Controlling employee performance is a vitally important responsibility of managers. After all, it’s your employees who are working to accomplish established goals, and you want to see that those goals are being accomplished as planned. So wouldn’t it seem that managing employees’ performance would cover the good and the not-so-good? Well, some organizations are encouraging managers to lighten up on the harsh feedback and focus only on the positive. At consulting firm the Boston Consulting Group, managers now frequently praise employees, encourage them to celebrate even small victories, and conduct performance reviews focusing on an individual employee’s strengths instead of any mistakes that may have happened. And managers are to bring up only one or two areas that require improvement and development. It never used to be this way. When employees didn’t do a good job with a client’s assignment, managers would focus on what went wrong and where and how the employee needed to improve and develop his or her skills. This shift toward more positive feedback occurred after the company noticed some employees leaving the company and other employees who were still upset for a period of time after a negative performance review. And BCG isn’t the only company taking this approach. Others are increasing the use of positive feedback and minimizing any discussion of the areas that need improvement. At PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, for instance, managers are asked to have discussions with employees about their future with the organization. These “career outlook” discussions focus more on where an employee fits in, rather than on where they screwed up. The company also encourages its staff to send shout-outs via e-cards praising colleagues or subordinates for work done. Managers have also allocated money to further reward positive accomplishments. But there are companies not following this positivism trend. These companies take a more “tough-love” approach and don’t shy away from giving negative feedback. For instance, at Netflix, CEO Reed Hasting’s view is that they’re a “pro sports team, not a Little League squad,” noting that “adequate performance gets a generous severance package.” Not everyone in the company is going to get a trophy. There’s little doubt as to what that company’s performance expectations are. Question#1 Is controlling employee performance an important responsibility of managers? Discuss. Question#2 Should managers focus only on positive feedback? Explain. Question#3 What are the risks associated with providing employees only positive feedback and providing limited feedback on areas of improvement? Question#4 Where would you be more comfortable? An organization with a performance review approach more like the Boston Consulting Group or more like Netflix? Make a list of the pros and cons of both approaches before you make your choice. What career advice could you take away from this?
> Describe three barriers to communication and how managers can overcome those barriers.
> What purposes does communication serve?
> Why is trust the essence of leadership?
> What is the difference between trait theories and behavioral theories of leadership?
> Founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994, Amazon is the world’s largest retailer based on market value. Many credit the organization’s work environment and culture for motivating employees to create innovations such as the Kindle and drone delivery. Like others in
> What is a Behavioral Approach?
> What are the three variables in expectancy theory and how do they explain motivation?
> What economic and cross-cultural challenges face managers when motivating employees?
> Describe the key elements of attribution theory. Discuss how the fundamental attribution error and self-serving bias play a role.
> Why is it important for managers to have an understanding of organizational behavior?
> What characteristics do effective teams need?
> Why is it important for managers to know about the stages of group development?
> How does HRM help achieve the goal of having the “the right numbers of the right people in the right place at the right time”?
> How is technology changing how HRM is done?
> If organizing is about getting work done efficiently and effectively, what organizing challenges might lower-level managers have to address? (Hint: Think in terms of the six key elements of organization design.)
> It’s stated in the chapter that contemporary organization design should be lean, flexible, and innovative. What are the implications of those requirements?
> Jean Paul Agon, the president and CEO of L’Oreal, joined the company right after his university graduation in 1978 and has continued to grow as a leader over his more than 40 years with the company. Headquartered in France with more than 80,000 employees
> Would a good manager be a good entrepreneur? Discuss.
> Is it necessary for an entrepreneur to do a feasibility study? Explain.
> Describe the structural, cultural, and human resources variables that are necessary for innovation.
> Planned change is often thought to be the best approach to take in organizations. Can unplanned change ever be effective? Explain.
> How could the Internet be helpful to managers as they follow the steps in the strategic management process?
> Will planning become more or less important to managers in the future? Why?
> Discuss the pros and cons of managers using technology to help make decisions.
> Today’s world is chaotic and fast-paced. How does time pressure affect managerial decision making? What can managers do to still be good decision makers under such conditions?
> Is your course instructor a manager? Discuss in terms of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. Also discuss using Mintzberg’s managerial roles approach.
> Using any of the popular business periodicals (such as Bloomberg Businessweek, Fortune, Wall Street Journal, Fast Company), find examples of managers doing each of the four management functions. Write up a description and explain how these are examples o
> Would unlimited vacation time offered by an organization be important to you? Would it be an appealing enough benefit to attract you to an organization you might not have considered? Would it motivate you as an employee? Some businesses—Netflix, LinkedIn
> What similarities and differences do you see among the four management functions?
> In today’s environment, which is more important to organizations—efficiency or effectiveness? Explain your choice.
> How do managers differ from non managerial employees?
> What is an organization and what characteristics do organizations share?
> Ineffective communication is the fault of the sender.” Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Discuss.
> Which do you think is more important for a manager: speaking accurately or listening actively? Why?
> Why isn’t effective communication synonymous with agreement?
> Which type of communication do you think is most effective in a work setting? Why?
> How can organizations develop effective leaders?
> Do followers make a difference in whether a leader is effective? Discuss.
> The Virgin Group Ltd. has succeeded with a simple plan—don’t put customers first! The British multinational holding company that has businesses ranging from an airline to a media company follows founder Sir Richard Branson’s strategy instead—put employee
> Do you think trust evolves out of an individual’s personal characteristics or out of specific situations? Explain.
> All managers should be leaders, but not all leaders should be managers.” Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Support your position.
> Do you think that most managers in real life use a contingency approach to increase their leadership effectiveness? Discuss.
> What would a manager need to know to use Fiedler’s contingency model? Be specific.
> What does each of the behavioral leadership theories say about leadership?
> Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the trait theory.
> When might leaders be irrelevant?
> Define leader and leadership, and discuss why managers should be leaders.
> Can an individual be too motivated? Discuss.
> As a manager, what will you need to know about goal-setting theory as a motivation tool?
> Many job design experts who have studied the changing nature of work say that people do their best work when they’re motivated by a sense of purpose rather than by the pursuit of money. Do you agree? Explain your position. What are the implications for m
> What are some advantages of using pay-for-performance programs to motivate employee performance? Are there drawbacks? Explain.
> What are some of the possible consequences of employees perceiving an inequity between their inputs and outcomes and those of others?
> What role would money play in (a) the hierarchy of needs theory, (b) two-factor theory, (c) equity theory, (d) expectancy theory, and (e) motivating employees with a high nAch?
> Contrast lower-order and higher-order needs in Maslow’s needs hierarchy.
> What is motivation? Explain the three key elements of motivation.
> What challenges do managers face in motivating today’s workforce?
> Most of us have to work for a living, and a job is a central part of our lives. So why do managers have to worry so much about employee motivation issues?
> A Gallup Organization survey shows that most workers rate having a caring boss even higher than they value money or fringe benefits. How should managers interpret this information? What are the implications?
> Describe the implications of social learning theory for managing people at work.
> It’s estimated that the average corporate user sends and receives some 112 e-mails daily. That’s about 14 e-mails per hour, and even if half of those don’t require a lot of time and concentration, that level of e-mail volume can be stressful and lead to
> How might a manager use personality traits to improve employee selection in his or her department? Emotional intelligence? Discuss.
> Instead of worrying about job satisfaction, companies should be trying to create environments where performance is enabled.” What do you think this statement means? Explain. What’s your reaction to this statement? Do you agree? Disagree? Why?
> Describe what is meant by the term emotional intelligence. Provide an example of how it’s used in contemporary organizations.
> Clarify how individuals reconcile inconsistencies between attitudes and behaviors.
> Define the six important employee behaviors.
> Does the importance of knowledge of OB differ based on a manager’s level in the organization? If so, how? If not, why not? Be specific.
> Write down three attitudes you have. Identify the cognitive, affective, and behavioral components of those attitudes.
> How is an organization like an iceberg? Use the iceberg metaphor to describe the field of organizational behavior.
> How do you think scientific management theorists would react to the increased use of teams in organizations? How would behavioral science theorists react?
> Contrast the pros and cons of diverse teams.
> How important are excellent leaders to organizations? Well, the answer, in theory of course, would be very important. However, the answer as practiced by countless organizations might indicate otherwise. Only 38 percent of organizations have a formal fro
> What traits do you think good team players have? Do some research to answer this question and write a short report detailing your findings using a bulleted list format.
> To have a successful team, first find a great leader.” What do you think of this statement? Do you agree? Why or why not?
> Would you prefer to work alone or as part of a team? Why?
> All work teams are work groups, but not all work groups are work teams.” Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Discuss.
> How do you explain the popularity of work teams in countries such as the United States and Canada, whose national cultures place a high value on individualism?
> Contrast (a) self-managed and cross-functional teams, and (b) virtual and face-to-face teams.
> What challenges do managers face in managing global teams? How should those challenges be handled?
> Think of a group to which you belong (or have belonged). Trace its development through the stages of group development as shown in Exhibit 10–2 . How closely did its development parallel the group development model? How might the group development model
> What, in your view, constitutes sexual harassment? Describe how companies can minimize sexual harassment in the workplace.
> List the factors that influence employee compensation and benefits.
> As the number-one company on Fortune’s Best Company to Work For list for six straight years, Google must be doing something right! Actually, it does many things right! One thing that you might be surprised at is a self improvement course (one of many) th
> What are the benefits and drawbacks of realistic job previews? (Consider this question from both the perspective of the organization and the perspective of a potential employee.)
> Discuss the advantages and drawbacks of the various selection devices.
> Discuss the advantages and drawbacks of the various recruiting sources.
> Do you think it’s ethical for a prospective employer to delve into an applicant’s life by means of interviews, tests, and background investigations? What if those investigations involved looking at your Face book page or personal blogs? Explain your posi
> Some critics claim that corporate HR departments have outlived their usefulness and are not there to help employees but to shield the organization from legal problems. What do you think? What benefits are there to having a formal HRM process? What are th
> Discuss the external environmental factors that most directly affect the HRM process.
> Describe the six types of diversity found in organizations and how organizations should approach HR activities with a diverse workforce.
> How does HRM affect all managers?
> The boundary less organization has the potential to create a major shift in the way we work.” Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Explain.
> Researchers are now saying that efforts to simplify work tasks actually have negative results for both companies and their employees. Do you agree? Why or why not?
> Non-GMO, organic, locally sourced … these terms are now a common part of our food vocabulary, although not typically associated with fast food. Chipotle entered the fast-food scene in the early 1990s with a seemingly impossible goal of creating a healthy
> With the availability of information technology that allows employees to work anywhere, anytime, is organizing still an important managerial function? Why or why not?
> Explain the contingency factors that affect organizational design.
> Contrast mechanistic and organic organizations.
> “An organization can have no structure.” Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Explain.
> Can an organization’s structure be changed quickly? Why or why not? Should it be changed quickly? Why or why not?
> Describe the traditional and contemporary views of each of the six key elements of organizational design.
> Draw an organization chart of an organization with which you’re familiar (where you work, a student organization to which you belong, your college or university, etc.). Be very careful in showing the departments (or groups) and especially be careful to g
