Management Chapter 7 Ellsworth Treated Mrs Nila Pratt The New Dean Returned His Office Armed

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PPT 7.43

4. Teams are assigned tasks ranging from establishing policies to

evaluating on-the-job safety.

5. Employees who are not self-motivated team players are having

difficulty getting used to their peers’ authority within the system.

6. Upper-level managers face stress and frustration because they must

train workers to supervise themselves.

C. Discussion questions:

1. What techniques or skills should an employee have to assume a

leadership role within a work group?

To assume a leadership role within a work group, an employee

should have a very good technical knowledge of the tasks conducted

by the team. This individual should also have some conceptual skills

in order to relate to the various activities performed within the

group. Finally, human relations skills are necessary for the leader to

provide information to the rest of the group and for the members of

the group to give feedback to their leader.

2. If each work group has a team representative, what problems will

be faced in supervising these representatives?

Each team representative is likely to defend the interests of his or

her own group and to neglect the actions that may favor the

performance of the other groups. In other words, the degree of

collaboration between teams is likely to be low.

3. Evaluate the pros and cons of the system developed by QS

employees have to learn how to supervise themselves, something

they were not used to doing under the old system. As a result, they

are having difficulty getting used to their peers’ authority under the

new system. Training programs are necessary to teach employees

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B O X E D T E X T D I S C U S S I O N Q U E S T I O N S

ENTER THE WORLD OF BUSINESS—CarMax Uses Decentralized Structure to Support Teamwork

CarMax makes it a priority to develop satisfied employees. The company has a decentralized structure where

1. How does CarMax encourage employees to put customer needs first?

2. How has CarMax developed a decentralized culture?

3. Describe some ways that CarMax empowers its employees.

CarMax believe that employees who work together are able to place the customer first and serve their

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RESPONDING TO BUSINESS CHALLENGES—Companies Embracing Greater Employee Interaction

Getting rid of cubicles, creating inconvenient work spaces, and eliminating work-from-home programs are

1. Describe methods some companies are using to increase employee interaction.

Getting rid of cubicles, creating inconvenient work spaces, and eliminating work-from-home programs

2. Why is it important that employees interact with one another?

3. Do you feel that the disadvantages of work-from-home programs are higher than their benefits?

Students’ answers will vary.

GOING GREEN—Numi Organic Tea Utilizes Teamwork to Increase Sustainability Initiatives

Numi Organic Tea was organized as a Benefit (B) corporation in 1999 in Oakland, California. This benefit

status is a certification that implies the company adheres to strict environmental and socially responsible

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Instructor’s Manual – Chapter 7

S U P P L E M E N T A L L E C T U R E

Informal Leaders within an Organization

Within an organization, there may be informal leaders—individuals who have no formal authority over others

yet can influence the behavior of others. The story below points out how managers can use informal leaders

to achieve desired objectives.

One day, the professor of the management class lectured on the topic of the informal leader. The gist of the

professor’s lecture was this:

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When teachers clumped together for conversation during refreshment breaks, the biggest circle formed

around Nila, and those in Nila’s circle would press her for opinions on everything. If Nila told a joke, it always

received rumbling laughter. In open forums when Nila voiced an opinion, every teacher in the room turned

The professor of management concluded his lecture on informal leaders, and class was dismissed. The new

dean, John Alvarez, walked to his car and drove back to Wilson University. As he was driving, a thunderbolt of

thought and insight hit the new dean.

1. Mrs. Nila Pratt was the informal leader in the management professor’s illustration, and Dr. Luce, the

assistant dean, was the informal leader in the new dean’s organization. Why do certain individuals

become the informal leaders in an organization?

2. Is it ethical for managers to “use” informal leaders in an organization to achieve their objectives?

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C O N T R O V E R S I A L I S S U E

Why Isn’t Delegation Working Here?

One of the purposes for studying organizational structure is to determine what the authority relationships

are, what the tasks are, and who is responsible for carrying out those tasks. The following story illustrates

what happens when the delegation of responsibility is not given to the person in charge of a group of

subordinates.

To add to the problem, the original manager of the firm (the woman who had hired Billy) resigned and took a

job at an airport. Her replacement was full of vim, vigor, and vitality and was determined to get the company

rolling again, even though there were some logistical problems that caused the firm to fall further and

further behind schedule. After talking to many people (but not Billy) in the firm about the lag in schedule, the

new manager finally arrived at a solution. He decided to talk to Billy.

“I take it that this means that I’m in charge of the construction crews and can order extra workers and assign

overtime as needed, right? And those crews and their straw bosses will know that my word is law, right?”

“Hold on,” the manager choked, “You can’t be in charge of the crews.”

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1. What was the organizational problem in this story?

2. Can someone be responsible for something over which that person does not have authority?

3. How should the new manager have handled Billy’s request to be in charge, to be able to order extra

workers, to assign overtime, and to know that his word was law?

S O Y O U W A N T A J O B I N M A N A G I N G O R G A N I Z A T I O N A L C U L T U R E,

T E A M W O R K, A N D C O M M U N I C A T I O N ?

How has technology created new job positions?

The area of corporate communications provides lots of opportunities for specific jobs that facilitate

communication systems. Thanks to technology, there are job positions to help disseminate information

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C H E C K Y O U R P R O G R E S S

1. Identify four types of departmentalization and give an example of each type.

Departmentalization is grouping jobs into working units usually called departments, units, groups, or

divisions. Functional departmentalization is the grouping of jobs that perform similar functional activities,

2. Explain the difference between groups and teams.

In a group, two or more individuals communicate with one another, share a common identity, and have a

3. What are self-managed work teams and what tasks might they perform that traditionally are

performed by managers?

4. Explain how delegating authority, responsibility, and accountability are related.

All of these are related, but there is a difference in the meaning of each of these words. Delegation of

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5. Distinguish between centralization and decentralization. Under what circumstances is each

appropriate?

6. Define span of management. Why do some organizations have narrow spans and others wide spans?

7. Discuss the different forms of organizational structure. What are the primary advantages and

disadvantages of each form?

The process of delegation establishes a pattern of authority and accountability, often called bureaucracy,

within the organization. Various forms of bureaucracy include line structure, line-and-staff structure, and

matrix structure, as well as committees.

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8. Discuss the role of the grapevine within organizations. How can managers use it to further the goals of

the firm?

9. How have technological advances made electronic oversight a necessity in many companies?

10. Discuss how an organization’s culture might influence its ability to achieve its objectives. Do you think

that managers can “manage” the organization’s culture?

When an organization’s culture consists of values shared by all members of the organization, results can

G E T I N V O L V E D

1. Explain, using a specific example (perhaps your own future business), how an organizational structure

might evolve. How would you handle the issues of specialization, delegation of authority, and

centralization? Which structure would you use? Explain your answers.

2. Interview the department chairperson in charge of one of the academic departments in your college or

university. Using Table 8.1 as a guideline, explore whether the professors function more like a group or

a team. Contrast what you find here with what you see on your school’s basketball, football, or

baseball team.

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B U I L D Y O U R S K I L L S

2. Obviously, most—if not all—of the circled items should come from column two.

3. Some ideas that you might want to bring out in the discussion generated from this question are:

• Everybody pulls together.

• Enthusiasm runs high.

• Believe in what you’re doing.

• Be passionate about achieving your team’s goals.

B U I L D Y O U R B U S I N E S S P L A N

You really need to encourage students to have a positive outlook about working with others on a team. At

this point, students have been working on their group’s business plan for 6 weeks to 2 months. Surprise the

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S E E F O R Y O U R S E L F V I D E O C A S E:

Z A P P O S C R E A T E S O R G A N I Z A T I O N A L S T R U C T U R E A N D

C U L T U R E W I T H T E A M S

Case Overview

Zappos has always taken pride in its focus on employees and customers and, as a result, has adopted a team

structure to reinforce the kind of organizational culture for which it aims. Many companies utilize functional

departmentalization as a structure to organize their activities. Zappos’ many teams serve this same purpose

but are described as teams rather than departments. While the company is run by teams in every

department, one of the most important teams is the merchandising team, because team members are

1. Why do companies like Zappos incorporate the use of teams into their organizational structure?

2. How does the use of teams contribute to the organizational culture?

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3. How does a focus on the work to be accomplished versus the institution of titles relate to the concept

of teamwork?

The most recent development the company has made in terms of organizational structure and teamwork

is the adoption of Holacracy. This is a management structure that focuses on the type and amount of

T E A M E X E R C I S E

Students will form groups and assign the responsibility of providing the organizational structure for a

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T E R M P A P E R O R P R O J E C T T O P I C S

These topics may be assigned as individual or collaborative projects:

G U E S T S P E A K E R S U G G E S T I O N S

1. A professor or teacher to talk about organizational structure.

T E A C H I N G S U G G E S T I O N S

1. Start the session with a “writing to learn” exercise. Select three or four of the questions in “Check Your

2. Cover desired portions of chapter content using the “Lecture Outline and Notes.” If students have been

3. Having students draw organizational charts will help reinforce the characteristics of each of the

4. Students should have read the boxed material. Go over the discussion questions in class. Spending time