1. Your boss has recently proposed a "creativity bonus" of $1000 for employees that generate the best new and innovative ideas in the next two months. Your boss put the $1000 cash bonus in a briefcase and is proudly showing it off in their office to employees, saying "This could be yours!" Using research and/or theory as the basis of your response, describe whether or not this approach is likely to accomplish your boss' goals of boosting 1) creativity and 2) motivation.

2. Your friend, Mark, works at a startup consisting of approximately eighty individuals. At this startup, managers directly control both the rewards (e.g., bonuses) and the punishments (e.g., formal warnings) that employees receive. Mark developed an organization chart outlining exactly who can administer rewards and punishments to different employees, and is planning on presenting this chart to the CEO as an analysis of who has power at the startup. Using research and/or theory related to power, critique Mark's approach to understanding power at this organization.

3. Your company's ethics compliance officer recently sent the following memo to all employees: "Some people are good, others are evil; our goal in hiring is to attract and retain ethical employees who will consistently do the right thing". Analyze this perspective on ethics: how correct is it? Explain and justify your reasoning using relevant research and/or theory.

4. A recent report argued that opening a "social media management" small business (e.g., a firm that helps with other companies' social media) was the best kind of small business for entrepreneurs to create. To argue this point, the report's authors surveyed sixty social media management companies around the U.S. in January, 2023. Among these surveyed firms, between 2005 and 2023, social media management companies reported higher profits compared to other kinds of small businesses. Drawing from research and/or theory regarding decision making, is there a significant flaw in the report's methodology, and if so, what is it and why does it matter? Describe what you could do to improve their ability to draw sound conclusions about whether or not it is a good idea to open a social media management company.

5. One of your coworkers, Sally, is an extremely high performer. She completes all of her work tasks successfully, and is extremely hardworking and productive. For example, she recently secured a big client via an impressive presentation to their upper management. Your boss will frequently give Sally feedback along the lines of: "You are so naturally talented at this; I am so happy you are on our team." Using research and/or theory as the basis of your analysis, what could your boss do or say differently to provide more effective and/or useful feedback? Provide an example of what a more effective communication might look like, and describe why your proposed feedback would be more effective than this example of what your boss said.

6. A friend of yours is worried that his workplace culture is not aggressive enough to compete with rival companies. According to him, his workplace culture focuses too much on harmony and positive feelings among employees. Using research and/or theory as the basis for your analysis:

1) Describe why the culture at your friend's company might be the way it is. Where could this people-oriented organizational culture have originated from?

2) What could your friend do to initiate the process of changing his organization's culture to be more aggressive?