Description

1. Answer each question separately. Be sure to number your answers so your instructor knows which question you are answering.
2. Define organizational behavior (OB) and discuss the importance of OB as a field of study (Chapter 1).
3. The finance department has not had a direct supervisor for more than three months. The department has 12 employees. Two of the employees (Glen and Emma) have a reputation for not meeting deadlines, coming to work late, and leaving early. The other employees are afraid to confront Glen and Emma about their behavior. You have recently been hired as the new finance department supervisor. As the new supervisor, how would you apply the nine-step decision-making system (Chapter 2) to this situation? Explain each step and how you would apply it.
4. You have been hired as the chief ethics officer for ABC Company. The company was recently embarrassed by inappropriate business practices of some employees. The inappropriate business practices made headline news through newspapers and social media. The company's reputation has been tarnished. The president of ABC Company has asked you to develop an ethics program for the company. Identify and explain four key components for managing ethics in an organization. As the Ethic Officer, do you believe it is possible to change a company’s reputation once an ethics violation has occurred? Why or why not? (Chapter 5)?
5. Managers have the responsibility to allocate which four resources? Explain each resource and provide at least two examples. How do these four resources relate to the performance and productivity of the organization (Chapter 8)?
6. You have been hired by ABC Company as the supervisor for the product distribution department. The prior supervisor retired after 25 years with the company. The employees admired and really enjoyed working with the past supervisor. You have heard rumors that the employees are concerned about having a new supervisor that no one knows. Identify, explain, and apply three communication concepts from the textbook that you, as the new supervisor, could use in this situation.
7. You are the manager at a clothing store. All the company employees are required to take customer service training during their "New Employee Training". Your employee Taylor became confrontational and started "yelling" at a customer. You did not witness the situation, but you were told about it by the customer and another employee. Taylor is one of your top clothing salespersons. Taylor’s personnel file notes that he did complete the customer service training. The file also has a copy of a written reprimand discussing a similar situation that occurred with a customer a year ago. Identify, explain, and apply the factors that should be taken into consideration when determining disciplinary action for this employee. Provide examples.
8. Zoey has been an exceptional employee until the last few weeks. Two weeks ago, you (the supervisor) spoke to her about not completing her work on time. Zoey apologized and stated she was having personal problems at home, which made it hard to focus on her work. This week Zoey did not submit a report to you by the due date. Chapter 8 identifies eight general types of decisions. Choose four of the general types of decisions, and explain the decision-making process. Apply this process to the situation with Zoey.
9. Six months ago, the information technology (IT) department provided all managers with a list of staff who were surfing the Web for long periods of time during work hours. Annie was on the list. Annie joined the company 18 months ago. She is good friends with the company president. She has been in your department for nine months. You previously spoke to Annie about her personal use of work computers and reiterated the company's policy of nonpersonal use. You thought the meeting went well and that she clearly understood the company's policy. The IT department just contacted you to let you know that Annie has again been surfing the net for hours at a time, and on Web sites that do not relate to her work. You need to resolve this issue. Identify, explain, and apply three course concepts from the textbook that could help you provide a resolution.