Organisational Behavior Case Study Questions

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EXAM QUESTIONS: SEMESTER 2, 2014

The exam questions relate to the case study “Genocide in Rwanda: leadership, ethics and organisational failure in post-colonial context.” By BS Long, J Grant, AJ Mills, E Rudderham- Gaudet, and A Warren.

Four (4) of the following questions will be selected for the exam paper. You will be required to answer three (3) of the questions in long essay style. Each question is worth 20% of the overall total of 60%.

Topic: The Organisation Society

3.1 Scientific management tends to privilege the status quo. Describe the main

features of scientific management. What role might these features have played in the

UN’s apparent failure to respond to the rapidly changing situation in Rwanda?

3.2 Weber feared the potential implications of bureaucratic organisation. To what

extent did bureaucratic regulations and structures affect the interplay between the UN

and General Roméo Dallaire, particularly the resistance he encountered from the very

beginning of the mission in Rwanda?

Topic: Understanding Self, Identity and Diversity

4.1 Discuss how the different perceptual categories among key stakeholders in the

case study influenced the genocide.

4.2 How did the issue of diversity impact the genocide (both events leading up to,

during, and after the killings)?

Topic: Motivation and Workplace Attitudes; The Emotional Organisation

5.1 Discuss to what extent the UN and Dallaire were empowered to resolve the

situation in Rwanda. Draw on the ‘dimensions of empowerment’ model in your

discussion.

5.2 Values congruence is an important factor when the resolution of conflict involves

diverse groups. Discuss the similarities and differences with their values for peace

held between key players who were pro-Tutsi and pro-Hutu.

Topic: Group Work and Teams

7.1 Identify the major stakeholders that influenced the actions of the peace-keeping

force in Rwanda. Discuss the factors that both increased and decreased group

cohesiveness among each stakeholder group. Explain what negative factors arose

from group cohesiveness that influenced the genocide.

7.2 Taking into consideration the ‘team dimensions’ model, discuss how each

dimension influenced the course of events leading to the genocide.

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Topic: Power, Control, Resistance in Organisations

8.1 Dallaire contended with many restraints in terms of his power and authority to

make decisions and advance the goals of the mission. Describe the sources of these

restraints and how they may have impacted on the failure of the mission to prevent

the genocide.

8.2 How did power shape the relationship and actions of the Hutus and Tutsis?

Topic: Organisations and Leadership

9.1 How would you characterize the differences in the leadership approaches that

General Dallaire and Booh Booh applied? What impact did each leadership approach

have on their troops?

9.2 What leadership approaches best explain the behaviour of key personnel in the

United Nations? Justify your answer.

Topic: The Future of Work

11.1 Organisations today are faced with the challenge of managing in a global

environment. The United Nations is an organisation that exists for global purposes.

The peace-keeping force for Rwanda, as an organisational subsidiary of the UN,

needed to function in the face of many challenges related to this global background.

What globalisation issues does the case of the Rwandan genocide raise?