In one of the worst business ethics scandals in history, the world learned in 2015 that Volkswagen (VW) intentionally circumvented government exhaust emission tests for years by installing so-called defeat devices on its clean diesel vehicles. This revelation was a shock to many given the company’s long-standing success in the auto industry. Volkswagen, oneof the world’s most recognized brands, was founded in 1937. The company, headquartered in Germany, employs more than half a million people around the world. Worldwide, the Volkswagen Group has a long history of dramatic innovations. At its Electronics Research Laboratory based in Silicon Valley, the company blends German engineering with American ingenuity. Researchers at West Virginia University (WVU) first discovered the violation when they started studying clean diesel engines. When they tested the performance of Volkswagen vehicles, they were surprised to find that on-the-road emissions exceeded government allowances by almost 40 times. Further investigation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that the vehicles were actually equipped with software that could essentially “trick” emission testing systems. The diesel engines would detect when they were being tested for emissions and change the vehicle’s performance to improve testing results. Once on the road, the vehicle would switch out of the test mode, emitting excessive nitrogen oxide pollutants, as the WVU researchers discovered. The EPA’s finding covered about 500,000 cars sold in the United States only. But Volkswagen later admitted that about 11 million cars worldwide were fitted with this software. It will be a long time before Volkswagen realizes all the damage from this ethical blunder. How could such a blatant ethical violation occur? It may take years to sort out who is to blame. CEO Martin Winterkorn, who resigned in response to the scandal, initially claimed not to know about the devices. While many high-ranking executives were suspended, no one is sure who knew about or authorized the software. In fact, some believe that the driven, performance-based culture may be more to blame than any individual. Winterkorn, who reinforced the unique culture, was described as a hardcharging perfectionist who was committed to secure the top spot among global car manufacturers. He was known to criticize employees publicly, and this generated both fear among employees and the commitment to do whatever necessary to ensure the company’s success. The company’s culture has been described as “confident, cutthroat, and insular.” It is possible that arrogance led VW managers to assume that U.S. government or other officials wouldn’t discover the misleading emissions tests. What’s more unsettling was VW’s response to the scandal. At first, the company suggested a technical problem with the cars, but it finally admitted the software devices were designed to cheat the system. And initially, the company reported that only a limited number of cars were affected; however, as more details were uncovered, the company admitted that more cars were outfitted with the device and that these actions occurred over a longer period of time than originally reported. Current CEO Matthias Müller says he is trying to accelerate change at the automaker. He’s urging employees to prepare for rapid shifts in the auto industry, including, for example, autonomous driving, electric vehicles, “smart” engines, and picture navigation. Considering the fact that since 2015, when he was named CEO, he has spent as much time managing this ethics crisis as managing the business, change is what is needed. And not only leading change into the world of modern automotive technologies, but changing the culture of a company. With a clear vision for the future direction that VW must go, Müller is making necessary, but difficult, decisions that are meeting resistance from managers and employees. However, that has not deterred him from doing what he believes is best to make VW a winner again. Note: In March 2017, VW pleaded guilty as a corporation to criminal charges stemming from the deception and a top Volkswagen official in the United States was handed a seven-year prison sentence. To this point, the scandal has cost the carmaker more than $20 billion in fines and settlements and tarnished its reputation. In addition, Chief Executive Matthias Müller has been replaced by Herbert Diess, a former BMW executive who runs the VW brand. Diess says he is committed to ‘evolution’ but at a faster pace. Question#1 What external or internal forces—or both—for change do you see described in this case? Would you describe VW’s environment as more calm waters or white-water rapids? Explain. Question#2 Change needs to happen at VW. In the chapter, we defined change as any alteration of an organization’s people, structure, or technology. Which of these needs changing at Volkswagen? Discuss. Question#3 What organizational development (OD) efforts might work at VW? Explain your choice(s). What challenges will managers face in making these changes? Question#4 Look at the reasons people resist change. Which do you think are happening at VW? What approach(es) would you recommend for overcoming this resistance to change? Give your rationale for each approach you choose. Question#5 Is an innovative culture always going to be at odds with an ethical culture? Or is an innovative and ethical culture possible? Gather your thoughts on this and then in your assigned group, come up with an answer. Support your conclusions.
> Discuss how society’s expectations are influencing managers and organizations.
> What is Linear Programming?
> Describe what managers need to know about managing in a global organization.
> Explain globalization and its impact on organizations.
> Describe current issues in organizational culture.
> Describe how organizational culture affects managers.
> Define organizational culture and explain why it’s important.
> Discuss how the external environment affects managers.
> Explain what the external environment is and why it’s important.
> Describe the key employability skills gained from studying management that are applicable to your future career, regardless of your major.
> Describe the factors that are reshaping and redefining management.
> Discuss contemporary issues in control.
> Briefly define Break-Even Analysis
> Discuss the types of controls organizations and managers use.
> Describe the three steps in the control process.
> Explain the nature and importance of control.
> Discuss contemporary issues in communication.
> Explain how technology affects managerial communication.
> Describe what managers need to know about communicating effectively.
> Panera Bread Company is an American chain of bakery-café fast casual restaurants based out of St. Louis, Missouri. Founded more than 35 years ago, Panera is now an enterprise with more than 2,000 bakery-cafés, 100,000 associates, and annual systemwide sa
> The dark underbelly of college basketball.” College basketball is big business for the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association). The annual tournament to crown the national champion of college basketball —the “big dance”—is the major source of inc
> Social media is altering the way employee salaries are negotiated and changed. It used to be that how much you were paid at your job was something you never talked about, especially with others outside your family and maybe your friends. However, a numbe
> You used to be able to tell who the bad guys were. But in our increasingly digital online world, those days are long gone. Now, the bad guys are faceless and anonymous. And they can and do inflict all kinds of damage on individuals, businesses, governmen
> Economic Order Quantity Model
> Can employees really manage themselves? At W. L. Gore and Associates, self-managed teams have helped create a a thriving business that has operated profitably for more than 50 years. Gore is a manufacturer that develops innovative solutions for demanding
> Attracting and selecting the right talent is critical to a company’s success. For tech companies, the process is even more critical since it’s the knowledge, skills, and abilities of their employees that determines these companies’ efficiency, innovation
> Admit it. Sometimes the projects you’re working on (school, work, or both) can get pretty boring and monotonous. Wouldn’t it be great to have a magic button you could push to get someone else to do that boring, time-consuming stuff? At Pfizer, that “magi
> Fanatically focusing on execution and brand. That’s how analysts describe the strategic approach of Warby Parker, a New York City eyewear startup that’s quickly disrupting the old fashioned eyewear business. Co-founded in 2010 by David Gilboa and Neil Bl
> How many of you wear a watch on your wrist? Not a “smartwatch” or fitness tracker, but an actual watch. Our guess is not many of you. And that’s the problem the Swiss watch industry is facing. It’s fighting lagging sales and needs to raise the interest o
> Since 2008, Domino’s Pizza has fanatically pursued any and every possible “digital doodad” to sell pizza. Here’s a brief timeline showing the company’s progressive investment in technology: 2008 Pizza Tracker, a system to track pizzas on their way to the
> Competitors in the movie theater industry had hoped that they were through the challenges they’d faced during the economic downturn. Box office revenue (the amount of money generated through movie ticket sales) has been on a roller coaster: 2014, it was
> Holacracy.” That’s the word of the day at Zappos, the Nevada-based online shoe and apparel retailer. During a four-hour, year-end employee meeting some five years ago, CEO Tony Hsieh announced that he was eliminating the company’s traditional managerial
> Microsoft Corp, quite often considered the granddaddy of the computer software industry, was founded in 1975 by childhood friends Bill Gates and Paul Allen. (Fun fact: The company was originally based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, not Seattle!) Since its f
> Human resource (HR) managers say that 53 percent of résumés and job applications contain falsification, and 21 percent of résumé falsification state a fraudulent degree. Another review of standard résumés found that 80 percent contained “discrepancies.”
> What are Contemporary Approaches?
> Over the years, NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) has provided us with some spectacular moments—from Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the moon to the Hubble Telescope’s mesmerizing photos of distant stars and galaxies. As stated in NASA
> In today’s business climate, entrepreneurial activity is strong. It’s a great time to be an entrepreneur. More than ever, the people seizing entrepreneurial opportunities are women. But while it may be a great time to be an entrepreneur, do men and women
> It all started with a simple plan to make a superior T-shirt. As special teams captain during the mid-1990s for the University of Maryland football team, Kevin Plank hated having to repeatedly change the cotton T-shirt he wore under his jersey as it beca
> Ford Motor Company, a global company based in Dearborn, Michigan, employs approximately 203,000 people worldwide. Its 2017 revenue topped $145.7 billion. Ford is well into its second century...over 115 years! Not surprisingly, there have been significant
> Baseball has long been called “America’s national pastime” (although according to a Harris Interactive survey, the NFL has been, hands down, the favorite sport of Americans). Now, the game of baseball can probably be better described as America’s number
> It’s got to be one of the most convenient products ever—especially for consumers who want their coffee (or tea or other hot beverage) efficiently delivered without much hassle. The Keurig K Cups were invented in 992 by John Sylvan. Like any innovator, Sy
> You’re starting to see them everywhere... charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs). That’s a sure sign that the global auto industry is going through a massive change. You shouldn’t be surprised, therefore, that experts are predicting that electric
> You could say the beginning of the end for Uber founder and CEO Travis Kalanick was the February 2017 blog post by former Uber engineer Susan Fowler that outlined a toxic work culture hostile to women and filled with managers (from top down) willing to t
> Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, is a mega-business with more than 11,700 retail units in 28 countries and approximately 2.3 million associates around the world. That’s a lot of employees to manage! Its most recent annual revenues were more than $4
> The health-care industry is the fastest growing sector of the U.S. economy, with annual revenues projected at over $1.6 trillion (that’s 12 zeroes!). And health care has surpassed manufacturing and retail as the largest source of jobs in the United State
> What is Quantitative Approach
> After decades of affirmative action, diversity training, and inclusion practices, you’d think that bias (racial, gender, age, you-name it) wouldn’t be an issue. But almost everyone has observed bias in the workplace … jokes about a particular group of pe
> 2017 was a public relations nightmare for United Airlines. Several incidents involving United Air employees enforcing a variety of rules, regulations, and protocols in interactions with customers caused international outcry. First, in March, two teenager
> When you walk into Edwins, you assume it is just an upscale dining location serving classic and contemporary French cuisine. But the restaurant also serves as a nonprofit rehabilitation center for those who have been incarcerated. Referred to as a “secon
> When Amancio Ortega, a former Spanish bathrobe maker, opened his first Zara clothing store, his business model was simple: sell high-fashion look-alikes to price-conscious Europeans. After succeeding in this, he decided to tackle the outdated clothing in
> It’s the world’s largest package delivery company with the instantly recognizable trucks. Every day, United Parcel Service (UPS) transports more than 20 million packages and documents throughout the United States and to more than 220 countries and territ
> At its headquarters in Ventura, California, Patagonia’s office space feels more like a national park lodge than the main office of a $600 million retailer. It has a Douglas fir staircase and a portrait of Yosemite’s El Capitan. The company’s café serves
> Adobe Systems is one of the largest and most diversified software companies in the world. It is headquartered in San Jose, California, in the heart of Silicon Valley. Its 18,000 plus employees are a core asset and the key to the company’s success. And th
> Which do you think would be a manager’s best choice for shaping long-term ethical behavior: a written code of ethics combined with ethics training OR strong ethical leadership? Support your position.
> Is globalization good for business? For consumers? Discuss.
> Tesla. Elon Musk. You’ve probably heard of both. Tesla was founded in 2003 by a group of engineers who wanted to prove that buyers didn’t need to compromise looks and performance to drive electric—that electric cars could be “better, quicker, and more fu
> Explain how an organization’s culture can help it be successful AND how it can keep it from being successful.
> How can managers best deal with environmental uncertainty?
> Explain how the 4 functions approach is better than the roles approach and the skills and competencies approach for describing what managers do.
> Do all organizations need managers? Explain.
> Discuss the various types of tools used to monitor and measure organizational performance.
> Why is it important for managers to understand the control process?
> 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.
