Is it appropriate to write pilots a letter to promise a bonus for accepting to fly more hours during time off? What could Ryanair do differently to better communicate their HR practices?
> Based on what you’ve discovered about your personality traits on the Big Five Model through your organizational behavior studies in Chapter 4, in which organizational structures might you work best?
> After reading Case Incident 2, do you think it is possible for organizations to merge more than one type of organizational structure and retain elements of each type? Is it possible for United Airlines to have both a bureaucratic and a more flexible stru
> From your reading of Case Incident 2 and the text, how do you think unions have changed organizational negotiation practices?
> Refer again to Case Incident 1. How do you think modern, open workspaces contribute to or inhibit employee conflicts?
> Refer again to Case Incident 2. HR departments are increasingly taking a proactive approach to ensuring that stress, depression, and anxiety are minimized in the workplace. As an HR professional, suggest how you might frame an all-encompassing program to
> Refer again to Case Incident 1. Have you ever felt pressured to work when you were ill? How did you respond? How might you respond now?
> With regard to Case Incident 2, how might an HR department unravel this type of situation once it has become public and immediate action is required?
> Refer again to Case Incident 1. What responsibility do you think HR professionals have in designing, supporting, and telling candidates about their organization’s internships?
> What are the differences between person–job fit and person–organization fit?
> Refer again to Case Incident 2. What might Patagonia do to reinforce its culture even further?
> From your reading of Case Incident 1, would you typify the culture as being functional or dysfunctional? Explain your view.
> Do you think leaders are more ethical now than ever before? Why or why not?
> Refer again to Case Incident 2. Why would a personalized leadership development program be preferable to a best-practices teaching program?
> Based on the Experiential Exercise and your reading of this chapter, what is your view of the tone of the email? Of its effectiveness? Is there another way this matter might have been handled and communicated?
> Based on Case Incident 1 and your reading of this chapter, how do you think gender differences in communication styles affect diversity in the workplace? What are some of the consequences of these differences?
> Based on the chapter discussion and Case Incident 2, what are some ways employees can make sure that they use impression management techniques effectively?
> In Case Incident 1, how would you encourage companies to appoint more female board members in the short term? In the long term?
> Refer again to Case Incident 2. Do you think you can read emotions from people’s eyes enough to react well to them in teams? Why or why not? (There are Reading the Mind from the Eyes tests online if you want to test your skill.)
> Refer again to Case Incident 1. Do you think having a self-managed team is always beneficial to managers? Why or why not?
> What are the strongest predictors of job search behavior?
> After reading Case Incident 1, what would you say are the managerial implications of fact finding and action taking for small and large groups?
> After reading Case Incident 2, do you feel subgroups are good or bad? Why or why not? What might be the alternative?
> Refer again to Case Incident 2. After Brexit, the UK industry will have to attract domestic workers. How might this be achieved? What steps would you take as a potential employer?
> Refer again to Ethical Dilemma 1. Do you think there is a way to design or redesign a job (or reward structures) so that the allocation of illegitimate tasks can be minimized? Why or why not?
> Refer again to Case Incident 1. What are the particular motivational issues facing organizations in the gig economy? Do the “self-employed” need no motivational support?
> Refer again to the Ethical Dilemma. Can you think of a situation in which students are rewarded for one thing when the intention was to reward something else? What could be or could have been done to change or stop this? Do you think the situation would
> Refer to Case Incident 1. In which job roles and work-based situations would individuals with high emotional intelligence perform better than highly intelligent ones?
> Refer again to the Ethical Dilemma. In what scenarios would you agree to having your emotions read and interpreted by your organization?
> Refer again to Case Incident 2. To what extent do you feel cyberloafing is an unethical use of company time and resources? From an HR perspective, how would you manage cyberloafing incidents?
> Refer again to Case Incident 1. Do you think that collaboration tools have helped society overall, or have they done more harm than good?
> How do the concepts of core self-evaluation (CSE), self-monitoring, and proactive personality help us to understand personality?
> Refer to the Ethical Dilemma in this chapter. What legal and procedural factors should have prevented this abuse of position from happening? Who is ultimately responsible for this situation?
> What do you feel are the pros and cons of extraversion and introversion for your work life? Can you increase desirable traits?
> Refer again to Case Incident 2. Some contend that job crafting sounds good in principle but is not necessarily practical for every job. What types of jobs are probably not good candidates for job-crafting activities?
> MyLab Management only—additional assisted-graded writing assignment.
> Refer again to Case Incident 2. Why do you think it is important to have educated, experienced statisticians on any team that is using big data for decision making? What might be the consequences of hiring someone with less experience?
> You have read the chapter and Case Incident 1, and let’s say that you are now an Apple manager whose employees are losing their jobs to overseas workers. What would you advise your teams to do in order to find re-employment in their professions? What typ
> Based on your reading from this chapter and the Ethical Dilemma, do you feel differently about posting anonymous comments online than you did before? Why or why not?
> As a recently appointed head of the team, what will be the most appropriate solution in this case, trying to resolve this situation yourself or reporting the case to general direction for possible disciplinary measures? Examine the pros and cons of each
> What would you change, if at all, about the way the team functions to ensure more active participation of all team members? Why?
> Do you think that sharing personal problems and helping one another can create a positive climate that favors inclusion and appreciation of each other? What does this exercise teach you about how to manage diversity at work?
> What are the strengths and weaknesses of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and the Big Five personality model?
> If Tom does nothing in this situation, how do you think the situation between Janna and Kim will play out? Do you think there will be problems with conflict?
> In this chapter, you learned about mediators, arbitrators, and conciliators. Is it possible for Tom to act in one of these roles? Why or why not?
> If Tom does nothing, is that ethical? Does he have a responsibility to Janna to make sure her concerns are addressed?
> What type of stressors could be created in a redundancy scenario, and where are these generated? Discuss how a company that is undergoing redundancy procedures can manage the stress generated for all affected parties.
> How could Appreciative Inquiry be applied in the case of a redundancy period to motivate and improve performance of the remaining staff?
> Which were the main forces for change in the organizations presented above? How could these changes have been managed? How could the companies have resisted change?
> Does more sustainable management of the workforce impose costs or generate benefits for companies?
> How might Ryanair’s CEO convince pilots to remain loyal to the company? Would monetary incentives be sufficient?
> What actions can you take as a new employee if you are pressured to violate your own ethical standards at work? How might midlevel employees’ responses to this question differ from those of more senior managers?
> What are three outcomes of job satisfaction?
> Why might some organizations push employees to behave in a dishonest or corrupt manner? Are there personal benefits to corruption that organizational culture can counteract?
> What are the negative effects of a culture that encourages dishonesty and corruption on an organization’s reputation and its employees?
> If long-term employment security isn’t feasible, what alternatives might employers provide to help employees make smoother transitions?
> Do employers have an ethical responsibility to provide security for employees or just a warning about a lack of security?
> Do you think that stability is good or bad for employees? Explain your answer.
> Reconvene the class. The instructor will draw on the board one column for each of the five groups and list the selected person and his or her characteristics in each column. For each person selected by the groups, decide whether the person’s traits or at
> Each group selects one leader from popular culture or history to serve as an example that is appropriate for the group. The group discusses that person, identifying the defining characteristics or traits of the leader, not simply by brainstorming but by
> Why has the authenticity of ethical leadership of Innocent Drinks come under scrutiny?
> What is ethical leadership, and how could ethical leadership be evidenced in the case of Innocent Drinks?
> In what way are Innocent’s charismatic, transformational, and transactional elements of leadership now at stake?
> What causes job satisfaction?
> What is your opinion on the view that audiences prefer “live” presentations?
> Describe the communication process and distinguish between its formality and informality.
> Identify the main function of the meeting.
> Do you feel like your communication style corresponds with your gender? Why or why not?
> How might male and female communication styles differ across cultures?
> What are some other situations where having a stereotypically male communication style may be advantageous? What about situations where having a stereotypically female communication style may be more advantageous?
> Why might 36 percent of the survey respondents say that they hid their romantic relationships from coworkers? How does this relate to what we learned about office gossip in Chapter 9?
> Is it ever okay for a supervisor to date a subordinate? What if someone becomes their romantic partner’s supervisor after the relationship was already initiated?
> Do you think offices should include rules about office romances in their sexual harassment policies? Why or why not?
> What could be the reasons behind such attitudes from some team members? How could this issue be resolved?
> How do we measure job satisfaction?
> What are the three components of attitudes?
> In connection with the two previous questions, assume instead that you think something significant is about to be made public because all officers have consistently stayed late, a special board meeting has been called, you and your boss have been advised
> Modify slightly the facts of the previous question. Assume that you are also privy to the annual forecast of earnings, which assures you that the fundamentals remain strong. Stock analysts and investors are also provided this same information. Do your
> Imagine that A press release has a significant negative impact on your firm’s stock price, reducing its value by more than 50 percent in a single day of trading! You gather from conversations in the hallway that the company’s fundamentals remain strong,
> You are on the compensation committee of your board and have been asked to propose an overall compensation structure to be offered to the next CEO. Explore some of the following websites on executive compensation and then propose a structure or process f
> You are an executive at a large nonprofit. Some of your board members suggest that perhaps the company should voluntarily comply with Sarbanes-Oxley. What are some of the reasons the company might consider doing so or not doing so?
> Scholars have made strong arguments for required representation on boards by stakeholders beyond stockholders such as employees, community members, and others, depending on the industry. What might be some of the benefits and costs of such a process?
> U.S. law imposes duties of care, good faith, and loyalty on corporate boards. Search online to find out: What duties do the laws of other jurisdictions, such as Canada, the UK, and Japan, impose on boards? Are they different in meaningful ways?
> You have been asked to join the board of a large corporation. What are some of the first questions that you should ask and what are the answers that you are seeking?
> During the recession of 2008-2009, many reputable companies suffered bankruptcies while others struggled to survive. Of those that did remain, some opted to reduce the size of their work forces significantly. In a business environment during those times,
> Have you ever been in, or are you familiar with, a conflict of interest situation? How was it resolved? Can you think of any rules or any practices that could have prevented the situation from occurring? Can you think of any initiatives, structures or
> You have been asked by the board of a large corporation to develop a board assessment and effectiveness mechanism, which could be a survey, interviews, an appraisal system, or other technique that will allow you to report back to the board on both indivi
> Investigate LEED (Leadership in energy and Environmental Design) building designs. If possible, arrange a visit to a local building designed according to LEED principles. Should all new buildings be required by law to adopt LEED design standards and co
> Do you believe that business has any direct ethical duties to living beings other than humans? Do animals, plants, or ecosystems have rights? What criteria have you used in answering such questions? What is your own standard for determining what objec
> Investigate what is involved in an environmental audit. Has such an audit been conducted at your own college or university? In what ways has your own school adopted sustainable practices? In what ways would your school need to change to become more sus
> What does the concept “sustainability” really mean when applied to different businesses and industries? What would sustainable agriculture require? What are sustainable energy sources? What would sustainable transportation be? What would be required to t
> Should businesses be legally required to take back products at the end of their useful life? Are there other, equally effective solutions? Is there a better argument for such a rule with regard to some products rather than others—say, smartphones but not
> Think of a corporate brand that you know and admire. Look online to determine whether the company issues a corporate sustainability report. If it does, look at the report to see whether it impresses you, as a consumer. How do you think this brand compare
> Search online for a free ecological footprint analysis. You should be able to find a self-administered test to evaluate your own ecological footprint. What comparisons does the test allow? How does your “footprint” compare to that of people in other part
> As a research project, choose a product with which you are familiar (one with local connections is best), and trace its entire life cycle. From where does this product originate? What resources go into its design and manufacture? How it is transported
> What difference, if any, exists between ethical reasons and reasons of self-interest? If a business performs a socially beneficial act in order to receive good publicity, or if it creates an ethical culture as a business strategy, has the business acted
> Many sales people are compensated predominantly on a commission basis. In other words, though the salesperson receives a small base hourly rate, most of her or his compensation derives from a percentage of the price of items sold. Since basically the s
> Take note of several sample prescription drug ads from magazines, newspapers, television, and websites. On the basis of the location of the ad, what do you think is the intended target audience? Are the ads in any way misleading? Are the required side-ef
> The U.S. Federal Trade Commission regulates advertising on the basis of two criteria: deception and unfairness. How can an ad be unfair? Can you think of examples of an unfair ad? Who gets hurt by deceptive advertising?
> Research the case Pelman v. McDonald’s in which it was alleged that McDonald’s was partially responsible for the health problems associated with the obesity of children who eat MacDonald’s fast food. Should MacDonald’s and other fast-food restaurants be
> Conduct a classroom debate on the lawsuit launched against Red Bull in 2014 over its slogan, “Red Bull Gives You Wings!” The complainant in that case argued that the slogan (and the ads that contained it) implied that Red Bull could improve concentration
