Midterm Flashcards

Question

Max Weber and his six elements of a bureaucracy

Answer 1

Clearly defined hierarchy, division of labor, centralization of decision-making, bureaucracy as a closed system (e.g. doctor/patient appt.), importance of rational rules, and basis for authority

Answer 2

l. There is one best way to do every job. Taylor would analyze jobs in great detail through time and motion studies. e.g. Where secretaries should keep their supplies so they were in easy reach, how coal miners should all use a standard size shovel and lift about the same load of coal in each shovel-ful. He would then teach the "one best way" to all employees. He taught workers at Bethlehem Steel how to move more efficiently and how to shovel more coal/day---4 times as much coal per/day. 2. Proper selection of workers for the job – figure out what skills a worker had and place him/her in the job best suited to their talents. 3. Train workers how to do their jobs efficiently. 4. Maintain a strict division of labor between managers and workers. Managers are better at mental planning and organizing while workers are best suited for physical labor and following orders. (Taylor became known as the "enemy of the working man" because his philosophy was be highly productive or get fired)

Answer 3

In one study, MBAs were given a policy statement about why a particular wine company was committed to making the finest wine. The MBAs were then divided into 3 groups and each group was given a different type of supplemental information. One group received a story about the founder of the company and his father, who was a wine maker from Europe. The story ended with the statement, "As Joe tasted his first vintage wine, he thought, 'my father would have been proud of this wine.'" A second group received a table of statistics and no story. The third group received both the story and the statistics. All of the data presented was positive and supported the policy statement. After reading the materials, the MBAs were asked whether they believed the company was committed to its policy of producing quality wine and the advertising that went with it. Of the three groups, the people who received ONLY the story were more likely to predict that the company would follow its policy of quality and that their advertising was truthful. Even with educated folks like MBAs as subjects, the story was more persuasive than statistics. When describing this research during a seminar, one person spoke up and said, "That wouldn't be true if the subjects had been CPAs." The researcher disagreed. Even finance people like a good story and remember it as well as anyone.

Answer 4

The difference between human relations and human resources approaches is the how they SEE or VIEW the employees. The human relations manager may ask for input to satisfy employee needs for belonging and esteem. The resources manager asks for input because she or he REALLY SEES employees as ASSETS, as folks with ideas that can be used to improve organizational functioning. While the human relations manager might create a suggestion box, that is a superficial change. The human resources manager illustrates a fundamental change in the assumptions about workers and the ideas they can contribute. It is a much deeper change.

Answer 5

a. Impoverished Manager – This person has a low concern for both people and production and is not a very effective manager. This person provides very little coordination. b. Country Club Manager – This person shows high concern for people and low concern for production. The manager will do anything to make his/her people happy. This has also been called the "Happiness for Lunch Bunch" approach. c. Authority-Compliance – This manager is the exact opposite of the Country Club Manager. She or he shows high concern for production and low concern for people. This manager will tend to be very authoritarian and control-oriented, giving orders and expecting them to be obeyed. She or he doesn't show much concern for people's feelings. The first and only priority is to get the job done and be productive. d. The Middle-of-the-Road Manager – This manager shows a moderate concern for people and production and tries to balance both needs. The key word is "compromise." This may be the position taken by the average manager, but most organizations could do better. e. The Team Manager – This manager is hailed as the best manager of all. She or he shows a high concern for both people and production. This manager tries to integrate both goals and demonstrate high production by having people who are highly committed and satisfied employees.

Answer 6

Likert describes four different approaches to management. He tries to describe the type of communication behaviors that would be seen in each approach. In System I, we see an authoritative approach that represents the worst features of the classical approach. Communication is downward, employees are motivated by fear, and decision-making is controlled at the top. System II is a benevolent dictator, a milder version of System I. System III is a consultative approach, where the managers do ask employees for input and take their views into consideration, but decisions are still made at the top. System IV is the participative approach, where all members are involved, and control and decision-making is exercised at all levels of the organization. The contributions of all employees are valued and employees are rewarded. The major idea you should remember is the difference between System I and System IV. (System I is most authoritarian and System IV is most participatory)

Answer 7

l. Content – task, social, and innovation (asking employees to offer new ideas about how the job can be done better, new products, etc. 2. Direction of Flow – communication flows in all directions and is team based. 3. Channel – All channels can be used, both written and face-to-face. 4. Style – Both formal and informal styles are used, with an emphasis on informal communication where more employees will feel comfortable participating.

Answer 8

l. hierarchically ordered – a system is composed not of random elements but of smaller subsystems and the system as a whole is part of a supersystem. Look at UIS – it is made up of many different departments or subsystems– academic departments, marketing, food service,the library, financial aid, the registrar's office, etc. But UIS is also part of a supersystem. It is one of three campuses of the U. of Illinois; it is part of higher education in the state of Illinois, it is part of the educational system of the U.S. 2. interdependent – the components of a system are interdependent; they rely on each other to function effectively. A change in one component affects or creates a change in another component of the system. E.g. At UIS, if the admissions office recruits fewer students than last semester, it affects all the other components of the system. Fewer students means less tuition money, so budget cuts are needed. Fewer students means that we can fill fewer classes and some part-time instructors will have their sections and classes cancelled. Even the admissions office may have a tighter budget, which means they can make fewer recruiting trips to community colleges and thus our enrollment will continue to suffer, creating a downward spiral. Thus, no part of the system can function effectively without assistance from other system parts. E.g. If the faculty tightened their grading scale and more students were placed on probation and suspension, the community may have an image that UIS is a really tough school, which may make it harder for admissions to recruit students to apply to UIS. (or easier to recruit if it is perceived as a prestigious university). 3. permeable – a system is open to its environment, having thin or permeable boundaries that allow information and materials to flow in and out. All social systems have to be open to the environment to survive, but the degree of openness may vary from system to system. Some systems may be relatively closed while others may be wide open. UIS as a system has to be open to allow students to move in and out of the school, as well as being open to ideas from donors, alumni, accrediting agencies, and the state legislature. 4. Equifinality- means that a system can reach the same final state or goal from different starting points and by using a variety of different paths or means. All paths are equally valid. Think of a first grade teacher whose goal is to have all of her students reading at a first-grade level by the end of the school year. Each of the students may have a different starting point. Some students already know how to read while others still don't know all the letters of the alphabet; others may be immigrants who don't speak or understand English very well. She may use different teaching tools and exercises for different groups of students; thus she is using a different means or path. If the teacher is lucky and diligent, she may take the students from different starting points, using different paths or exercises and help them all attain the goal of reading at the first-grade level by the end of the year. That is equifinality. There are different but equally valid ways of reaching a final state or goal.

Answer 9

a. Isolate- this is a person who works virtually alone and few, if any, ties to other groups or employees. She or he only talks to others when it is a necessary part of the job. They have little contact either because they desire little contact or because others seek to avoid them. b. Group member – most employees are group members. They are a member of their immediate department or work group and they have ties or personal networks to others in the organization. c. Bridge – a bridge is a person who belongs to at least two groups and connects each group to the other. E.g. The chair or manager of a department is a member of that department, plus he or she is also a member of a group of chairs or managers who meet with their boss, the Dean or regional manager. Thus acting as a bridge, the chair can convey concerns of the department to the chair or managers' meeting and can convey information received at that meeting back to the department. The chair or manager may be a voting member of both groups. d. Liaison – a liaison is a person who connects two groups without belonging to either one. A principal may be a liaison between the school board and the faculty. The principal is not a member of either group, but can convey information from board meetings back to the faculty and can convey faculty concerns to the board. The principal may not be a voting member of either group, but serves as a liaison to link the two groups and give counsel to both.

Answer 10

Deal and Kennedy wrote the book Corporate Cultures in 1982 and they argue that an organization needs a "strong culture" if it is to succeed. They identify 4 key components of a strong culture. 1. Values – beliefs and visions that members hold for an organization. e.g. freedom, innovation 2. Heroes -- individuals who exemplify an organization's values. The heroes are known through the stories that are told about them. 3. Rites and rituals – ceremonies through which an organization celebrates its values. e.g. company picnic or Christmas party, rewards tops salesperson with a trip to Hawaii. 4. Cultural network – communication system through which cultural values are instituted and reinforced. They can both formal and informal.

Answer 11

The cultural approach or metaphor comes from anthropology, where scholars study the cultures of nations and tribes. When we think of the U.S. culture, we think of values such as freedom, independence and hard work. We also think of symbols such as the flag, the bald eagle, baseball and apple pie. We might think of rites and rituals such as Fourth of July picnics and Super Bowl parties. In the cultural approach, we are looking for the qualities that make similar organizations different. What makes McDonald's different from Burger King or IBM different from Apple? Each organization has its own way of doing things and talking about things---that is all part of organizational culture.

Answer 12

One approach sees culture as something an organization HAS. Having the right kind of culture can make or break you. The second approach sees culture as something an organization IS. Culture is the meanings and values that develop between people.

Answer 13

Schein defines organizational culture as a pattern of basic assumptions developed by a group to help it cope with its problems and changes and these assumptions are taught to new members as the correct way to think and act in the world. Schein's model contains three different levels as seen on p. 90. Level 1: Artifacts and Creations – this is the most visible level of the physical and social environment. It includes furniture, architecture, dress, and written documents. It can include communication patterns such as terms of address and decision-making styles. If a department uses formal terms of address, what does it mean? Is it a university norm? Do members dislike each other and use formality to create distance? You must observe carefully before drawing conclusions. Level 2: Values – individual and group values express what "ought" to happen. The founder or CEO may exert a strong influence on the values of employees. Also individuals may say they hold a particular value, but they don't act according to that value. If the stated or espoused values do not match behaviors, then maybe the values are just goals for the future. Level 3: Basic Assumptions – these are the core assumptions that individuals hold about the world and how it works. They may be such an integral part of the culture that they have become invisible or taken for granted. Basic assumptions about the world can be seen in the chart on p 90. The chart on p.93 shows the onion model of culture, that as you peel back layers of the onion, you get to the core assumptions or the heart of the culture.

Answer 14

no single formula, treats culture as a "thing" that the organization "has"

Answer 15

1. Pervasiveness of Power In the radical-critical view, power is controlled by the folks at the top of hierarchy. Power is the most important concept in this approach. The theorist tries to learn how economic and social power is produced and maintained. These theorists focus on more hidden or covert sources of power. See the chart on p.103 and note the wide range of power sources. a. Control of Modes and Means of Production In a capitalist economy, the more workers who are looking for a job, the lower the wages the employer has to pay to get workers. The means of production refers to how products are made and services delivered. As we have assembly line jobs or computer entry jobs, they become boring and monotonous and workers can easily be replaced (no longer need skilled workers). Management can also control "customer service" lines by monitoring calls for quality-control purposes. b. Control of Organizational Discourse Since reality is socially constructed, the stories we tell often make sense of the organization in a way that supports the dominant power structure in the organization. Stories may stress the importance of following rules or making decisions which positively affect the bottom line or profit. That supports the dominant power structure. Language is also important. When "repetitive strain injuries" like carpal tunnel are now called "upper extremity musculoskeletal disorder," it is a more positive term for management because it doesn't sound like the workplace setting caused the problem. Read the "Spotlight on Scholarship" about the use of power on the show Designing Women. 2. Ideology Ideology consists of the taken-for-granted assumptions about reality that influence our perceptions of reality (Deetz & Kersten, 1983). It structures our thoughts and interpretations of reality. It tells us what is good and what is possible. Ideology involves assumptions that are rarely examined or questioned. e.g. God exists. The U.S. is the greatest country on earth. We have to have a hierarchy of roles at work. We should generally do what the boss tells us to do. And by shaping our view of the world, ideology influences our behaviors and justifies our actions. 3. Hegemony Hegemony is the process in which a dominant group leads another group to accept their lower status as the norm. We accept the necessity of time clocks, rules, and having managers monitor us. Because we don't question these things, we are letting ourselves be controlled by upper management. We accept it and actively participate in the system they have created. 4. Emancipation Emancipation is the liberation of people from unnecessarily restrictive traditions, assumptions or power relations. When people start to realize how they are being exploited by management, they may change the stories so the stories don't support management's power. They can start telling stories of resentment and start rebelling against the managerial practices and rules they think are unfair. They can resist, protest, shift the balance of power and help to liberate themselves. 5. Resistance Resistance is how workers can exert controls on the exercise of power by management. It can be seen in actions such as unionization, strikes and boycotts. It can also be seen in actions taken by individuals.

Answer 16

For years we have used simple control (giving orders), technological control (setting up assembly lines or computer programs), and bureaucratic control (rational-legal rules in the handbook), to tell workers what to do. Cheney introduces the notion of Concertive control – which is team-based where workers collaborate to create rules and norms. The locus of control shifts from management to workers who create norms that govern their behavior. Concertive control works best when the employees have identification. This means the employee has a sense of oneness or belonging, a membership in the organization. If they identify with the company, they will more often choose to promote the best interests of the company. In a concertive control group, employees will discipline other members of the group for failing to be productive. If a group member deviates from accepted behaviors, the group will criticize, fail to speak to him, or put direct pressure on him to conform. This discipline is often more powerful and harder to resist than discipline coming from a boss. Thus in the theory of concertive control, power is embedded in a system of identification and discipline with the informal rules set by the team. e.g. Grameen Bank Cooperative in Bangladesh.

Answer 17

how one can view the same event, sexual harassment, from a variety of different standpoints or perspectives. It is how you FRAME the event, that determines how you will react or what actions you might take. If you frame the event as just a misunderstanding or a joke, or that's the way things are, you are not likely to take much action. These framing techniques simply reinforce or normalize the current situation. But if you challenge the sexual harassment and view it as a serious problem, it is more likely that things will change. In a study on harassment, Clair notes that women should always "keep a written record," of harassing activities because it lends more credibility should the case come to court. If it is just "he said, she said," then her account may be dismissed or marginalized.

Answer 18

Critical Approaches are based in the work of Karl Marx – who sees an inherent imbalance between workers and owners. He believes that eventually the workers will revolt. The fundamental imbalance of power will lead to alienation and oppression of the workers; as theorists uncover and display these imbalances, liberation and change is possible. The workers will take action to change things.

Answer 19

l. In the classical, human relations and human resources approach, the role of the theorist is to find effective techniques for organizing the company. 2. In the systems and cultural approach, the role of the theorist is to understand or explain organizational communication processes. 3. In the critical approach, the theorist takes a radical role by considering organizations as places of domination. They see theory as a force that can liberate individuals from dominating organizational forces and they see the theorist as someone who takes an active role in creating organizational change.

Answer 20

Division of labor, specialization of labor, centralization of command, replicability, and predictability, not much communication between managers/workers, formal communication style etc.

Midterm Flashcards

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