Exam 2: Management Theory: Essential Background for the Successful Manager

Greg,the IT manager,feels that his employees lack the motivation to consistently meet department goals.To better understand human actions and to motivate their employees toward achievement,Greg and his supervisors need to adopt the ____ viewpoint.

This question has two parts;be sure to answer both.First,explain the five positive bureaucratic features that Max Weber believed contributed to a better-performing organization.Second,imagine that you are the manager of a small catering company that specializes in catering outdoor events,such as weddings and graduation parties.Apply each of Weber's five bureaucratic features to your business,explaining how you will use each to your advantage.

Which three approaches to management are considered historical perspectives?

A-Plus Manufacturing has a policy of using statistical sampling to locate errors by testing just some (rather than all)of the items in a particular production run.This strategy of minimizing errors is known as synergy.

This question has two parts;be sure to answer both.First,explain at least one of Mary Parker Follett's ideas on how organizations should become more democratic.Next,suppose you work at an advertising agency as an account manager.You are responsible for keeping your clients (the advertisers)happy,but you do not do the creative work of designing the ads.Explain how you might manage a conflict with one of your most talented ad designers,who does not agree with the client's ideas and does not want to implement them.

During a manager's meeting,Paula,a district manager,discussed how to handle sensitive employee issues and indicated correctly that management is really just an art.

Management science stresses the use of rational,science-based techniques and mathematical models to improve

Joe,a plant manager,wants to institute a compensation system in which more efficient workers earn higher wages.Joe is proposing to institute a differential rate system.

Right Motors calls its customers after they purchase an automobile from the dealership.In addition,every year customers are asked to complete a short survey about the car they purchased from Right Motors and their customer-service experiences with the dealership.Right Motors is an example of a(n)___ system.

This question has two parts;be sure to answer both.First,describe the four parts of a system.Next,imagine that you own a one-person business.You create beautiful,elaborate wedding cakes (for which you charge a large sum of money).What are the components of your wedding cake business system? -The four parts of a system are (1)inputs-the people,money,information,equipment,and materials required to produce an organization's goods or services; (2)transformation processes-the organization's capabilities in management,internal processes,and technology that are applied to converting inputs into outputs; (3)outputs-the products,services,profits,losses,employee satisfaction or discontent,and the like that are produced by the organization;and (4)feedback-the information about the reaction of the environment to the outputs that affects the inputs.Are the customers buying or not buying the product?

Olde Manufacturing,a parts supplier to the auto industry,has been using the behavioral approach to management for over 100 years.However,since that method of management is too simplistic for practical use,Olde should begin implementing the newer and more sophisticated human relations movement approach to management,which is the most contemporary approach to management.

This question has two parts;be sure to answer both.First,explain the contingency viewpoint,explaining what it means.Next,suppose you are a literary agent running your own business.You represent a large number of successful writers,and you have made it clear on your website that you are no longer taking on new writers as clients.One day a person you respect tells you about an unpublished writer who is simply fantastic and has the makings of an incredibly successful novelist.If you adopt the contingency viewpoint,what is your response? What would your response be if you do not believe in the contingency viewpoint? The contingency viewpoint emphasizes that a manager's approach should vary according to-that is,be contingent on-the individual and the environmental situation.The Contingency Viewpoint: What Are the Best Kinds of Benefits? provides a good example of the contingency viewpoint: Money is not the only motivator for employee productivity.Applying the contingency approach,managers have found there are incentives in offering various kinds of fringe benefits.

This question has two parts;be sure to answer both.First,articulate why the classical viewpoint is important,providing an example of a successful company that has benefited from applying the theories of the classical viewpoint.Second,imagine that you manage a scientific lab that develops women's health and beauty products.Give two examples of how you might apply the classical viewpoint in the lab.

Gary Hamel suggests we need to look at management as a process and then make improvements and innovation

Which disciplines does the field of behavioral science include?

Gabriel,the CEO of a large global production company,is excited about the introduction of statistics and computer simulations in the design stage of the company's products.Gabriel is using

To better meet corporate goals this year,Donna,a CEO,is encouraging her managers to focus on the major functions of management,which are

A local furniture retailer routinely develops and acquires new knowledge,and the employees communicate what they learn to other employees,so the company is able to modify its behavior to reflect what they have learned.This organization is an example of a learning organization.

The American economy consists of a complex combination of organizations and variables,such as countless companies differing in size and what they sell,current events,and markets (for example,the housing market and the stock market).According to ________,all of these independent factors interact with one another according to certain simple rules.

The management of Prime Manufacturing is implementing a plan to minimize production mistakes by allowing teams that work in each area of the production facility to develop a plan and then monitor their area to ensure the reduction of errors.The managers are engaging in