Principles-of-Management Principles of Management at Western Governors University(IAC1) Questions and Answers

The source of conflict between older tenured faculty and younger, nontenured faculty members at the university is structure. Structural conflicts arise due to hierarchical or organizational arrangements that create differences in status, power, or access to resources. In this scenario, the inability to terminate older tenured faculty regardless of their competence creates a structural conflict with the younger nontenured faculty who may feel disadvantaged or undervalued​​.

A benefit of a boundaryless organization is that employees may express their opinions freely. Boundaryless organizations eliminate traditional barriers between departments and hierarchical levels, fostering open communication, collaboration, and a free flow of information across the organization. This openness encourages employees to share their ideas and opinions without fear of repercussions, enhancing innovation and problem-solving​​.

The first step of the control process is setting performance standards.

Setting Performance Standards(Answer B): This step involves establishing the criteria against which performance will be measured. These standards serve as the benchmark for assessing actual performance and determining any necessary corrective actions​​.

Measuring Performance(Answer C) andComparing Performance Against Standards(Answer D): These steps come after setting performance standards.

Taking Corrective Action(Answer A): This is the final step in the control process.

To stimulate conflict and get a different perspective, bringing in outsiders is the most appropriate technique.

Bringing in Outsiders(Answer A): This technique involves introducing new individuals who have different viewpoints, which can stimulate conflict and provide new perspectives that might be overlooked by the current team. It helps in shaking up the status quo and encouraging innovative thinking​​.

Appointing a Devil's Advocate(Answer B): While also effective in stimulating conflict, this technique involves someone within the group challenging ideas to ensure thorough evaluation. However, it might not provide as fresh a perspective as bringing in outsiders.

Authoritative Command(Answer C) andCompromise(Answer D): These are more about resolving conflict rather than stimulating it.

A characteristic of a person with an entrepreneurial personality is the motivation to excel.

Motivation to Excel(Answer A): Entrepreneurs are typically driven by a strong desire to achieve and excel. They are competitive, have a high need for achievement, and are constantly seeking ways to improve and succeed in their ventures​​.

Opportunity Tolerance(Answer B): While entrepreneurs need to tolerate risks and seize opportunities, the term "opportunity tolerance" is not specifically highlighted as a key characteristic of an entrepreneurial personality.

Laissez-faire(Answer C) andEmployee Empowerment(Answer D): These are management styles or strategies rather than personal characteristics of entrepreneurs.

The value chain describes the full range of activities that businesses go through to bring a product or service from conception to delivery and beyond. The concept was popularized by Michael Porter in his 1985 book "Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance."

Definition and Scope: A value chain encompasses all the processes involved in the creation of a product or service. This includes:

Sourcing raw materials.

Production processes.

Marketing and sales.

Distribution and delivery.

Customer service post-delivery.

Primary Activities:

Inbound Logistics: Receiving, storing, and disseminating inputs of the product.

Operations: Transforming inputs into the final product.

Outbound Logistics: Collecting, storing, and distributing the product to customers.

Marketing and Sales: Persuading customers to purchase the product.

Services: Activities that maintain and enhance the product's value, such as customer service.

Support Activities:

Procurement: Acquiring the resources a company needs to operate.

Technology Development: Research and development, IT, automation, etc.

Human Resource Management: Recruiting, hiring, training, and retaining workers.

Firm Infrastructure: Organizational structure, control systems, company culture, etc.

Example of Value Chain: The textbook provides an example of Walmart's value chain to illustrate how a company adds value at each step of the process, from procurement to delivery​​.

Importance: Understanding and optimizing the value chain allows companies to identify where they can add value, reduce costs, and gain competitive advantage. Companies can use this analysis to find opportunities for improvement, innovation, and efficiency in their processes.

The most effective conflict-resolution technique for creating a shared goal that cannot be attained without the cooperation of each of the conflicting parties is the establishment of superordinate goals.

Superordinate Goals(Answer B): Superordinate goals are overarching goals that are important to both parties in a conflict and require their cooperation to be achieved. These goals help conflicting parties to focus on common objectives and work together to achieve them, thereby reducing conflict and promoting collaboration​​.

Communication(Answer A): While communication is crucial in conflict resolution, it alone may not create a shared goal that necessitates cooperation.

Avoidance(Answer C): Avoidance is a passive approach that generally postpones the conflict rather than resolving it.

Authoritative Command(Answer D): This involves using authority to resolve the conflict, which may not create cooperation or shared goals among the parties.

An effective diversity training program commonly includes building awareness among employees. This involves educating employees about the importance of diversity, the benefits it brings to the workplace, and how to recognize and appreciate differences among colleagues. Awareness-building helps in creating a more inclusive and respectful work environment, which is essential for the success of diversity initiatives.

Building Awareness(Answer A): Effective diversity training programs focus on increasing cultural competencies, valuing differences, and understanding how diversity enhances business decisions​​.

Completing a Skills Inventory(Answer B),Analyzing Feedback(Answer C), andIdentifying Informal Networks(Answer D): While these activities may support diversity efforts, they are not core elements of diversity training programs as described in the textbook.

A clear and concise statement of the basic purpose of an organization is its mission. A mission statement provides a broad description of how the organization intends to achieve its vision. It specifies the organization's reason for being and answers the question, "What business(es) should we undertake?"​​.

In the textbook "Principles of Management," a mission statement is defined as a broad description of how a firm will try to make its vision a reality, often describing the products and services the company plans to offer and the customers it plans to serve​​. This differentiates it from a vision statement, which is more general and focuses on what the business aspires to become in the future.

The strategy the corporation is using to overcome resistance to change is participation and involvement. This approach involves engaging employees who are affected by the change,soliciting their input, and incorporating their suggestions into the change process. By involving employees, the organization can reduce resistance and gain valuable insights that facilitate smoother implementation of changes​​.

The last step in the strategic planning process is strategic control. This involves monitoring and evaluating the execution of the strategic plan to ensure that the organization is achieving its objectives and making necessary adjustments.

Strategic Management Process:

The strategic management process includes developing the firm's vision and mission, strategic analysis, setting objectives, creating and implementing strategies, and finally, measuring and evaluating performance.

Strategic control is the step where managers assess whether the strategies and plans are being effectively implemented and whether they are leading the organization towards its goals​​.

Purpose of Strategic Control:

It ensures that the organization is moving in the right direction and that the strategic plans are yielding the desired outcomes.

It involves setting performance standards, measuring actual performance, comparing it with the standards, and taking corrective actions if necessary​​.

Components of Strategic Control:

Performance Measurement: This involves tracking the progress of strategy implementation through key performance indicators (KPIs).

Feedback and Adjustment: Based on performance data, managers provide feedback and make adjustments to strategies to address any deviations from the planned objectives​​.