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

Cohesiveness

The degree to which a group is attractive to its members, members are motivated to remain in the group, and members influence one another

Collaboration

A style of dealing with conflict emphasizing both cooperation and assertiveness to maximize both parties' satisfaction

Communication

The transmission of information and meaning from one party to another through the use of shared symbols

Comparable worth

Principle of equal pay for different jobs of equal worth

Competing

A style of dealing with conflict involving strong focus on one's own goals and little or no concern for the other person's goals

Competitive environment

The immediate environment surrounding a firm; includes suppliers, customers, rivals, and the like

Competitive intelligence

Information that helps managers determine how to compete better

Compliance-based ethics programs

Company mechanisms typically designed by corporate counsel to prevent, detect, and punish legal violations

Compromise

A style of dealing with conflict involving moderate attention to both parties' concerns

Computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM)

The use of computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing to sequence and optimize a number of production processes

Concentration

A strategy employed for an organization that operates a single business and competes in a single industry

Concentric diversification

A strategy used to add new businesses that produce related products or are involved in related markets and activities

Conceptual and decision skills

Skills pertaining to the ability to identify and resolve problems for the benefit of the organization and its members

Concurrent control

The control process used while plans are being carried out, including directing, monitoring, and fine-tuning activities as they are performed

Concurrent engineering

A design approach in which all relevant functions cooperate jointly and continually in a maximum effort aimed at producing high-quality products that meet customers' needs

Conflict

Opposing pressures from different sources, occurring on the level of psychological conflict or conflict between individuals or groups

Conglomerate diversification

A strategy used to add new businesses that produce unrelated products or are involved in unrelated markets and activities

Contingency plans

Alternative courses of action that can be implemented based on how the future unfolds

Continuous process

A process that is highly automated and has a continuous production flow

Control

Any process that directs the activities of individuals toward the achievement of organizational goals

Controlling

The management function of monitoring performance and making needed changes; takes five steps: 1) set standards, 2) measure performance, 3 compare performance to standards, 4) taking correction.

Cooperative strategies

Strategies used by two or more organizations working together to manage the external environment

Coordination

The procedures that link the various parts of an organization for the purpose of achieving the organization's overall mission

Coordination by mutual adjustment

Units interact with one another to make accommodations to achieve flexible coordination

Coordination by plan

Interdependent units are required to meet deadlines and objectives that contribute to a common goal

Core capability

A unique skill and/or knowledge an organization possesses that gives it an edge over competitors

Corporate governance

The role of a corporation's executive staff and board of directors in ensuring that the firm's activities meet the goals of the firm's stakeholders

Corporate social responsibility (CSR)

Obligation toward society assumed by business

Corporate strategy

The set of businesses, markets, or industries in which an organization competes and the distribution of resources among those entities

Cost competitiveness

Keeping costs low to achieve profits and be able to offer prices that are attractive to consumers

Culture shock

The disorientation and stress associated with being in a foreign environment

Current ratio

A liquidity ratio that indicates the extent to which short-term assets can decline and still be adequate to pay short-term liabilities

Customer relationship management (CRM)

A multifaceted process focusing on creating two-way exchanges with customers to foster intimate knowledge of their needs, wants, and buying patterns

Custom-made solutions

New, creative solutions designed specifically for the problem

Debt-equity ratio

A leverage ratio that indicates the company's ability to meet its long-term financial obligations

Decentralized organization

An organization in which lower-level managers make important decisions

Defenders

Companies that stay within a stable product domain as a strategic maneuver

Delegation

The assignment of new or additional responsibilities to a subordinate

Democratic leadership

A form of leadership in which the leader solicits input from subordinates

Demographics

Measures of various characteristics of the people who make up groups or other social units

Departmentalization

Subdividing an organization into smaller subunits

Development

Helping managers and professional employees learn the broad skills needed for their present and future jobs

Development project

A focused organizational effort to create a new product or process via technological advances

Devil's advocate

A person who has the job of criticizing ideas to ensure that their downsides are fully explored

Dialectic

A structured debate comparing two conflicting courses of action

Differentiation

An aspect of the organization's internal environment created by job specialization and the division of labor

Differentiation strategy

A strategy an organization uses to build competitive advantage by being unique in its industry or market segment along one or more dimensions

Discounting the future

A bias weighting short-term costs and benefits more heavily than longer-term costs and benefits

Diversification

A firm's investment in a different product, business, or geographic area