Answer the following questions:

1. Describe the four fundamental components of organizing. What are the general differences between the three management approaches Financial Bottom Line (FBL), Triple Bottom Line (TBL), and Social-Ecological Thought (SET) in terms of how the organizing function is carried out?

2. Do you think virtual organizations will become more prevalent during your career? Why, or why not?

3. If you treat others with dignity, will that change (increase or decrease) the amount of power that you have? Is the effect of treating others with dignity the same for all people, regardless of how much power they have to start with? Explain.

4. Review the Semco case at the start of the chapter. Should employees be trusted to set their own salaries, choose their own hours, and hire their own managers? Should university students be trusted to assign their own grades? In your view, what sort of information should instructors provide, and what should students provide, to set up a fair way for students to self-assign marks?

5. Ricardo Semler writes: "I'm not preaching anti-materialism. We do, however, desperately need a better understanding of the purpose of work, and to organize the workplace and the workweek accordingly. Without it, the purpose of work degenerates to empty materialism on one side and knee-jerk profiteering on the other." Do you agree with Semler's observations? Explain what you understand to be the purpose of work. How might you as a manager best structure the workplace based on your understanding? How does you analysis related to Figure 5.1?

6. Think of an organization you might want to start. Describe how you would manage each of the four fundamentals of organization, describing your approach to: 1) standardization and experimentation; 2) specialization and sensitization; 3) centralization and dignification, and 4) departmentalization and participation. Why do you think your choices are the best ones? What effect will they have on the organization?

7. Imagine that you just started the organization as described in your answer to question #6. What sorts of changes in how you manage the four fundamentals of organizing would you expect to see after 5 years of operations? What factors would affect the changes? Explain your answer.