WGU C483 - Principles of Management
Accommodation
A style of dealing with conflict involving cooperation on behalf of the other party but not being
assertive about one's own interests
Accountability
The expectation that employees will perform a job, take corrective action when necessary, and report
upward on the status and quality of their performance
Accounting audits
Procedures used to verify accounting reports and statements
Acquisition
One firm buying another
Activity-based costing (ABC)
A method of cost accounting designed to identify streams of activity and then to allocate costs across
particular business processes according to the amount of time employees devote to particular
activities
Adapters
Companies that take the current industry structure and its evolution as givens, and choose where to
compete
Adverse impact
When a seemingly neutral employment practice has a disproportionately negative effect on a
protected group
Advertising support model
Charging fees to advertise on a site
Affective conflict
Emotional disagreement directed toward other people
Affiliate model
Charging fees to direct site visitors to other companies' sites
Affirmative action
Special efforts to recruit and hire qualified members of groups that have been discriminated against in
the past
After-action review
A frank and open-minded discussion of four basic questions aimed at continuous improvement
,Alderfer's ERG theory
A human needs theory postulating that people have three basic sets of needs that can operate
simultaneously (Existence, Relatedness and Growth)
Arbitration
The use of a neutral third party to resolve a labor dispute
Assessment center
A managerial performance test in which candidates participate in a variety of exercises and situations
Assets
The values of the various items the corporation owns
Authentic leadership
A style in which the leader is true to himself or herself while leading
Authority
The legitimate right to make decisions and to tell other people what to do
Autocratic leadership
A form of leadership in which the leader makes decisions on his or her own and then announces those
decisions to the group
Autonomous work groups
Groups that control decisions about and execution of a complete range of tasks
Avoidance
A reaction to conflict that involves ignoring the problem by doing nothing at all or deemphasizing the
disagreement
Balanced scorecard
Control system combining four sets of performance measures: financial, customer, business process,
and learning and growth
Balance sheet
A report that shows the financial picture of a company at a given time and itemizes assets, liabilities,
and stockholders' equity
Barriers to entry
Conditions that prevent new companies from entering an industry
Behavioral approach
A leadership perspective that attempts to identify what good leaders do—that is, what behaviors they
exhibit
,Benchmarking
The process of comparing an organization's practices and technologies with those of other companies
Bootlegging
Informal work on projects, other than those officially assigned, of employees' own choosing and
initiative
Boundaryless organization
Organization in which there are no barriers to information flow
Boundary-spanning
Interacting with people in other groups, thus creating linkages between groups
Bounded rationality
A less-than-perfect form of rationality in which decision makers cannot be perfectly rational because
decisions are complex and complete information is unavailable or cannot be fully processed
Brainstorming
A process in which group members generate as many ideas about a problem as they can; criticism is
withheld until all ideas have been proposed
Broker
A person who assembles and coordinates participants in a network
Budgeting
The process of investigating what is being done and comparing the results with the corresponding
budget data to verify accomplishments or remedy differences; also called budgetary controlling
Buffering
Creating supplies of excess resources in case of unpredictable needs
Bureaucratic control
The use of rules, regulations, and authority to guide performance
Business accelerators
Organization that provides support and advice to help young businesses grow
Business ethics
The moral principles and standards that guide behavior in the world of business
Business incubators
Protected environments for new, small businesses
, Business plan
A formal planning step that focuses on the entire venture and describes all the elements involved in
starting it
Business strategy
The major actions by which a business competes in a particular industry or market
Cafeteria benefit program
An employee benefit program in which employees choose from a menu of options to create a benefit
package tailored to their needs
Carbon footprint
The output of carbon dioxide and other greenhouses gases
Caux Principles
Ethical principles established by international executives based in Caux, Switzerland, in collaboration
with business leaders from Japan, Europe, and the United States
Centralized organization
An organization in which high-level executives make most decisions and pass them down to lower
levels for implementation
Certainty
The state that exists when decision makers have accurate and comprehensive information
Charismatic leader
A person who is dominant, self-confident, convinced of the moral righteousness of his or her beliefs,
and able to arouse a sense of excitement and adventure in followers
Chief information officer (CIO)
Executive in charge of information technology strategy and development
Clan control
Control based on the norms, values, shared goals, and trust among group members
Coaching
Dialogue with a goal of helping another be more effective and achieve his or her full potential on the
job
Coalitional model
Model of organizational decision making in which groups with differing preferences use power and
negotiation to influence decisions
Cognitive conflict
Issue-based differences in perspectives or judgments
Accommodation
A style of dealing with conflict involving cooperation on behalf of the other party but not being
assertive about one's own interests
Accountability
The expectation that employees will perform a job, take corrective action when necessary, and report
upward on the status and quality of their performance
Accounting audits
Procedures used to verify accounting reports and statements
Acquisition
One firm buying another
Activity-based costing (ABC)
A method of cost accounting designed to identify streams of activity and then to allocate costs across
particular business processes according to the amount of time employees devote to particular
activities
Adapters
Companies that take the current industry structure and its evolution as givens, and choose where to
compete
Adverse impact
When a seemingly neutral employment practice has a disproportionately negative effect on a
protected group
Advertising support model
Charging fees to advertise on a site
Affective conflict
Emotional disagreement directed toward other people
Affiliate model
Charging fees to direct site visitors to other companies' sites
Affirmative action
Special efforts to recruit and hire qualified members of groups that have been discriminated against in
the past
After-action review
A frank and open-minded discussion of four basic questions aimed at continuous improvement
,Alderfer's ERG theory
A human needs theory postulating that people have three basic sets of needs that can operate
simultaneously (Existence, Relatedness and Growth)
Arbitration
The use of a neutral third party to resolve a labor dispute
Assessment center
A managerial performance test in which candidates participate in a variety of exercises and situations
Assets
The values of the various items the corporation owns
Authentic leadership
A style in which the leader is true to himself or herself while leading
Authority
The legitimate right to make decisions and to tell other people what to do
Autocratic leadership
A form of leadership in which the leader makes decisions on his or her own and then announces those
decisions to the group
Autonomous work groups
Groups that control decisions about and execution of a complete range of tasks
Avoidance
A reaction to conflict that involves ignoring the problem by doing nothing at all or deemphasizing the
disagreement
Balanced scorecard
Control system combining four sets of performance measures: financial, customer, business process,
and learning and growth
Balance sheet
A report that shows the financial picture of a company at a given time and itemizes assets, liabilities,
and stockholders' equity
Barriers to entry
Conditions that prevent new companies from entering an industry
Behavioral approach
A leadership perspective that attempts to identify what good leaders do—that is, what behaviors they
exhibit
,Benchmarking
The process of comparing an organization's practices and technologies with those of other companies
Bootlegging
Informal work on projects, other than those officially assigned, of employees' own choosing and
initiative
Boundaryless organization
Organization in which there are no barriers to information flow
Boundary-spanning
Interacting with people in other groups, thus creating linkages between groups
Bounded rationality
A less-than-perfect form of rationality in which decision makers cannot be perfectly rational because
decisions are complex and complete information is unavailable or cannot be fully processed
Brainstorming
A process in which group members generate as many ideas about a problem as they can; criticism is
withheld until all ideas have been proposed
Broker
A person who assembles and coordinates participants in a network
Budgeting
The process of investigating what is being done and comparing the results with the corresponding
budget data to verify accomplishments or remedy differences; also called budgetary controlling
Buffering
Creating supplies of excess resources in case of unpredictable needs
Bureaucratic control
The use of rules, regulations, and authority to guide performance
Business accelerators
Organization that provides support and advice to help young businesses grow
Business ethics
The moral principles and standards that guide behavior in the world of business
Business incubators
Protected environments for new, small businesses
, Business plan
A formal planning step that focuses on the entire venture and describes all the elements involved in
starting it
Business strategy
The major actions by which a business competes in a particular industry or market
Cafeteria benefit program
An employee benefit program in which employees choose from a menu of options to create a benefit
package tailored to their needs
Carbon footprint
The output of carbon dioxide and other greenhouses gases
Caux Principles
Ethical principles established by international executives based in Caux, Switzerland, in collaboration
with business leaders from Japan, Europe, and the United States
Centralized organization
An organization in which high-level executives make most decisions and pass them down to lower
levels for implementation
Certainty
The state that exists when decision makers have accurate and comprehensive information
Charismatic leader
A person who is dominant, self-confident, convinced of the moral righteousness of his or her beliefs,
and able to arouse a sense of excitement and adventure in followers
Chief information officer (CIO)
Executive in charge of information technology strategy and development
Clan control
Control based on the norms, values, shared goals, and trust among group members
Coaching
Dialogue with a goal of helping another be more effective and achieve his or her full potential on the
job
Coalitional model
Model of organizational decision making in which groups with differing preferences use power and
negotiation to influence decisions
Cognitive conflict
Issue-based differences in perspectives or judgments
