Questions and Answers of Organizational Behaviour Understanding

What role do perceptions play in gender differences in communication? Refer to the perceptual system in Chapter 3 and use its components—the perceiver, the target person, and the situation
How does a manager’s leadership style affect manager-employee communication? Refer to the theories of leadership described in Chapter 9 (e.g., ethical and authentic leadership, leadership traits,
1. How does the concept of cultural context apply to the events that transpired?2. If you were a culturally aware Canadian executive doing the negotiating here, how would you have proceeded to avoid
The email just said, “Cancel it.” Carol Graves couldn’t believe her eyes. Carol was a marketing coordinator for Monkland Pharmaceuticals. One of her duties was to organize a professional
1. Discuss how the web and new media such as Facebook have (a) aided, and (b) complicated organizational communication. Be sure to consider the implications of sending a message when you do not know
The director of an urban hospital feels that there is a turnover problem among the hospital’s nurses. About 25 percent of the staff resigns each year, leading to high replacement costs and
1 to explore how the director might proceed to solve this problem. Discuss probable bounds to the rationality of the director’s decision.
Describe a decision-making episode (in school, at work, or in your personal life) in which you experienced information overload. How did you respond to this overload? Did it affect the quality of
A very cohesive planning group for a major oil company is about to develop a long-range strategic plan. Serena, the head of the unit, is aware of the groupthink problem and wishes to prevent it. What
Discuss the implications of diffusion of responsibility, risky shift, and conservative shift for the members of a parole board. Also, consider the role of emotion and mood.
Many universities must register thousands of students for courses each semester. Is this a well-structured problem or an ill-structured problem? Does it require programmed decisions or non-programmed
An auditing team fails to detect a case of embezzlement that has gone on for several months at a bank. How might team members use hindsight to justify their faulty decisions?
Explain how the rational decision-making process works.
Compare and contrast perfect rationality and bounded rationality.
What are sunk costs? How do they affect solution evaluation?
What is hindsight? Cite two specific cases of hindsight.
Compare and contrast programmed and non-programmed decision making.
What can organizations do to improve the decision making of their members?
How can emotion and mood affect decision making?
What is groupthink and what can organizations do to prevent it?
How do groups handle risk? What is a risky shift? What is a conservative shift?
Consider the role of communication in decision making. Explain how various communication problems can affect decision making in organizations. How can personal and organizational approaches for
Does group structure influence group decision making? Explain how each of the following structural characteristics might influence group decision quality, acceptance and commitment, and diffusion of
What factors are likely to affect the accuracy of the admissions yield estimate? Why do you think decision errors often compound themselves? That is, why is one error often followed by others?
1. Is this an example of a well-structured or an ill-structured problem? Explain your reasoning.2. Who are the stakeholders in this decision? That is, whose interests are affected by the outcomes of
1. What are some of the factors that might lead Christophe to make a poor decision about the review?2. What would you do in this situation, and why?
1. Is selecting applicants for business school a well-structured or an ill-structured problem? Explain your reasoning.2. Is it possible to program the decision to select applicants for admission for
How should Anisha Anderson decide on which of the bonus plans to implement? That is, what process should she use?
As a CRS, which bonus plan would you prefer, and why?
Many millionaires continue to work long, hard hours, sometimes even beyond the usual age of retirement. Use the ideas developed in the chapter to speculate about the reasons for this motivational
Discuss a time when you were highly motivated to perform well (at work, at school, in a sports contest) but performed poorly in spite of your high motivation. How do you know that your motivation was
What are the implications of goal orientation for motivating a group of employees? Describe a situation in which it would be best to set a learning goal and a situation in which it would be best to
Describe self-determination theory, and provide an example of when your motivation was controlled and when it was autonomous. What factors contributed to your autonomous motivation and controlled
What is the relationship between cognitive ability and emotional intelligence with job performance? When would emotional intelligence be most important for a person’s job performance? When is
Use Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and Alderfer’s ERG theory to explain why assembly line workers and executive vice-presidents might be susceptible to different forms of motivation.
Colleen is high in need for achievement, Eugene is high in need for power, and Max is high in need for affiliation. They are thinking about starting a business partnership. To maximize the motivation
Debate the following statements: Of all the motivational theories we discussed in this chapter, goal setting theory is the simplest to implement. Goal setting is no more than doing what a good
Critique the following assertion: People are basically the same. Thus, the motivation theories discussed in the chapter apply equally around the globe.
Refer to the cross-cultural dimensions of values described in Chapter 4 (i.e., work centrality, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity/femininity, individualism/collectivism, and
Consider the basic characteristics of motivation in relation to operant learning theory and social cognitive theory. What are the implications of operant learning theory and social cognitive theory
1. Do you think it was a good idea for Professor Hackenbush to use goal setting to motivate the TAs? How effective was this motivational strategy?2. Use goal setting theory to explain why Professor
1. Discuss the motivation and the motivational strategies being used at Ruffian Apparel for each group of employees (store manager, assistant manager, part-time and full-time associates). How
1. What factors do you think contribute to the performance of the employees at DATATRONIC? Refer to Exhibit 5.1 to explain your answer.2. Consider the needs of the employees at DATATRONIC. What is
1. What factors do you think contribute to the performance of the employees at DATATRONIC? Refer to Exhibit 5.1 to explain your answer.2. Consider the needs of the employees at DATATRONIC. What is
1. Describe the practices that Lincoln Electric uses to motivate employees. What are some of the consequences of these practices for employees and the company?2. Discuss the motivational system at
Use one of the need theories of motivation (Maslow’s hierarchy, Alderfer’s ERG, or McClelland’s need theory) to characterize the state government’s current motivational system. What kinds of
Use expectancy theory to analyze the state government’s current motivational system. Consider motives to “produce” and motives to “participate.” Use the concepts of outcomes, valences,
Given your answer to question 3, what special demands do your proposed changes make on supervisory personnel, especially with regard to their roles as motivators and developers of employees?
Will your new and improved civil service system require a revised hiring strategy? What changes in hiring will have to take place?
Imagine two insurance companies that have merit pay plans for salaried, white-collar employees. In one organization, the plan truly rewards good performers, while in the other it does not. Both
Imagine an office setting in which a change to a four-day week, flex time, or telecommuting would appear to be equally feasible to introduce. What would be the pros and cons of each system? How would
What work design characteristics are most important for you, and why? If you were to redesign the job you currently hold or a job you have previously held, what work design characteristics would you
What is the relational architecture of jobs, and why is this important for job design? Discuss your current or most recent job in terms of its relational architecture. How can the relational
Describe some jobs for which you think it would be difficult to link pay to performance. What is there about these jobs that provokes this difficulty?
You are, of course, familiar with the annual lists of the world’s 10 worst-dressed people or 10 worst movies. Here’s a new one: A job enrichment consultant has developed a list of the 10 worst
What are the essential distinctions between gainsharing, profit sharing, and employee stock ownership plans? How effective is each pay plan, and what are the advantages and disadvantages?
Some observers have argued that the jobs of the prime minister of Canada and the president of the United States are “too big” for one person to perform adequately. This probably means that the
Why do you think employees and managers seriously underestimate the importance of pay as a motivator? What are the implications of this for organizations’ use of pay to motivate employees? What are
How is the concept of workforce diversity related to the motivational techniques discussed in the chapter?
Although an increasing number of organizations are offering their employees the opportunity to telecommute, many employees who have tried it don’t like it and prefer to be in the workplace. Why do
Why would workers consciously restrict their productivity under piece-rate?
What are some of the reasons that merit pay plans are often ineffective and what can be done to make them more effective?
What are some of the reasons that wage incentive plans are often ineffective and what can be done to make them more effective?
Contrast the traditional view of job design with the more recent approach.
How do the moderating variables influence outcomes in the Job Characteristics Model?
What are some of the problems with job enrichment and how can they be managed?
What is Management by Objectives (MBO)? What problems may develop with its implementation?
Define flex time and telecommuting. How does each affect the quality of working life?
Distinguish between the various pay plans used to motivate teamwork. What are the advantages and disadvantages of them?
What factors should an organization consider when deciding on a strategy to motivate employees?
What is the difference between job design and work design? Compare and contrast the different work design characteristics.
What is the meaning of the relational architecture of jobs and how does it contribute to what is known about job design?
What is job crafting and what are the different ways that employees can engage in job crafting? How is job crafting different from other approaches to job design?
Merit pay plans often require managers to conduct performance evaluations of their employees to determine the amount of merit pay to be awarded. Discuss some of the perceptual problems and biases
Using each of the motivation theories described in Chapter 5, explain how job design, job enrichment, work design, and relational job design can be motivational. According to each theory, when are
In Chapter 2, employee recognition programs were discussed as an organizational learning practice. Using the material presented in this chapter, describe the potential for employee recognition
1. Describe the job characteristics and critical psychological states of Sabrita’s job. According to the Job Characteristics Model, how motivated is Sabrita? What does the Job Characteristics Model
1. Comment on the fixed salary system that Andrew adopted from his former employer. Why was this system not effective for motivating the plant workers?2. Do you think that scrapping the fixed salary
Describe the kind of skills that you would look for in members of self-managed teams. Explain your choices. Do the same for virtual teams.
When would an organization create self-managed teams? When would it use cross-functional teams? When would it employ virtual teams?
Explain how a cross-functional team could contribute to product or service quality. Explain how a cross-functional team could contribute to speeding up product design.
Some organizations have made concerted efforts to do away with many of the status symbols associated with differences in organizational rank. All employees now park in the same lot, eat in the same
You are an executive in a consumer products corporation. The president assigns you to form a task force to develop new marketing strategies for the organization. You are permitted to choose its
Suppose that a group of United Nations representatives from various countries forms to draft a resolution regarding world hunger. Is this an additive, disjunctive, or conjunctive task? What kinds of
Mark Allen, a representative for an international engineering company, is a very religious person who is active in his church. Mark’s direct superior has instructed him to use “any legal means”
Discuss the relationship between group size and group performance.
What are the functions that group norms serve?
Suppose you wanted to undermine the cohesiveness of a group. What would you do?
Discuss the pros and cons of forming an organizational task force with members who have very similar attitudes and personalities versus forming one with members who have very different attitudes and
Give an example of a person who is experiencing both intrasender and intersender role conflict.
Explain why making groups larger does not always lead to an expected increase in performance.
You have to develop a checklist for designing an effective self-managed work group. What are its elements?
You have to develop a checklist for designing an effective cross-functional group. What are its elements?
You have to develop a checklist for designing an effective virtual team. What are its elements?
What is collective efficacy and how does it differ from self-efficacy? Why is collective efficacy important for teams?
What are shared mental models and why are they important for cross-functional teams? Why are they a challenge to instill in cross-functional teams?
What role do perceptions play in group development? Refer to the discussion of perceptual process and biases in Chapter 3 and discuss the implications for each stage of group development. What are
How can groups be motivated? Consider the implications of each of the work motivation theories described in Chapter? What do the theories tell us about how to motivate groups?
Students might wish to know that Amazon actually put a group attendance bonus in place in its German “fulfillment centres” (known elsewhere as warehouses!). Trade union officials viewed the
Janet, a student, never liked working on group assignments; however, this time she thought it would be different because she knew most of the people in her group. But it was not long before things

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