Module 1 discussion
1. After reading Hofstede’s dimensions of cultural
differences in Chapter 2 (pages 40-44) and looking up and reviewing near the
bottom of Geert Hofstede’s web page (http://www.geert-hofstede.com/), describe
a significant difference between cultures that you have witnessed. Use the
Geert Hofstede comparison tool (at the link below) to compare the two cultures
in your example and describe the relative merits of the different approaches in
an organizational situation.
2. Compare and contrast two cultures using information
contained at http://www.geert-hofstede.com/hofstede_dimensions.php (If the
Hofstede website is not working, please do your best with the summary
information in the book, or other sources you may find).
3. Use Saint Leo University’s core value of integrity as the
foundation to form an opinion concerning whether the developing global economy
will cause ethics and social responsibility to become more similar or more
distinct across cultures? Be certain to explain why and how and provide
examples.
Module 2 discussion
For this discussion, you will use what you learned in
Chapter 3 of the textbook and expand your critical thinking about the differences
in people and how to appreciate and effectively manage these differences in the
workplace.
1. Take the abbreviated (and less accurate) Myers-Briggs
test. Reveal your MBTI type in your response and describe the following
scenarios:
a. An organizational
situation (job function, event, team assignment, etc.) where your personality
type could be at a disadvantage (real world or hypothetical)
b. A situation
where your personality type might be an advantage (real world or hypothetical)
c. Based on your
MBTI, how you learn best?
2. Respond to the following two questions about negative
effect and self-monitors:
a. Imagine that
you have a person with negative affect in your organization. What might be a
positive contribution that this person could make in a group where everyone else has positive affect and
similar backgrounds?
b. What
contributions can high self-monitors make in organizations? Low self-monitors?
When you answer the personality part of this question, make
sure that you have viewed the module material, including ideas on how to think
about where your personality type is at an advantage or disadvantage (i.e., the
Nurse MBTI example) and the definition of negative affect! And, with respect to
how you learn best, consider the MBTI introvert/extravert differences (page 94)
and “You 1.2” from Chapter 1, Module 1.
Module 3 discussion
This discussion will help you build your perspective of
human motivation and equity theory (Chapter 5), and link this new understanding
to performance considerations that are introduced in Chapter 4.
1. In your current (or previous) organizational role, are
you motivated by lower or higher-order needs and motivators or hygiene factors?
Discuss and explain which specific needs and Herzberg factors seem to be most
important to you? Also use the theories presented in Figure 5.2 and Table 5.2
to explain your primary needs and motivators.
2. Reflect on the complex factors that go into job
satisfaction and performance (pages 126-130) and integrate the following
considerations into your answer
a. Has job satisfaction generally led to higher performance?
Or, has higher performance led to job satisfaction? Has this varied by
situation?
b. To the extent that job satisfaction has led to the
greater performance, what has been the most important source(s) of that
satisfaction? Have the most important areas been the Social environment, money,
health benefits, physical environment, facilities, job location, or perks?
Explain your reasoning.
3. In your organization, what inequity affects people the
most? Which textbook method seems to be used to resolve that inequity? What
ways are people finding to change inputs and outputs or do they leave the
organization? Alternatively, are the people just living with the inequity and
still meeting organizational goals? Explain.
NOTE: Remember that equity compares an individual’s specific
effort-reward ratio against other organizational members or people with
comparable skills, location, job conditions, etc. Even when there is wage (or
other) dissatisfaction, the perception of inequity is less well-founded when
the groups are not comparable in the most important ways. If you stretch the
limits of comparability far enough, you can easily find examples that will make
you feel both lucky and cheated, and many people make that choice based on
personality factors like positive vs. negative affect.
Module 4 discussion
This discussion is centered on the material in Chapter 9 –
teamwork.
1. Describe the most effective group or team of which you
have been member? What factors made the group or team effective? In your
answer, consider both individual factors in part 2 of your textbook (e.g.,
values, motivation, feedback/learning, etc.) and group factors in Chapter 9,
such as diversity (pages 331-332), the group characteristics in Table 9.1, and
the group behavior concepts on pages 317-319.
2. What are the most significant barriers to teamwork and to
empowerment that you have experienced and why were these barriers important?
Consider trust and other factors introduced during the interaction part of this
module.
Module 5 discussion
This discussion is oriented around the material in Chapter
11 and also draws on the concepts from Chapters 10 and 12.
1. Using the dimensions of empowerment in the book (pages
412-417), analyze and describe the degree to which people in your work
environment are empowered. Then, review the first box in Figure 12.3 and
describe the approach your supervisor or manager uses when making key
decisions. Finally, with respect to both participation in decision-making and
team member empowerment, what strategies would you change if you were the
manager of your or another organization? Consider all of Figure 12.3 and pages
366-368 in Chapter 10.
2. Do you think of yourself as powerful, powerless, or a
little of both? Explain your basis for these perceptions? In your answer
integrate the specific symbols of power in the textbook (pages 403-404).
3. Who is the most powerful person you know personally? What
makes this person so powerful? Does this person’s power use empowerment as a
tool or do they make all the decisions? In your answer use French and Raven’s
five specific interpersonal forms of power (pages 397-398), and the textbook’s
addition of “information power” (page 398) to assist you in your
analysis.
Module 6 discussion
1. While reflecting on Chapter 13, explain and analyze the
issues that cause the most significant conflict in your personal life or work
environment.
2. Use textbook terminology to analyze a conflict or repeating
pattern of conflict that you have witnessed or unfortunately participated in.
Feel free to disguise your comments to maintain privacy.
a. Which of the
causes listed in the book were at the root of the conflict?
b. Which form or
forms of conflict were displayed?
c. If
interpersonal conflict was involved what defense mechanisms were manifested
(Table 13.2) and did you observe these defense mechanisms in use?
d. Describe
effective and ineffective conflict management techniques that were used during
this conflict and the conflict management styles demonstrated. In the end, did the conflict turn out to be
dysfunctional or functional?
Module 7 discussion
At this point in the course, you have many things to keep in
your mind about organizational behavior. Chapter 14 addresses job design to the
organizational behavior model.
As Chapter 14 implies, models are often oversimplified and
leave out the complicating factor of individual differences (refer back to
Figure 3.1 on page 83). Herzberg pointed out that not every job or person is a
fit for enrichment. Businesses and their strategies differ and the kinds of
skills, procedures, and behavior required on the factory floor is quite
different from those required for a leading-edge design shop. In addition,
people with the same abilities and personalities may be at different levels in
terms of satisfying their needs (e.g., Maslow’s hierarchy). It should be no
surprise to you that both job and organizational design are situational and
interdependent with many other concepts involved in the “management of human
energy.”
1. In either designing the job, or in hiring to fill the
job, does your organization consider any of the individual factors that might
influence success? Explain your answer and consider the following factors:
– Cultural
differences in the people (Chapters 1 and 2)
– Personality
factors like MBTI type, conscientiousness, locus of control, and hardiness
– Where a person
is in satisfying their higher- and lower-level needs (Chapter 5)
2. In your organization, are there any jobs that appear to
have been successfully designed (either initially or as they have “evolved”)
using ideas like those described in the textbook? Anchor your comments in the
achievement of the three critical states described on page 525, and in the
achievement of “engagement” as described on pages 526-527.
3. How would you describe the organization you work for on
each of the basic design dimensions (pages 557-558)? What changes in these
dimensions have you seen in your organization due to pressures for improved
cost/effectiveness or to meet other changes in the environment/competition?
Case Analysis 1
Read the Netflix profile in Case 2-6h. As you are reading, think about the following
questions:
Describe each of the four major challenges that Netflix
faces. Which of these four challenges will be the most difficult to address?
Why? Which challenge will be the easiest to address? Why?
How do each of the four major challenges faced by Netflix
relate to worldwide organizational trends (e.g., dealing with globalization,
diversity, and ethics)?
How could Netflix convert any of four major challenges into
meaningful opportunities for the company?
Formulate your response in a 2-3 pg. (12pt, double-spaced)
essay
5 C’s: Content, Creativity, Clarity, Critical Thinking &
Correctness
Submit the Assignment to the Dropbox according to the
instructions provided by the instructor.
Case Analysis 2
What About Kim?
Read the Ethical Dilemma in Chapter 4 (p. 149 in text).
Sarah is struggling with what to do for Kim Evans who excels at meeting
deadlines and works at a level above her peers, but also finds downsides to everything and is a moody
nitpicker full of negativity.
Sarah has come to you, her own supervisor with this
dilemma. Based on the info given in the
case, should Sarah shift Kim onto the marketing team (and away from her own
team)? Describe a specific plan of
action that Sarah should take based on what you have learned about personality,
attitudes, emotions, affect, ethics, and motivation.
Expect to take 2-3 pages, (12pt, d.s.) and deliver to
Assignment Dropbox by the due date
Submit the Assignment
to the Dropbox according to the instructions provided by the instructor.
Case Analysis 3
Preventive Program for Industro-Blade
Industro-Blade, Inc.
“If it’s Metal & Sharp, We Can Make It…We’re On the
Cutting Edge of Quality”
You are an organizational consultant working with
Industro-Blade, a privately-owned manufacturing firm with 400+ employees. About 60% of the employees run or maintain
machinery, the other 40% are floor supervisors, salespeople, customer service
staff, and administrative staff (HR, accounting, purchasing, distribution).
The owners, Mr. & Mrs. Sharpe have asked you to propose
a “Preventive Stress Management Program” to help support their employees and
minimize distress. Your program should
include actionable strategies to use primary, secondary and tertiary preventive
techniques on the part of both the employees and the company.
Summarize the characteristics and strategies of your
proposed program in a 2-3 page prospectus (d.s./12 pt). Be sure to be specific in your actionable
strategies and recommendations.
Case Analysis 4
Groupon: Decisions, Decisions, Decisions!
The Chapter 10 case in our textbook discusses Groupon, the
well-known internet coupon/discount organization. Read the case and respond to the following
questions (note the questions below are slightly different from those given in
the text).
Discuss 2 decisions that Groupon founder Andrew Mason
made. Are these programmed or
non-programmed decisions? Explain.
Were these the right decisions for the organization? Why or why not? You may need to do research
outside the text to determine how the decisions turned out.
How (if at all) did creativity and intuition play a role in
the decisions to found and rapidly expand Groupon?
Let’s suppose you were considering launching your own online
coupon business (to compete with Groupon and others). Discuss 2 decisions you would need to make in
order to determine whether to launch into the online coupon marketplace.
Expect to take 2-3 pages (d.s., 12pt.) to address these
questions. Include references if
needed. Turn in to the dropbox by the
due date specified for this assignment.
Case Analysis 5
If you let them build it, they will come
Read the Chapter 12 case on Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of
IKEA.
Answer the questions below (not the questions in the
textbook):
Differentiate between Kamprad’s leadership and management of
his company.
What would you say is Kamprad’s leadership style, based on
the many different styles described in the textbook?
How do these compare to your own leadership style, either in
your organization or elsewhere? Even if
you do not lead or manage in your professional career, take a critical look at
your leadership skills and leadership style – how could it improve based on
what you’ve learned?
Expect 2-3 pages (12pt, d.s.) turned into dropbox by the due
date for Class Meeting 6.
Case Analysis 6
Driving Ford
Read the case in Chapter 15 on Alan Mulally’s restructuring
of Ford Motor Co. Answer the questions
below (different from the ones in the book):
Describe 3 issues in org. structure that Mulally encountered
when he took over Ford and discuss how he addressed these issues.
What role do Ford’s strategy and goals play in forming its
organizational structure?
What role does the business environment play in influencing
Ford’s organizational structure?
Expect 2-3 pages of body, [12pt, d.s.] into Case Study 6
dropbox by the due date
Midterm Exam Organizational Behavior
This exam is open note and open book, but no collaboration
is allowed.
Please answer 2 of the 3 short answer questions (your
choice).
Indicate which question you are answering.
Expect to take 2-3 sentences to answer each.
Please answer 2 of the 3 essay questions (your choice).
Indicate which question you are answering.
Expect to take about 1 page (double spaced) to answer each.
Submit to the Assignment dropbox for “Midterm Exam” and
check to ensure it was received before you leave.
SHORT ANSWER (pick 2 only) 5 points each:
Choose globalization, diversity OR ethics and briefly
explain why it presents a major challenge to organizational behavior.
Use 3 of the many individual characteristics identified in
Chapter 3 to describe an individual who would most likely be a strong performer
in the workplace.
Provide an example of how both positive and negative
reinforcement can be used in the workplace.
ESSAY (pick 2 only) 20 points each:
During an executive strategy meeting, your organization’s
CEO tells you that you should do everything you can to improve Job Satisfaction
so that employees will increase their Job Performance. You happen to know that studies show there is
actually very little relationship between the two, but you’ve got to respond to
your CEO. Prepare a response that
explains why Job Satisfaction is important to the organization even though it
might not lead to better Job Performance.
It’s the busy time of year at your organization. You have your entire team to plan to put in
extra hours for the next 3 weeks. Discuss
how Vroom’s Expectancy Theory can be used to be sure you are correctly
motivating your employees.
The VP of Retail Sales at your organization has come to you
with a problem. Retail Sales Associates
across the company are complaining that their jobs are too intense, too broad,
and there are too many responsibilities.
There is evidence that the job duties are leading to an unusually high
level of stressors and strains. Explain
to your VP why and how job redesign could help the company to minimize stress.
Term Project
Term Project: This is your opportunity to go deeper into a
very specific topicor issuecovered in the course. Teams of 2-3 studentswill be responsible to
choose their own topic/issueof interest (and make sure it is approvedbytheinstructor). •The presentation is a mini-lecture
ofmaximum10minutesthat will inform the rest of the class about your topicor
issue.•ThepresentationMUST INCLUDEa visual aideand
anactive-learningcomponent.•Your presentation should touch broadly on recent
news, research and best practices related to your topic. •You may additionally choose to include
anecdotal information from outside sources and even your own experiences, where
applicable
Chapter presentation
Chapter Presentations: Teamsof 2-3 studentswill be
responsible to prepare and present onemini-lecturethat provides a high level
summaryand review of the information in one of our textbook chapters. Presentations will be assigned during our
first class. Chapter Presentations will
be too short to cover everything in the
3chapter, but instead should
highlightimportantinformationandemphasize helpingthe class understand the
material in the text.•Thepresentationmust include an applied view on how the
chapter is relevant to an organization of your choice. •You musthighlight,defineanddiscussthetop5importanttermsinyourchapter•You
are allowed a maximum of 10 slides(or frames) and 20minutes. Time is part of your grade! •Creating some sort ofvisual aid (Power
Point,Prezi presentation, handout) is required.
Final Exam
SHORT ANSWER (pick 2 only)
1.
Describe 3 ways that communication technology
can impact organizational behavior.
2.
Using French & Raven’s theory of
interpersonal power, provide one specific, applied example of effective use of
power and one specific, applied example of ineffective use of power.
ESSAY (pick 2 only):
1.
Your city of 125,000 people has been awarded a
federal grant to build a new community center and is trying to decide where to
locate it. The groundbreaking for the
new facility must occur within 3 months or the grant will be forfeited. The City Council, in cooperation with the
city Mayor are having trouble agreeing on where the location should be. As an expert on organizational behavior, you
have been called in to help mediate the decision. Determine who should make the decision (Mayor
or City Council) and defend your answer by providing information on the
advantages and disadvantages of using an individual vs. group process to make
this decision.
2.
Explain the distinction between incremental,
strategic, and transformational changes and provide one example of each from
one or more of the organizations discussed this term (e.g., Netflix, Groupon,
IKEA, Ford, or your own organization) Note: the examples do not all have to
come from the same organization.
