Chapter 10 Would You Draft Policy Directly Stating That

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Lussier, Management Fundamentals, 7e

Answers to Case Questions

Chapter 10: Organizational Behavior:

Power, Politics, Conflict, and Stress

OB at College

1. Which Big Five personality dimension is affecting Tina Jefferson’s behavior?

2. What role are perception bias and attitudes playing in this case, and which determinant of job

satisfaction would influence Tina Jefferson?

The perception bias is frame of reference. Joe Perry and Tina Jefferson have different view of

10–3. What type of power do Joe Perry and Tina Jefferson appear to be using during the meeting?

Joe Perry is using his position and legitimate power in wanting to have a policy. Tina Jefferson is

10–4. Which political behavior seems to be stopping Tina Jefferson from getting what she wants,

and which political behavior could be of most help to her if she wants to continue to use graduate

assistants for grading exams?

5. What does the psychological contract have to do with this case?

Lussier, Management Fundamentals, 7e

The conflict exists because the psychological contract is being broken. Tina Jefferson has been

6. In sending her memo to the department, Tina Jefferson used which conflict management style?

7. Was sending the memo a wise political move? What might Tina Jefferson have gained or lost by

sending it?

Before getting into the details, Tina Jefferson is clearly in a situation where she was little power

and can lose. Thus, she has to make sure that what she is fighting for is very important to her.

8. What would you do if you were Joe Perry? (a) Would you talk to the dean and let him know that

Tina Jefferson said she would appeal the policy decision? If so, which kind of political behavior

would this approach represent? (b) Would you draft a policy directly stating that graduate

assistants cannot be used to grade objective exams? (c) Would your answer to (b) be influenced by

your answer to (a)?

(a) Talking to the dean is a wise political move, as Joe Perry can find out if he has the dean’s

9. If you were Tina Jefferson, once you saw that you had no support during the meeting, would

you have continued to defend your position or agreed to stop using graduate assistants to grade

exams? Would your answer be different if you were not a tenured faculty member?

Lussier, Management Fundamentals, 7e

10. If you were Tina Jefferson and Joe Perry drafted a policy that department members agreed

with, would you appeal the decision to the dean? Would your answer be different if you were not

a tenured faculty member?

Assuming that Joe Perry checked with the dean, an appeal will not work; therefore, appealing is

11. If you were the dean of SAS, knowing that the VP did not want to set a college wide policy, and

Tina Jefferson appealed to you, what would you do? Would you develop a schoolwide policy for

SAS?

As stated above, the dean will likely side with the department and not set a schoolwide policy.

12. (a) Should Jim Weston have spoken up in defense of Tina Jefferson during the meeting? If you

were Weston, would you have taken Tina Jefferson’s side against the other seven members? (b)

Would your answer be different if you were friends with Tina Jefferson or if you were a tenured

professor?

13. What are the ethical issues in this case, and how do perception and attitudes influence ethics?

There are no simple answers. Perception and attitudes influence what we consider to be

14. At what level (collegewide, by schools, or by departments within each school) should a

graduate assistant policy be set?

If you want to be consistent and fair with everyone, a collegewide policy is best.

15. What type of change is Joe Perry making?

Lussier, Management Fundamentals, 7e

16. Which of the major reasons for resistance to change is Tina Jefferson exhibiting?

Tina Jefferson is resisting the change because of his self-interest and the fear of loss of graduate

student help.