1st Exam Organizational Behavior Study Guide Chapters 1 - 4 with Discussion

Please note: Study guides are not designed to be all inclusive. They are merely a means to assist you in focusing your thoughts as you prepare for an exam. Please read your text book, review lecture notes, and the PowerPoint slides to fully prepare. Please find attached your study guide for the 1st exam. Please note, study guides are merely guides and not designed to be all inclusive. Each student is responsible for reading the text book, reviewing your own lecture notes, and PowerPoint slides. The exam has 35 multiple choice questions. You will need to bring a #2 pencil to complete the exam as all answers will be recorded on the SCANTRON form. Please use this time to prepare well for the exam. –Michaela Noakes Exam has 35 multiple choice questions 1. What is Heterogeneity in Environmental Complexity? Environmental complexity refers to heterogeneity, or the number and dissimilarity of external elements (e.g., competitors, suppliers, industry changes, government regulations) that affect an organization’s operations. The more external elements regularly influence the organization and the greater the number of other companies in an organization’s domain, the greater the complexity. A complex environment is one in which the organization interacts with and is influenced by numerous diverse external elements. In a simple environment, the organization interacts with and is influenced by only a few similar external elements. 2. How does the environment influence organizations? The patterns and events occurring in the environment can be described along three primary dimensions: dynamism whether events in the environment are stable or unstable, complexity whether the environment is simple or complex, and abundance amount of financial resources available to support the organization’s growth. (These dimensions are illustrated in Exhibit 4.2.) Uncertainity lack of sufficient info about environment factors As the environment becomes more complex, events become less stable, and financial resources become less available, the level of uncertainty increases. These dimensions boil down to two essential ways the environment influences organizations: (1) the need for information about changes in the environment (2) the need for resources from the environment. The environmental conditions of complexity and dynamism create a greater need to gather information and to respond to changes based on that information. 3. What issues are of concern in the Sociocultural Sector of an organization? Working conditions One significant element in the sociocultural sector is pressure from advocacy groups to improve working conditions for employees hired by contractors for large companies such as Walmart, Apple, and Amazon. Walmart recently suspended one of its seafood suppliers in the South after immigrant workers said they had been forced to work more than 80 hours a week, threatened with beatings, and told their families in Mexico would be hurt if they complained to government agencies. The National Guestworker Alliance released a list of 644 federal citations at 12 Walmart food suppliers. “We work with more than 60,000 suppliers in the United States and we have rigorous standards in place that our suppliers are required to follow,” said Lorenzo Lopez, a Walmart spokesman, adding that Walmart is conducting its own investigation and will terminate its relationship with any suppliers that violate its ethical standards. 4. What issues are of concern in the International Sector of an organization? The international sector is also a part of the task environment because of globalization and intense competition. In August 2013, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) gave approval for four Chinese poultry processors to begin shipping cooked poultry products to the United States, which increased competition for U.S. processing plants. Not long after that decision, China’s Shuanghui International Holding Ltd. began a $4.7 billion takeover of the U.S.-based pork processor Smithfield Foods Inc. to acquire new technology and improve safety practices. Can directly affect many organizations, and it has become extremely important in the last few years. The auto industry, for example, has experienced profound shifts as China recently emerged as the world’s largest auto market. In response, car makers are moving international headquarters into China and designing features that appeal to the Chinese market, including bigger, limousine-like back seats, advanced entertainment systems, and light-colored interiors. These trends, inspired by the Chinese market, are reflected in models sold around the world. 5. What is meant by an Organization’s Domain? An organization’s domain is the chosen environmental field of action. It is the territory an organization stakes out for itself with respect to products, services, and markets served. Domain defines the organization’s niche and defines those external sectors with which the organization will interact to accomplish its goals. See chapter 4 slide 3 6. What is meant by Structural Deficiency? As a general rule, when organization structure is out of alignment with organization needs, one or more of the following symptoms of structural deficiency appear. symptoms of structural deficiency signs that the organization structure is out of alignment, including absence of collaboration among units, delayed or poor quality decision making, failure to respond innovatively to environmental changes, a decline in employee performance, and the failure to meet goals. 7. Reengineering Reengineering, or business process reengineering, basically means the redesign of a vertical organization along its horizontal workflows and processes. 8. Functional Grouping Functional grouping places together employees who perform similar functions or work processes or who bring similar knowledge and skills to bear. For example, all marketing people work together under the same supervisor, as do all manufacturing employees, all human resources people, and all engineers. For an Internet company, all the people associated with maintaining the website might be grouped together in one department. In a scientific research firm, all chemists may be grouped in a department different from biologists because they represent different disciplines. 9. Relational Coordination Relational coordination refers to frequent, timely, problem-solving communication carried out through relationships of shared goals, shared knowledge, and mutual respect. Relational coordination isn’t a device or mechanism like the other elements listed in Exhibit 3.6, but rather is part of the very fabric and culture of the organization. In an organization with a high level of relational coordination, people share information freely across departmental boundaries, and people interact on a continuous basis to share knowledge and solve problems. 10. Virtual Team A team made up of organizationally or geographically dispersed members who are linked primarily through advanced information and communications technologies. A virtual team is one that is made up of organizationally or geographically dispersed members who are linked primarily through advanced information and communications technologies. Members frequently use the Internet and collaboration software to work together rather than meet face to face. 11. Liaison Role Liaison role is a role in which a person is located in one department but has the responsibility for communicating and achieving coordination with another department. A higher level of horizontal linkage is direct contact between managers or employees affected by a problem. One way to promote direct contact is to create a special liaison role. 12. Centralization Centralization refers to the level of hierarchy with authority to make decisions. In centralized organizations, decisions tend to be made at the top. In decentralized organizations, similar decisions would be made at a lower level. Centralization means that decision authority is located near the top of the organization. 13. Miles and Snow’s Strategy The Miles and Snow typology is based on the idea that managers seek to formulate strategies that will be congruent with the external environment. Organizations strive for a fit among internal organization characteristics, strategy, and the external environment. The four strategies that can be developed are the prospector, the defender, the analyzer, and the reactor. The prospector strategy is to innovate, take risks, seek out new opportunities, and grow. This strategy is suited to a dynamic, growing environment, where creativity is more important than efficiency. Nike The defender strategy is almost the opposite of the prospector. Rather than taking risks and seeking out new opportunities, the defender strategy is concerned with stability or even retrenchment. This strategy seeks to hold on to current customers, but it neither innovates nor seeks to grow. The defender is concerned primarily with internal efficiency and control to produce reliable, high-quality products for steady customers. The analyzer tries to maintain a stable business while innovating on the periphery. It seems to lie midway between the prospector and the defender. Some products will be targeted at stable environments in which an efficiency strategy designed to keep current customers is used. Others will be targeted at new, more dynamic environments, where growth is possible. The analyzer attempts to balance efficient production for current product or service lines with the creative development of new product lines. The reactor strategy is not really a strategy at all. Rather, reactors respond to environmental threats and opportunities in an ad hoc fashion. With a reactor strategy, top management has not defined a long-range plan or given the organization an explicit mission or goal, so the organization takes whatever actions seem to meet immediate needs. 14. Porter’s