Management Questions

MGT/230 » Management Theory and Practice

Chapters 1-3 Questions. Please provide 75-100 word answers.

1. What are the challenges of working in the new economy? BE SURE YOU CAN: describe how intellectual capital, ethics, diversity, globalization, technology, and the changing nature of careers influence working in the new economy • define intellectual capital, workforce diversity, and globalization • explain how prejudice, discrimination, and the glass ceiling can hurt people at work.

2. What are organizations like as work settings? BE SURE YOU CAN: describe how organizations operate as open systems • explain productivity as a measure of organizational performance • distinguish between performance effectiveness and performance efficiency • list several ways in which organizations are changing today.

3. What does it mean to be a manager? BE SURE YOU CAN: describe the various types and levels of managers • define accountability and quality of work life, and explain their importance to managerial performance • discuss how managerial work is changing today • explain the role of managers in the upside-down pyramid view of organizations

4. What is a key similarity and difference between Classical Management and Behavioral Management approaches?  Which approaches have you seen used in your current or previous job and how?

5. What can we learn from classical management thinking? BE SURE YOU CAN: state the underlying assumption of the classical management approaches • list the principles of Taylor’s scientific management • identify three of Fayol’s principles for guiding managerial action • list the key characteristics of bureaucracy and explain why Weber considered it an ideal form of organization • identify possible disadvantages of bureaucracy in today’s environment

6. What insights come from the behavioral management approaches? BE SURE YOU CAN: explain Follett’s concept of organizations as communities • define the Hawthorne effect • explain how the Hawthorne findings influenced the development of management thought • explain how Maslow’s hierarchy of needs operates in the workplace • distinguish between Theory X and Theory Y assumptions, and explain why McGregor favored Theory Y • explain Argyris’s criticism that traditional organizational practices are inconsistent with mature adult personalities

7. How would you take ethics into account when planning in an organization?  When have you had to consider ethics in making plans within your past experiences?  What method did you use to determine an ethical standard to apply?

8. How can high ethical standards be maintained? BE SURE YOU CAN: compare and contrast ethics training and codes of ethical conduct as methods for encouraging ethical behavior in organizations • differentiate between amoral, immoral, and moral management • define whistleblower • identify common barriers to whistleblowing and the factors to consider when determining whether whistleblowing is appropriate