EMAIL #1

Hi I have a few questions about practice exam questions from Spring 2009

Exam 2A.

29. Which of the following team building practices is most often

facilitated successfully by outside consultants?

A. Implementing a continuous improvement program.

B. Establishing a clear and elevating team goal.

C. Running an outdoor team-building experience.

D. Eliminating functional diversity among the members.

E. Ensuring that team members have adequate resources to achieve their tasks.

The answer is C but I wasn't sure why.

26. Which form of trust is generally Least affected by small violations?

A. Identification-based trust. D. Knowledge-based trust.

B. Deterrence-based trust. E. Equity trust.

The answer is A but I wasn't sure why.

And Finally, I've seen references to Psychological contracts and flextime

in various exams and was wondering what they were?

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Reply #1:

Outside consultant question:

A, B and E are more or less permanent core responsibilities of management, not the kind of thing that’s usually outsourced.

D isn’t a good idea at all.

E is generally a one-time task that can require a great deal of specialization, which most managers may not have or need.

We discussed flextime in class yesterday.  One good definition: A system of working where people work a set number of hours within a fixed period of time, but can vary the time they start or finish work.

The answers to the others are in the video and slides from the class scheduled for 3/10. Pls let me know if you are unable to find them there.

Email #2, with responses included in caps

My additions or comments in CAPS below...mf
Hi, I have been struggling to get the complete grasp over some of the
perceptual shortcuts and errors, can you help me out and add/edit whatever
is wrong/unclear.

So, the Halo Effect- when a rater forms an overall impression about an
object and then uses that impression to bias ratings about the object.
(so this is when you rate a professor high because you like him) ... OR BECAUSE HE PRODUCES VERY GOOD IN-CLASS MEDIA

The Fundamental Attribution Error- is ignoring environmental factors that
affect behavior  ... OTHER PEOPLE'S BEHAVIOR

Self-Serving Bias- taking more personal responsibility for success than
Failure

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy- is when your internal thoughts cause something
to happen (think you will fail exam- you fail) AFTER DOING THINGS LIKE LOSING SLEEP DUE TO WORRY WHICH BRING IT ABOUT

This is a clicker question:
Edward has been late for work several times this month, largely due to
others' traffic accidents. Elaine, his supervisor, thinks Edward may no
longer care about his job.  Elaine's reaction is likely an example of
_______________ .  The answer would be none of the above and it would be
the Fundamental Attribution Error is that correct?   YES THAT'S CORRECT.

Important Exam 2a review items

Several of these items require more detailed explanation than we had in today's class.  (One of more were not mentioned at all, so here they are.)

 

SESSION 12 and 15 MOTIVATION THEORIES AND PRACTICE

You should understand the different needs in Maslow’s theory and how they relate to each other.  Consider the higher and lower order nature of those needs.

Know McClelland's views on different needs covered in class and in the text, and get a fix on which occupations are most associated with one or more of McClelland’s needs categories.

Know Herzberg's motivation-hygiene model-motivators and demotivators.

Understand equity theory and master the various terms associated with it: negative equity, entitled, etc.

Know the three major components of the EIV model of motivation  (expectancy, instrumentality, and valence), and understand what happens when one is very low or not present at all.

How do we apply the job design process  and the Job characteristics model? See the interaction among characteristics, critical psychological states, and outcomes.  What moderates the relationship between the characteristics and outcomes.

Goal setting: grasp the definition and examples in text good, and know the definition and various parts of Locke and Latham’s whole model.

How do managers achieve goal commitment? Also have a good fix on 360-degree feedback and its applications and reinforcement definitions, schedules, and examples—including early job redesign efforts.

SESSION 14 HIGH-PERFORMANCE TEAM BUILDING

Types and characteristics of high-performance teams, including procedures and exercises used to build teams

Know also from the class and/or the readings what makes team leaders effective in building and leading high-performing teams.  What makes an effective team leader?

SESSION 10 and SESSION 16

Covey's Habits of Highly Effective People 

Self-management/time management techniques from Sobel and Session 16 readings.

Other facts about social networks, entrepreneurship, goals, and to-do lists.

Most observations and readings regarding “Free Agent Nation,” branding yourself, and possibly USP.

Know aspects of the career planning process, training and development. Who plays what role in creating a career plan and action plan? Know the alternative career life-cycle models discussed in class.

In case it is unavailable on the listserv, this link will work from the class blog:
Another important aspect of career planning and employee retention

Session 13 (3/10) video presentation

In case anyone hasn't yet watched the online presentation assigned for 3/10, I'd caution you not to wait till the last minute.  The server might become overloaded as we approach our Thursday exam time, and I don't believe it can handle dozens of viewers at the same time.  Best...mf

Asg04 - Due on TUESDAY, 3/22

Individual Blackboard Assignment #4

Due on TUESDAY, 3/22

In the "student edition" of the premium content site, go to the Manager's Hot Seat section and complete Scenario #15: Working in Teams: Cross-Functional Dysfunction. Review the profiles, references, scenario, and dossier before you create your report.

In this case, however, do not just answer the question about what Joe Tanney should do to make the implementation a success. Indicate as well what Joe—and probably Joe’s boss, Jeffrey Dillon (see Dossier exhibit 2)—could have done at the outset to prevent or minimize the challenges Rosa and Simon may present to this project. Feel free to include aspects of team size, motivation, mutual responsibility, “virtuality,” etc.

As in the previous assignment, you must answer the questions posed during the scenario, include them in your report, and paste the resulting text file into a Blackboard discussion entry.

Please post your assignment as Asg04-GrpNN, where NN represents your 2-digit group number. If you are in Group 2, for example, the subject heading will include "Asg04-Grp02" with no spaces, and the posting will be created on the group 2 discussion forum.

In addition to the assignment above, each group is invited to SELECT A LIAISON on or before the same deadline. There is no set method for selecting this “officer,” though the most common process is for someone to volunteer on the group discussion list and give anyone else who is interested a couple of days to speak up.

The liaison will complete two or three very easy additional tasks in exchange for being excused from completing any two Blackboard assignments. (Nobody has ever [EVER!] regretted the decision to volunteer to be their team’s liaison.)

Once liaisons have been chosen, they need to come up before or after class to enter their names on a list. This can also be filled in during office hours in BA324.
Liaisons have no additional task to do for this assignment. They just complete it the same way as anyone else.

Bill Sobel Correction + his coming events

The website Bill mentioned Tuesday isn't 15secpitch.com; it's 15secondpitch.com.


Some of Bill's coming events (All except the April 12 fundraiser's are available free to Albany students who contact him beforehand):

March 2-3 The BRITE Conference/Columbia Business School/Center on Global Brand Leadership http://www.briteconference.com/

March 8th Small Business & Technology Summit http://smallbiztechsummit.com/

March 22nd SPECIAL EVENT Featuring Gary Shapiro" The Comeback: How Innovation Will Restore the American Dream" http://conta.cc/dIGjQ7

April 12th: Special Event in partnership with Boston University College of Communication: Bill O'Reilly and Ellis Henican at The Fox Hollow Inn and Conference Center, Woodbury, NY

April 27th: The Comcast/NBCU Merger...what does it mean to you, your business and your life?

May 4th:  Daniel Seiberg: "The Digital Diet: The 4-step plan to break your tech addiction and regain balance in your life"

May 17th - 19th: SBA Small Business Week NYC produced by SobelMedia and ConstantContact

June 28th: Special Event in partnership with The UK Trade & Investment Office

Blackboard Individual Assignment #3 - Due on or before TUESDAY, March 8.

Blackboard Individual Assignment #3 - Due on or before TUESDAY, March 8.

In the "student edition" of the premium content site, go to the Manager's Hot Seat section and complete Scenario #12: Virtual Workplace--Out of the Office Reply. Review the profiles, references, scenario, and dossier before you create your report evaluating how Ralph Ramos handled the situation. (Be sure to answer the 6 multiple choice questions in the conference scenario video itself, as THESE REPONSES WILL BE PASTED IN AS PART OF YOUR REPORT.)

Once you've created your report, you can save it--along with the responses--to a text file to copy and paste into a Blackboard discussion entry.

Please post your assignment as Asg03-GrpNN, where NN represents your 2-digit group number. If you are in Group 05, for example, the subject heading will include "Asg03-Grp05" with no spaces, and the posting should be created on the group 05 discussion forum.

Liaisons who have already been chosen or self-identified have no additional responsibilities; they just do the same assignment as everyone else.