MNGT 300 - Exam 2

Chapter 5 - 11 (Chapter 6 required but not on exam)

What is ethics?

The code of moral principles and values that governs the behaviors of a person or group with respect to what is right or wrong

What are the three categories human behavior can fall into?

Codified law (legal standard), ethics (social standard), and free choice (personal standard)

What best describes an ethical ma

One that displays honesty and integrity, communicates and enforces ethical standards through behavior, is fair in decisions and distribution of rewards, and shows kindness, compassion, and concern for needs and feelings of others

True/False: In today’s environment, an overemphasis on pleasing shareholders may cause some managers to behave unethically towards customers, employees, and the broader society

True

What best describes confidence in business managers and leaders?

It is at an all time low

What is an ethical dilemma?

A situation in which all alternative choices or behaviors have potentially negative consequences

What do most ethical dilemmas involve?

A conflict between the needs of the part and the whole—the individual versus the organization or the organization versus society as a whole, such as the debate between whether or not companies should scrutinize job candidates’ social media postings

What best describes the utilitarian approach?

A method of ethical decision making saying that the ethical choice is the one that produces the greatest good for the greatest number—simplified, an approach that must considered all parties and select a decision that benefits the greatest number of people

What best describes the individualism approach?

A decision-making approach suggesting that actions are ethical when they promote the individual’s best long-term interests, because with everyone pursuing self-interest, the greater good is ultimately served—not a popular approach in our society today

What best describes the moral-rights approach?

An approach that holds that ethical decisions are those that best maintain the fundamental rights of the people affected by them, such as the right to privacy and the right of free consent that can include things such as performing experimental treatments on unconscious trauma patients

What best describes the justice approach?

An approach that says that ethical decisions must be based on standards of equity, fairness, and impartiality; this can include distributive, procedural, and compensatory justice

What is distributive justice, a concern related to the justice approach?

Justice that requires that different treatment of individuals not be based on arbitrary characteristics

What is procedural justice, a concern related to the justice approach?

Justice that holds that rules should be clearly stated and consistently and impartially enforced

What is compensatory justice, a concern related to the justice approach?

Justice that argues that individuals should be compensated for the cost of their injuries by the party responsible, and individuals should not be held responsible for matters over which they have no control

What best describes the practical approach?

A decision-making approach that sidesteps debates about what is right, good, or just, and bases decisions on the prevailing standards of the profession and the larger society

What are the three levels of personal moral development?

Preconventional (level 1), conventional (level 2), and postconventional (level 3)

What best describes the preconventional level of personal moral development?

A level that follows rules to avoid punishment as someone acts in their own interest and obedience for its own sake—may be associated with managers who use coercive leadership

What best describes the conventional level of personal moral development?

A level that lives up to expectations of others by fulfilling duties and obligations of social systems as laws are upheld—conform to expectations defined by family and friends to encourage interpersonal relationships and cooperation

What best describes the postconventional (principled) level of personal moral development?

A level that follows self-chosen principles of justice and rights as someone is aware that people hold different values and seeks creative solutions to ethical dilemmas as concern for individuals is balanced with concern for the common good

When managers operate from a higher level of development, they may use a form of servant leadership, what is this?

A leadership form that focuses on the needs of followers and encourages others to think for themselves; simply, givers are highly preferred to takers

What level do most managers operate at?

The conventional method to conform to standards of behavior expected by society

What is corporate social responsibility (CSR)?

The obligation of organizational managers to make choices and take actions that will enhance the welfare and interests of society as well as the organization; can be difficult to grasp as people have different beliefs as to what actions improve society’s welfare

What can the application of corporate social responsibility (CSR) be difficult to apply?

Due to the fact that managers must confront the question, “Responsibility to whom?”

What is a stakeholder?

Any group or person within or outside the organization that has some type of investment or interest in the organization’s performance

What is stakeholder mapping?

A systematic way to identify the expectations, needs, importance, and relative power of various stakeholders

Who are considered primary stakeholders without whom the organization could not survive?

Shareholders, employees, customers, and suppliers

What best describes conscious capitalism (shared value approach)?

An approach following organizational policies and practices that both enhance the success of a company and advance the economic and social conditions of the communities in which the company operates; higher purpose besides making money by focusing on employees and customers, seeking the best of people. and fostering trust

What is true of going green for corporations?

It has become the new business imperative and is driven by shifting social attitudes, new governmental policies, climate changes, and information technology (IT)

What is greenwashing?

Efforts to portray a company as being more environmentally minded that it actually is—try to reap the benefits of going green while not actually doing it, such as Volkswagen claiming less emissions

What is sustainability?

Economic development that generates wealth without compromising environmental responsibility and social stewardship, thus meeting the current and future needs of stakeholders while preserving society and the environment for the needs of future generations

What best describes the triple bottom line?

A line that refers to measuring the organization’s financial performance, social performance (treatment of employees, fair labor practices, etc.), and environmental performance (i.e., people, profit, and planet)

What is a benefit corporation?

A for-profit organization that has a stated purpose of creating a positive impact on society; is required to consider the impact of decisions on all stakeholders; and voluntarily holds itself to high standards of accountability and transparency

What best describes B lab, who certifies companies as B corporations?

A nonprofit organization that provides a nonlegal framework for meeting high standards of social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability

What is ethical leaderships?

Managers that are honest and trustworthy, are fair in their dealings with employees and customers, and behave ethically in both their personal and professional lives

What is the code of ethics?

A formal statement of the organization’s values regarding ethics and social responsibility

What is a principle-based statement, a type of code of ethics?

Statements designed to affect corporate culture as they define fundamental values and contain general language about company responsibilities, quality of productions, and treatment of employees

What is a policy-based statement, a type of code of ethics?

A statement that generally outlines the procedures to be used in specific ethical situations, such as marketing practices, conflicts of interest, observance of laws, etc.

What are general statements of principle?

Corporate credos

True/False: Having a strong code of conduct or code of ethics doesn’t guarantee that companies won’t get into ethical trouble or be challenged by stakeholders on ethical issues

True

What is an ethics committee?

A group of executives (and sometimes lower-level employees as well) charged with overseeing company ethics by ruling on questionable issues and disciplining violators

What is a chief ethics officer?

A manager who oversees all aspects of ethics and legal compliance—large public firms are required to have someone responsible for ethics and compliance programs

What is an ethical hotline?

A toll-free confidential line that allows employees to report questionable behavior as well as seek guidance concerning ethical dilemmas

What is whistle-blowing?

The disclosure by employees of unethical, illegitimate, or illegal practices by an organization to outsiders like regulatory agencies, senator, or newspaper reporters that may result in managers looking at them as disgruntled and not good team players

Out of the four management functions (planning, organizing, leading, and controlling), which is considered the most fundamental?

Planning, especially as everything stems from it

What is a goal?

A desired future state that the organization wants to realize

What is a plan?

A blueprint specifying the resource allocations, schedules, and other actions necessary for attaining goals

What best describes planning?

The management function concerned with defining goals for future performance and how to attain them; combines goal and plans together into one

What best describes strategic goals?

They are the responsibility of top managers and involve plans that reflect a commitment to both organizational efficiency and effectiveness

What best describes tactical goals?

They are the responsibility of middle managers, such as the heads of major divisions, that will focus on major actions that the division must take to fulfill its part in the strategic plan set by top management

What best describes organizational plans?

They are the responsibility of frontline managers and supervisors that identify specific procedures or processes needed at lower levels of the organizational, such as individual departments and employees

What are the four levels of goals and plans in order?

Mission statement → strategic goals from senior management (whole) → tactical goals from middle management (functions) → operational goals from lower management (departments and individuals)

What are the five steps of the organizational planning process?

Develop the plan (define mission and set goals), translate the plan (develop strategy map and apply flexible goal setting), plan operations (select measures and crisis planning), performance management (performance dashboards and decentralized responsibility), and monitor and lean (hold planning reviews and hold operational reviews)

True/False: Planning doesn’t helps managers think about the future rather than thinking merely in terms of day-to-day activities

False

What does it mean for goals to be socially constructed?

They are defined by an individual or a group

What is a mission, something at the top of the goal hierarchy?

An organization’s purpose or reason for existence that are built on an organization’s values, aspirations, and reason for being

What is a mission statement?

A broadly stated definition of an organization’s basic business scope and operations that distinguishes it from similar types of organizations

What are strategic goals?

A broad statement of where an organization wants to be in the future; pertains to the organization as a whole rather than to specific divisions or departments

What are strategic plans?

Long-term action steps by which an organization intends to attain strategic goals—involves cash, personnel, space, and facilities required to meet goals and targets

What are tactical goals?

Formed after strategic goals are formulated, they are the outcome that major divisions and departments must achieve for an organization to reach its overall goals.

What best describes tactical plans?

Shorter plan designed to help execute major strategic plans and to accomplish a specific part of a company’s strategy

What are operational goals?

A specific, measurable result that is expected from departments, work groups, and individuals

What are operational plans?

Plans that specify the action steps toward achieving operational goals and supports tactical activities; a department manager’s tool for daily and weekly operations

What is a strategy map?

A visual representation of the key drivers of an organization’s success, showing the cause-and-effect relationship among goals and plans

What are the four key areas that contribute to a firm’s longer-term success?

Leaning and growth, internal processes, customer service, and financial performance

What needs to be in alignment so that they are consistent and mutually supportive?

Goals and plans

How do managers utilize operational goals?

To direct employees and resources toward achieving specific outcomes that enable the organization to perform efficiently and effectively

What best describes the criteria for effective goals?

Are specific and measurable, have a defined time period, cover key result areas, are challenging but realistic, and are linked to rewards

What are key performance indicators (KPIs)?

A tool used to assess what is important to an organization and how well the organization is progressing toward attaining its strategic goal, so that managers can establish lower-level goals that drive performance toward the overall strategic objective

What is management by objectives (MBO)?

A method whereby managers and employees define goals for every department, project, and person and use them to monitor subsequent performance

What four major activities make management by objectives (MBO) successful?

Setting of goals, develop action plans, review progress (i.e., figure out if they are working), and appraise overall performance (have annual goals been achieved?)

What are the benefits of management by objectives (MBO)?

Focuses manager and employees efforts on activities that will lead to goal attainment, can improve performance at all company levels, improves employee motivation, and aligns individual and department goals with company goals

What problems can arise from management by objectives (MBO)?

An overemphasis on “meeting the goals” can obscure means that people use to get there, such as cutting corners and behaving unethically to meet the targets

What is management by means (MBM)?

An approach that focuses people on the methods and processes used to attain results, rather than on the results themselves

What are single-use plans?

A plan that is developed to achieve a set of goals that is unlikely to be repeated in the future; includes programs and projects for organizational policies, rules, and procedures

What are standing plans?

An ongoing plan used to provide guidance for tasks that occur repeatedly in the organization; usually towards employee illnesses, absences, smoking, discipline, hiring, and dismissal

How does planning affect a company’s performance in a general, positive manner?

Goals and plans act as a source of motivation and commitment, they guide resource allocation, actions, and set a standard of performance

What are the limitation of planning, especially in a turbulent environment?

Goals and plans create too much pressure, they create a false sense of certainty, may cause rigidity in a turbulent environment, and they may get in the way of intuition and creativity

How can managers gain benefits from planning and controlling its limitations?

By utilizing innovative planning approaches that are in tune with today’s turbulent environment

What are the three approaches that help brace an organization for the unexpected?

Contingency planning, scenario building, and crisis planning

What best describes contingency plans?

Identifies important factors in the environment and defines a range of alternative responses to be taken in the case of emergencies, setbacks, or unexpected conditions

What best describes scenario building?

An approach where managers look at trends and discontinuities and imagine possible alternative futures to build a framework within which unexpected future events can be managed (i.e., look at what could be)

What best describes crisis planning?

Planning that prepares the organization, its managers, and its employees to cope with sudden catastrophic events that could destroy the firm if a crisis-response plan were not in place and subsequently reduces the incidence of trouble, such as putting locks on a door to reduce burglaries

What are the two essential stages of crisis planning?

Prevention and preparation

What best describes crisis prevention?

A stage that involves activities that managers undertake to try to prevent crises and to detect warning signs of potential crises; includes building open, trusting relationships with key stakeholders to prevent crises and respond more effectively

What best describes crisis preparation?

Comes in three steps: designating a crisis management team and spokesperson, creating a detailed crisis management plan, and setting up an effective communications system

What is decentralized planning?

An approach where top executives or planning experts work with managers in major divisions or departments to develop their own goals and plans

What best describes stretch goals?

A reasonable yet highly ambitious and compelling goal that energizes people and inspires excellence

What best describes business performance dashboards?

A way for executives to keep track of key performance metrics, such as sales in relation to targets, number of products on back order, and percentage of customer service calls resolved within specified time periods

What is true of flexible goal setting?

Good managers know that plans must be based on a solid set of principles but also must change in a flexible managers as conditions change and managers learn more about the environment and their company’s products or services

The strategic goals of an organization are also called

Official goals

True/False: Promoting cross-silo cooperation is a major part of coalitional management

True

What are programs in single-use plans?

Plans for attaining a one-time organizational goal that requires major undertaking and is large in scope, such as building a new headquarters

What are projects in single-use plans?

A set of plans of attaining a one-time goal that is smaller in scope and is often one part of a larger program, such as renovating the office setting

What best describes policies in a standing plan?

Broad in scope, based on organization’s overall goals/strategic plans, and defines boundaries within which to make decisions, such as sexual harassment policies

What best describes rules in a standing plan?

Narrow in scope in a way that describes how a specific action is to be performed and may apply to specific settings, such as a no-eating rule in areas of the company where employees are visible to the public

What best describes procedures in a standing plan?

Also known as standard operating procedure, they define a precise series of steps to attain certain goals, such as procedures for issuing refunds or procedures for handling employee grievances

What is organizational change?

The adoption of a new idea or behavior by an organization

What are the two concepts that address the need for change in today’s environment?

Disruptive innovation and the ambidextrous approach

What is disruptive innovation?

Innovations in products, services, or processes that radically change competition in an industry, such as the advent of streaming video (that put Blockbuster out of business) or e-books