Management Functions and Organizational Culture
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Questions and Answers

Which function of management involves monitoring activities to ensure goals are being met?

  • Leading
  • Planning
  • Controlling (correct)
  • Organizing

What is the primary focus of management according to the provided definitions?

  • Coordinating work activities efficiently (correct)
  • Developing strategic plans
  • Minimizing costs
  • Maximizing employee satisfaction

Which statement best describes effectiveness in management?

  • Maximizing output while reducing time
  • Minimizing resource use
  • Achieving organizational goals (correct)
  • Ensuring tasks are performed quickly

In the context of management functions, which is a role of the organizing function?

<p>Assigning tasks and responsibilities (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What distinguishes efficiency from effectiveness in management?

<p>Efficiency relates to maximum output from minimum input, while effectiveness pertains to achieving goals. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What effect does a strong organizational culture have on employee turnover rates?

<p>Linked to lower employee turnover rates (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which factor does NOT influence the strength of an organization's culture?

<p>Average employee age (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which aspect is considered a barrier to change within strong organizational cultures?

<p>Resistance to change (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

In which type of culture are leaders described as mentors and good fathers?

<p>Clan/Family Culture (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is a characteristic of a hierarchy culture?

<p>Focus on stability and control (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is a major drawback of having a strong organizational culture?

<p>Inhibits adaptation to changes (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which culture is primarily driven by competition, market share, and minimal costs?

<p>Market Culture (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the impact of fewer subcultures within an organization?

<p>Strengthens the overall culture (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is one major disadvantage of group decision making?

<p>Time consuming (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is a symptom of groupthink?

<p>Pressure for unanimity (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What technique can help minimize groupthink in decision making?

<p>Appointing a 'devil's advocate' (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The Challenger disaster exemplified which critical issue in group decision making?

<p>The dangers of groupthink (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary goal of brainstorming in group decision making?

<p>To generate a list of creative alternatives (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How does the Nominal Group Technique (NGT) differ from traditional group discussions?

<p>It limits discussion to promote independent thinking (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does conformity often lead to in group settings?

<p>Deteriorated decision quality (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What characteristic defines autocratic decision making?

<p>Data-oriented with low ambiguity (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What characterizes a structured decision?

<p>It is routine in nature. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following describes satisficing in decision-making?

<p>Choosing the first acceptable alternative. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How does System 1 primarily process information?

<p>Unconsciously and quickly. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is typically a limitation of System 2 decision-making?

<p>It is less effective under cognitive fatigue. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which attribute is not part of the decision maker's characteristics?

<p>Tolerance for failure. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What role do emotions play in decision-making?

<p>They can distort perceptions and lead to biases. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary function of System 2?

<p>To engage in logical and analytical processes. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What happens to System 1 when System 2 is fatigued?

<p>System 1's influence on decisions increases. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is NOT a key dimension of organizational culture according to the provided content?

<p>Innovation (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is LEAST likely to be a positive outcome of establishing a code of ethics in an organization?

<p>Guaranteed ethical behavior from all employees (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

According to the content, which of the following actions is MOST likely to directly contribute to an ethical culture?

<p>Leading by example and demonstrating ethical behavior in all aspects of management (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is NOT a suggested strategy for improving ethical behavior within an organization?

<p>Establishing strict disciplinary measures for ethical violations (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is a key reason why establishing realistic job goals is important for ethical behavior in an organization?

<p>To ensure employees focus on achieving goals ethically (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

According to Schein's definition of organizational culture, which of these is NOT a key aspect of shared assumptions?

<p>Ways of achieving individual goals and aspirations (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best describes the concept of 'attention to detail' as a dimension of organizational culture?

<p>The degree to which employees are expected to be precise and analytical in their work (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best describes the purpose of conducting independent social audits in an organization?

<p>To identify and address potential ethical risks and violations (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the main purpose of differentiation in organizational practices?

<p>To divide organizational practices into distinct tasks by smaller units (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which coordination mechanism utilizes the interaction between individuals to achieve integration?

<p>Mutual adjustment (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is one of the main advantages of centralisation in decision-making?

<p>Consistency and integration across the organization (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following options is a con of decentralisation?

<p>Higher coordination costs (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does formalisation primarily reduce within an organization?

<p>Process variability (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which type of organisational structure is characterized by a high degree of formalisation?

<p>Professional bureaucracy (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

In which condition would an organization likely adopt a more organic structure?

<p>High environmental turbulence (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the main disadvantage of informalisation within an organizational context?

<p>Risk of loss of process quality (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is NOT a type of departmentalisation?

<p>Task departmentalisation (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which aspect of an organization can be influenced by its size and age?

<p>Degree of formalisation (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary focus of a sustainable business?

<p>Accomplishing economic viability and stakeholder satisfaction (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What advantage does decentralisation provide in terms of information management?

<p>Manageability of information (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which organizational structure features a blend of both departmentalisation types?

<p>Hybrid departmentalisation (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is a potential con of high formalisation in a business?

<p>Inability to respond to environmental changes (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Flashcards

What is Management?

Management is the process of coordinating and overseeing the work of others to ensure tasks are completed efficiently and effectively.

What is Planning?

Planning involves setting goals and determining the best ways to achieve them.

What is Organizing?

Organizing involves assigning responsibilities for tasks and ensuring resources are available to complete them.

What is Leading?

Leading involves motivating and influencing employees to achieve organizational goals.

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What is Controlling?

Controlling involves monitoring progress, identifying problems, and making adjustments to ensure goals are met.

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Organizational Culture

A set of shared values, principles, traditions, and ways of doing things that influence how employees work and differentiate the organization from others.

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Attention to Detail

The degree to which employees are expected to pay close attention to details, analyze information carefully, and strive for accuracy.

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Outcome Orientation

The degree to which managers prioritize achieving results over the specific methods used to get there.

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People Orientation

The degree to which management decisions consider the impact on employees' well-being, satisfaction, and development.

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Innovation and Risk Taking

The degree to which employees are encouraged to be innovative, take risks, and experiment with new ideas.

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Team Orientation

The degree to which managers and employees are expected to be cooperative, supportive, and work together towards common goals.

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Aggressiveness

The degree to which employees are expected to conform to rules, procedures, and established practices.

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Stability

The degree to which organizations value stability, predictability, and established routines over change and flexibility.

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Structured Decisions

Decisions made when the problem is clear, well-defined, and has a clear solution path.

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Unstructured Decisions

Decisions made when the problem is complex, without a predefined solution path, and requires judgment and creativity.

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Operational Decisions

Decisions made on a daily basis, concerning routine tasks and operations within an organization.

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Strategic Decisions

Decisions made for the long-term future of the organization, often involving significant resources and strategic shifts.

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Satisficing

Choosing the first acceptable alternative that meets minimum criteria, even if it may not be the best option.

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Intuition

Using instincts or unconscious patterns based on past experiences to make quick decisions.

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System 1 Thinking

The fast, instinctive, and emotional part of our brain that relies on shortcuts and heuristics. It's often impulsive and influenced by biases.

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System 2 Thinking

The slow, deliberate, and analytical part of our brain that relies on logic and reasoning. It's often used for complex problems and critical thinking.

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Strong Culture: Turnover

A strong organizational culture can be linked to reduced employee turnover. This positive impact suggests that employees might be more satisfied and committed in such environments, thus staying longer.

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Strong Culture: Performance

Strong organizational cultures are often associated with better overall performance. This might stem from enhanced employee engagement, clearer goals, and a more cohesive workforce.

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Strong Culture: Barrier to Change

A strong culture can be a hurdle for change. Organizations with deeply ingrained values might resist adjusting to new situations or trends. This can hinder adaptability and innovation.

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Strong Culture: Barrier to Diversity

Strong cultures often prefer employees who align with their values and beliefs. This can limit diversity and inclusivity, potentially leading to a lack of diverse perspectives and ideas.

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Strong Culture: Barrier to Acquisitions

A strong culture can hinder successful acquisitions and mergers. Incompatible values and practices between merging organizations can create conflicts and integration challenges.

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Clan Culture

This culture emphasizes cooperation and collaboration. It's like a big family where members are involved and share goals.

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Adhocracy Culture

This culture focuses on flexibility and innovation. It embraces change and experimentation, adapting quickly to new situations.

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Hierarchy Culture

This culture values stability and control. It emphasizes formal procedures and clear hierarchy for efficient operations.

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What is Groupthink?

The tendency for individual judgments to be distorted by group pressures, leading to conformity and flawed decisions.

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What is the Nominal Group Technique?

A technique used to minimize groupthink by encouraging independent thinking and preventing group pressure from influencing decision-making.

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What is Groupshift?

The phenomenon where group decisions tend to be more extreme than individual decisions, either more risky or more cautious.

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What is the Premortem Technique?

A technique used to anticipate potential problems before they occur by imagining the future and considering how events might unfold.

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What is Brainstorming?

A decision-making technique that encourages creative thinking and brainstorming by generating a wide range of ideas.

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What is a Decision Making Team?

A structured approach to group decision-making that helps to ensure that all voices are heard and considered.

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What is Conformity?

The act of adjusting one's beliefs or behaviors to match those of a group.

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What is the Asch Experiment?

A well-known psychological experiment that demonstrated the power of conformity.

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Differentiation

The process of dividing organizational practices into distinct tasks and assigning them to smaller units.

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Integration

The process of coordinating distinct tasks from smaller units to achieve coherent organizational practices.

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Functional Departmentalization

A type of departmentalization based on organizational functions like marketing, finance, and production.

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Product Departmentalization

A type of departmentalization based on different products or services offered by the organization.

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Geographic Departmentalization

A type of departmentalization based on different geographic locations or regions.

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Hybrid Departmentalization

A type of departmentalization combining different structures like functional, product, or geographic.

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Matrix Departmentalization

A type of departmentalization with a matrix structure where employees report to both functional and product managers.

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Centralization

The concentration of decision-making authority at the top levels of the organization.

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Decentralization

The dispersion of decision-making authority to lower levels within the organization.

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Formalization

Prescribed characteristics of expected behavior in an organization.

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Informalization

Emerging characteristics of expected behavior in an organization.

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Configuration

The combination of design elements that shapes the structure of an organization.

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Viable Configuration

A coherent and consistent combination of design elements that effectively matches organizational contingencies.

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Sustainable Business

Activities that achieve economic viability and stakeholder satisfaction while respecting planetary boundaries.

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Simple Structure

An organizational structure with a simple hierarchy, centralized decision-making, and limited formalization.

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Study Notes

Management 23-24 Van Rossem*Wijen (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven)

  • Course covers management topics from 2023-2024 academic year.

  • Includes chapters on what is management, looking backward, thinking forward, mapping external influences, effectuating strategies, structuring organizations, managing sustainably, managing internationally, ethical management, organizational culture, decision-making, and leadership.

  • Case Study Summary: Sellafield Nuclear Scandal

    • Blame and Responsibility: HR Director blamed process workers, BNII attributed it to a lack of management skills.
    • Report Findings: Lack of safety systems, training, and ineffective incentives were primary issues.

  • What is management?

    • Planning: Setting goals and strategies to achieve them.
    • Organizing: Structuring tasks and responsibilities.
    • Leading: Motivating and influencing employees.
    • Controlling: Monitoring and correcting activities to ensure goals are met.
    • Management is the art of getting things done through people (Mary Parker Follett).

  • Management of Small businesses and Non-profit organizations

    • Small Business: Less hierarchy, specialization, and resources.
    • Non-profit: Less tangible added value, different culture and values.

  • Why to study Management?

    • Universality of management. The principles and skills apply across different organizations and contexts.

  • Does Management matter? (McKinsey & LSE study)

    • Scope: Analysis of 700 companies across sectors.
    • Key Findings: High management scores correlate with improved Return on Capital Employed (ROCE), increased Total Factor Productivity (TFP), increased sales per employee and market valuation.
    • Impact: Illustrates Management's role in boosting financial and operational performance; emphasizes the importance of superior management practices.

  • CH2: Looking backward, thinking forward

    • Why Study Dead Scholars?
      • Progressive Insight: builds upon past discoveries.
      • Relevance of the Past: Historical works remain relevant.
      • Repetition of Ideas: Events and ideas repeat with variations, highlighting enduring themes.
    • Historical Perspective on Management Theories:
      • Provides practical frameworks for understanding and solving organizational challenges.
      • Theories are shaped by the era in which they develop, addressing specific contextual problems and drawing on existing knowledge.

  • Schools of thought:

    • Classical Ideas: Adam Smith, Frederick Taylor
    • Behavioral Approaches: Mary Parker Follett, Elton Mayo, Chester Barnard
    • Contemporary Approaches: Edwards Deming (performance circles), Open Systems, Resource Dependence, Institutional Theory, Organizational Learning

  • CH3: Mapping external influences

    • General Environment: PESTEL Framework (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, Legal).
    • Task Environment: Porter's 5 forces (Suppliers, Buyers, Competitors, Substitutes, Complementors), Market analysis (e.g. monopolies).

  • CH4: Effectuating strategies

    • Strategy defined: An integrated way of accomplishing one's long-term goal.
    • Economic logic: Underlying rationale for achieving a goal.
    • Arenas: Target markets (functional, geographic, customer).
    • Vehicles: Internal and external resources for operation.
    • Differentiators: Basis for competitive advantage (cost, differentiation, focus).
    • Staging: Evolution of strategic moves (sequence, speed).
    • Corporate strategy: Strategy at the highest level concerning decisions regarding the overall scope, direction, and business activities.
    • Business Unit Strategy: Focuses on individual business units within a company, regarding their product-related activities or market focus.

  • CH5: Structuring organizations

    • Structure defined: Formal arrangement of tasks within an organization.
    • Why structure?
      • Knowing who is in charge of what.
      • Allocating resources.
      • Creating coherence and consistency amongst different activities.
    • Design elements: Differentiation, integration, centralization, decentralization, formalization, informalization.
    • Types of Units: Functional, Geographic, Hybrid, Matrix
    • Integration mechanisms: Direct supervision, mutual adjustment, standardization of skills and procedures.

  • CH6: Managing sustainably

    • Meaning of sustainable business: Economic viability and stakeholder satisfaction within planetary boundaries.
    • Related terms: Corporate Social Responsibility, Shared Value, Corporate Citizenship, Circular business.

  • CH7: Managing internationally

    • International Convergence: The process by which countries become more alike in economic, political, social, and technological aspects due to globalization.
    • PESTEL analysis: Political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal.
    • CAGE framework: Cultural, Administrative and political, Geographic, Economic. -Internationalization strategies: focus on cost savings, market access, competition & governmental policies

  • CH8: The ethical manager

    • What is business ethics? Ethics applied to the business world that are culturally dependent.
    • Why do ethics matter? Real-world examples (Volkswagen Emissions Scandal, Enron Scandal, Lehman Brothers Collapse, Fortis Misleading Shareholders) illustrate importance of ethical decision-making

  • CH10: Decision Making

    • Importance, definition, and types of decisions (strategic vs. operational).
    • Models of decision-making: Rational Decision-Making, Bounded Rationality.
    • Biases affecting decision making: Rush-to-judgment, poor problem definition, limited alternatives, shortcuts, failure to learn from mistakes, group pressures, flawed procedures -Case example of EuroDisney failure.

  • CH11: Leadership

    • Difference between leadership and management.
    • Importance of leadership.
    • Leadership theories: Trait, Behavioral, Situational (Hersey and Blanchard, Fiedler's Contingency), Leader-Member Exchange (LMX), Path-Goal theories, New Leadership Paradigm (transformational and charismatic leadership).

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Management 23-24 Van Rossem*Wijen PDF

Description

This quiz explores key concepts in management, including the functions of management such as planning, organizing, and monitoring, as well as the impact of organizational culture on employee dynamics and effectiveness. Test your understanding of how efficiency and effectiveness differ and the implications of strong cultural frameworks within organizations.

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