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| I need to answer all following Question and case study. For each Question: 200 words. Each Case study: 400 words I upload PDF file for the book to help you looking for the Questions and case studies. Please use the following information to guide you to the questions and case studies. Chapter 1: Questions 1&5 Page30 – 1 , and case study: Smart Style Salons Page 33-4 Chapter 2: Questions 3&7 Page 64 , and case study: More Hassle from HR? Page 66-7 Chapter3: Questions 3&9 Page101, and case study: Not Measuring Up Page 103-4 Chapter4: Questions 1&10 Page 140- 1 , and case study : We Want More Guitars! Page 143-4 Chapter5: Questions 6&9 Page 174 , and case study: Too Much Intelligence? Page 176-7 |
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Essay Questions
Contents
Case Study: SmartStyle Salons. 3
Case Study: More Hassle from HR?. 6
Case Study: Not Measuring Up. 9
Case Study: We Want More Guitars!. 12
Introduction
Chapter One
Question 1
In light of the improvements in technology and change in the present day, managers have more roles to partake. However, management responsibilities can still be handled well today, and towards this end managers should inculcate developments in technology with a view to reduce the tedious nature of the work. Moreover, using technology in delivery of service will inevitably make their work easier. Managers also need to be flexible as there are changes that may arise due to their external environment. For instance, government actions can significantly affect a company’s operations (Daft 10). Thus, managers should be quick to find solutions when such things occur. In responding to changes in the management, managers need skills for instance technical as well as conceptual and human skills. Technical skills enable a person to accomplish a specific task, for example, programming skills. A manager should be able to perform tasks that take place in the company especially in his area of specialization. Human skills, on the other hand, help managers control relationships with both workers and stakeholders in the company. Finally, conceptual skills enable the manager to see patterns, solve problems, and understand interrelations among systems. This skill is vital especially for general managers who oversee relationships among different parts of the company.
Question 5
Managers have the ability of achieving both efficiency and effectiveness in production within the companies they direct. Efficiency refers to the ability to avoid wastage of resources when producing a desired volume of a product while effectiveness is the degree to which something is successful at producing an end result. An effective organization uses its resources well; therefore, an organization can achieve both efficiency and effectiveness. This can be done through using machines that are in good condition to ensure that time is not wasted. Moreover, managers who aim to attain both efficiency and effectiveness should ensure that the employees are in good health condition as this greatly contribute to good results (Daft 11). General Motors should respond to the safety situation by drawing insights from other companies operating in the same business. The company can also outsource expatriates to work in the engineering department and in the quality assurance department. The outsourced expatriates will enable the company to handle the safety situation by ensuring that future cars do not experience problems with ignition switches again. This goal can be achieved by ensuring that quality tests are carried out on the GM products. Moreover, the company can improve its public image through compensating the customers who were harmed by the faulty cars.
Case Study: SmartStyle Salons
Question 1
Jamika is an organized person. As evident in the case study, Jamika finishes up on the report on time. She does not procrastinate writing it out and writes it in a positive manner despite the challenges the salon faces following change in economy. However, Jamika is also emotionally unstable. This is shown when she orders her receptionist to perform a task. Moreover, Jamika bangs her door and this startles both the customers and the workers present at the salon. Jamika is also non-apologetic. This negative characteristic is shown when she says she does not feel sorry for overreacting in the presence of customers. She is also authoritative; this trait is manifested when she orders her receptionist to make a call.
Question 2
These traits hinder Jamika from getting a high position at Riverwood Mall Salon in the following ways. First, by being emotionally unstable, Jamika shows that she has poor leadership skills. A good leader is emotionally stable. Emotional stability is important in management because managers are bound to encounter many situations which may not please them when they are managing an organization. Emotional stability enables a leader to respond appropriately to the situations and to represent the company in the best way possible. Jamika could also fail to acquire a high leadership position due to her authoritative leadership. Authoritative leadership is rarely associated with success and effectiveness, which are two factors that the Riverwood Mall Salon would require. Authoritative leadership discourages involvement of employees in the decision making process, such that they feel like they are not part of the company. Involvement, however, is important as it ensures that employees uphold the interests of the company.
Question 3
Jamika could have handled the incident with Marianne by communicating calmly. This would have enabled her to acquire all the information she needed regarding the absence of the two employees. While handling the matter with Holly & Carol Jean, Jamika could have requested her receptionist to tell them to call her back so that they could explain themselves. Handling this matter calmly would have prevented her from banging the door. In addition to this, Jamika should have simply punished these employees if they gave no valid reason. Unfortunately, she let them go before without getting punished for a wrong action. Jamika should have let Victoria handle the matter as she selected her as her subordinate. She should have harbored greater confidence in Victoria’s ability to handle the matter in the best way possible without viewing her as a threat.
Chapter Two
Question 3
Scientific management systems involve having specific methods of performing certain tasks. Retailers who have adopted labor waste elimination methods using this systems may experience difficulty in expanding their businesses. Expanding a retail business may require the retailers to introduce new methods for different locations. This may be a difficult thing to do in a context of labor elimination environment since with expansion comes the need to have more employees. In addition to this, the retailers may experience difficulty in assigning employees roles which they can be trained in. Training takes time and an employee may turn out to be ineffective even after being trained. This leads to waste of resources since the results obtained do not match the expectations of the managers.
Although scientific management principles have been around for long, they will not cease to be used. Developments in technology and other fields have led to the development of new ideas and practices. However, these practices can be weaved into the scientific management principles to develop a better system that may be more efficient and effective. Moreover, due to the difference between organizations, some organizations will value the principles more than others. This is especially the case if the principles are inculcated in an organizational culture.
Question 7
The main idea behind the contingency view is universality. This idea means that in the contingency view, concepts are thought to be universal, thus situations are deemed to be similar. In this view, managers approach problem-solving using solutions associated with similar situations. When using this approach, managers should identify the industry which the organization falls under so that they can use a solution that will be effective in addressing the problem (Daft 65).
Contingency refers to a possibility of an event occurring. Identifying the key contingencies of a business can be done by identify the industry to which the organization belongs. This way, one can be more aware of possible challenges that the organization may face by looking at similar organizations (Daft 78). Moreover, through studying challenges similar companies have experienced, a company can predict the occurrence of a problem through comparing the progress of the two organizations. In addition to this, when identifying contingencies, one can put into perspective the different variables of the organization. It is easier to know a contingency when one has analyzed the present variables against the variables of a past situation. This may include technological advancement in the organization against the technology adoption procedures of another organization operating in the same industry.
Case Study: More Hassle from HR?
Question 1
No. Connie and her staff are on the wrong side by defining a new set of labor rules and imposing them by fiat. By implementing the rules from top down, they reduce employee involvement in decision making. Decision making is an important element in management. Connie and her staff aim to avoid manager mishaps by using a top-down approach. However, these mishaps may occur because of the reduction in the involvement of the employees in drafting these rules. A fiat is an authoritative command to do something. Through implementing these rules by fiat, the organization may not be as effective because employees may easily rebel against those rules.
Question 2
A more participative culture can be imposed on the managers with both value statements and training sessions. The value of involvement is high in any organization. The employees need to feel like they own the organization. This can be done through involving the managers whose work is to demonstrate that they employees are held in high regard. This leads to effectiveness and increased willingness to work. Managers should also be involved in making the rules of an organization. A manager’s role is to oversee the work of a group of people. By being involved in drafting rules, the managers can influence the employees’ opinions on these laws and lead them to view the laws as beneficial to their general development. Moreover, managers use technical skills in the organization therefore, their opinion would be similar to that of the employees they oversee. By having a more participative culture, the managers can acquire skills through training which they can pass down to the employees.
Question 3
Victoria and Gray are on the defensive because they value participative culture. However, the norm of the company is contrary to their view of what an organizations’ values should be. There is no importance of attending the training sessions because the rules will be implemented despite the opinions of the other managers.
The core leadership behaviors can be handled differently. This can be done through the introduction of a participative culture. The leaders should be open to suggestions from employees in the organization. This will make the organization better as all members will be free to speak their opinions in an environment of democracy. Democracy encourages general participation without forceful implementation of laws by an authority. The practice is important in developing an organization given that increased involvement of employees will lead to better performance.
Chapter Three
Question 3
Strategic issues pose important challenges that an organization must addresses during the implementation of a strategic plan. These challenges can create uncertainty in the industry. In the automotive industry for example, suppliers of machinery required in making cars may create uncertainty. This will occur when the suppliers fail to deliver the parts in time. This may alter the work of the industry therefore, the company may fail to achieve various objectives.
Competition from other social media organization may cause uncertainty in the social media industry. This would arise especially if the public move from using one industry to the competitors industry. This can occur especially if the competitor offers the same service at a lower charge.
Technological advancement can cause uncertainty in the newspaper industry as people can acquire news easier on their phones and tablets thereby rendering newspapers obsolete. This means that sale of newspapers can greatly reduce especially with introduction of affordable phones.
In medical services, advancement of technology leads to shift towards using improved methods. However, this methods can cause uncertainty as long term effects of using such treatment is unknown. Therefore, managers in medical facilities may experience a problem in making long term decisions on introducing use of such machines in the medical facility.
Question 9
Symbols are simply objects or events that are used to convey meaning to people. Managers can use symbols to encourage effective performance in various industries. Managers seeking to build an adaptability culture can train their employees to make fast responses through putting them in various situations when training them. This means that the environment the employees work in can be varied to influence fast reactions to situations. Rewarding can also stimulate this culture as with rewards, employees will be more willing to take risks. In addition to this, the managers can encourage teamwork through reducing the use of roles in the work environment. This will lead to more involvement of the employees regardless of their role in the company.
In promoting an involvement culture, events can be used as a symbol. For instance, employee retreats and training sessions can be arranged for the employees to act as symbols of an involvement culture. Activities that are done in these sessions should be geared towards team building. This will increase involvement of the employees as they will have to associate with each other. Moreover, such events encourage the employees to share ideas and voice out their concerns. The events symbol can therefore lead to creation of an involvement culture.
Case Study: Not Measuring Up
Question 1
Yes. Zeitland’s desire for changes in culture is related to changes in the external environment. According to Zeitland, his move towards analyzing culture and employee satisfaction was triggered by the changes in technology, consumer tastes and the employment of younger workforce. The external environment are the factors outside an organization that affect the performance of the company. Company’s management cannot manipulate all the changes in the external environment for instance technological advancement thus they have to adapt to such a change. In this case, Zeitland adapts to the change in technology and consumer tastes through moving to analyze the culture of the organization and satisfaction of the employees.
Question 2
Wheeling and Zeitland can carry out additional investigation by talking to Cam. A conversation with Cam should be take place so that they can inform Cam of the results and the opinions of some of the employees. By doing so, Cam, Wheeling and Zeitland could find a solution which they could adopt to improve the results of the next year. (Daft 103)The plan of action should involve Cam because he is directly involved in ensuring that the company produces the best results.
Question 3
Cam falls into quadrant A in the Exhibit 3.8. Managers who fall into this quadrant meet performance goals but fail to uphold the organization’s cultural goals. (Daft 98). According to Zeitland and Wheeler, the results showed overall improvement in the company. This shows that Cam is effective in attaining the performance goals of the organization. Moreover, Cam had implemented some of the goals of the project, thereby showing that he focused on company performance. However, the opinions of the other employees show that Cam did not uphold the cultural goals of the organization. The organization is founded on the involvement culture. This is shown when the employees are encouraged to say their opinions during the survey.
Cam can connect better with the employees who report to him by establishing friendship with them beyond the formal relationship that exists between them. This is vital in ensuring that the employees can relate to Cam easier. By doing this, Cam will be able to know the opinions of the employees on different matters which will make him become a better leader. In addition to this, the company should use events as a symbol to encourage unity between the employees. Through attending such events, Cam will be able to connect with the employees who answer to him better (Daft 105).
Chapter Four
Question 1
A manager who has lived in and worked in different countries can be more effective at achieving goals of an organization due to the wide range of skills acquired during the period of foreign employment. During that time, the manager would have learned different practices in different work environments. Companies in different countries will value different aspects of production of goods and commodities. Some companies value high-volume production while other companies value the production of high quality products. A manager who has worked in different environments will be able to adapt qualities such as high quality and high-volume production in a company to achieve results. In addition to this, such a manager has improved on human skills and technical skills through the experience of working in different environments. Through working with different groups of people the manager improves on human skills and also improves on technical skills because different environments use different materials and skills to achieve results. The manager will work well with whichever group of people he or she meets due to this wealth of experience. Moreover, he or she can adapt easily to a company’s culture, be it involvement culture or adaptability culture. They are flexible and perform well in both environments just as effective leaders should. A manager who has worked in different countries is a resourceful employee who can incorporate different practices into a situation to achieve the intended results.
Question 10
High power distance describes cultural contexts where people readily accept inequality in power and among institutions. Managing an institution that operates under high power distance requires that a manager uses authoritative methods in achieving results. The leadership has to have some form of higher authority as it is expected due to the high power distance. Motivating employees in such a setting could involve awarding employees who perform well. This should be done to motivate other employees to perform well so that they can acquire awards. In contrast, a low power distance organization expects equality in power. Employee involvement is valued and their opinions are held highly despite their positions.
In a high power distance organization, people are rewarded for improved performance and excellence. Such an organization values performance results. A low power distance organization, on the other hand, pays more attention to loyalty, background, and a sense of belonging. Relationships between the employees are close-knit. High production is not the main aim of the company. The company may follow methods that are aimed at ensuring their product matches the needs of the public. Maintaining high quality is valued in such companies and the employees’ needs and suggestions are met by the company.
Case Study: We Want More Guitars!
Question 1
Adam Wainwright’s analysis of the situation at Guitarras Dominguez is very accurate. At Guitarras Dominguez, the employees are focused on making high quality guitars. They follow the old methods that they were taught despite developments in technology which would lead to increase in the level of production. In this company, craftsmanship is incompatible with increasing productivity. Salvador says that in the Guitarras Dominguez, maintaining the same methods in producing the guitars is very important (Daft 145). This statement shows that the level of production is likely to be consistent because the employees are not willing to adopt new methods that may increase efficiency through reducing wastage of time.
The core values of Guitarras Dominguez is quality and involvement. When producing the guitars, the employees ensure that they produce quality products. This is done through following the traditional methods of production which ensure that the quality of the product is high. Moreover, by following the traditional methods, they ensure that the brand name maintains its quality. The traditional methods used go a long way in ensuring that the guitars that were produced in the past produce the same sound quality as those being produced currently.
Question 2
The social values present in Guitarras Dominguez differ from those of the United States (Daft 145). In Guitarras Dominguez, there is low performance orientation which is the opposite case in the United States. In Guitarras, there is more attention to loyalty and belonging while in the USA there is more attention to performance and results. There is also low assertiveness in Guitarras while in the USA there is high assertiveness. In addition to the values named above, there is a higher future orientation in Guitarras which is the opposite case in the USA. Employees insist on following the traditional methods to ensure that they maintain quality of their products, and this shows that they are oriented towards maintaining their company’s brand name. The social values in Guitarras encourage collectiveness in achieving results whereas social values in the USA encourage individualism and competition.
Question 3
Adam should encourage the employees at Guitarras to stick to their methods of production. This will reduce the number of quarrels that occur between him and the employees as they insist on using their methods. He can achieve better production through encouraging them to use their old methods as they will produce more if they are accorded a conducive working environment.
Chapter Five
Question 6
Yes. Maximizing the value of shareholders is the main aim of an organization. Shareholders who aim to acquire maximum profits from sale of commodities would be more willing to invest in companies which are oriented towards high production. On the other hand, shareholders who value quality output will drive the managers of an organization to use methods keenly and which will assure that the products produced are of high quality. With respect to the code of ethics, managers have to follow methods that are in line with reaching the expectations of the shareholders (Daft 167). In some instances, this can lead to compromise in the ethical realm. Although the managers are expected to do what is right, the role of maximizing the value of shareholders may make it difficult for managers to do what is right. The high pressure which arises as a result of high expectations from the shareholders may influence the manager to make decisions that are morally unethical.
In addition to the above conditions, the society may be affected by the role of the organization (Figge et al., 276). A company can affect the surrounding environment through noise pollution and improper disposal of waste material. These practices may be perpetuated in an attempt to reduce the costs of production. However, they affect the environment negatively although they are a means of achieving the objective of minimizing production costs.
Question 9
A stakeholder is a person who has some form of interest or investment in an organization and may be within or outside an organization. Stakeholder mapping is a technique which is used by managers to identify the expectations and relative importance of stakeholders (Daft 163). Stakeholder mapping is effective in managing the expectations of the stakeholders. It is important that some stakeholders are considered more important than others in different departments. The desire of the organization is to meet the needs of the stakeholders, and some stakeholders will value some components more than others. In response to this, the managers should make decisions that are aimed at meeting the needs of the stakeholders satisfactorily. The stakeholders should not be considered equally. Although they have invested in the company, they should be handled based on their interests. This way, the managers will succeed in implementing useful methods that will encourage the needs each investor to be met. Moreover, treating investors differently shows that the organization aims at meeting the unique needs of each stakeholder. It discourages generalization which may lead to poor results, and instead encourages specialization which leads to positive results. The managers should therefore use stakeholder mapping to classify the investors.
Case Study:
Question 1
Ken has shaped a conventional culture in the sales business. In the conventional culture, individuals live up to the expectations of the society or of other individuals in a society. The culture encourages interpersonal relationships in encouraging achievement of the goals of an organization. Ken and his team are associated with the rapid growth of the Pace Technologies (Daft 176). In a conventional culture, there is the existence of interpersonal relationships, which exist between Ken and his team. In addition to this, Cody, who is one of the members of the team that Ken has assembled, is deeply focused on living up to expectations to the point of using underhand methods in drafting a proposal with a view to help Pace Technologies win over competition (Daft 176). This action shows that Ken has established a conventional culture geared at living up to preset expectations.
Question 2
If I was in Ali Sloan’s place I would inform the management team of Cody’s plan. If the plan is implemented, it will have adverse effects on the company and its members. It is important to live by the code of ethics of the organization when making decisions. Therefore, the best decision Ali would make should be in line with the code of ethics of Pace Technologies.
In the utilitarian approach, the decision is ethical if it will bring the largest positive results. In the individualism approach, on the other hand, decisions are ethical is they bring good long-term results to the individual. In the practical approach, decisions on what is right or just are sidestepped and a decision is made depending on the prevailing standards of the profession. Cody’s decision in this case uses the practical approach. Cody overlooks the underhand methods he uses to achieve the results. This action matches that of the practical approach where the individuals overlook what is morally upright when making decisions for practical reasons. In the case of Cody, he aims to achieve results which is that Pace Technology wins against its top- rival Raleigh Tech (Daft 176). The expected standard of the profession is that the employees deliver which is promoted by the conventional culture present in Pace Technology. Moreover, Cody is influenced to make this decision by Ken’s practice which ensures that the company is on the winning side in the sales department. Ken sets a standard which Cody wants to match, thereby proving that he is using the practical approach to arrive at his decision.
References
Daft, Richard. Management, Twelfth Edition. Boston: Cengage Learning, 2016. Print.
Figge, Frank., Hahn, Tobias., Schaltegger, Stefan and Wagner, Marcus. “The sustainability balanced scorecard–linking sustainability management to business strategy.” Business strategy and the Environment, 11.5 (2002): 269-284.
