Scribd
Upload
11 views4 pages

Essays Final POM

Uploaded by

raneemalhelal9
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
11 views4 pages

Essays Final POM

Uploaded by

raneemalhelal9
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

Essays

1) Explain high-performance work practices and list a few examples of such


practices.

Answer: Work practices that lead to both high individual and high organizational
performance are known as high-performance work practices. These practices
involve improving the knowledge, skills, and abilities of employees; increase
their motivation; reduce loafing on the job; and enhance the retention of quality
employees.

High-performance work practices include:

a. Self-managed teams

b. Decentralized decision making

c. Training programs to develop knowledge, skills, and abilities

d. Flexible job assignments

e. Open communication

f. Performance-based compensation

g. Staffing based on person– job and person– organization fit

h. Extensive employee involvement

i. Giving employees more control over decision making

j. Increasing employee access to information

2) What can managers do to manage downsizing?

Answer: Downsizing or layoffs is the planned elimination of jobs in an


organization. When an organization has too many employees-which can happen
when it's faced with an economic recession, declining market share, too
aggressive growth, or poorly managed operations-one option for improving
profits is to eliminate some of those excess workers.

In order to manage downsizing, managers should:


a. Communicate openly and honestly - Managers must inform those being let go
as soon as possible. They should also tell the surviving employees the new goals
and expectations and also explain the impact of layoffs to them.

b. Follow all the laws regulating severance pay or benefits.

c. Provide support/counseling for surviving employees.

d. Reassign roles according to individuals' talents and backgrounds.

e. Focus on boosting morale - Managers should offer individualized reassurance,


continue to communicate, especially one-on-one, and remain involved and
available.

f. Have a plan for the empty office spaces/cubicles so it is not depressing for
surviving employees.

3) Discuss the five sources in which leader power has been identified. Include
specific examples of each source of power to support your answer.

Answer:

a. Legitimate power-represents the power a leader has as a result of his or her


position in the organization. People in positions of authority are also likely to
have reward or coercive power, but legitimate power is broader than the power
to coerce and reward.

b. Coercive power-the power that rests on the leader's ability to punish or


control. Followers react to this power out of fear of the negative results that
might occur if they did not comply. As a manager, you typically have some
coercive power, such as being able to suspend or demote employees or to
assign them work they find unpleasant or undesirable.

c. Reward power-the power to give positive benefits or rewards. These rewards


can be anything that another person values. In an organizational context, that
might include money, favorable performance appraisals, promotions, interesting
work assignments, friendly colleagues, and preferred work shifts or sales
territories.

d. Expert power-influence that's based on expertise, special skills, or knowledge.


As jobs have become more specialized, managers have become increasingly
dependent on staff "experts" to achieve the organization's goals. If an employee
has skills, knowledge, or expertise that's critical to the operation of a work
group, that person's expert power is enhanced.
e. Referent power-the power that arises because of a person's desirable
resources or personal traits. Referent power develops out of admiration of
another and a desire to be like that person. If you admire someone to the point
of modeling your behavior and attitudes after him or her, that person has
referent power over you.

4) Define motivation and discuss the three elements of motivation.

Answer: Motivation refers to the process by which a person's efforts are


energized, directed, and sustained toward attaining a goal. energy, direction,
and persistence. The energy element is a measure of intensity, drive, and vigor.
A motivated person puts forth effort and works hard. However, the quality of the
effort must be considered as well as its intensity. High levels of effort don't
necessarily lead to favorable job performance unless the effort is channeled in a
direction that benefits the organization. Effort that's directed toward, and
consistent with, organizational goals is the kind of effort we want from
employees. Finally, motivation includes a persistence dimension. We want
employees to persist in putting forth effort to achieve those goals.

5) Explain the concepts of job enlargement and job enrichment with suitable
examples and analyze their effectiveness in motivating employees.

Answer: Job enlargement refers to the horizontal expansion of a job by


increasing job scope, or the number of different tasks required in a job and the
frequency with which these tasks are repeated. For instance, the job of an office
assistant could be expanded so that apart from filing and documentation, he
could also handle phone calls and visitors. In contrast, job enrichment is the
vertical expansion of a job by adding planning and evaluating responsibilities.
Job enrichment increases job depth, which is the degree of control employees
have over their work. In other words, employees are empowered to assume
some of the tasks typically done by their managers. Thus, an enriched job allows
workers to do an entire activity with increased freedom, independence, and
responsibility. In addition, workers get feedback so they can assess and correct
their own performance. For instance, if an office assistant had an enriched job,
he could, in addition to filing and documentation, schedule appointments
(planning) and follow up with clients and coworkers (evaluating).

Most job enlargement efforts that focused solely on increasing the number of
tasks don't seem to work. However, research has shown that knowledge
enlargement activities (expanding the scope of knowledge used in a job) lead to
more job satisfaction, enhanced customer service, and fewer errors. Also,
although job enrichment may improve the quality of work, employee motivation,
and satisfaction, research evidence has been inconclusive as to its usefulness.
6) What is open-book management? How is it effective in motivating appropriate
employee behavior?

Answer: Many organizations of various sizes involve their employees in


workplace decisions by opening up the financial statements (the "books"). They
share that information so that employees will be motivated to make better
decisions about their work and better able to understand the implications of
what they do, how they do it, and the ultimate impact on the bottom line. This
approach is called open-book management. The goal of open-book management
is to get employees to think like an owner by seeing the impact their decisions
have on financial results. Since many employees don't have the knowledge or
background to understand the financials, they have to be taught how to read
and understand the organization's financial statements. Once employees have
this knowledge, however, managers need to regularly share the numbers with
them. By sharing this information, employees begin to see the link between
their efforts, level of performance, and operational results.

7) What are the major reasons why the control function is important to
managers?

Answer: Control is important because it's the only way managers know whether
organizational goals are being met and if not, the reasons why. The value of the
control function can be seen in three specific areas: planning, empowering
employees, and protecting the workplace. As the final step in the management
process, controlling provides the critical link back to planning. If managers didn't
control, they'd have no way of knowing whether their goals and plans were
being achieved and what future actions to take. The second reason controlling is
important is because of employee empowerment. Many managers are reluctant
to empower their employees because they fear employees will do something
wrong for which they would be held responsible. Many managers are tempted to
do things themselves and avoid empowering. But an effective control system
can provide information and feedback on employee performance, thus reducing
potential problems. The final reason that managers control is to protect the
organization and its assets. Today's environment brings heightened threats from
natural disasters, financial scandals, workplace violence, supply chain
disruptions, security breaches, and even possible terrorist attacks. Managers
must have plans in place to protect the organization's employees, facilities,
data, and infrastructure. Having comprehensive controls and backup plans will
help assure minimal work disruptions.

You might also like