Questions and Answers of Skills Management

Using the information on influence strategies in the second half of this chapter as your guide, strategize how you would address the challenges you are likely to encounter if you accepted the
If you were offered the new River Woods plant manager position, based on what you’ve learned about the sources of position power, what actions would you take to insure that as the company’s first
If you were part of the selection committee for the River Woods plant manager position, based on what you’ve learned about the sources of personal power in this chapter, describe what you’d
Conduct a role play. Handle the key issues that exist between Ron and Mike.Identify the principles that you used to make this a productive conversation. If you were Ron, what would you do in your
Categorize each of the statements by naming the rule of supportive communication that is either illustrated or violated.AppendixLO1
If you were to change this interaction to make it more productive, what would you change?AppendixLO1
What principles of supportive communication and supportive listening are violated in this case?AppendixLO1
What techniques of conceptual blockbusting did the group use?AppendixLO1
How creative was the group in defining and solving the problem?AppendixLO1
Was consideration given to how and when the solution could be implemented?a. Were obstacles to implementation discussed?b. Was the solution accepted because it solved the problem under consideration,
Was the optimal solution selected?a. Were alternatives evaluated systematically?b. Was consideration given to the realistic long-term effects of each alternative?AppendixLO1
Were alternatives proposed before any solution was evaluated?a. Did all group members help generate alternative solutions without judging them one at a time?b. Did people build on the alternatives
Was the problem defined explicitly?a. To what extent was information sought from all group members?b. Did the group avoid defining the problem as a disguised solution?c. What techniques were used to
What tools for fostering creative problem solving are applicable to Apple, and which would not be workable? Which ones do you think are used the most there?AppendixLO1
What are the major obstacles and conceptual blocks that face Apple right now?What do employees need to watch out for?AppendixLO1
Assume you were a consultant to the CEO at Apple. What advice would you give on how Apple could capitalize on its creativity? How can Apple make money based on its own inclination to pursue
Consider the four approaches to creativity. What approach(es) has Apple relied upon? What alternatives have other firms in the industry pursued? What other alternatives could Apple
If you were hired as a consultant to Chet, what would you advise him?AppendixLO1
Which of Chet’s personal characteristics inhibit his effective management of time?AppendixLO1
What are the organizational problems in the case?AppendixLO1
What principles of time and stress management are violated in this case?AppendixLO1
Assume that each of these individuals were members of your team. What would be the greatest strengths and weaknesses of your team? What kinds of attributes would you want to add to your team to
If you were assigned to hire a senior manager for your organization and this was your candidate pool, what questions would you ask to identify these individuals’:■ Cognitive styles■ Values
What is your prediction about the dominant learning styles of each of these individuals?What data do you use as evidence?AppendixLO1
Rank these individuals from highest to lowest in terms of:■ Emotional intelligence■ Values maturity■ Tolerance of ambiguity■ Core self-evaluation Justify your evaluations in a discussion with
What do your answers tell you about your own emotional intelligence, values, cognitive style, attitude toward change, and core self-evaluation?AppendixLO1
What circumstances might arise to make you change your mind about your decision?Could there be a different answer to each case in a different circumstance?AppendixLO1
What additional information would you need in order to be certain about your choices?AppendixLO1
What principles or basic values for decision making did you use in each case?AppendixLO1
Why did you make the choices you did in each case? Justify each answer.AppendixLO1
What could be done to reform or rebuild the self-awareness of these prisoners?What can be done to help individuals without self-awareness to improve that skill?AppendixLO1
What mechanisms do people use, and what mechanisms could the prisoners of war have used, to resist a change in their self-concepts?AppendixLO1
Assume that you are charged with the orientation of a cohort of new managers in your organization. How would you help them understand their own strengths and inclinations and how they could best
What opposite processes could be used to create the reverse process, that is, a strengthening of the self-concept?AppendixLO1
What specific techniques were used to bring about the destruction of self-awareness among the prisoners?AppendixLO1
In 1984, given the dramatic turnaround of the company, why doesn’t Iacocca celebrate? What is his motivation? Why does he mix confrontation and challenge in his positive message?AppendixLO1
In 1983, how is the vision institutionalized? How does Iacocca personally exemplify the principles he espouses?AppendixLO1
In 1982, how did Iacocca maintain positivity? What is the vision for the company?What symbolic events are used? How is commitment developed?AppendixLO1
In 1980, how did Iacocca ensure credibility? Who is the enemy? What is interesting about his language?AppendixLO1
In 1979, with the company in such bad shape and the economy so dismal, how did Iacocca create a climate of positivity? What symbols are used? What small wins were identified? What is interesting
Make recommendations about what Mott should do now to capitalize on the ELITE Team experience. If you were to become a consultant to the Tallahassee Democrat, what advice would you give Mott about
Why didn’t Mott’s top management team reach a high level of performance? What was his team lacking? Why was an ELITE team needed?AppendixLO1
Write down the two or three aspects of this skill that are most important to you.These may be areas of weakness, areas of strength, or areas that are most salient to a situation you face right now.
Establish a close mentoring relationship with someone with whom you work or go to school. Your mentor may be a professor, a senior manager, or someone who has been around longer than you have. That
Identify a symbol that can serve as a constant reminder of your own—or your organization’s—vision of abundance. Select something that is positively energizing and that can remind you every time
Identify an example of best practice. That is, find someone or some organization that is unique in being the best there is at something. Try to identify what it is that accounts for that
Identify at least one person in your circle of acquaintances who is positively energizing to you. When you are around this person, you simply feel better. Make certain that you interact with that
Do a systematic analysis of the things that occur in your life for which you are grateful.What is going right, and what makes life worth living? Consider your job, family, school, and social life.
Find someone you know well who is working in an organization. Teach him or her the principles of leading positive change. use the concepts, principles, techniques, and exercises provided in this
What was Jim’s vision of abundance?AppendixLO1
What aspects of positive change did he leave out? What would you advise him to do going forward to foster sustainability?AppendixLO1
In what ways did Jim try to foster positively deviance performance?AppendixLO1
What elements of positive change do you see implemented by Jim Mallozzi?AppendixLO1
Teach someone, or coach someone, on how to become an effective leader of a team, and how to become an effective team member. Demonstrate or exemplify the skills you teach that person.AppendixLO1
Do an in-depth analysis of an effective team leader you know. Focus specifically on the ways in which he or she has developed credibility and continues to influence team members. Identify what
Write out a formal vision statement for a team you are leading. Make certain that the vision possesses the attributes of effective, energizing vision statements discussed in the chapter. Identify
Conduct a role analysis of a real team meeting in which members are trying to make a decision, solve a problem, or examine an issue. Who performed what roles?Which team members were most helpful?
Analyze the characteristics of a team in which you are a member. Determine in what ways its functioning could be improved. Based on the attributes of highperformance teams, identify what could be
Teach someone else how to determine which stage of development a team is in and what behaviors are most effective in each separate stage.AppendixLO1
What do you wish you could do differently to be more efficient and more effective if you were to do another task together?AppendixLO1
How did you make up for the inability to communicate as a team during the task?AppendixLO1
What were the differences between teams that accomplished the task the most quickly and with the highest quality compared to the others?AppendixLO1
What team leadership and membership roles did each of your team members play? Which were the most effective?AppendixLO1
What happened to your team dynamics over the duration of the activity? Did they change from one stage to another? Did you end up as a high-performing team?AppendixLO1
What hints about initial stages of team development were utilized?AppendixLO1
As a team, what was especially effective, and what was especially ineffective in planning for task accomplishment in advance?AppendixLO1
Your team is well-oiled and highly functioning, and you want to make sure that this high level of performance not only continues but improves.AppendixLO1
Your team is experiencing a lot of conflict among members. Strongly held points of view exist that seem not to be compatible. Factions have begun to arise in the team.AppendixLO1
You join a team that has been together for several meetings and has, unfortunately, had a history of being unproductive, goofing off, and partying with one another a bit too much.AppendixLO1
The team has just come together for the first time, and this is its first meeting.AppendixLO1
Under what conditions would individuals do better than teams in making decisions?AppendixLO1
How do you explain the superior performance of most teams over even the best individuals?AppendixLO1
What changes would be needed in order for your team score to be even better?AppendixLO1
How many individuals did better than the team as a whole? (In general, more than 80 percent of people do worse than the team.)AppendixLO1
Make recommendations about what Mott should do now to capitalize on the ELITE Team experience. If you were to become a consultant to the Tallahassee Democrat, what advice would you give Mott about
Why didn’t Mott’s top management team reach a high level of performance?What was his team lacking? Why was an ELITE team needed?AppendixLO1
How do you explain the team’s reaching a high-performance condition? What were the major predictive factors?AppendixLO1
What were the stages of development of the ELITE Team? Identify specific examples of each of the four stages of team development in the case.AppendixLO1
Identify the specific behaviors in which you will engage to apply this skill.Operationalize your skill performance.AppendixLO1
Schedule a meeting with a manager who is not very good at empowerment.(Finding such a person shouldn’t be difficult because most leaders tend to be more authoritarian and bureaucratic than
Think of a situation you now face with which you would like some help. It may be a task you want to accomplish, a tough decision you need to make, or a team you want to form. Make sure you think of
Interview a manager about his or her empowerment practices. Try to determine what is especially effective, what doesn’t work, what comes off as condescending, and what motivates people to perform.
Teach someone else (your spouse, a colleague, your boss) how to empower others and engage others effectively. Include the principles in Table 8.3 in your discussion.Use your own examples and
If others are to become involved, how much empowerment should they have?What would you do specifically to achieve the appropriate level of empowerment?AppendixLO1
What are the most important considerations in deciding whom to involve in this task?AppendixLO1
If you answered the question, “Should I involve others?” affirmatively, which alternative in Figure 8.2 should be used in making a decision? Justify your choice.AppendixLO1
Should this decision be made by you alone? Why or why not?AppendixLO1
If you were an outside consultant attending the meeting, what advice would you give Ken? What advice would you give Ruth?AppendixLO1
What are the questions that Ruth should ask Ken to help her acquire the necessary elements of empowerment? What questions should Ken ask Ruth to be better able to ensure her success?AppendixLO1
What should Ruth Cummings and Ken Hoffman discuss in their meeting? Identify specific agenda items that should be raised.AppendixLO1
What guidelines related to engagement were violated by Ken Hoffman? By Ruth Cummings?AppendixLO1
What guidelines related to empowerment were violated by Ken Hoffman? By Ruth Cummings?AppendixLO1
Now identify the setting or the situation in which you will apply this skill.Establish a plan for performance by actually writing down a description of the situation. Who else will be involved? When
Identify a difficult situation involving negotiations. This might involve transactions at work, at home, or in the community. Review the guidelines for integrative bargaining and identify the
Volunteer to serve as a mediator to resolve a conflict between two individuals or groups. Using the guidelines for implementing the collaborative approach to mediation, outline a plan of action prior
Identify a situation in which another individual is doing something that needs to be corrected. Using the respondent’s guidelines for collaborative problem solving, construct a plan for discussing
Select three individuals who are from diverse cultural backgrounds and have work experience outside of their native culture. Discuss with them the sources(especially the personal differences) of
Select a specific conflict with which you are very familiar. Using the framework for identifying the sources of conflict discussed in this chapter, analyze this situation carefully. It might be
What is the most appropriate conflict management strategy?AppendixLO1
What are the salient situational factors?AppendixLO1

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