BA 304 - CHAPTER 2

What is an organization

these are groups of people working together for a common purpose. They are created to produce goods and/or services for customers using their resources

what is a product

a good or service or both

what is an organization’s internal environment

includes the internal factors that affect its performance from within its boundaries. This is because it is within the organizations control

what are the 5 internal factors

Mission, management and culture, resources, structure and systems process

what is a mission

is its purpose or reason for being. it bridges the firm’s identity and actions by specifying why the organization should exist and how it should act. It answers these types of questions: “What do we do?” “What business are we in?”

who are stakeholders?

people whose interests are affected by organizational behaviour. they help provide firms resources and they make and buy the product.

what is an organztion’s’s culture?

consists of the values, beliefs, and assumptions about appropriate behavior the members of an organization share and has to be based on this mission

What are organizations resources

include human, financial, physical, and informational. Human resources (capital) is the most important, because people develop and achieve the organization’s mission and objectives through the other three resources.

what is structure?

refers to the way in which an organization groups its resources to accomplish its mission

what is a systems process

is the technology used to transform inputs into outputs to make and deliver products.

What are 4 components of a systems process

Inputs, Outputs, Transformation, feeback

what are Inputs in a system’s process

Inputs are an organization’s resources that are transformed into products or services

what is transformation in a systems process

Transformation is the conversion of inputs into outputs.

what are outputs in a systems process

Outputs are the products offered to customers.

what is feedback

Feedback provides a means of control to ensure the inputs and transformation process are producing the desired results.

how do customers determine quality

by comparing a product’s actual functioning to their requirements to determine value.

what is customer value

the perceived benefit of a product, used by customers to determine whether to buy the product.

what is total quality management TQM

the process involving everyone in an organization focusing on the customer to continually improve product value. The two primary principles of TQM are (1) focusing on delivering customer value and (2) continually improving the products and its processes.

What does Kaizen mean

The Japanese term for continuous improvement

what is an organization’s external environment

includes the factors outside its boundaries that affect its performance.

what is the task environment

they generally have a greater influence over how the firm conducts business than the general environment.

types of task environment factors

customers, competition, suppliers, labor force, shareholders

why are customers important in a task environment

Business success is based on customer relationships and providing the products customers want. Without giving customers value, you don’t have a business.

why is competition important in a task environment

Organizations must compete for customers. When a competitor changes prices, firms tend to match prices to keep customers.When competitors offer improved or better products, firms tend to do likewise

why are suppliers important in a task environment

Organizations buy resources from suppliers. Therefore, a firm’s performance is affected by suppliers.

why is labour force important in a task environment

The employees of an organization have a direct effect on its performance.

why are shareholders important in task environment

The owners of a corporation, known as shareholders, influence management. They vote for the directors of the corporation, who hire and fire top management

what are general environment factors

The general environmental factors can influence the business immediately or over the short or long term.

why is society important in general environment factors

Individuals and activist groups have formed to pressure businesses for changes they determine what are acceptable business practices e.g pressure groups, activists

why is technology important in general task environments

Technology is used to transform inputs into output products and has changed the speed and the manner in which organizations conduct business.

why is the economy important in general task environments

No organization has control over economic growth, inflation, interest rates, foreign exchange rates, and so on, but they clearly affect business operations. The U.S. Federal Reserve makes changes to help keep the economy growing.

why is the government important in general task environments

International, national, state, and local governments all set laws and regulations that influence corporate behavior—what they can and cannot do.

What is a crisis

A crisis is an unexpected event from the external or internal environment that has a major impact on the firm.

what is environmental scanning

searching the environment for important events or issues that might affect the firm.

what is a global business

the buying a selling of products among different countries, Global firms are conducting business internationally but adapting their products to local customs

what is a global village

refers to companies conducting business worldwide without boundaries

what is a domestic business

businesses in only one country

What is an international company

based primarily in one country but transacts business in other countries.

what is a multinational corporation MNC?

has ownership in operations in two or more countries. The MNC can have partial or full ownership of the operations—a separate independent business facility (factories, warehouses, or offices) in another country.

what is a foreign company/subsidiary

is a company owned and controlled by another company, making up a combined company, called the holding company or parent company.

what is a transnational company?

There is also a transnational company, a type of MNC that eliminates artificial geographical barriers without having a real single national headquarters.

what is ethnocentrism

is regarding one’s own ethnic group or culture as superior in comparison to others.

what is the NIH syndrome

not-invented-here (NIH) syndrome, described as a negative attitude toward knowledge/technology/products from other external sources.

why is organizational culture important?

because it should be how the firm achieves its mission by living its values and beliefs on a daily basis

what is organizational culture?

Organizational culture is about a shared set of beliefs and practices defining appropriate relationships and activities.

what are the 3 levels of culture

behavior, values and beliefs, and assumptions.

what is behaviour in culture

Behavior includes the observable things people do and say or the actions employees take. etc Heroes, stories, slogans, symbols, rituals, and ceremonies

what are values and beliefs in culture

Values represent the way people believe they ought to behave. Values and beliefs guide decision making and shape the behavior that is resulted

What are Assumptions in culture

They serve as an “automatic pilot” to guide behavior. Assumptions are often the most stable and enduring part of culture and are difficult to change

Difference between a strong and weak culture at work

In a strong culture, the group peer pressures nonconformists to behave as expected. Weak cultures tend to lead to mixed messages of how to behave at work.

Benefits of having a strong culture

easier communication and cooperation that fosters team collaboration and relationships among colleagues.

disadvanatge of a strong culture

the threat of becoming stagnant and not changing when you should. Also, wanting to be part of the culture to be accepted, people often go along with the group and can lead to unhealthy unethical behavior that is self-reinforcing.

who are symbolic leaders?

articulate a vision for an organization and reinforce the culture through slogans, symbols, and ceremonies.

what is a learning organization?

has a culture that values sharing knowledge so as to adapt to the changing environment and continuously improve.

what are ethics

are the standards of right and wrong that influence behavior. Right behavior is considered ethical, and wrong behavior is considered unethical.

what is a unitarian view on ethics

Utilitarian view states that ethical decisions should be based on creating greater good for society (provide the greater good for the greatest number based on consequences/outcomes of actions)

what are rights view on ethics

Rights view states that ethical decisions should respect and protect individual privileges (right to privacy, free speech).

what are justice view on ethical descisions

Justice view states that ethical decisions should be made to treat everyone fairly and impartially e.g no discrimination

what is universalism view on ethics

there is absolute truth or right and wrong behavior, such as honesty. It is often easy to find the truth, but it is hard to face it, and even harder to follow it

what are relativism views on ethics

there is no absolute truth or right or wrong—which contradicts itself by using an absolute.