FINAL EXAM – Individual
MGT 501- Organizations and Operations
The exam consists of 10 questions and each question counts 10 points. Students should use the concepts
of organizations behavior and operations management as indicated and suggested in each question. Use
theories and concepts from your textbook. In addition, use examples from textbook or organizations.
Maximum word limit is 500 words for each question. Minimum is 300.
Paraphrase the information (put it in your own words. Of course, the names of specific concepts and
theories may not be changed. Keep in mind the academic policy regarding plagiarism.
Organization Behavior
Q.1. Discuss the effects of diversity within a group (team) on its performance and provide an example.
Q.2. Discuss theories that indicate why and how people seek consistency among their attitudes and their
behavior by reducing cognitive dissonance. Then, provide an example and sort your example into the
three main components of attitudes.
Q.3. Andrew is a software tester. He runs through the same types of programs day after day looking for
bugs and reporting them. He is taking night classes on programming. Often, he knows the best solution
to many of the bugs, but he is still learning to code. Describe two job characteristics that Andrew is
striving to improve, and explain two ways that Andrew’s manager can redesign his current job to help
him reach his goals.
Q.4 Nora Elm is a newly appointed HR manager at Seven Oaks, a famous PR firm that is not doing too
well at present. As she assumed the post of the HR manager, everyone impressed upon her the need to
energize the employees and motivate them to give their best to the job. After she met with the employees
and managers, she felt that many employees were demotivated because they had attained their maximum
potential in the current job roles. Additionally, she felt that though the management believed strongly in
its employee-friendly nature, this nature was not manifested in its actions. Employees had begun to
mimic the management’s action of attributing the lack of any constructive change to company policies.
Describe two changes that Nora should propose at the meeting with a rationale for each. Provide
information to substantiate the need for these changes and potential positive consequences.
Q.5. Discuss types of leadership and their potential advantages and disadvantages. Give an example for
the type of leadership to personally prefer, and explain why it is your preferred leadership theory.
Q.6. What can managers do to manage conflicts effectively in their organizations? Provide conflict
management and conflict resolution theories. Also illustrate with the help of conflict management
process or conflict resolution strategies.
Operations Management
Q.7. Product strategy may focus on developing a competitive advantage via differentiation, low cost,
rapid response, or a combination of these. Do you agree with the statement? Why or why not? Explain
first with theories and concepts, then with the help of examples.
Q.8 A refrigeration and heating company–one that installs and repairs home central air and heating
systems–has asked your advice on how to analyze their service quality. They have logged customer
complaints. Here’s a recent sampling. Use the supplied template to construct a conventional cause-andeffect diagram. Place each of the complaints onto a main cause; justify your choice with a brief
comment as necessary. 1. "I was overcharged–your labor rates are too high." 2. "The repairman left trash
where he was working." 3. "You weren’t here when you said you would be. You should call when you
must be late." 4. "Your repairman smoked in my house."5. "The part you installed is not as good as the
factory original." 6. "Your repairman was here for over two hours, but he wasn’t taking his work
seriously."7. "You didn’t tighten some of the fittings properly–the system’s leaking." 8. "Your estimate of
repair costs was WAY off." 9. "I called you to do an annual inspection, but you’ve done more–work that I
didn’t authorize."10. "Your mechanic is just changing parts–he doesn’t have a clue what’s really wrong."
11. "Your bill has only a total–I wanted to see detail billing." 12. "Your testing equipment isn’t very
new–are you sure you’ve diagnosed the problem?"13. "One of the workmen tracked mud into my living
room."
Q.9 As the corporate and operations management strategies vary from low cost to response to
differentiation, how does this impact the supply chain management strategy for any organization?
Explain first with theories and concepts and then with the help of an example.
Q.10 The operations manager performs the management activities of planning, organizing, staffing,
leading, and controlling of the OM function. Do you agree or disagree with the statement. Explain with
theories and concepts, then with the help of an example.
Final Exam Grading Rubric
The final exam will test your knowledge and understanding of the organizational behavior and operations
management topics covered in this course and will be assessed via ten essay questions. Each essay question will
be evaluated using the following rubric.
Response and
Reference Support
Demonstration of
applicable
knowledge of the
topic or topics
identified in the
question; thorough
discussion of the
topic(s); Used
appropriate
illustrations support
to substantiate
discussion.
Score:
Far Exceeds
Standards
Thoroughly
demonstrated
applicable
knowledge of
the topic(s) in
question.
Extensive
discussion of
the concepts
involved and
substantiated
with good
examples,
illustrations
from the
industry, and
provided
support for the
discussion.
Exceeds
Standards
Demonstrated
applicable
knowledge of the
topic(s) in
question;
Convincing, but
could have gone
into a bit more
depth. More or
better examples
could have been
used to support
the discussion.
Meets
Standards
Demonstrated
applicable
knowledge of the
topic(s) in
question, but
could have gone
into much more
depth. Many
more or much
better
illustrations and
examples from
industry could
have been used to
support the
discussion.
Fails to Meet
Standards
Failed to
demonstrate
applicable
knowledge of
the topic(s) in
question; Lacks
any significant
degree of depth.
Hardly any
illustrations or
examples were
used to support
the discussion.
(90-100)
(80-89)
(70-79)
(0-69)
IMPORTANT: Because of the nature of the test, some duplication is acceptable and even expected…such as the
repetition of titles, names and specific questions and quotations. Within 24 hours of submission, you should be
able to check for your report detailing what percentage of your paper has been previously submitted. Since this is
a final exam, you are not expected to correct and resubmit (I will not be considering the revised version of
the exam. So make sure the first time when you are writing your response). Anything over 10% will result in
automatic point deductions, but anything (no matter what % turnitin.com shows) that does not follow acceptable
documentation and citation practices will result in grade deductions. Correct sentence structure, grammar and
spelling are expected on test submitted for a grade. (Note: Do not copy questions in your word file to avoid
Turnitin issues. Just put Q1 . . . Q10.
