Should organizations be socially involved?
> Discuss what is meant by the term organization design.
> How can entrepreneurs be successful and balance the demands of their work and personal lives?
> What controlling issues does an entrepreneur need to be aware of?
> We said in the chapter that trust is the essence of leadership. Trust is an important aspect of an organization’s culture, and we already know the role that leaders/managers play in exemplifying and manifesting the culture. However, what happens when an
> In what ways does an entrepreneur need to be a leader?
> Describe some of the personality characteristics that researchers have identified about entrepreneurs.
> Why do you think many entrepreneurs find it hard to step aside and let others manage their business?
> How can environmental opportunities be identified?
> Explain what happens in the entrepreneurial process.
> Why is entrepreneurship important to society?
> Do you think a person can be taught to be an entrepreneur? Why or why not?
> How are entrepreneurial ventures, small businesses, and selfemployed persons similar? Different?
> How does an innovative culture make an organization more effective? Could an innovative culture ever make an organization less effective? Why or why not?
> Research information on how to be a more creative person. Write down suggestions in a bulleted list format and be prepared to present your information in class.
> Does money buy happiness? Several of the 120 employees at Gravity Payments, a credit card processing company based in Seattle, are about to find out. The company’s founder, Dan Price, made the news in the spring of 2015 when he decided to bump up the sal
> Classical Approaches
> How do creativity and innovation differ?
> Why is organization development planned change? Explain how planned change is important for organizations in today’s dynamic environment.
> Organizations typically have limits to how much change they can absorb. As a manager, what signs would you look for that might suggest your organization has exceeded its capacity to change?
> How are opportunities, constraints, and demands related to stress? Give an example of each.
> Describe Lewin’s three-step change process. How is it different from the change process needed in the white-water rapids metaphor of change?
> Contrast the calm waters and white-water rapids metaphors of change. Which of these would you use to describe your current life? Why is that one your choice?
> How can organizations and individuals benefit from disruptive innovation? How can they not become victims of disruptive innovation?
> Why is managing change an integral part of every manager’s job?
> Do a personal SWOT analysis. Assess your personal strengths and weaknesses (skills, talents). What are you good at? What are you not so good at? What do you enjoy doing? Not enjoy doing? Then, identify career opportunities and threats by researching job
> What types of planning do you do in your personal life? Describe these plans in terms of being (a) strategic or operational, (b) short term or long term, (c) specific or directional, and (d) single-use or standing.
> Tweets. Twittering. Prior to 2006, the only definition we would have known for these words would have involved birds and the sounds they make. Now, practically everyone knows that Twitter is also an online platform—with 336 million monthly active users,
> Describe how managers can plan in today’s dynamic environment.
> Under what circumstances do you believe MBO would be most useful? Discuss.
> “Organizations that fail to plan are planning to fail.” Agree or disagree? Explain your position.
> What is a SWOT analysis, and why is it important to managers?
> Describe in detail the six-step strategic management process.
> Discuss why planning is beneficial.
> What role does, and should, technology play in planning?
> 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?
> 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?
> 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.
> 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.
