2011管理学课后作业答题要点

Fundamentals of ManagementReferential answers for assignmentsChapter 12 What four common activities compose the process approach to management?Briefly describe each of them.The four common activities are planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.Explain. (Please refer to page 7-8)４How does a manager's job change with his/her level in the organization?The differences are of degree and emphasis but not of activity.Managers perform planning, organizing, leading, and controlling activities, but the amount of time they give to each activity is not necessarily constant.The content of the managerial activities changes with the manager's level.(Please refer to page 10)3Is your college instructor a manager? Discuss in terms of both planning, organizing, leading, and controlling, and Mintzberg’s managerial roles.A college instructor is both an individual contributor and a manager. Planning(defines class goals, establishes plans for achieving them, and develops lesson plans), Organizing(execution and class participation), Leading(motivating students, direct the activities of others, select the most effective communication channel, or resolve conflicts) , Controlling(grading).Mintzberg’s managerial role: Interpersonal—the roles of leader and liaison.Informational—monitor and disseminator. Decisional—disturbance handler and resource allocator.(Please refer to page 7- 9)Chapter 32Under what circumstances are short-term plans preferred? Under what circumstances are specific plans preferred?Provide basic definition and applicability of them. Short-term plans (length of future commitments and the degree of variability). Specific plans (clarity and predictability).(Please refer to page 75-76)5What is a SWOT analysis?Analysis of an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats in order to identify a strategic niche that the organization can exploit.(Please refer to page 85)1Organizations that fail to plan are planning to fail. Do you agree or disagree with the statement? Explain your position.Planning provides a framework for thinking through decisions and the future. it does provide direction, measurements of progress, and a framework for judging the success or failure of a venture.(Please refer to page 72-74)Chapter 43 What is a satisficing decision? How does it differ from a maximizing decision?The concepts of satisficing decision and maximizing decision.They are based on different decision making process models (perfect rationality and bounded rationality)(Please refer to page 106 and 108-110)4How do creativity, certainty, risk, and uncertainty affect individuals when they make a decision?Creativity’s most obvious value is in helping the decision maker identify all viable alternatives; individuals can make an accurate or best decision under a condition of certainty; under a condition of risk or uncertainty, they can only make a satisficing decision.(Please refer to page 104-105)5Why do you think organizations have increased the use of groups for making decisions during the past twenty years? When would you recommend using groups to make decisions?Group decisions have many advantages. Depending on the criteria using for defining effectiveness of group decisions.(Please refer to page 114-115)Chapter 52How are authority and organization structure related? Authority and power?The definition of authority and power. Authority is part of the larger concept of power. Authority is a two-dimensional concept, while power is athree-dimensional concept.(Please refer to page 134-138)3 In what ways can management departmentalize? When should one method beconsidered over the others?Five ways to departmentalize: function, product, customer, geography, or process.The method or methods used should reflect the grouping that would best contribute to the attainmen t of the organization’s objectives and the goals of individual units.(Please refer to page 142)3 Show how both the functional and matrix structures might create conflict withinan organization.The conflict within a matrix is clear, competing and conflicting demands by different bosses on the same employee. In a functional organization, different functions and their managers can end up in competition for resources, personnel, priorities, etc., since each area is responsible for a separate function.(Please refer to page 145-147)Chapter 82 Contrast lower-order and higher-order needs in Maslow’s needs hierarchy.Lower-order needs include physiological needs and safety needs, they must be satisfied if the individual is to be healthy and secure. Higher-order needs include social needs, esteem needs and self-actualization needs, they are related to the development and achievement of one’s potential. Comparing.(Please refer to page 219)3Describe the three needs in the three-needs theory.Need for achievement; need for power; need for affiliation. Explain.(Please refer to page 222-223)5 Describe several means that you might use to motivate (1) a minimum-wageemployee or (2) professional and technical employees? Which of your suggestions do you think is best? Support your position.(1) a minimum-wage employee: money is important, but not the only reward thatpeople seek, focus on recognition program, praise and empowering(2) professional and technical employees: job challenge, organizational support oftheir work, new assignments, autonomy, training and educational opportunities, recognition(Please refer to page 234-235)Chapter 91 Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the trait theory of leadership.The trait theory of leadership is very easy to understand. But it ignores some more important factors such as situational factors to identify effective leadership.(Please refer to page 246-247)3 How is a least-preferred coworker determined? What is the importance of one’sLPC for the Fiedler theory of leadership?The least-preferred coworker (LPC) questionnaire is to measure the leader’s behavioral orientation: either task oriented or relationship oriented. Based on the leader’s style determined by LPC, the organization can change situation to m atch it in order to attain desirable leadership performance.(Please refer to page 251-252)4Contrast the three types of trust. Relate them to your experience in personal relationships.The three types of trust are deterrence-based trust, knowledge-based trust and identification-based trust.Briefly describe each of them.(Please refer to page 267-268)Chapter 102 Why are effective interpersonal skills so important to a manager’s success?Managers get things done through others, competencies in leadership, communication, and other interpersonal skills are prerequisites to managerial effectiveness.(Please refer to page 286)4 What is conflict? Should some conflict be encouraged?Conflict-perceived incompatible differences resulting in some form of interference or opposition. Functional conflicts that support the goals of the organization are good and should be encouraged.(Please refer to page 292-293)1 “Ineffective communication is the fault of the sender.” Do you agree or disagreewith this statement? Support your position.Both sender and receiver are affected by their own bias, the sender is responsible for adapting the message for maximum fidelity in its transmission and interpretation.(Please refer to page 276-277)Chapter 112 Name four methods managers can use to acquire information about actualorganizational performance.Personal observation, statistical reports, oral reports, and written reports.(Please refer to page 310-311)4 What are the advantages and disadvantages of feed forward control?Concept of feed forward control. Advantage: prevent anticipated problems.Disadvantage: difficulty in obtaining information.(Please refer to page 314)1 How are planning and control linked? Is the control function linked to theorganizing and leading functions of management? Explain.The control process assumes that standards of performance already exist. They are created in the planning function. Objectives are the standards against which progress is measured and compared. An effective control system ensures that activities are completed in ways that lead to the attainment of the organization’sgoals. So control is linked to all functions of management, not just organizing and leading.(Please refer to page 308-310 )。