? Explain your answer with examples of what a leader should be doing to facilitate change.AppendixLO1
What should the role of employees be in planned culture change? How might they get involved?AppendixLO1
Why was the culture change at NSP not successful? What, if anything, could they have done differently?AppendixLO1
Describe the culture of your organization according to Schein’s model of culture. Give examples of beliefs, values, assumptions, artefacts, rituals etc.AppendixLO1
Describe the culture of your university. What sets it apart from other universities? Describe some formal and informal rules that exist. How do you see these enacted? Is there resistance and how does
Using the Internet, find three organizations, each in a different country, and categorize them according to Joanne Martin’s three perspectives.AppendixLO1
Using the Internet, look up three of the companies that Peters and Waterman exemplified in their book, In Search of Excellence, and describe their current culture.AppendixLO1
Be familiar with the history of the quality movement AppendixLO1
Understand what is meant by Total Quality Management AppendixLO1
Be familiar with Deming’s quality theories AppendixLO1
Be able to discuss critically Total Quality Management AppendixLO1
Understand what is meant by Business Process Re-engineering AppendixLO1
Do an Internet search on any of the quality pioneers in Figure 6.1. Make notes on their contribution to the quality movement. Prepare a short presentation for the class.AppendixLO1
Using the business section of a national newspaper, look for evidence of TQM or BPR initiatives. The articles may not state that the organizations are using TQM or BPR overtly. Look for clues based
Although many of the examples used in this chapter were from a manufacturing viewpoint, both TQM and BPR are also used in nonmanufacturing, services and not-for-profit organizations. What would TQM
Compare and contrast TQM and BPR. Some argue that BPR is merely an adaptation of TQM. What do you think of this?AppendixLO1
Do an Internet search of the Big Three auto makers. Identify elements of TQM and BPR that still remain.AppendixLO1
Research three of the BPR tools listed in this chapter. Prepare a short explanation of each of the three for your classmates. Explain what they are and how they might be used.AppendixLO1
Visit the American Society of Quality website – http://www.asq.org – and prepare a short summary of your findings.AppendixLO1
In a small group, discuss the human implications of the quality movement.How can these be reconciled? Prepare a report that will be presented to your class.AppendixLO1
Be familiar with the stages of the Balanced Scorecard AppendixLO1
Be familiar with the multiple perspectives of the Balanced Scorecard AppendixLO1
Understand what is meant by Six Sigma AppendixLO1
Be familiar with the Six Sigma Method AppendixLO1
Understand how individuals make sense of the Balanced Scorecard and Six Sigma approaches to change management AppendixLO1
Use an Internet and library search to find one company that ‘successfully’and one that ‘unsuccessfully’ implemented the Balanced Scorecard method. Where possible try to find companies from
Use an Internet and library search to find one company that ‘successfully’and one that ‘unsuccessfully’ implemented Six Sigma. Where possible try to find companies from Figure 1.1. Also try
Using the sensemaking framework (Table 1.1) in Chapter 1, write short notes, with examples, on how each of the four companies researched for questions 1 and 2 above uses the eight sensemaking
What similarities can you find in the way each strategy of implementing or failing to implement BSC or Six Sigma is made plausible? What can we learn from this?AppendixLO1
What are some of the differences in the way each implementation strategy is made plausible? What can we learn from this?AppendixLO1
Make notes on how key managers are presented in the accounts of implementing BSC or Six Sigma. What is the role of identity construction in these accounts both for the managers and for others? What
What ‘pressures’ to change can you identify in each company case?What pressures, if any, are similar across all four companies? What, if any, are different? What can we learn from this?AppendixLO1
Using the Birkenshaw & Mol (2006) study of management innovation, find an example of a company that developed either BSC or Six Sigma(they can be the same ones that you studied for question 1 or 2)
Using examples of companies that have implemented BSC, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the four perspectives.AppendixLO1
Using examples of companies that have implemented Six Sigma, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of either the DMADV or the DMAIC method.AppendixLO1
1. Describe the bases of power held by Dr. Jamie Thompson. Describe the bases of power held by Dr. Elizabeth Clarke.2. What activities and people have contributed to Jaime Thompson’s power? What
A Harris/Decima poll determined that almost 25 percent of Canadians fail to use all the vacation days they are entitled to during the year. The unused days ranged from 1.39 in the province of Quebec
Discuss the division of labour in a restaurant. What methods are used to coordinate this divided labour? Do differences exist between fast-food versus more formal restaurants?
Make up a list of criteria that defines a good downsizing effort.
Google, the internet innovator par excellence, relies less on top-down strategies and more on grassroots ideas for new products and services. These ideas are often developed in small project teams
In March 1998, a group of Trojan Technologies Inc. (Trojan) employees grappled with the issue of how to structure the business to effectively interact with their customers and to manage the
Discuss how interlocking directorates can reduce environmental uncertainty and help manage resource dependence.
Distinguish among pooled interdependence, sequential interdependence, and _ reciprocal interdependence in terms of the key problem each poses for organizational effectiveness.
Give an example of unit technology, mass technology, and process technology. For which type of technology are the prescriptions of the classical organizational theorists best suited?
Imagine that a company is converting from conventional mass technology to a highly flexible, computerized, integrated production system. List structural and behavioural problems that the company
Discuss this statement: The effects of advanced information technology on job design and organizational structure are highly predictable.
What is the meaning of the expression “the two faces of advanced technology” and what are the implications of advanced technology for organizational structure and job design?
A few years ago, manufacturers of business jets were soaring thanks to new-found wealth in emerging markets such as Russia. However, in August 2009, Montreal-based Bombardier Inc. announced that it
The purpose of this exercise is to choose an organization and to diagnose it in terms of the concepts we covered in the chapter. Doing such a diagnosis should enable you to see better how the degree
The purpose of this exercise is to learn about an organization that has implemented advanced information technology and the effect it has had on organizational structure and job design.This exercise
Many organizations are using technology to track employees for things such as start-end times and employee. location. Tracking devices such as global positioning systems (GPS) can be attached to
In February 1984, a radical new experiment began with the establishment of the Group of 99, which consisted of 99 individuals representing a broad cross-section of members of the United Auto Workers
Facebook’s campus in Menlo Park, California, includes a large sign reading The Hacker Company and a giant HACK configured into the surface of one of its many pedestrian plazas. Founder Mark
Sally Newton was the only purchasing officer of First Canadian Club, a fitness club with 20 centres scattered around Canada. In February 1988, she was thinking of how to handle the resistance coming
Describe how the principles of operant learning theory and social cognitive theory can be used to manage workplace diversity and reduce the effects of workplace stereotypes. How can the
Consider how the four basic types of managerial activities (ie., routine communication, traditional management, networking, and human resource management) can influence employees’ perceptions of
In 2012, the Australian government launched a new initiative that will pay employers to hire older workers. Employers will receive $$1000$ for every worker aged 50 or older that they hire and
Citizens Medical Centre, a hospital in Victoria, Texas, — recently instituted a new hiring policy that bans job applicants from employment for being overweight.The new policy states that the
In March 2009, the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) announced the appointment of John M. Rafferty as the organization’s new president and CEO. CNIB is a nationwide charity that
Use equity theory to explain why a dentist who earns $$100$ 000 a year might be more dissatisfied with her job than a factory worker who earns $$40$ 000.
In 2006, Arthur Winston died at age 100. He had worked for 76 years for the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority cleaning trains and buses. Although this is remarkable enough, it is even
The text message from Ashok stood out in bold block letters on the small screen of Josh Lewis’s iPhone. Am I ever, Josh thought, stuffing the device back into his pocket and emphatically rolling
Reconsider the case of Tony Angelas, which was used to illustrate expectancy theory. Imagine that you are Tony’s boss and you think that he can be motivated to perform at a high level. Suppose you
Employee theft is a major problem for organizations in Canada and the United States. According to one study, employee theft costs Canadian organizations more than $120 billion a year and is the cause
As competition in the retail market began to heat up, it became necessary to find ways to motivate the sales staff of Mayfield Department Stores to increase sales. Therefore, a motivational program
DATATRONIC is a company started by George Pandry and Rolin Martin, two friends who had just graduated with degrees in business administration and saw an opportunity to start their own business. With
Ken Lewenza, president of the Canadian Auto Workers union (CAW) says the union is under pressure from Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors to accept performance pay and bonuses rather than
Chang Koh Metal Ptd. Ltd. was founded in Singapore in 1982 by Teo Kai San, a first generation Straits-born Chinese. The company’s operations were in the production of metal-stamping precision
Introduced to the Deloitte & Touche: Integrating Arthur Andersen Integrative Case. The case questions focused on issues pertaining to the relevance and goals of organizational behaviour, managerial
ISE Communications was one of the pioneers in using self-managed work teams. The teams were put in place to improve manufacturing flexibility and customer service, both factors being crucial in the

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