CE Exam #2 - Management

increase

There is a 3x increase/decrease in engagement when employers regularly communicate feedback

True

T/F: Traditional Performance Reviews Are Often Ineffective

True

T/F: If an employee believes they are performing well throughout the year but receives a negative annual review, they may feel frustrated or discouraged because their manager never communicated concerns earlier.

1. Frequency

2. Formality

3. Source

What are the three design considerations when providing feedback?

frequency of receiving feedback

-how often employees receive feedback about their performance

-annual is a common goal but has increased as of late

-loosely enforced in many organizations

-recency bias

frequent feedback

-allows employees to recognize mistakes and make improvements immediately

-reinforces positive behavior and engagement

-prevents employees from being surprised during formal performance reviews

infrequent feedback

-makes it difficult for employees to correct problems promptly

-may cause employees to forget the circumstances surrounding their performance

-can create uncertainty about whether they are meeting expectations

formality of feedback

whether feedback is delivered through an official, structured process or through informal communication

formal feedback

-structured and documented

-provides official record of employee performance

-useful for decisions involving promotions, compensation, and development plans

-ex: scheduled performance reviews, written evaluations, or performance ratings

informal feedback

-casual, spontaneous, and typically undocumented

-allows managers to provide immediate recognition or constructive criticism

-encourages open communication btwn employees and managers

-ex: occurs immediately after completing a task, during a meeting, in everyday conversation

forced ranking

-performance evaluation method in which managers rank employees relative to one another

-typically placing them into predetermined performance categories, such as top performers, average performers, and low performers

20/70/10 Forced Ranking Method

Top Performers - get raise, promotion

Average Performers - stay where they are

Low Performers - get fired

-identifies top performers

-encourages competition

-addresses poor performance

-reduces rating inflation

What are the pros of a forced ranking?

-reduces teamwork and collaboration

-creates unhealthy competition

-decreases employee morale

-increases employee turnover

What are the cons of a forced ranking?

source of feedback

-the individual or group providing feedback about an employee's performance

-ex: managers and supervisors, peers and coworkers, subordinates, customers, self-evaluation

360 degree feedback

system where employees receive performance evaluations from multiple perspectives, such as managers, peers, subordinates, and sometimes customers.

Credibility and potential biases

What is an important factor to consider when receiving feedback from multiple sources?

radical transparancy

management philosophy in which organizations promote extreme openness and honesty by making information, decisions, and feedback widely accessible to employees, even when that information is uncomfortable or critical

-builds trust through openness

-encourages accountability

-improves access to information

Pros of Radical Transparancy

-can make employees uncomfortable

-may reduce psychological safety

-can create interpersonal conflict

Cons of Radical Transparency

compliment sandwich

-compliment, followed by a critique, followed by another compliment

-the critique is amplified because the compliments are seen as disingenuous

-clear + specific

-focused on behavior, not person

-actionable

-timely

-congruent

Guidelines for Effective Feedback

congruency in feedback

alignment between the message and how the message is delivered

spin framing

-communication technique in which information is presented in a way that influences how people interpret or react to it, typically to make negative outcomes appear more favorable

-ex: w/o SF - our sales decreased by 10% this quarter; w/ SF - despite challenging market conditions, we retained 90% of our previous quarter’s sales

-spin framing focuses on influencing how information is perceived

-constructive feedback focuses on accurately communicating information to improve performance

What is the difference between spin framing and constructive criticism?

-follow guidelines (congruency most of all)

-frequent, regular communication focused on development

-train people how to provide feedback

-calibration

Best Feedback Practices

-defensiveness

-disconfirmation

What are roadblocks to effective feedback?

-don’t react right away

ask clarifying questions, press for details/examples

-ask how the situation could have been better handled

-ask for what went well

-pay attention to your body language

-be grateful they approached you directly

How do you receive difficult feedback?

effective listening

-process of actively paying attention to, understanding, interpreting, and responding to a speaker's message

-involves more than simply hearing what someone says; it requires making a conscious effort to understand both the information being communicated and the speaker's intended meaning

-eye contact

-take notes if appropriate…and preferably by hand

-do NOT fall into the trap of nodding along to be nodding along

-stop the speaker when you don’t understand something (or make a note to come back to it)

-ask questions

-prepare for conversations

-consider your body language

Best Practices for Effective Listening

workplace conflict

occurs when two or more individuals or groups experience disagreements, opposition, or tension because of differences in their goals, interests, values, opinions, or behaviors

True

T/F: Conflict is natural and inevitable in the workplace

-personality differences

-differing goals

-imbalance of information

What are possible sources of conflict?

-minimizes diversity of thought

-creates inauthentic relationships

Being “nice” might be comfortable but it has drawbacks. Provide examples of potential drawbacks.

False; (reverse)

T/F: Conflict should be focused on people, not issues.

True

T/F: The outcome of organizational performance depends on how much conflict exists

negative

With too little or too much conflict, there is positive/negative organizational performance?

positive

With the appropriate amount of conflict, there is positive/negative organizational performance?

accommodation (conflict resolution)

-high degree of cooperation

-low degree of assertiveness

-”you win, I lose”

-quick

-one person puts aside their own interests to satisfy the interests of the other person

-helps when the relationship is more important than the issue

-do not let it go on forever

-ex: two employees disagree about which day to schedule a meeting. One employee agrees to the other's preferred date even though it is less convenient

force (conflict resolution)

-low degree of cooperation

-high degree of assertiveness

-”I win, you lose”

-quick

-use when you KNOW you are right, when it is important, unpopular, or urgent

-can lead to team members feeling disrespected

-don’t let it go on forever

-ex: a manager and an employee disagree about implementing a new workplace safety procedure. The manager mandates the procedure despite the employee's objections

compromise

-moderate degree of cooperation

-moderate degree of assertiveness

-”we both win some, we both lose some”

-can end a standing conflict quickly, especially when parties are of equal power

-avoid when it is important

-each party makes concessions, focused on finding a middle ground

-ex: two departments disagree over how to divide a $100,000 budget. One department wants $60,000, while the other wants $60,000. They compromise by agreeing to split the budget evenly

collaboration

-high degree of cooperation

-high degree of assertiveness

-”I win, you win”

-good communications, transparency

-use when the issue is too important for a simple tradeoff

-win-win

-prioritize maintaining the relationship

-likely takes the longest

-ex: two departments disagree about how to allocate a limited budget. Instead of splitting the funds evenly, they work together to identify shared priorities, eliminate unnecessary spending, and create a plan that achieves both departments' objectives

avoidance

-low degree of cooperation

-low degree of assertiveness

-”I lose, you lose”

-no resolution

-should rarely be used, and certainly choose another path when you need a quick decision

-ex: two employees disagree about a minor workplace issue but decide not to discuss it because it has little impact on their responsibilities

True

T/F: Competition is a frequent default in conflict but often not the best resolution

False; collaboration

T/F: When it is critical to the long-term health of the organization/relationship, strive for compromise

good communication skills

What is key when resolving an issue?

bureaucracy

organizational structure based on formal rules, specialized responsibilities, hierarchical authority, and impersonal relationships

-detailed procedures and rules

-impersonal relationships among organization members

What is Weber’s Model of a Bureaucracy?

-rules > goals

-ignores human variables

What are criticisms of a bureaucracy?

-specialization (division of labor)

-hierarchy

-span of control

-centralization

-formalization

-departmentalization

What are the components of organizational structure?

specialization

extent to which organizational tasks are divided into separate, specialized jobs rather than having individual employees perform many different activities

high specialization

-employees perform narrow range of tasks

-workers get very skilled at one thing

-very easy to train

-may lead to boredom, repetitive work, and reduced job satisfaction

-get siloed - have no awareness of other roles/teams

-ex: in an automobile manufacturing plant, one employee installs engines, another installs doors, and another performs quality inspections

low specialization

-employees perform broad range of tasks

-workers develop wide range of skills

-can increase flexibility, engagement, job satisfaction

-may reduce efficiency when employees lack specialized expertise

-ex: at a small startup, one employee may handle marketing, customer service, and sales

hierarchy

-formal arrangement of authority within an organization that establishes who reports to whom and who is responsible for making decisions

-determines the organizational chain of command

-refers to number of management levels

tall hierarchy

-many levels of management

-involves middle management

-clear lines of authority and supervision

-can create slower communication and decision-making

flat hierachy

-few levels of management

-employees often have greater autonomy

-communication and decision-making may occur more quickly

span of control

-number of employees who report directly to a single manager or supervisor

-determines how many subordinates a manager is responsible for supervising

-impacted by function of management, geography, and coordination

narrow span of control

-manager supervises relatively few employees

-easier to manage fewer individuals who have more complex responsibilties

-allows closer supervision and personalized feedback

-often requires more managers and management levels

-can increase micromanagement

wide span of control

-manager supervises many employees

-easy to manage people who all share similar responsibilities

-reduces numbers of managers needed

-can increase employee autonomy

-may overwhelm managers or reduce attention employees receive

role ambiguity

occurs when employees are uncertain about their responsibilities or authority within an org

False; with many people sharing similar tasks, individuals have resources of who to go to. under narrow span of control, managers must spend more time clarifying and providing instruction, and greater supervision is required

T/F: High role ambiguity occurs with wide span of control

True; with many levels of authority, responsibilities/expectations can be muddiedx

T/F: Role conflict occurs with a narrow span of control

centralization

-extent to which decision-making authority is concentrated at the top levels of an organization

-determines who has the power to make important organizational decisions

centralized organization

-major decisions are made by upper management

-employees at lower levels have limited decision-making authority

-can slow decision-making and discourage employee initiative

-ex: a company's headquarters must approve all major purchasing decisions, even those made by individual locations

decentralized organization

-decision-making authority is distributed throughout different organizational levels

-lower-level managers and employees have greater autonomy

-allows quicker responses

-can produce inconsistent decisions between departments

-ex: individual store managers can adjust staffing schedules, promotional strategies, and inventory orders based on local demand

formalization

-degree to which organizational jobs, behaviors, and procedures are standardized through written rules, policies, and instructions

-determines how strictly employees must follow established procedures

formalized organization

-many written rules, policies, and procedures

-employees are given less discretion on how to perform tasks

-PROS: promotes consistency, predictability, safety, and quality

-CONS: can reduce flexibility and creativity

-ex: McDonalds

informalized organization

-few formal rules and procedures

-employees have greater flexibility

-PROS: encourages creativity, adaptability, and independent decision-making

-CONS: can lead to inconsistent practices and unclear expectations

-ex: startup

departmentalization

-process of grouping organizational jobs, activities, and employees into different departments based on shared characteristics

function departmentalization

employees are grouped based on their specialized functions or expertise

product differentiation

employees are grouped based on specific products or product lines

geographic departmentalization

employees are grouped based on the geographical region they serve

customer departmentalization

employees are grouped based on the types of customers they serve

matrix departmentalization

-hybrid organizational structure that combines two or more types of departmentalizations

-most commonly commons function and product departments

function

-positions/departments organized by what they do

-ex: VP of marketing, VP of sales, etc.

organizational silos

-occurs when departments, teams, or groups within an organization operate independently of one another, with limited communication, collaboration, or information sharing

-become very specialized in your function

-many issues arise when lack of communication occurs

organizational matrix

-organizational design in which employees report to two or more managers

-PROS: strong communication, greater resource sharing, improved collaboration across teams

-CONS: role ambiguity, role conflict, not knowing who to report to and when

mechanistic organizational structure

-highly formalization

-high/narrow specialization

-centralized

-functional departmentalization

-ex: Walmart

organic organizational structure

-low formalization

-low/broad specialization

-decentralized

-divisional departmentalization

-ex: Gore

flat lattice

-type of organic organizational structure

-minimal layers of management

-no org chart/minimal titles

-natural leadership

-”sponsors” not “bosses”

networked team structure

-type of organic organizational structure

-organizational design in which employees work in interconnected, often cross-functional teams rather than relying on a traditional, rigid hierarchy of departments and managers

-ex: Valve

formal org structure

-employee reports to one person above

-typical org chart layout

informal org structure

org structure represented by the way people communicate in the org

False

T/F: Organizational decisions do NOT have long term impact on the success of the company

True

T/F: The strategy of the company should be evident in the org

False

T/F: As markets and businesses change, orgs are able to stay as they are

individual behavior

-refers to the actions, attitudes, decisions, and reactions of a person within an org

-focuses on understanding why employees behave the way they do and how their behavior affects their performance, relationships, and overall org effectiveness

-visible aspects

-hidden aspects

What comprises individual behavior?

-actions

-statements

-appearances

What makes up visible aspects of individual behavior?

-attitudes

-perceptions

-values

What makes up hidden aspects of individual behavior?

-attitude

-personality

-my perception of others

Internal Influences of Individual Behavior

-social trends

-acceptance

-influencers

-others’ perception of me

External Influences of Individual Behavior

1. Cognitive (Thinking) - employee believes their manager distributes work unfairly and favors certain coworkers

2. Affective (Feeling) - employee feels frustrated because their manager consistently assigns them additional responsibilities

3. Behavioral (Acting) - employee who dislikes their manager intends to look for another job or avoid interacting with that manager

What comprises attitude?

behavioral cognitive dissonance

psychological discomfort experienced when a person's beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors are inconsistent with one another

-by changing either your beliefs, changing your behavior, or rationalizing you behavior

-by recognizing that their behavior was out of their control

-by putting less importance on the conflicting belief or behavior

-by being rewarded to provide justification for behavior that conflicts with personal beliefs

How do people reduce behavior cognitive dissonance?

1. Employee recognizes their behaviors contradict their beliefs

2. this incongruency creates feelings of guilt and frustration

3. Employee attempts to reduce the discomfort by changing their behavior, changing their beliefs, or rationalizing their actions

3 Steps of Cognitive Dissonance

personality

combination of traits that are exhibited consistently

1. Extroversion

2. Agreeableness

3. Conscientiousness

4. Stability

5. Openness

identifies five major dimensions of personality that help explain how individuals think, feel, and behave

Five Factor Model of Personality

extroversion

-extent to which an individual is outgoing, sociable, energetic, and comfortable interacting with others

-ex: enjoys leading presentations, networking, and participating

agreeableness

-extent to which an individual is cooperative, trusting, and considerate

-ex: an employee who is willing to assist a coworker and help resolve disagreements within a team