LIST OF REVIEW QUESTIONS (FOR MIDTERM EXAMINATION)

CHAPTER 1
1. What was the significance of the industrial revolution?

– Substituted machine power for human labor

– Created large organizations in need of management
– More jobs and more goods able to be produced faster and more efficient.
2. What is a bureaucracy? Do bureaucracies still exist today?

– Bureaucracy: a form of organization characterized by division of labor, a clearly defined hierarchy, detailed rules
and regulations, and impersonal relationships.
– Bureaucratic system nowadays in fact, is more fluid and less hierarchical forms of organisation

3. What did the early advocates of Organizational Behavior contribute to our understanding of management?

– Organizational behavior research contributed more of behavioral views of management, human resources,

motivation techniques, leadership qualities, trust among employees, teamwork and other management views
– Improving people skills- Organisational Behaviour helps in better management of business as it helps in
improving the skills of the people. It provides insight into the skills that the employees can use on the job such as
designing jobs and creating effective teams. 6.
4. Why were the Hawthorne Studies so critical to management history?

– The results of the studies indicated that increases in performance were tied to a complex set of employee
attitudes. Mayo claimed that both experimental and control groups from the plant had developed a sense of
group pride because they had been selected to participate in the studies. The pride that came from this special
attention motivated the workers to increase their productivity. Supervisors who allowed the employees to have
some control over their situation appeared to further increase the workers’ motivation. 
– These findings gave rise to what is now known as the Hawthorne effect, which suggests that employees will
perform better when they feel singled out for special attention or feel that management is concerned about
employee welfare. The studies also provided evidence that informal work groups (the social relationships of
employees) and the resulting group pressure have positive effects on group productivity. 
– The results of the Hawthorne studies enhanced our understanding of what motivates individuals in the
workplace. They indicate that in addition to the personal economic needs emphasized in the classical era, social
needs play an important role in influencing work-related attitudes and behaviors.

5. Explain what the quantitative approach has contributed to the field of management.
- Quantitative approach – the use of quantitative techniques to improve decision making.

The quantitative approach to management involves the use of quantitative techniques, such as statistics, information
models, and computer simulations, to improve decision making

- The contribution of the quantitative approach in management includes:

 Using numerical information to help with decision making

 Increased understanding of logistics
 Optimising management through the use of statistical data
 Increased planning
 Improved enforcement of control
 More efficient allocation of resources and workload
 More research focused
 Multidisciplinary approach
  Increased use of computers and technology
 Forecasting is now more common place in the field of management
 The quantitative approach is a significant part of budgeting

6. Describe total quality management.

QM can be summarized as a management system for a customer-focused organization that involves all employees in
continual improvement. It uses strategy, data, and effective communications to integrate the quality discipline into the
culture and activities of the organization. Many of these concepts are present in modern quality management systems,
the successor to TQM. Here are the 8 principles of total quality management:

1. Customer-focused: The customer ultimately determines the level of quality. No matter what an organization
does to foster quality improvement—training employees, integrating quality into the design process, or
upgrading computers or software—the customer determines whether the efforts were worthwhile.
2. Total employee involvement: All employees participate in working toward common goals. Total employee
commitment can only be obtained after fear has been driven from the workplace, when empowerment has
occurred, and when management has provided the proper environment. High-performance work systems
integrate continuous improvement efforts with normal business operations. Self-managed work teams are
one form of empowerment.
3. Process-centered: A fundamental part of TQM is a focus on process thinking. A process is a series of steps
that take inputs from suppliers (internal or external) and transforms them into outputs that are delivered to
customers (internal or external). The steps required to carry out the process are defined, and performance
measures are continuously monitored in order to detect unexpected variation.
4. Integrated system: Although an organization may consist of many different functional specialties often
organized into vertically structured departments, it is the horizontal processes interconnecting these
functions that are the focus of TQM.
 Micro-processes add up to larger processes, and all processes aggregate into the business
processes required for defining and implementing strategy. Everyone must understand the
vision, mission, and guiding principles as well as the quality policies, objectives, and critical
processes of the organization. Business performance must be monitored and communicated
continuously.
 An integrated business system may be modeled after the Baldrige Award criteria and/or
incorporate the ISO 9000 standards. Every organization has a unique work culture, and it is
virtually impossible to achieve excellence in its products and services unless a good quality
culture has been fostered. Thus, an integrated system connects business improvement
elements in an attempt to continually improve and exceed the expectations of customers,
employees, and other stakeholders.
5. Strategic and systematic approach: A critical part of the management of quality is the strategic and
systematic approach to achieving an organization’s vision, mission, and goals. This process, called strategic
planning or strategic management, includes the formulation of a strategic plan that integrates quality as a
core component.
6. Continual improvement: A large aspect of TQM is continual process improvement. Continual improvement
drives an organization to be both analytical and creative in finding ways to become more competitive and
more effective at meeting stakeholder expectations.
7. Fact-based decision making: In order to know how well an organization is performing, data on performance
measures are necessary. TQM requires that an organization continually collect and analyze data in order to
improve decision making accuracy, achieve consensus, and allow prediction based on past history.
8. Communications: During times of organizational change, as well as part of day-to-day operation, effective
communications plays a large part in maintaining morale and in motivating employees at all levels.
Communications involve strategies, method, and timeliness.
 https://asq.org/quality-resources/total-quality-management#:~:text=A%20core%20definition%20of
%20total,culture%20in%20which%20they%20work.

7. How has technology impacted how managers use the quantitative approach in today’s workplace?
- With the improvement in technology has enhance the accuracy of quantitative approach.
Having more source of information : face to face, telephone surveys  online research and surveys; Smartphones are
used a lot already, but devices such as voice assistants, smart speakers, smart televisions, and other smart technologies
are still being explored as potential research channels (Internet of Thinks)
Quantitative methodologies such as quick polls and shorter surveys should theoretically be the easiest to adapt to these
new technologies, but as more focus is being put onto other areas of the research process equally now, and we must
keep a lookout for the next big breakthrough in commercialised technological innovations.
https://blog.flexmr.net/evolution-quant-methods-what-technology-holds

8. How do systems theory and the contingency approach make managers better at what they do?
In systems theory, organizations are compared to systems. A system has parts and subparts where one
part is interdependent on another. By applying systems theory managers can be better at what they do.
Contingency approach advocates that managerial actions and organisational design must be appropriate to the given
situation and a particular action is valid only under certain conditions. It advocates that the managers should develop
situation sensitivity and practical selectivity.

9. How do societal trends influence the practice of management? What are the implications for someone studying
management?
Societal trends influence management by forcing the managerial staff of corporations to adapt. This is so that they can
accommodate new societies. Ultimately, the goal of any business is to market to a certain segment of society. As a
result, management must adapt accordingly.
CHAPTER 2
10. Explain how good decision making is a skill that can be learned and improved.
-

11. Where in the eight-step decision-making process are the likely problem areas for managers?

12. What role does intuition play in decision making? Discuss.

• Intuitive decision-making means making decisions on the basis of experience, feelings, and
accumulated judgment.

intuition is the result of information processing in the brain that results in prediction based on
previous experience.”  I had always perceived intuition as more of a gut feeling, but learning it’s
based on past experiences, it makes me wonder how effective it can be in decision making.
Apparently, intuition is more than just a feeling.  It’s actually the result of a lot of processing
within the brain.  The brain is a “predictive machine” that is constantly making decisions based
on experiences from the past, current experiences, and incoming sensory information.  All of
this happens subconsciously.  You don’t realize it, but when you have a gut feeling about
something, you brain has made a connection to a past experience.  I find this very interesting.

13. Is satisficing a desirable way of making managerial decisions?

• Satisficing – when decision makers accept solutions that are good enough.
• Satisficing will be more acceptable and time-saving if the problem is urgent
• The satisficing strategy can include adopting a minimalist approach in regards to
achieving the first attainable resolution that meets basic acceptable outcomes.

14. Most managers adopt particular styles to simplify their decision making. This helps them make
sense of information. Are these styles unreliable?
- Their styles can be simplified but they must follow all the most basic requirements and steps.
Simplified styles can reduce the digression as well as overthinking.

15. What should a good manager do if it becomes apparent that a decision that has already been made
is clearly not working or solving the situation?
They must analyze the situation again and identify which parts the decision did solve and which are
still unsolved. With unsolved ones, what 's wrong with the old solution? Then point out the new
problems – come back to the 8-steps process.

16. What do you understand by personalization technologies? How does big data fit into decision-
making processes?
- Digital systems, tools, or interfaces that record and store personalized information for different museum visitors, in the
galleries and online. 
Personalization—also known as personalized marketing—is achieved through the
use of technologies and strategies that deliver personalized experiences. Over the
years, as technologies have improved, users have discovered more opportunities to
deliver improved customer interactions. 

With personalized experiences, each user is served dynamic content using an

algorithm that leverages behavioral targeting and predictive analytics. The tech
used may vary based on the type of digital property, user intent, and the desired
action.