For one day, track nonverbal communication that you notice in others. What types did you observe? Was the nonverbal communication always consistent with the verbal communication taking place? Describe.
> Contrast formal with informal planning.
> Why does a decision maker need to be creative? In which steps of the decision-making process is creativity likely to be most important?
> Why do you think organizations have increased the use of groups for making decisions and when would you recommend using groups to make decisions?
> What Is Value Chain Management and Why Is It Important?
> Explain how a manager might deal with making decisions under conditions of uncertainty.
> Describe a decision you’ve made that closely aligns with the assumptions of perfect rationality. Compare this decision with the process you used to select your college. Did you depart from the rational model in your college decisions? Explain.
> Is there a difference between wrong decisions and bad decisions? Why do good managers sometimes make wrong decisions? Bad decisions? How might managers improve their decision making skills?
> Because managers have so many powerful decision-making tools to use, they should be able to make more rational decisions.” Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why?
> All of us bring biases to the decisions we make. What would be the drawbacks of having biases? Could there be any advantages to having biases? Explain. What are the implications for managerial decision making?
> Describe the eight steps in the decision-making process.
> What is big data? How can managers effectively use big data to improve their decision making? Should managers be cautious in using big data?
> Why is decision making often described as the essence of a manager’s job?
> Discuss specific ways managers can encourage ethical behavior.
> Describe how a manager would approach ethical decisions according to each of the three views on ethics.
> What Do I Need to Know About Operations Management?
> Should organizations be socially involved?
> How are social responsibility, social obligation, and social responsiveness different? Similar?
> How might the cultural differences in the GLOBE dimensions affect how managers (a) use work groups, (b) develop goals/plans, (c) reward outstanding employee performance, and (d) deal with employee conflict?
> What are the managerial implications of Hofstede’s research on cultural environments? The GLOBE study?
> Should managers be parochialistic? Why or why not?
> Describe the different types of global organizations and the ways that organizations can go global.
> How can organizational leaders be good role models when it comes to ethical behavior?
> How does the concept of a global village affect organizations and managers?
> Discuss the impact of a strong culture on organizations and managers.
> How is an organization’s culture formed and maintained?
> What Contemporary Issues Do Managers Face in Managing Operations?
> Is organizational culture an asset to an organization? Explain. Can it ever be a liability? Explain.
> Businesses are built on relationships.” What do you think this statement means? What are the implications for managing the external environment?
> What is environmental uncertainty? What impact does it have on managers and organizations? Find two examples in current business periodicals that illustrate how environmental uncertainty affects organizations.
> Why is it important for managers to pay attention to demographic trends and shifts?
> How has the changed economy affected what managers do? Find two or three examples in current business periodicals of activities and practices that organizations are using. Discuss them in light of the changed environment.
> What are the six external environment components and why is it important for managers to understand these components?
> How much impact do managers actually have on an organization’s success or failure?
> Pick one of the five current issues in organizational culture and tell in which dimension(s) of organizational culture (Exhibit 2- 4 ) you think it would most likely be found. Explain your thinking. Also, explain your opinion as to why that particular is
> In what ways can managers at each of the four levels of management contribute to efficiency and effectiveness?
> Is there one best “style” of management? Why or why not?
> How Is Value Chain Management Done?
> Can business management be called a profession? Why or why not? Do some external research in answering this question.
> What are some work activities in which the acceptable range of variation might be higher than average? What about lower than average? (Hint: Think in terms of the output from the work activities, whom it might affect, and how it might affect them.)
> Every individual employee in an organization plays a role in controlling work activities.” Do you agree with this statement, or do you think control is something that only managers are responsible for? Explain.
> Why is it that what is measured is more critical to the control process than how it is measured?
> In Chapter 6 we discussed the “white-water rapids” view of change. Do you think it’s possible to establish and maintain effective standards and controls in this type of environment? Discuss.
> Why do you think feedback control is the most popular type of control? Justify your response.
> Contrast feed forward, concurrent, and feedback controls.
> How are planning and control linked? Is the control function linked to the organizing and leading functions of management? Explain.
> Describe four methods managers can use to acquire information about actual work performance.
> How could you use the concept of control in your personal life? Be specific. (Think in terms of feed forward, concurrent, and feedback controls as well as specific controls for the different aspects of your life—school, work, family relationships, friend
> What Is Professionalism?
> What is the role of control in management?
> Discuss the seven contemporary communication issues facing managers.
> Research the characteristics of a good communicator. Write up your findings in a bulleted list report. Be sure to cite your sources.
> How might a manager use the grapevine to his or her advantage? Support your response.
> Is information technology helping managers communicate more efficiently and effectively? Explain your answer.
> Explain why it’s important to study management.
> Describe what managers do.
> Define management.
> Tell who managers are and where they work.
> How Can I Have a Successful Career?
> Discuss trust as the essence of leadership.
> Describe modern views of leadership and the issues facing today’s leaders.
> Describe the four major contingency leadership theories.
> Compare and contrast early leadership theories.
> Define leader and leadership.
> Discuss current issues in motivating employees.
> Compare and contrast contemporary theories of motivation.
> Compare and contrast early theories of motivation.
> Define and explain motivation.
> Discuss contemporary issues in OB.
> How Can I Show My Professionalism?
> Discuss learning theories and their relevance in shaping behavior.
> Describe perception and the factors that influence it.
> Describe different personality theories.
> Explain the role that attitudes play in job performance.
> Identify the focus and goals of organizational behavior (OB).
> Discuss contemporary issues in managing teams.
> Discuss how groups are turned into effective teams.
> Describe the major concepts of group behavior.
> Define group and describe the stages of group development.
> Explain what workforce diversity and inclusion are and how they affect the HRM process.
> What is a Decision Trees?
> Discuss contemporary issues in managing human resources.
> Describe strategies for retaining competent, high-performing employees.
> Explain how employees are provided with needed skills and knowledge.
> Discuss the tasks associated with identifying and selecting competent employees.
> Describe the key components of the human resource management process and the important influences on that process.
> Discuss the design challenges faced by today’s organizations.
> Compare and contrast traditional and contemporary organizational designs.
> Identify the contingency factors that favor either the mechanistic model or the organic model of organizational design.
> Describe six key elements in organizational design.
> Explain how entrepreneurs control organizations for growth, downturns, and exiting the venture.
> Define Payoff Matrices
> Define Early Management
> Tea and Sympathy is a British restaurant and café in the heart of New York’s West Village. It is tiny, with around a dozen tables packed into an area little bigger than the average British sitting room. Expatriate Brits, native New Yorkers and celebritie
> (a) As a group, identify a ‘high-visibility’ operation that you all are familiar with. This could be a type of quick-service restaurant, clothing store, public transport system, library, etc. (b) Once you have identified the broad class of operation, vis
> Consider this record of an ordinary flight. Breakfast was a little rushed but left the house at 6.15. Had to return a few minutes later, forgot my passport. Managed to find it and leave (again) by 6.30. Arrived at the airport 7.00, dropped Angela off wit
> Most countries have blood collection and distribution services that collect from donors, process the blood by either breaking the blood down into its constituent parts or keeping it whole, and transport the blood from collection centers to hospitals in r
> Pantone is the Italian Christmas cake, traditionally made in Milan. Then it became popular outside its traditional Italian markets. Now more than 40 million of them are consumed throughout Italy and all over the world during the holiday period. This boos
> Airline catering is a tough business. Meals must be of a quality that is appropriate for the class and type of flight, yet the airlines who are their customers are always looking to keep costs as low as possible, menus must change frequently and respond
> Grace Whelan, Managing Partner of McPherson Charles, welcomed the three solicitors into the meeting room. She outlined the agenda, essentially their thoughts and input into the rolling three-year plan. McPherson Charles, based in Bristol in the West of E
> Most of us are familiar with ‘drive-through’ fast-food operations. Think about (or better still, visit) a drive-through service and try mapping what you can see (or remember) of the process (plus what you can infer from what may be happening ‘behind the
