Question: Why is it important for managers to

> 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

> 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 revel

> 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?

> 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.

> The Virgin Group Ltd. has succeeded with a simple plan—don’t put customers first! The British multinational holding company that has businesses ranging from an airline to a media company follows founder Sir Richard Branson’s strategy instead—put employee

> Do you think trust evolves out of an individual’s personal characteristics or out of specific situations? Explain.

> All managers should be leaders, but not all leaders should be managers.” Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Support your position.

> Do you think that most managers in real life use a contingency approach to increase their leadership effectiveness? Discuss.

> What would a manager need to know to use Fiedler’s contingency model? Be specific.

> What does each of the behavioral leadership theories say about leadership?

> Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the trait theory.

> When might leaders be irrelevant?

> Define leader and leadership, and discuss why managers should be leaders.

> Can an individual be too motivated? Discuss.

> As a manager, what will you need to know about goal-setting theory as a motivation tool?

> Controlling employee performance is a vitally important responsibility of managers. After all, it’s your employees who are working to accomplish established goals, and you want to see that those goals are being accomplished as planned. So wouldn’t it see

> Many job design experts who have studied the changing nature of work say that people do their best work when they’re motivated by a sense of purpose rather than by the pursuit of money. Do you agree? Explain your position. What are the implications for m

> What are some advantages of using pay-for-performance programs to motivate employee performance? Are there drawbacks? Explain.

> What are some of the possible consequences of employees perceiving an inequity between their inputs and outcomes and those of others?

> What role would money play in (a) the hierarchy of needs theory, (b) two-factor theory, (c) equity theory, (d) expectancy theory, and (e) motivating employees with a high nAch?

> Contrast lower-order and higher-order needs in Maslow’s needs hierarchy.

> What is motivation? Explain the three key elements of motivation.

> What challenges do managers face in motivating today’s workforce?

> Most of us have to work for a living, and a job is a central part of our lives. So why do managers have to worry so much about employee motivation issues?

> A Gallup Organization survey shows that most workers rate having a caring boss even higher than they value money or fringe benefits. How should managers interpret this information? What are the implications?

> Describe the implications of social learning theory for managing people at work.

> It’s estimated that the average corporate user sends and receives some 112 e-mails daily. That’s about 14 e-mails per hour, and even if half of those don’t require a lot of time and concentration, that level of e-mail volume can be stressful and lead to

> How might a manager use personality traits to improve employee selection in his or her department? Emotional intelligence? Discuss.

> Instead of worrying about job satisfaction, companies should be trying to create environments where performance is enabled.” What do you think this statement means? Explain. What’s your reaction to this statement? Do you agree? Disagree? Why?