Principals of Management Exam #4

Group

Two or more freely interacting individuals who share norms, share goals, and have a common identity; typically management-directed with individual accountability.

Team

A small group of people working together with a common purpose, performance goals, and mutual accountability; self-directed, producing results greater than the sum of its parts.

Individual accountability

When group members contribute independently and are each responsible for their own work (characteristic of groups).

Mutual accountability

When team members work together and share responsibility for collective results (characteristic of teams).

Formal group

A group assigned by an organization or its managers to accomplish specific goals (e.g., department, committee, task force).

Informal group

A group formed by people whose main purpose is friendship or a common interest (e.g., a coffee-break crew or company bowling team).

Work team

A team with a clear, shared purpose that is usually permanent and requires full member commitment (e.g., an audit team).

Cross-functional team

A team that includes members from different functional areas of the organization (e.g., finance, operations, sales).

Self-managed team

A group of workers given administrative oversight for their own task domain, such as scheduling and customer interaction.

Virtual team

A team whose members are in different geographic locations and use technology to work together toward common goals.

Tuckman's five-stage model

A model of team development: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning.

Forming

Stage 1 of team development: members get oriented and acquainted amid high uncertainty ('Why are we here?').

Storming

Stage 2 of team development: individual personalities, roles, and conflicts emerge ('Who's in charge?').

Norming

Stage 3 of team development: conflicts are resolved, relationships develop, and the group may become a team.

Performing

Stage 4 of team development: members concentrate on solving problems and completing the task.

Adjourning

Stage 5 of team development: members prepare for disbandment and transition out.

Group cohesiveness

The 'we feeling' that binds group members together; the main by-product of the norming stage.

Punctuated equilibrium

A pattern of group development in which periods of stable functioning are interrupted by an event that forces dramatic change, then a new equilibrium.

Collaboration

The act of sharing information and coordinating efforts to achieve a collective outcome.

Trust

Reciprocal faith in others' intentions and behaviors; built on credibility (trust begets trust).

Trust Triangle

Three drivers of trust: authenticity ('I see the real you'), logic ('your judgment makes sense'), and empathy ('you care about my success').

Team member interdependence

The extent to which team members rely on shared task inputs (resources, info, goals) and interactions to complete the work.

Team composition

The collection of jobs, personalities, values, knowledge, experience, and skills of team members; the goal is 'fit.'

Roles (teams)

Socially determined expectations of how individuals should behave in a specific position.

Task role

A team role focused on getting the work done (e.g., initiator, coordinator, orienter, energizer).

Maintenance role

A team role focused on fostering constructive relationships (e.g., encourager, harmonizer, gatekeeper).

Norms

General, usually unwritten guidelines or rules of behavior that mark the boundaries of acceptable and unacceptable conduct.

Conflict

A process in which one party perceives that its interests are being opposed or negatively affected by another party.

Dysfunctional conflict

Conflict that hinders the organization's performance or threatens its interests; creates winners and losers (negative conflict).

Functional conflict

Conflict that benefits the organization by surfacing divergent perspectives and improving decisions (productive conflict).

Conflict triggers

The four main sources of conflict: personality, envy, intergroup dynamics, and cultural differences.

Avoiding (conflict style)

Ignoring or suppressing a conflict; appropriate for trivial issues or when emotions need to cool.

Obliging (conflict style)

Accommodating and letting others have their way; appropriate to build goodwill when the issue matters little to you.

Dominating (conflict style)

Forcing your way using formal authority; appropriate when an unpopular but necessary solution must be implemented.

Compromising (conflict style)

Both sides give something up for an acceptable (not ideal) outcome; appropriate when parties have equal power or opposing goals.

Integrating (conflict style)

A collaborative style that confronts the issue to optimize outcomes for both parties; appropriate for complex, misunderstood issues.

Leadership

The ability to influence employees to voluntarily pursue organizational goals.

Leaders vs. managers

People are led; tasks are managed. Leaders cope with change (vision, inspiration); managers cope with complexity (planning, organizing, controlling).

Paradoxical leadership

The concept that one person can display the contrasting behaviors of both a manager and a leader.

Power

The ability to marshal human, informational, and other resources to get something done.

Authority

The right to perform or command; it comes with the job/position.

Personalized power

Power directed at helping oneself (gives 'power' a bad name).

Socialized power

Power directed at helping others.

Legitimate power

Power that results from a manager's formal position in the organization (all managers have it).

Reward power

Power that results from a manager's authority to reward subordinates (all managers have it).

Coercive power

Power that results from a manager's authority to punish subordinates (all managers have it).

Expert power

Power that results from one's specialized information or expertise.

Referent power

Power derived from one's personal attraction or charisma; characteristic of strong, visionary leaders.

Informational power

Power derived from one's access to and control over information.

Influence tactics

Conscious efforts to affect what someone thinks or how they behave; nine common tactics exist.

Nine influence tactics

Rational persuasion, inspirational appeals, consultation, ingratiation, personal appeals, exchange, coalition tactics, pressure, and legitimating (most to least used).

Commitment (influence outcome)

Employees agree with a request and put full energy behind it because they want to; driven by the top three tactics.

Compliance (influence outcome)

Employees go along with minimal effort because they feel obligated; driven by the middle three tactics.

Resistance (influence outcome)

Employees oppose or obstruct a request; a failed influence attempt, usually from the bottom three tactics.

Trait approaches

Attempts to identify the distinctive characteristics that account for the effectiveness of leaders.

Stogdill's five traits

Traits typical of successful leaders: dominance, intelligence, self-confidence, high energy, and task-relevant knowledge.

Dark Triad

Three negative leader attributes that cause career derailment: narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy.

Narcissism

A self-centered perspective, feelings of superiority, and a drive for personal power and admiration.

Machiavellianism

A cynical view of human nature that condones opportunistic, unethical manipulation, putting results over principles.

Psychopathy

A lack of concern for others, impulsive behavior, and a lack of remorse when one's actions harm others.

Behavioral approaches

Attempts to determine the key behaviors displayed by effective leaders: task-oriented and relationship-oriented.

Task-oriented leadership

Leader behavior ensuring resources are deployed efficiently to accomplish goals; called 'initiating structure' (Ohio State) or 'production-centered' (Michigan).

Relationship-oriented leadership

Leader behavior focused on relationships, developing people, and empowering them; called 'consideration' (Ohio State) or 'employee-centered' (Michigan).

Full-range leadership

The idea that leadership varies along a range from passive laissez-faire through transactional to transformational.

Transactional leadership

Leadership that clarifies roles and provides rewards and punishments contingent on performance; gets necessary things done.

Transformational leadership

Leadership that inspires employees to pursue organizational goals over self-interest, engendering trust and exceptional results.

Augmentation (leadership)

The principle that transformational leadership works best when it adds to ('augments') transactional leadership; the best leaders use both.

Inspirational motivation

Transformational behavior that motivates followers via charisma and a clear vision ('a vision that transcends us all').

Idealized influence

Transformational behavior that inspires trust by modeling integrity and high ethical standards ('we do the right thing').

Individualized consideration

Transformational behavior that encourages followers to grow and excel through challenge, responsibility, and mentoring.

Intellectual stimulation

Transformational behavior that reframes problems as challenges to spur creative, status-quo-questioning solutions.

Vision

A realistic, credible, attractive future for the organization that inspirational leaders communicate.

Charisma

A form of interpersonal attraction that inspires acceptance and support; part of transformational leadership.

Sinek's Golden Circle

Simon Sinek's model of three circles — Why, How, What — arguing great leaders communicate from the inside out, starting with Why.

Start with Why

Sinek's central idea that inspiring leaders/organizations lead with purpose ('why'); people don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it.

Sinek's examples

Apple, Martin Luther King Jr., and the Wright brothers — leaders/organizations that started with 'Why' to inspire action.

Communication

The transfer of information AND understanding from one person to another.

Efficient communicator

One who can transmit a message accurately in the least amount of time.

Effective communicator

One whose intended message is accurately understood by the receiver.

Sender

The person who wants to share information (the message).

Receiver

The person for whom a message is intended.

Encoding

Translating a message into understandable symbols or language.

Decoding

Interpreting and trying to make sense of a received message.

Medium (communication)

The means or pathway by which a communicator sends a message (e.g., voice, email, video call).

Feedback (communication)

The receiver expressing a reaction to the sender's message; essential for effective communication.

Paraphrasing

Restating in your own words the crux of what you heard or read to confirm understanding.

Noise

Any disturbance that interferes with the transmission or understanding of a message.

Physical noise

Literal noise in the environment (e.g., humming lights, a jackhammer, ringing phones).

Psychological noise

Interference from individual differences such as emotions, attitudes, and beliefs.

Semantic noise

Interference caused by the words used, including jargon and buzzwords.

Physiological noise

Interference from physical symptoms or impairments (e.g., illness, headache).

Jargon

Terminology specific to a particular profession or group.

Buzzwords

Words designed to impress rather than inform.

Media richness

How well a medium conveys information and promotes learning; richer media carry more cues and faster feedback.

Rich vs. lean media

Face-to-face is richest; impersonal written media (newsletters) are leanest. Use rich for nonroutine/ambiguous, lean for routine/clear.

Information overload

Delivering more information than necessary; the danger of using a rich medium for routine matters.

Information oversimplification

Failing to provide enough information; the danger of using a lean medium for nonroutine matters.

Formal communication channels

Official channels that follow the chain of command: vertical, horizontal, and external.

Vertical communication

The flow of messages up and down the organizational hierarchy.

Downward communication

Communication that flows from higher to lower organizational levels.