Individual Behavior and Processes in Organizations
lordksa
exam_1_-_fall_2015.docxExam 1 – 40 Points
ORGL/PSYC/SOC 472-1M Fall 2015
Exam Guidelines: This is a take-home exam. It was designed with the intent of helping you understand and apply the concepts studied as opposed to rote memorization. As such, you are encouraged to use the course text, class notes, and other relevant materials to construct your responses. Below I have captured some additional things to keep in mind as you complete the exam.
· You have one week to complete the exam. All responses must be received by 11:59pm Wednesday November 11. My preference is that you submit your exam via canvas. However, if you have any difficulties please e-mail me a copy of the exam before the final deadline. Late responses will be subject to point loss and potentially no points awarded.
· While you are encouraged to use your course materials to aid in completing the exam, each exam should be completed individually. Please remember the intent of the exam is to determine your understanding and integration of course materials. In order to do this you must present your own work.
· Ensure that in completing your responses you do not plagiarize. If you use any direct quotes from the text please note the authors and page number. The majority of your responses should be your own thoughts in your own words. You will be graded on your ability to integrate content and express your thoughts.
· There is no minimum or maximum length of response required. You should instead focus on answering all aspects of the questions clearly.
· Responses should be submitted as a word document. There is no specific format requirement (no need for APA, MLA, etc.). However, you should respond in full sentences and review your responses for clarity.
· Please use this document as the template for your responses. Begin each response following the question so that it is clear to which question you are responding.
· This exam will assess content we have covered as of November 4th. This includes: Chapter 1, Appendix A, Chapter 14, Chapter 15, Chapter 2, Chapter 3.
1.) You have been brought in to act as a consultant for ABC Paper Co. The board members of this organization are having some disagreement regarding whether the company is as effective as they can be. Some board members argue that profits should be the primary consideration while others strongly believe that employee satisfaction and turnover rates should be the primary measure. Using what you know about the various methods for evaluating organizational effectiveness (Chap. 1) provide your recommendations as to how the organization should evaluate their effectiveness. Are there other outcomes (beyond profits and employee satisfaction/turnover) the board members should be concerned with when evaluating effectiveness? What cautions would you offer them about only looking at profits, or employee satisfaction and turnover? (9 points)
2.) You are a manager in your current workplace and you have noticed productivity and attendance issues and you believe your employees are not motivated to perform well. Discuss what you would information you would consider to determine whether the issue is truly motivation and how you would pinpoint the cause of the potential motivation issue. What influences motivation in organizations? (Chap. 2) If you were to make a change how would you go about ensuring the change worked? (Appendix A). (8 points)
3.) Acme Corp. is planning to acquire Beta Corp., which operates in a different industry. Acme’s culture is entrepreneurial and fast-paced, whereas Beta employees value slow, deliberate decision making by consensus. Which merger strategy would you recommend in this situation? Why do you recommend this strategy? (Chap. 14) What other aspects of the organizations would you like to know more about before making this decision? And how would this additional information shape your reccomentation? (7 Points)
4.) Describe how a manger in an organization can use the process of self-fulfilling prophecy to enhance an individual employee’s performance. In contrast, what are some of the potential risks associated with the process of self-fulfilling prophecy? Your text also references other perceptual effects which can impact how decisions are made in an organization, choose one perceptual error (other than self-fulfilling prophecy) and give an example of this error as it may occur in an organization. (Chap. 3 – 8 points)
5.) Employee resistance is a symptom, not a problem, in the change process. (Chap. 15) What are some of the real problems that may underlie employee resistance. As a manager in an organization, what steps would you take to support your employees through the change process? Briefly discuss one of the 4 approaches to organizational change and how you might use this approach to support a change process in your organization. (8 points)
