Chapter 1 – The Field of Organizational Behavior Multiple Choice Questions 1. Pharmacia is an example of a company that: a. experienced culture clashes as a result of a merger. b. ignored technological advances to its harm. c. is a great employer in terms of human resources, but an unprofitable company. d. focused on balance sheets rather than human resources. AnsweraPage2 2. _____ is a structured social system consisting of groups and individuals working together to meet some agreed-upon objective. a. An open system b. An organization c. A work team d. Scientific management AnswerbPage3 3.
Organizational behavior: a. is a social science that examines people’s behavior in society, like physics or sociology. b. studies how organizations compete and applies that knowledge to improve the organization’s quality. c. is an intuitive, qualitative approach to the understanding of group behavior both on and off the job. d. is a discipline based in science that studies human behavior in organizations. AnswerdPage4 4. According to the definition, organizational behavior: a. is firmly grounded in the scientific method. b. focuses on the organization as a whole, and not the individual. c. onsiders the group-oriented approach of sociology, rather than the individual-oriented approach of psychology. d. All of the above. AnsweraPage4 5. All of the following are characteristics of the field of organizational behavior except: a. a basis for enhancing individual well-being. b. a study of individuals, groups, and organizations. c. a commitment to the scientific method. d. a focus on qualitative, observational research. AnswerdPage4 6. John is looking at employee perceptions, attitudes, motives in order to improve worker productivity. John is conducting OB research at which level? . Organizational b. Group c. Individual d. None of these, this is not OB research. AnswercPage5 7. When an OB specialist is looking at how an organization is structured and its operating environment and the effect these have on employee communication and coordination, he/she is conducting research at the _____ level of OB. a. Organizational b. Group c. Individual d. None of these, this is not OB research. AnsweraPage5 8. The social science that relates to the OB topics of organizational culture and leadership is: a. anthropology. b. sociology. c. psychology. d. political science.
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AnsweraPage6 9. The social science that contributed to organizational behavior the tools and perspective to examine conflict and power within an organization is: a. political science. b. psychology. c. sociology. d. management science. AnsweraPage6 10. The management theory that views workers as self-motivating, interested in their work, having a need to achieve and be recognized, etc. , is: a. Theory X. b. Theory Y. c. classical management theory. d. scientific management theory. AnswerbPage6 11. A Theory Y supervisor would feel that: a. people work best when left alone. b. ifferent people should be managed in different ways based on the situation. c. the only way to get people to work hard is to push them. d. people motivate themselves, all you need to do is give them some direction. Answer dPage6 12. _____ is self-sustaining through the conversion of external resources into organizational outputs. a. An open system b. Organizational behavior research c. An organization d. Contingency management AnsweraPage8 13. The open systems model shows an organization doing its work or creating value in the ___ phase. a. input b. transformation c. output d. technology AnswerbPage8 4. Which one of the following statements would be most likely made by a supervisor who endorses a contingency approach to management? a. “People work best when left alone. ” b. “I treat different people in different ways based on the situation we’re facing. ” c. “The only way to get people to work hard is to push them. ” d. “Focus on organizations and people will take care of themselves. ” AnswerbPage9 15. The perspective suggesting that organizational behavior is affected by a large number of interacting individual, situational, and organizational factors is: a. the contingency approach to OB. . classical management theory. c. Theory X and Theory Y. d. an organizational change perspective. AnsweraPage9 16. A drawback of a contingency perspective is: a. in its rigidity. b. its rejection of the scientific method. c. different situations produce different answers. d. its poor accuracy and high complexity in the answers it provides. AnswercPage 9 17. Which of the following strategies would Frederick Taylor recommend to improve productivity? a. Paying workers a salary or hourly wage. b. Improving worker job satisfaction. c. Implementing a program of careful selection and training of all employees. . Expanding job responsibilities for each worker. AnswercPage10 18. Time-and-motion studies: a. look at visual perception and performance. b. try to find the best way to perform jobs by streamlining individual movements. c. try to find ways to humanize the jobs of people. d. focus on improving work group coordination. AnswerbPage10 19. ____ conducted the time-and-motion studies to classify and streamline the individual motions needed to perform a task. a. Frederick W. Taylor b. Max Weber c. Frank and Lillian Gilbreth d. Mary Parker Follet AnswercPage10 20. The Hawthorne studies: a. tressed efficiency and monetary rewards for workers. b. focused on the noneconomic and social factors that influence behavior in organizational settings. c. permitted the proper assignment of management responsibilities based on 14 key principles. d. lead to the effective restructuring of large organizations into bureaucracies. AnswerbPage10 21. In one set of experiments in the Hawthorne studies, researchers were puzzled when they found that ___________ for subjects in the test room relative to subjects in a control room. a. productivity improved when physical conditions were improved b. roductivity improved when physical conditions were made worse c. productivity was lowest when illumination was the greatest d. productivity improved regardless of whether brightness increased or decreased AnswerdPage10 22. Elton Mayo and his colleagues involved in the study of productivity at Western Electric’s Bank Wiring Room found: a. workers’ commitment to performance was gender related. b. some employees were deliberately restricting their output and performance. c. that competition developed between employees who were part of the study and those used as a control group. . that selecting people based on their skills and training them for their jobs really had little effect on their job performance. AnswerbPage10 23. The value of the Hawthorne studies to OB lay in their discovery that: a. physical working condition had no impact on worker productivity. b. employee productivity and job satisfaction were directly related to the supervision they received. c. human needs, attitudes, motives, and relationships were important to worker performance. d. there is a most effective way to organize every work team, although it will vary among teams.
AnswercPage10 24. The Hawthrone studies were an example of OB research at the ____ level. a. individual b. group c. organizational d. managerial AnswerbPage10 25. Fayol’s principles of classical organizational theory include: a. a concern for human motives like Mayo’s Hawthorne studies. b. a focus on maximum efficiency through the selection and training of employess. c. the empowerment of employees through the elimination of the chain-of-command and increased participation. d. a division of labor, permitting people to specialize in those jobs they do best. AnswerdPage11 26.
Employees performing very specialized jobs, whether they are blue collar workers or managers, are an example of which principle of organizational theory? a. unity of command b. scalar chain c. division of labor d. employee initiative AnswercPage11 27. An organization in which there are a lot of formal rules, people are treated in an impersonal manner, jobs are carefully divided into specialized tasks, and employees must check with their supervisors before making decisions, exemplifies: a. scientific management theory. b. the application of a human relations approach. c. contingency management theory. d. an ideal bureaucracy.
AnswerdPage11 28. Max Weber’s contribution to organizational behavior lay in his search for: a. the best way to identify and consider employee motivation and attitude. b. the ideal way to perform a job. c. the most efficient way to structure an organization. d. the key characteristics of effective executive leadership. AnswercPage11 29. The Gordon and Howell report on business education in 1959: a. recommended that the study of management pay greater attention to the social sciences. b. refuted the findings of the Hawthorne Study. c. supported the bureaucratic organizational structure as the best organizational form. d. tressed the ethical implications of business. AnsweraPage12 30. Organizational behavior draws from a variety of social sciences including: a. anthropology. b. sociology. c. political science. d. all of the above. AnswerdPage12 31. People who are citizens of one country but who are living and working in another country are called: a. multinationals. b. repatriates. c. expatriates. d. depatriates. AnswercPage14 32. Chuck recently returned to the U. S. from a six-month job assignment in Taiwan. His feelings of disorientation would best be described as: a. expatriation. b. repatriation. c. parochialism. d. ethnocentrism.
Answer bPage14 33. Jane and Bill are discussing the values, beliefs, and customs they observed on their business trip to Europe. What Jane and Bill are discussing is: a. expatriation.. b. culture shock. c. a subculture. d. culture. AnswerdPage14 34. With 75. 8% of its residents using cellular phones,________ currently ranks first among the world’s nations with respect to adoption of mobile phones. a. the U. S. b. Iceland c. Japan d. Sweden AnswerbPage14 35. Culture shock tends to result from an individual’s tendency: a. to be overly optimistic about their international experience. b. to be parochial or ethnocentric in their worldview. . depend on a contingency management approach in other countries. d. all of these experiences. AnswerbPage14 36. When a person adjusts to a foreign culture he/she tends to: a. experience frustration and confusion after being in the culture for a few months. b. immediately experience frustration and confusion. c. pass from understanding to frustration and confusion after about six months in a culture. d. begin to experience optimism and excitement about the new culture only after a few months in that culture. AnsweraPage15 37. When an American believes that everyone in the world should speak English, he/she is being a. arochial. b. ethnocentric. c. convergent. d. divergent. Answer bPage16 38. The narrow belief that there is one best way of doing things can be referred to as a. patriotism. b. divergence. c. ethnocentrism. d. parochialism. AnswerdPage16 39. Exposure to other cultures helps people to become a. less parochial and more ethnocentric. b. more parochial and less ethnocentric. c. less parochial and less ethnocentric. d. more parochial and more ethnocentric. AnswercPage 16 40. The basic assumptions that management practices are universal and that U. S. management practices are the best is known as the: a. multicultural hypothesis. . divergent hypothesis. c. the convergence hypothesis. d. culture shock syndrome. AnswercPage16 41. Under the ____ the assumption about effectively managing people is that it requires the appreciation of the cultural context in which they operate. a. multicultural hypothesis b. divergent hypothesis c. the convergence hypothesis d. diversity efficacy AnswerbPage16 42. Today over ____ of all women are employed outside of the home. a. 25% b. 50% c. 75% d. 86% AnswerbPage17 43. By 2050, at the current population growth, minorities will comprise ___ of the U. S. population. a. 25% b. 37% c. 47% d. 55% AnswercPage18 44.
The fast growing segment of the U. S. population is: a. baby boomers. b. minorities. c. young people under 25. d. people over 85. Answer dPage18 45. The biggest growing segment of the U. S. population is a. children age 2-10. b. people age 18-25. c. the Baby Boom generation. d. people over 85. AnswerdPage18 46. Companies are taking positive steps to help employees with personal needs and family obligations because doing so: a. help them retain employees. b. attract the best qualified candidates for jobs. c. permit employees to focus on the job and achieve higher performance. d. results in all of these outcomes. AnswerdPage18-19 7. The gradual process of replacing manufacturing workers with machines is called: a. outsourcing. b. rightsizing. c. automation. d. informating. AnswercPage20 48. The process of using information technology to change a physical task into one manipulating data or digital commands is called: a. outsourcing. b. rightsizing. c. automation. d. informating. AnswerdPage20 49. Based on prevailing patterns of downsizing, you are considered vulnerable to getting laid off if: a. you are paid over $150,000. b. you have a midrange salary. c. your expertise is technical in nature. d. All of the above. AnsweraPage21 50.
More and more companies are allowing employees to spend part of their regular working hours performing their jobs at home. This is called: a. job sharing. b. compressed work weeks. c. voluntarily reduced work time programs. d. telecommuting. AnswerdPage22 51. In 2001,______ American workers engaged in some form of telework a. One in three b. One in five c. One in fifty d. One in 100 AnswerbPage22 52. The trend in outsourcing has led to the development of highly flexible, temporary organizations formed for a specific opportunity, each contributing a specific expertise. This is a ____ organization. a. contingency b. telecommuting . reengineered d. virtual AnswerdPage22 53. Telecommuting works best with jobs that: a. involve a lot of driving. b. are manufacturing based. c. are customer-service oriented. d. involve automation and little interpersonal contact. AnswerdPage24 54. The manager of human resources wants a program that will permit single-parents who want to work, but can’t work a regular 8-hour-a-day job, to work for his company. The best program to solve his problem would be: a. flextime. b. telecommuting. c. compressed work weeks. d. voluntarily reduced work time programs. AnsweraPage 25 55. The term contingent wokforce can be used to describe a. art-time employees. b. freelancers. c. on-call workers. d. All of the above. AnswerdPage25 56. When a company allows its employees to work fewer but longer days, it is using: a. a flextime program. b. job sharing. c. compressed work weeks. d. voluntarily reduced work time programs. AnswercPage26 57. A flexwork program that permits regular part-time work where the duties for one job are divided between two people is called: a. a flextime program. b. job sharing. c. compressed work weeks. d. voluntarily reduced work time programs. AnswerbPage 26 58. Currently, the highest number of contingency workers fall into the job category: a. rofessional specialty. b. clerical. c. services. d. operators, fabricators, laborers. AnswerbPage26, Figure 1. 12 59. Tanya is discussing strategies for improving customer satisfaction by carefully managing output quality. Tanya is discussing: a. benchmarking. b. an informating program. c. a total quality management program. d. reengineering. AnswercPage27 60. Bill is conducting an examination of a competitor’s product and comparing his company’s product to the competitor. Bill is: a. benchmarking. b. conducting a quality control audit. c. involved in reengineering the product. d. doing none of the above. AnsweraPage27 1. Programs that allow employees to reduce the amount of time they work by a certain amount with a proportional reduction in pay are known as: a. V-time pograms. b. U-time programs. c. compressed workweeks. d. flextime programs. AnsweraPage27 62. The trend in ethical standards in business has: a. been on a downward course with business people showing less and less regard for ethical conduct. b. flat, with little change in effort or standards since the 1950s. c. toward stronger and higher standards than ever. d. none of these. AnswercPage28 63. The forces that are shaping organizational behavior today include: a. he return of hierarchy and bureaucracy due to mergers and acquisitions of small companies into larger ones. b. a dumbing down of technology so that relatively undereducated individuals can use it. c. a rejection of the quality revolution. d. the expectation of socially responsible behavior on the part of corporations. AnswerdPage28 64. _____ involve(s) the careful examination of how well the company is meeting its quality standards. a. Benchmarking b. A quality control audit c. Reengineering d. Informating AnswerbPage28 65. The quality award awarded by the U. S. government to recognize effective quality management is called the: a.
Deeming Quality Award. b. Juran Quality Award. c. National Standards and Technology Quality Award. d. Malcolm Baldridge Quality Award. AnswerdPage28 66. In the textbook, Natura Cosmeticos, Starbucks Coffee Co, and the Co-operative Bank are all described as a. companies with successful telecommuting programs. b. socially responsible companies. c. TQM companies. d. MNEs. AnswerbPage29 67. A document describing what an organization stands for and the general roles of conduct it expects of its employees is a(an) a. mission statement. b. ethic audit. c. code of ethics. d. None of the above. AnswercPage30 68.
There is strong evidence of a link between a firm’s commitment to ethical practices and its: a. going out of business. b. been high esteemed by its competitors. c. ability to charge higher prices for its products. d. financial performance. AnswerdPage30 69. A firm can promote ethical conduct by: a. accepting behavior if it benefits the company. b. creating a code of ethics. c. punishing ethical wrong doers, if it catches them. d. offering a reward to employees for reporting unethical behavior. AnswerbPage30 Mini-Case Questions Table 1. 1 Simon is initiating an organizational behavior effort at his company.
He wants to look at how people communicate with each other and coordinate their work efforts. His boss, Bill, is skeptical, “We conducted a study of this kind ten years ago. I’m not sure we need to do it again at this time. ” Simon convinces his boss they need to press ahead anyway. Ask Bill and Simon discuss the OB effort, Simon learns several things about his boss. Bill believes that the key thing for a business is to fit the right person to the right job. He agrees with Simon’s interest in careful selection and training of current and future employees. But, Bill believes that there is only one right way to run a company and do a job.
Simon thinks that the company should create clearer lines of authority by eliminating their matrix organizational structure, they should encourage employees to formulate and implement plans, and they should increase specialization among employees and managers. As Bill and Simon discuss the company’s problems and ways to improve performance, they mutually come to the conclusion that company’s current poor performance is probably a function of the fact that they are setting the same goals and expectations for everyone and not considering individual strengths and weaknesses or taking the different work circumstances into consideration. 0. Refer to Table 1. 1. Simon’s initial analysis will probably be focused on what level? a. Individual b. Group c. Organizational d. Macroenvironment AnswerbPage5 71. Refer to Table 1. 1. What characteristic of organizational behavior is the “boss” apparently not aware of? a. OB’s tie to the improvement of people’s quality of work life. b. The contingency orientation of OB. c. OB’s recognition of the dynamic nature of organizations. d. OB’s confrontation of the changing nature of work. AnswercPage8 72. Refer to Table 1. 1. Bill’s management philosophy would seem to be most compatible with a _____ view of people and business. . scientific management b. human relations c. classical organizational theory d. modern era AnsweraPage10 73. Refer to Table 1. 1. Simon’s management philosophy would be most compatible with: a. scientific management theory. b. the human relations movement. c. classical organizational theory. d. a modern era OB perspective. AnswercPage10 74. Refer to Table 1. 1. Simon’s and Bill’s agreement on the problem makes ____ the best management approach to take in solving the problem. a. classical management theory approach b. a scientific management theory approach c. a bureaucratic approach . a contingency approach AnswerdPage9 Table 1. 2 Mini-Markets, Inc. specializes in providing grocery and convenience products to inner-city neighborhoods. They are highly committed to valuing cultural diversity. Their workforce consists of single parents, people who are ethnically diverse, and people who are undereducated. The following individuals exemplify their workforce. Jim is a single parent with two young, school-aged children. He lives about an hour from work and works the morning shift. Jane is just starting her working career, having been out of college only a year.
She has just had a baby. Her husband also works full-time for Mini-Markets. They have been saving her salary and living on her husband’s while waiting for the baby to be born. Wilma is 66 and wants to retire in a few years but isn’t sure what she’ll do with herself when she does. Plus, she’d like to have some extra time right now to spend with her grandchildren. Tim is a high school drop-out who struggled with drugs. Since Mini-Markets gave him a chance, he’s really turning his life around. He’s one of his store’s most reliable and productive employees.
Tim would like to move into management, but he needs a college degree. Married with a small child, he can’t afford to go back to school. 75. Refer to Table 1. 2. What flexible work programs would be of most help to Jim? a. flextime. b. personal support policies. c. compressed work week. d. job-sharing. AnsweraPage25 76. Refer to Table 1. 2. Jane could benefit most from which of the following flextime programs? a. flextime. b. personal support policies. c. compressed work week. d. job-sharing. AnswerdPage26 77. Refer to Table 1. 2. Wilma could benefit most from which flextime program? . flextime. b. voluntary reduce work time. c. compressed work week. d. job-sharing. AnswerbPage27 78. Refer to Table 2. 2. Tim could benefit most from which of the following? a. personal support policies b. voluntary reduced work time c. flexplace policies d. job Sharing AnsweraPage 19 True/False Questions 79. Organizational behavior is an organization productivity orientation approach to organizational effectiveness. Answer FPage4 80. Organizational behavior uses a qualitative, nonscientific approach to the study of human behavior in organizations. Answer TPage4 81.
The concept that work can be both a productive effort while being a pleasant experience for the employee is an example of Theory X, Theory Y. AnswerTPage6 82. The organizational perspective that is opposite of scientific management’s effort to find the one best way because it argues that OB is a complex phenonmenon is the contingency approach. AnswerTPage9 83. Frederick W. Taylor’s scientific management approach was unique in its focus on the individual. AnswerTPage10 84. It was the work of Max Weber that led managers to consider organizations as social systems. AnswerFPage11 85.
The best known classical organizational theorist is Elton Mayo. AnswerFPage11 86. The adjustment someone goes through when returning to their native culture after living in a foreign culture is culture shock. AnswerFPage14 87. By 2050, it is estimated that racial and ethnic minorities will comprise 47% of the U. S. population, making the term minority obsolete. AnswerTPage18 88. The fastest growing segment of the U. S. population is the Baby Boom generation. AnswerFPage18 89. As a result of today’s technology, both blue-collar, manual labor jobs, as well as white-collar, mental labor jobs, are being eliminated.
Answer TPage20 90. Although they consist of only 10% of the workforce, middle managers comprised 20% of recent layoffs. Answer TPage20 91. Much like the gradual process of automation, today’s technology and the process of informating, is occurring very slowly and steadily. AnswerFPage20 92. Based on prevailing patterns of downsizing, it was found that you are more immune from layoffs if you are paid over $150, 000. AnswerFPage21 93. If you have a midrange salary, you are considered vulnerable to getting laid off. AnswerFPage21 94. Most teleworks are employees of very small companies or very large companies.
AnswerTPage22 95. A virtual organization is a type of contingency organization that uses workers for specific jobs and then disbands them. AnswerTPage22 96. A key consideration for an employee telecommuting is the ability to work independently. AnswerTPage23 97. Most contingent workers are under the age of 25 and many are high school dropouts. AnswerTPage25 98. It is important for the success of a TQM program that it be restricted to manufacturing and production processes and not “bleed” over into other parts of the business, diluting its effectiveness. AnswerFPage27 9. The annual award given to American companies that practice effective quality management is called the Malcolm X Quality Award. Answer FPage28 100. In general, ethical standards have fallen in the latter decades of the 20th century. AnswerFPage28 101. Winners of the Malcolm Baldridge Award are expected to share their quality and productivity improvement processes with other companies. AnswerTPage28 Essay Questions Major Essay 102. What were the early influences on the study of organizational behavior. Answer – One of the first influences was scientific management.
The earliest work came from efficiency experts seeking to improve worker productivity. Frederick W. Taylor, who worked primarily in steel mills, developed the scientific method. The objective of management is “to secure the maximum prosperity for the employer, coupled with the maximum prosperity of each employee. ” Frank and Lillian Gilbreth built on Taylor’s ideas and developed time-and-motion studies which classified and streamlined work. The human relations movement built on the work of Elton Mayo and the Hawthorne Studies. Scientific management made people feel like cogs in a machine.
This new emphasis respecting the individual emerged and at its forefront was Elton Mayo. Human relations rejected the economic perspective of work and focused on social factors. The Hawthorne studies began in 1927 at Western Electric’s Hawthorne Works near Chicago. A third school, classical organizational theory grew up emphasizing efficient overall structure. Henri Fayol developed a number of management principles. Max Weber developed the idea of the ideal bureaucracy, where consistency and fairness were the key factors. Pages 6-11 103. Discuss organizational behavior’s development in the modern era, noting key current trends.
Answer – OB emerged as a field in the 1940s with the first doctorate awarded in 1941. OB was established as a field of study by the late 1950s, early 1960s. Gordon and Howell reported on business education in 1959 and recommended, among other things, increased attention to the social sciences. OB has grown rapidly, borrowing from other business disciplines. Specifically, three prominent trends:1) the rise of global businesses with culturally diverse workforces, 2)rapid advances in technology, and 3) the rising expectations of people in general. Pages 12 – 13 104. Discuss the fundamental assumptions of Organizational Behavior as a field.
Answer – Organizational behavior is characterized by two assumptions. First, is the recognition of the dynamic nature of organizations. OB pays attention to both behavior and the organizations within which the behavior takes place. Second, OB assumes there is no “one best” approach. OB emphasizes a contingency approach–a recognition that behavior is the result of a complex of interacting forces and must be dealt with accordingly. Pages 8 – 9 105. What are the benefits of employee support policies and what steps can companies take to facilitate employees work and meet their family obligations.
Answer – Flexible work arrangements is one way to accommodate the diversity of lifestyles. Flextime programs give employees some discretion over their working hours. These programs have been well received and tied to productivity improvements and decreases in absenteeism. Compressed workweeks permit employees to work fewer but longer days. Job sharing is one way to manage part-time work. Pairs of employees share one job. Voluntary reduced work time programs allow employees to reduce the amount of time they spend on the job, typically 10-20%, with a proportional reduction in pay. elecommuting policies allow employees to perform part of their work from home. 3) Support facilities and programs is a proactive way for companies to address the growing needs of employees. Examples would be, child-care facilities and elder-care facilities. Personal support policies are a wide variety of efforts from transportation to high school equivalency classes, etc. All these programs are expensive but companies are convinced they work, and in some cases, they actually save money. In one case, AT&T found it was much cheaper to grant unpaid parental leave than to replace the employee.
Pages 23-27 106. Explain how future, leaner organizations will use technology and staffing policies to become more efficient. Answer – The industrial revolution established the process of people performing tasks within a hierarchical arrangement called an organization. That era is closing as organizations change the way work is done and their structures for doing it. Technology helps fewer people do more work. Some processes like informating are happening so fast as to change the very nature of work. Key terms: ? Automation is the replacing of people with machines. Informating is the process of workers’ manipulating products by placing data between themselves and the product. ? Outsourcing is another restructuring tool. Companies hire outside companies to perform the work. ? Core competency is what the firm does not outsource, because it is what the company does best. While these strategies sometimes create great trauma for workers, in other cases the changes are relatively transparent. Some of these techniques, particularly outsourcing, are criticized as hollowing out companies.
Nevertheless, nearly 30% of American manufacturers outsource over half of their manufacturing. Pages 19-22 Short Essay 107. What is the underlying philosophy of work and people to scientific management? Answer – The basic philosophy is there is one best way to do something. The objective of management is “to secure the maximum prosperity for the employer, coupled with the maximum prosperity of each employee. ” Taylor’s scientific management focused on employees as individuals through careful selection and training and increasing wages to motivate workers.
Page 9-10 108. Why were researchers confused over their initial findings in the Hawthorne Studies? What conclusions did they ultimately come to? Answer – The Hawthorne studies began in 1927 at Western Electric’s Hawthorne Works near Chicago. Starting with scientific management, they tried to discover ways to improve employee performance. Puzzling results caused them to call in Elton Mayo to repeat the studies. Mayo discovered the concept of social systems and argued that social factors, not physical factors, are most important in improving productivity.
While the studies weren’t perfect, they opened the door to considering the importance of human needs, attitudes, and motives in regards to worker motivation and productivity. Page 9-10 109. What are the major characteristics of classical organizational theory as proposed by Fayol? Answer – Henri Fayol developed a number of management principles, including; division of labor, managerial authority over workers, scalar chain of authority, unity of command, and subordinate initiative. Page 10-11 110. What is culture shock, who does it affect, and how might it be lessened for expatriates?
Answer – Culture shock and adjustment. People are often unconsciously affected by culture. Individuals faced with new cultures may become confused and disoriented. Also, when they return to their own culture, or are repatriated, they may experience culture shock again. The adjustment process follows a U-curve, moving from High Acceptance to Low Acceptance, back to High Acceptance over time. Culture shock comes from having a narrow view of the world. See Figure 1-7, page 16. Pages 13-17 111. What is telecommuting and how will it effect workers in the future? Answer – Some call telecommuting the demise of the office.
It is one way to cut down on environmental pollution and wasted time commuting. Telecommuting is the use of communications technology to enable work to be performed from remote locations, such as home. It is an essential element of flexible work policies. There are 25 million telecommuters and 78% of Fortune 500 companies perform significant amounts of their work off-site. Telecommuting has pluses and minuses. IBM’s Chicago office has gone mobile saving 55% of its real estate space, with 85% of employees saying they don’t want to go back to a traditional office. Pages 22-23
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