Ciobanu Alexandra Mihaela

The book used is Organizational Behavior 15 edition by Stephen P. Robbins and Timothy A.
Judge - chapters 1-7,12-15

Chapter 1
Case Incident 1 Lessons for Undercover Bosses

Questions :
1. What are some of the things managers can learn by walking around and having daily contact
with line employees that they might not be able to learn from looking at data and reports?
2. As an employee, would you appreciate knowing your supervisor regularly spent time with
workers? How would knowing top executives routinely interact with line employees affect
your attitudes toward the organization?
3. What ways can executives and other organizational leaders learn about day-to-day business
operations besides going undercover?
4. Are there any dangers in the use of a management by walking around strategy? Could this
strategy lead employees to feel they are being spied on? What actions on the part of
managers might minimize these concerns?

Answers :
1. First of all, interacting with employees can improve a managers human skills while
understanding how much work is put into finding solutions to problems, how the
managers ideas are implemented and difficulties that can appear on the way. Managers
are mostly occupied with strategic planning, increasing sales and developing new
products but by talking directly with employees he can obtain valuable information and
insight about the products and the process of obtaining the final result. Workers have
daily experience with a product and can see where can be brought improvements in the
materials, process of making them or functioning and are able to articulate if the quality
is poor. Managers are not able to learn that from the companys statement of cash flows.
It is important also to learn what motivates employees and what discourage them, how
can the work space can be improved in order to facilitate a pleasant work environment,
what challenges or opportunities the employees face and some of the most important
things that a manager can acquire interacting with workers are new ideas. Last but not
least, a manager that is trying to interact with employees can gain insight on what skills
can be added to the team in order to be more productive, can learn how difficult some
of the jobs are and work towards rewarding them either through increased wages,
greater appreciation from the company or improving work conditions.
2. At first it may be awkward when supervisors start spending time with employees
because they can feel over-analyzed, exposed to direct criticism and depending on how
that interaction is at the beginning they can be stressed but as the time passes and it
becomes daily interactions, this process can become a new relationship between
management and employees. Workers may feel more valued and appreciated by the
company and that can increase their citizenship behavior, become more comfortable
discussing possible solutions without the fear of being reprimanded, become more
productive and maybe working toward becoming a united and successful organization.

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3. They can instill a change in culture in the organization where a leader has also the role of
a role model and is accessible to the employees in order to receive input from the lower
levels. These employees are able to reveal significant data concerning day-to-day
business operations. Being straightforward with workload and expectations can make
working in the organization easy and realistic.
4. At first, yes, employees can feel they are spied on and when the supervisor is around
they may feel inclined to look like they are hardworking and extremely professional, but
when he is gone this attitude may change. It also depends on how the boss is
approaching employees and their work. If he is not establishing an open relationship and
his communication is minimal except telling the workers when and what are doing
incorrectly, then not only the work space in the organization becomes a stressful
environment, with employees that will start having an withdrawal behavior, but also the
outcomes of the organization will have a poor quality. If the supervisor appears powerful
but relatable, express his wishes regarding operations in advance and is open to
suggestions towards a smoother process than this walking around strategy can establish
a productive and pleasant path between company management and workers.

Case Incident 2 Era of Disposable Worker

Questions :
1. To what extent can individual business decisions (as opposed to economic forces) explain
deterioration in working conditions for many workers?
2. Do business organizations have a responsibility to ensure that employees have secure jobs
with good working conditions, or is their primary responsibility to shareholders?
3. What alternative measures of organizational performance, besides share prices, do you think
might change the focus of business leaders?
4. What do you think the likely impact of the growth of temporary employment relationships
will be for employee attitudes and behaviors? How would you develop a measurement
system to evaluate the impact of corporate downsizing and temporary job assignments on
employees?

Answers :
1. It seems that global recession that has affected the economy is leading to
deterioration in individual businesses by making it difficult for businesses to draw in a
steady income and therefore they need to take harsh decisions in order to keep the
business running. Apart from budget cuts for the business, most of them try to
reduce some costs by reducing work hours, reducing the number of employees in the
company or pay cuts. Part of the budget cuts affects directly the employee by
worsening the quality of the work environment and increasing the demands for
making savings by working with less people, less materials or poor quality materials
but at the same time having expectations for the same or better quality of work.
2. I think primarily business organizations have the responsibility towards their
employees by offering them a good working conditions. Even if the business has a
difficult time because of the recession and layoffs are understandable, employees
that have secure jobs, good working conditions and are being informed on how they
can contribute in order to improve the situation of the business, will be more loyal,
productive and efficient. In addition to the responsibility, organizations should have
moral, ethical and philanthropic responsibilities. They also have to have the

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shareholders interest in mind but mostly they have to ensure that the business
exceeds the difficult times in order fulfill their obligations towards the shareholders.
3. The alternative performance measures can be lesser time span required for work, the
number of employees in proportion to the total work done and team performance.
The management also should make sure that employees receive proper recognition
and motivation to obtain the proper results. The leaders of the company participate
more in collaborating with employees in order to be more committed to the
organization and to its goals and also constantly communicate the changes that occur
in the vision of the company and strategies.
4. The growth of temporary employment can have a negative impact regarding the
attitude and behavior of the employee which also affects the work quality or may
display a negative behavior towards the colleagues. I think that can occur when the
companys management also has a cold approach towards the employees and can be
solved or at least made better by trying to keep up the morale by giving recognition
for a job well done, trying as much as possible to cut the layoffs and to assign the
right people with the right knowledge to each department in order to improve the
business and productivity.

Chapter 2

Case Incident 1 The Flynn Effect

Questions :
1. Do you believe people are really getting smarter? Why or why not?
2. Which of the factors explaining the Flynn effect do you accept?
3. If the Flynn effect is true, does this undermine the theory that IQ is mostly inherited? Why or
why not?

Answers :
1. I dont think that people are necessarily getting smarter even if the tests scores show
better results between generations. I think that now, compared with 1970 we have
access to more and more ways of informing ourselves about different domains, we
can educate ourselves and auto-motivate ourselves to become more inventive and
more innovative. Technology is evolving each day and even if it is not intentional, we
are forced to exercise and use our brain to figure out how to use that technology,
the access to books and world-wide news has been facilitated by the internet and
also with technology, teachers have become more and more creative with ways of
motivating and keeping the interest of students. In the past, a normal family goal was
to be happy, to be healthy and to be able to take care of themselves and the kids.
Now, as the word has evolved, every person wants more and more (travel,
technology, competition, etc.) and in order to obtain that we know we have to learn,
to inform ourselves as much as we can and of course, we have the necessary tools to
do that which is reflected in the scores of the IQ tests.
2. I think that primarily I accept the Education factor. As I explained my point of view in
the previous answer, I think that the tools used for educating ourselves or use in
schools has evolved immensely and constantly evolving stimulating us to keep up. I

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also agree with the test-taking savvy factor because from the moment we start
school we are used to taking tests and as we advance, the tests evolve too.
3. I dont think that does undermine the concept that IQ is inherited. I think that it
strongly supports the concept of evolutionary change as changes and stimulating
physical and mental capabilities are found in order to make a person more
successful. Those changes and challenges are constantly evolving and improving and
are passed down through generations.

Case Incident 2 - Increasing Age Diversity in the Workspace

Questions :
1. What changes in employment relationships are likely to occur as the population ages?
2. Do you think increasing age diversity will create new challenges for managers? What types of
challenges do you expect will be most profound?
3. How can organizations cope with differences related to age discrimination in the workplace?
4. What types of policies might lead to charges of age discrimination, and how can they be
changed to eliminate these problems?

Answers :
1. Some of the changes can include an increase in work experience, strong work ethic
and commitment to the quality and to the company, good judgment and lower rates
of avoidable absence. However, there can be some negative changes regarding the
unavoidable absence, lack of working hours flexibility and maybe reluctance to new
technology.
2. The most important challenge would be the age difference, mostly between younger
management and older employees. Each part has to learn to adapt and
communicate, be patient and be clear with the demands and expectations.
3. Setting specific goals, constant communication between management and
employees and between all employees within the company. Including workers of all
ages in projects encouraging them to learn from each other and learn how to work
together combining experience and new ideas.
4. To avoid age discrimination, there can be made reasonable accommodations keeping
in mind that with age some of the physical abilities diminish so there should be a
policy that states a reasonable amount of weight that can be carried by a worker and
stand for prolonged hours in order to do his job.

Chapter 3

Case Incident 1 Long Hours, Hundreds of E-mails and No Sleep: Does That Sound Like a
Satisfying Job?

Questions :
1. Do you think only certain individuals are attracted to these types of jobs, or is it the
characteristics of the jobs themselves that are satisfying?
2. What characteristics of these jobs might contribute to increased levels of job satisfaction?
3. Given that the four individuals we just read about tend to be satisfied with their jobs, how
might this satisfaction relate to their job performance, citizenship behavior, and turnover?

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4. Recall David Clarks statement that There are plenty of people who would love to have this
job. Theyre knocking on the door all the time. How might Clarks perceptions that he has a
job many others desire contribute to his job satisfaction?

Answers :
1. Only certain individuals are attracted to these types of jobs because being time
consuming and stressful most of the time the job becomes the primary interest in
their life sacrificing their personal life in favor of the job. Even if they are considered
workaholics, constant activity, being passionate about the job and being good at
what they do is gratifying for them. Usually such people are conscious of titles and
high status and enjoy taking such challenges in order to reach their goals.
2. Mostly, individuals who dedicates their life for these types of jobs, like to be
dominant, to be in control of the situation, to take risks by making bold decisions and
positive results motivates and keep them in high energy. Also constantly improving
their skills, high salary and traveling to exotic places are increasing the level of job
satisfaction.
3. One of the main roles of a manager is to find the appropriate employee for the job in
order to achieve performance for the company.
- Job performance : when an employee has a job where he can be productive, can
improve his skills and his work is appreciated, his job performance is constantly
improving, striving to achieve companys goals, it increases his loyalty and do
their best to show their hard work.
- Citizenship behavior : Irene Tse, for example, is willing improve her job
performance even more than she currently does and speaking positively about
the organizations while Tony Kurtz and David Clark are being neutral about
citizenship behavior.
- Turnover : these individuals give a negative turnover for job satisfaction. Some of
them are highly motivated by their job and are striving to exceed the organization
expectation, and other are satisfied with the benefits and opportunities the job
offers.
4. Some individuals are motivated by the pressure of knowing that others want their job
and use that knowledge to an incentive to excel.

Case Incident 2 Crafting a Better Job

Questions :
1. Why do you think many people are in jobs that are not satisfying? Do organizations help
people craft satisfying and motivating jobs, and if not, why not?
2. Think about how you might reorient yourself to your own job. Are the principles of job
crafting described above relevant to your work? Why or why not?
3. Some contend that job crafting sounds good in principle but is not necessarily available to
everyone. What types of jobs are probably not amenable to job crafting activities?
4. Are there any potential drawbacks to the job crafting approach? How can these concerns be
minimized?

Answers :

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1. I think that in this economy many people are afraid to take risks by trying to change
their place of work or craft their job and are staying in jobs that does not offer them
satisfaction because of a possible difficult financial situation or work schedule. I
belive that firms are trying more to create satisfying jobs by being more flexible with
job rotation, job education and training, bonuses or even team recreational activities.
2. Even though I am currently unemployed, I think that job crafting would be very
helpful in any organization and should be desired in order to improve performance,
productivity and satisfaction for employees while respecting companys procedures.
3. Some of the jobs that are probably not amenable for job crafting activities include
routine jobs such as assembly line workers and customer service representative.
4. As a drawback to the job crafting can be loss of focus on the job well done. Job
crafting, at the beginning, can lead to inefficient ways of completing the tasks and
resulting in a loss in productivity. This drawback can be minimized by closely
evaluating and supervising the work productivity.

Chapter 4

Case Incident 1 Is It Okay to Cry at Work?

Questions :
1. What factors do you think make some organizations ineffective at managing emotions?
2. Do you think the strategic use and display of emotions serve to protect employees, or does
covering your true emotions at work lead to more problems than it solves?
3. Have you ever worked where emotions were used as part of a management style? Describe
the advantages and disadvantages of this approach in your experience.
4. Research shows that acts of co-workers (37 percent) and management (22 percent) cause
more negative emotions for employees than do acts of customers (7 percent). What can
Lauras company do to change its emotional climate?

Answers :
1. There are several factors that cause organizations to ineffectively manage emotions
and one of them is a poor relationship between a manager and employees. In some
situations, the manager can yell or adopt a bad attitude towards the employee
without realizing that can be hurtful, the employees dont fool confortable
communicating with their superiors and mostly organizations are unprepared for
dealing with employees emotions and cant relate and take into consideration
different backgrounds. An organization needs to make sure they keep a strong
connection with the employees to ensure that emotions and mood are up-beat and
energetic. I also believe in compartmentalization. There is a time and a place for
everything and at work it should be adopted a professional attitude while being
considerate for the colleagues emotions.
2. Sometimes, by covering ones emotions can ensure a work to be finalized but if it is a
continuous thing, just bottling everything up can result in frustration, stress, inability
to focus and losing their confidence. Through the strategic use and display of
emotions, employees can express emotions in a manner way. They have to know the
ways to control their emotions, how to deal with them and even how to express
them in order to solve some of the problems causing them. Displayed emotions are a

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way for employees to reflect on their organization, and having rules for displayed
emotions is one way to control employees in a positive way for the organization.
3. I worked at a hotel in Greece and displayed emotions as well as appropriate dress
code were important in order to make guests to feel welcome and confortable. In
theory there are no disadvantages but when the management has a bad attitude
towards the employees in spite of their hard work, it can be obvious when those
displayed emotions are not sincere and can reflect badly on the organization.
4. Lauras organization need to recognize that displayed emotions are handled poorly
and to have managers talk with employees when they arent displaying appropriate
emotions in the workplace. They also can offer training programs for managers and
employees about the proper ways to handle employees emotional concerns as they
are displayed and providing opportunities for open discussions.

Case Incident 2 Can You Read Emotions from Faces?

Questions :
1. Most research suggests we are not very good at detecting fake emotions, and we think were
much better at it than we are. Do you believe training would improve your ability to detect
emotional displays in others?
2. Do you think the information in this case could help you tell whether someones smile is
genuine?
3. Is your own impression of the facial expressions of the eight business leaders consistent with
what the researcher found? If not, why do you think your views might be at odds with his?
4. One research study found peoples ratings of the positive affect displayed in CEOs faces had
very little correlation to their companys profits. Does that suggest to you that Hills analysis
is immaterial?
5. Assuming you could become better at detecting the real emotions in facial expressions, do
you think it would help your career? Why or why not?

Answers :
1. I believe that informing myself, training and actually paying attention would improve
my ability to detect emotional displays and meaning encoded into facial expressions.
2. I think that it take a lot of practice in known situations to ensure proper and accurate
interpretation and also knowledge about micro-expressions and facial muscles.
Therefore, I dont think the information in this case could help me tell whether
someones smile is genuine.
3. The table suggests that two of the top companies across the world have leaders with
de most genuine smiles. I think that depends on a lot of factors like personal
happiness, some problems that can occur in the moments before they have a public
appearance and can change their moods, their personality, etc. I believe that in order
to have a genuine smile you have to be happy with your life, what you accomplish
and other personal things and its not about the size of the company. You can have a
business with 10 employees and have the most genuine smile and positive exterior.
4. Not necessarily considering that some individuals measure their happiness through
money. As they have more and more money, they believe they become happier.
5. Yes, I think that being able to detect real emotions in facial expressions would help
me at making my job better, at interacting with colleagues, employees, and bosses
better.

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Chapter 5

Case Incident 1 Is There a Price for Being Too Nice?

Questions :
1. Do you think there is a contradiction between what employers want in employees (agreeable
employees) and what employees actually do best (disagreeable employees)? Why or why
not?
2. Often, the effects of personality depend on the situation. Can you think of some job
situations in which agreeableness is an important virtue? And in which it is harmful?
3. In some research weve conducted, weve found that the negative effects of agreeableness
on earnings is stronger for men than for women (that is, being agreeable hurt mens earnings
more than womens). Why do you think this might be the case?

Answers :
1. Most employers want agreeable employees because they are pleasant to be around
and may be more helpful with colleagues but that doesnt necessarily mean that their
job performance is also good. Some studies show that disagreeable employees have
a better job performance because tend to be more focused at work but they are cold
as persons and some of them like agreeable people because they are easy to
manipulate. I think that there is a contradiction in the question.
2. For jobs like nurses, social workers, educators, customer service and mostly for jobs
that you have to interact with customers being agreeable is an important virtue. For
jobs which require decision making and leadership qualities, I think that
agreeableness can be harmful to the job.
3. I think agreeableness is mostly known as a feminine feature and it is expected but for
a man it can be misunderstood and be considered weakness.

Case Incident 2 Leadership from an Introverts Perspective

Questions :
1. Are you more of an introverted or extraverted leader? What can you do to leverage your
personality to be a more effective leader?
2. Under what conditions do you think extraverts make more effective leaders than introverts?
What unique abilities of introverts could make them more effective in some situations?
3. The case describes some problems introverts might have in leadership situations. What
techniques might they employ to help them overcome these?
4. What types of developmental experiences do you think would be especially valuable for
introverted leaders?

Answers :
1. I consider myself an introverted leader. In order to become an effective leader, i
should strongly articulate my goals and to establish a strong relationship with y
employees. To leverage my personality, I should practice a more vocal management
style.
2. In my opinion extroverts leaders are more effective in a sales position where they
can use their confidence and people skills to the best interest of the company.

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Introverts have a more successful rate for effectiveness of tasks and assignments.
Introverts have a better ability to stay focused and are calmer in difficult situations
where a solution is needed.
3. As the case described, an extrovert personality can be strong minded and more vocal
about their opinions and an introvert leader can become uncomfortable with strong
minded and socially confident people. In order to help them overcome this
situations, introverts should have a strong voice and be confident in his decision
making and opinions in order or attract others attention and interest.
4. Introverts must be willing to make themselves visible in the organization in order for
their talents to be seen, recognized and rewarded. In order to be more confident in
their abilities, they should overcome their fear of not doing or saying something
wrong and try to step out of their comfort zone by progressively speaking in public,
participating at trainings regarding public speaking.

Chapter 6

Case Incident 1 Computerized Decision Making

Questions :
1. What are the specific advantages of using computerized decision making? How can
computers be better decision makers than humans?
2. What are the weaknesses of using computers as decision tools? Are computers likely to have
any specific problems in making decisions that people wouldnt have?
3. Do you think computer decision making systems can effectively take ethical issues into
account? What is the role of human decision makers in creating ethical choices?
4. Are there advantages to completely disconnecting from the wired world when possible?
What can you do to try to retain your ability to focus and process information deeply?

Answers :
1. Some of the advantages of using computerized decision making are the speed and
the efficiency in processing informations, are capable of storing and completing
enormous amounts of data and can use them to spot trends and patterns that a
human could miss or simply never observe. They are better decision makers in
situations where emotions or perception could potentially affect a humans decision
making.
2. Computers are not capable of intuition or creative thought and we cant incorporate
an individuals ethical values. As the technological complexity of the equipment
evolves can be more difficult to learn and maintain them and some failures or errors
that can occur on a computer can be more serious and more difficult to correct.
3. I do not think that computer decision making systems can effectively take ethical
issues into account. In making ethical choices, humans are discussing and question
conclusions, can spot opportunities beyond what data shows, can find alternative
solutions while maximizing the ethical values and achieving the companys goals.
4. There are some advantages to completely disconnect from technology like
computers like improving the information processing skills and even if the work load
can be a bit bigger due to the large data sets that a computer usually analyze fast, I
can divide that data into smaller sets and analyze them. Another advantage

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collaborating with colleagues instead of relying only on computers and internet for
finding solutions.

Case Incident 2 Predictions That Didnt Quite Pan Out

Questions :
1. Despite the difficulty of making predictions, many people confidently make assertions about
what will happen in the future. Why do you think this is?
2. What perceptual or decision-making errors can you identify in these predictions?
3. Can you think of some predictions youve made that havent turned out the way you
expected?
4. Why do you think its so hard to make accurate predictions?

Answers :
1. Some think that if they believe it than it must be true or may become true or maybe
is just lack of information and a lot of positivity. Some people make informed
decisions to predict a positive outcome in order to attract investors, to keep
investors from leaving, to refrain customers from panicking and pulling out and
therefore keeping the company afloat.
2. All predictions were false. The decision making error was to put false hope in people
in hopes that company will bounce back as a result.
3. I predicted that I would become a doctor and it would be the only domain that
interests me but now Im studying Business Administration and I like it very much.
4. Sometimes we are not fully informed, we listen to our intuition or heart which is not
always correct but we want to believe it will happen, we are bias and we do not take
into consideration all the problems that await to happen and at the moment of the
prediction we ignore them.

Chapter 7

Case Incident 1 Its Not Fair!

Questions :
1. How does the executive compensation issue relate to equity theory? Who do you think
should be the referent others in these equity judgments? What are the relevant inputs for
top executives?
2. Can you think of procedural justice implications related to the ways pay policies for top
executives have been instituted? Do these pay-making decisions follow the procedural
justice principles outlined in the chapter?
3. Do you think the government has a legitimate role in controlling executive compensation?
How might we use distributive and procedural justice theories to inform this debate?
4. Are there any positive motivational consequences of tying compensation pay closely to firm
performance?

Answers :
1. The executive compensation issue relates to equity theory because aspects of equity
theory, like referents, are used to determine the compensation amount for

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executives. The referent should be executives in similar businesses with similar

concept, type of location, success level and also have the same gender type position.
Same sex positions will make comparisons accordingly. Some relevant inputs for top
executives are education, level of experience and competence.
2. The most obvious procedural justice implication used to calculate executive
compensation would have to be employee evaluations. This way, the system will be
viewed in a fair and favorable manner.
3. The government can always have some type of control but if its a private company,
payment is subjective. Distributive and procedural justice is how fair the type of
payment is but I dont know if the government can legally say that peoples payroll is
not fair as long as the company is successful.
4. Employees who get a raise, are more likely to be more motivated at work and to be
more productive.

Case Incident 2 Bullying Bosses

Questions :
1. How does workplace bullying violate the rules of organizational justice?
2. What aspects of motivation might workplace bullying reduce? For example, are there likely
to be effects on an employees self-efficacy? If so, what might those effects be? Do you think
bullying would motivate you to retaliate?
3. If you were a victim of workplace bullying, what steps would you take to try to reduce its
occurrence? What strategies would be most effective? Least effective? What would you do if
one of your colleagues were a victim?
4. What factors do you believe contribute to workplace bullying? Are bullies a product of the
situation, or do they have flawed personalities? What situations and what personality factors
might contribute to the presence of bullies?

Answers :
1. Workplace bullying demonstrates a lack of interactional justice from the model of
organizational justice. Interactional justice refers to individuals perception of the
degree to which he or she is treated with dignity, respect and concern.
2. Keeping in mind Maslows Hierarchy of needs, I think bullying affects most of all
Esteem. By bullying an employee it will generate a long lasting effect and Self-
actualization and safety. He or she will not be able to strive to become that they are
capable of becoming. Retaliation may make the situation worse, but in some cases,
the bully adopts this attitude because of his/her insecurities so I think that talking
with him/her and presenting a united front may reduce bullying.
3. I think that the most effective way to reduce the effects of bullying is to talk open
about it, to seek help with the appropriate committee and mostly to do something
about it that doesnt include auto-isolation and keeping quiet. I think as colleagues,
we must firstly be aware of whats happening, try to talk with the person thats being
bullied and support and encourage him/her to take action against bullying. Least
effective would be leaving the job because the effects of bullying and not dealing
with them would affect any other job after.
4. The personality factors that may contribute to the presence of bullies are negative
and stressful working environment, low self-esteem and maybe they were a victim
themselves at some point and thinks that this is the way to obtain respect.

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Chapter 12

Case Incident 1 Leadership Mettle Forged in Battle

Questions :
1. Do you think leaders in military contexts exhibit the same qualities as organizational leaders?
Why or why not?
2. In what ways not mentioned in the case would military leadership lessons not apply in the
private sector? What might military leaders have to re-learn to work in business?
3. Are specific types of work or situations more likely to benefit from the presence of battle-
tested leaders? List a few examples.

Answers :
1. Yes, I think that military leaders exhibit similar qualities as an organizational leader.
They are able to handle stressful situations and stay focused, are able to take orders,
deliver exceptional performance and they know the importance of delegating tasks
and assigning the right people for specific jobs. They are professional and are well
prepared for strategizing.
2. I think that they would have to learn to be more compassionate and sensitive to
emotions and most of all they would have to learn how to deal with failure and
understand that in business even if it is not the intended outcome, it is okay and the
business has to learn from the experience and do better. Another important thing
form persons that come from the military world into the business environment is
how not to rely on the same kind of discipline as in military and how to approach a
failure without the drastic commands.
3. I think that in military they learn about leadership through example in speaking,
behavior and also the importance of a team and working together for achieving a
goal. Also the ability the handle stress and attention to details in stressful situations.

Case Incident 2 Leadership Factories

Questions :
1. Management consulting firms did very well on a per-employee basis, partly because they are
mostly made up of managers (as opposed to blue-collar or entry-level workers). How big a
factor do you think composition of the workforce is in likelihood of producing a CEO?
2. Do you think so-called leadership factories are also better places for nonleaders to work?
Why or why not?
3. Assume you had job offers from two companies that differed only in how often they
produced CEOs. Would this difference affect your decision?
4. Do these data support the value of leader selection and leader development? Why or why
not?

Answers :
1. I think that the composition of workforce has an important role in the structure of a
company and producing CEOs. Having employees with leadership qualities, high
academic performance and problem solving creativity only benefits the company and
the evolution of employees through training, work experience and the opportunity to

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learn from colleagues and superiors. I think working in such environment facilitates
and increases the chances of becoming a CEO.
2. It depends those who arent natural leaders and becoming a leader is not
something they desire may get stuck and become frustrated in an environment
where there is a support system in place and where managers and supervisors are
used to teaching, guiding and encouraging others to advance and improve
themselves. But for individuals that their leadership possibilities and having the
desire to learn, improve and become one, I think leadership factories is an ideal place
to work and become a skilled leader.
3. I think I would naturally incline to accept the offer from the company that produces
more CEOs but if there are some other details such as location that is better at the
company with less CEOs I would try to talk with the other company and tell them
about the opportunities that the other job presents and see if they can meet or go
above the offer with trainings or come other benefits.
4. I dont think that the data really supports the value of leader selection and leader
development because it is not specified whether the CEOs that worked at a specific
company had the opportunity to develop inside the company or had the necessary
liberty and support to improve or it was just another station in their carrier and
gained the necessary skills in another company with a less renouned name. If we are
just to analyze these data, I think that being a smaller company (with fewer
employees) but with quality regarding employee skills and leadership qualities, then
yes, it does support the value of leader selection and leader development.

Chapter 13

Case Incident 1 Delegate Power, or Keep it Close?

Questions :
1. If you were Samantha Parks, how would you prioritize which projects or parts of projects to
delegate?
2. In explaining what makes her decisions hard, Parks said, I hire good people, creative people,
to run these projects, and I worry that they will see my oversight and authority as interfering
with their creative process. How can she deal with these concerns without giving up too
much control?
3. Should executives try to control projects to maintain their position of authority? Do they
have a right to control projects and keep in the loop on important decisions just so they can
remain in charge?
4. What are some tasks in an organization that a top executive should never delegate to
others?

Answers :
1. If I were Samantha Parks, I would evaluate the projects and assess the level of impact
each has on the company and think of which employees I would trust with some
parts of the projects based on their skills and previous results and then I would try to
delegate. In the text is said that some doesnt believe in sweating the small stuff
but I think that I could delegate but also implicate myself when it is needed and
supervise the projects in such way that it doesnt interfere with managing and
leading the company in the right direction. I dont think its necessary to do

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everything by myself if I choose my team right, be aware of their improvement and

collaborate openly when they need. I believe that delegating but supervising can
bring new ideas and improvements to the projects that maybe I couldnt see right
away but they are beneficial to the project and company.
2. She should speak with them and present her vision toward each project, explain that
she will maintain her involvement without overstepping their boundary, tell them her
expectations from the projects and from them and try to collaborate, not dictate.
Establishing a balance between the employees trust and managers involvement it
can be difficult to accomplish but I think its necessary to try.
3. No, I dont think that managers need to control every project in order to maintain
his/her authority. If the manager trusts his employees to have a positive outcome
and finish a project then the employees will be motivates to prove that they are
worthy. Managers should offer input, guidance and supervise the project but without
taking charge of everything and being overbearing.
4. I believe that managers should never delegate investing activities, core functions or
responsibilities and crisis management.

Case Incident 2 The Persuasive Imperative

Questions :
1. Are the precepts of the IBM training program consistent with the concepts in this chapter?
Why or why not?
2. Again based on the chapter, are there other keys to persuasion and influence that might be
added to the IBM program?
3. If you had a manager who wanted you to do something against your initial inclination, which
of IBMs elements would work best on you? Why?
4. Drawing from Chapter 5 , do you think generational values explain the changing nature of the
employer employee relationship? Why or why not?

Answers :
1. Yes, I think that the percepts of the IBM training program is consistent with the
concepts in this chapter because this chapter explains managerial and political power
strategies along with their benefits and short-comings. The program is a mixture of
constructive and employee-friendly approaches and uses different power tactics that
can move people into specific actions.
2. According to the chapter, keys to persuasion and influence are ration persuasion,
inspirational appeals, personal appeals and pressure. The most effective appear to be
ration persuasion and inspirational appeals, especially when employees want to be
involved in the decision making process. So, presenting facts and arguments that
demonstrate the benefits, asking for support of those who believe in the vision and
depending of the case, even flattery and praise can be used.
3. All of the elements of persuasion are important but I think that understanding the
vision can resolve any initial concerns and reservations.
4. Employees, their needs and demands are constantly changing and businesses are
changing to to meet their employees needs of evolving and flexibility in order to
create a pleasant and productive work place.

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Chapter 14

Case Incident 1 Choosing Your Battles

Questions :
1. How would you ensure sufficient discussion of contentious issues in a work group? How can
managers bring unspoken conflicts into the open without making them worse?
2. How can negotiators utilize conflict management strategies to their advantage so that
differences in interests lead not to dysfunctional conflicts but rather to positive integrative
solutions?
3. Can you think of situations in your own life in which silence has worsened a conflict between
parties? What might have been done differently to ensure that open communication
facilitated collaboration instead?

Answers :
1. I could create an environment where discussing openly about issues it is safe from
judging or unwarranted reprimands. I would make sure that they have enough trust
to talk about the problem at hand and that they know the importance of working as a
united group in order to successfully complete their tasks. By not solving the issue,
they can become frustrated and stressed and that would affect everyone including
the business. A manager can bring unspoken conflicts into the open by addressing
the subject without calling anyone on it and also making a connection to group goals
or morals so that no one will be offended.
2. Negotiators can make the two parties feel like they are working towards the same
goal. They can use smoothing technique to down-play the differences and emphasize
the similarities. Also could use compromise technique which involves both parties to
give something up in order to work toward a common goal by getting something but
not everything.
3. One example I remember is about the study/work group I was part of for a project at
school where instead of openly communicating about the problem, silence was used
to deal with the situation in the hopes that it will disappear. Most of my colleagues
became more frustrated and stressed every day until some of them quit the project
even if that affected their grade. It would have been wise for one of us to address the
conflict head on but instead, everyone acted as they didnt notice or as they werent
affected and a solution was never found and that affected everyone, including the
project.

Case Incident 2 Mediation : Master Solution to Employment Disputes?

Questions :
1. Drawing from these examples, what factors do you think differentiate occasions when
mediation was successful and when it failed?
2. One successful mediator, Bostons Paul Finn, argues that if the disputing parties are seeking
justice, Its best to go somewhere else. Why do you think he says that?
3. Do you think a mediator should find out why the parties want what they want? Why or why
not?

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4. The EEOC reports that whereas 85 percent of employees agree to mediate their charges,
employers agree to mediate only 30 percent of the time. Why do you think this disparity
exists?

Answers :
1. From the examples - motivation of the parties to solve the issue ( success : EEOC
uses mediation extensively, and failure : David Kuchinsky it is not motivated to solve
the issue ) and conflict intensity ( SAG and AMPTP used prolonged negotiation
without success and the conflict escalated )
2. In some cases like loss of a child or a body part cant be compensated financially. For
mediation to be successful, both parties have to be willing to give something up in
order to reach common ground but in some cases it cant be done. I couldnt
participate in mediation with a murderer.
3. No, I dont think the mediator should find out WHY because he could become bias.
He should be informed of the details of the case presented and try to find a solution
thats in the middle. He is not a judge or a jury where you try to appeal to their
humanity and heart also. He must be impartial.
4. As this chapter says, the level of the conflict cant be too high for the mediation to
work and both parties have to be willing to compromise. The percentage of
employers that want to mediate may be so low either because they are extremely
firm on their decision or they dont want to acknowledge the problem in the hopes it
will go away by itself.

Chapter 15

Case Incident 1 Creative Deviance : Bucking the Hierarchy?

Questions :
1. Do you think its possible for an organization to deliberately create an anti-hierarchy to
encourage employees to engage in more acts of creative deviance? What steps might a
company take to encourage creative deviance?
2. What are the dangers of an approach that encourages creative deviance?
3. Why do you think a company like Apple is able to be creative with a strongly hierarchical
structure, whereas other companies find hierarchy limiting?
4. Do you think Apples success has been entirely dependent upon Steve Jobs role as head of
the hierarchy? What are the potential liabilities of a company that is so strongly connected to
the decision-making of a single Individual?

Answers :
1. I believe it is possible for an organization to create an anti-hierarchy. Once we give
employees enough space, time and power to do their jobs, we also give them the
freedom of creativity. In our times, creativity is a very important thing for companies
in order to improve their products and satisfy their clients. Anti-hierarchy can create
a special environment that can stimulate innovation, motivating companies to move
forward rapidly. Some of the steps that a company can take to encourage creativity
are revoking the unity of command, increasing the span of control and repealing
centralization.

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2. One of the dangers that may occur might be the difficulty to rein control of a group
after the process is no longer needed. Another may be the down falling of morale of
employees when the creative deviance is no longer required.
3. Steve jobs always had control issues and found it hard to trust anyones decisions but
himself so he employed only people that understood and respected that. Other
companies hire a much more diverse workforce and the expectation of this
aristocratic/ monarchy organization structure was not offered as the sole means to
communicate or administer within the company.
4. No, I dont believe that Apples success has been entirely dependent upon Steve Jobs
role as head of the hierarchy. He was a great visionary and he wanted the full control
of the final say regarding important decisions but he surrounded himself with
creative and smart employees and a board of very competent individuals. He made
many mistakes but he knew how spin the mistake into an opportunity for
improvement. Tying a company so closely to one strong leading individual can leave a
void and unbalance the company when that person dies or decides to leave the
company.

Case Incident 2 Siemenss Simple Structure - Not

Questions :
1. What do Kleinfelds efforts at Siemens tell you about the difficulties of restructuring
organizations?
2. Why do you think Lschers restructuring decisions have generated less controversy than did
Kleinfelds?
3. Assume a colleague read this case and concluded, This case proves restructuring efforts do
not necessarily improve a companys financial performance. How would you respond?
4. Do you think a CEO who decides to restructure or downsize a company takes the well-being
of employees into account? Should he or she do so? Why or why not?

Answers :
1. Kleinfelds effort at Siemens suggests that making significant changes in a company
may make people uncomfortable with those changes. Most people are used with
their routine and structure and are not very receptive to changes and may manifest
themselves through protests line in the Siemens example.
2. Lschers restructuring decisions were made with more consideration and he didnt
made drastic changes all at once. It is possible that people got over that initial shock
of the change and become more receptive by the time Lscher started his changes.
3. A business makes changes to meet market conditions. Sometimes that means
expanding and creating new departments and sometimes those changes require
downsizing.
4. Yes, the CEO should take into consideration the wellbeing of the employees because
their morale decreases, productivity and creativity drops. He also thinks about the
legal issues ( unjustified layoffs ), advance notice and severance packages.

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