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OSM612S - ORGANISATIONAL MANAGEMENT - 1ST OPP - NOV 2024 |
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n Am I BIA u n IVERs ITY
OFSCIEnCEAno TECHnOLOGY
FACULTY OF COMMERCE, HUMAN SCIENCE AND EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES
QUALIFICATION: BACHELOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
QUALIFICATION CODE: 07BHRM
LEVEL: 6
COURSE CODE: OSM612S
COURSE NAME: ORGANISATIONAL MANAGEMENT
SESSION: NOVEMBER 2024
DURATION: 3 HOURS
PAPER: THEORY
MARKS: 100
EXAMINER(S)
MODERATOR:
FIRST OPPORTUNITY EXAMINATION QUESTION PAPER
Mr. Ehrenfried Tjivii Ndjoonduezu
Ms. M Sezuni
INSTRUCTIONS
1. The paper consists of Section A, Band C. Answer ALL the questions.
2. Write clearly and neatly.
3. Number the answers clearly.
PERMISSIBLE MATERIALS
1. Examination paper.
2. Examination script.
THIS QUESTION PAPER CONSISTS OF 7 PAGES (Including this front page)
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SECTION A
(20 marks)
Question 1 (Each multiple-choice question carries one (1) mark)
Choose the correct answer to the questions that follow by indicating only the
applicable letter (i.e., a, b, c, d, ore) in your answer book.
1.1 Those who are powerful, articulate, and persuasive are most vulnerable to
a) unethical practices
b) politicking harm
c) ethical lapses
d) exploitation
e) unfair evaluation
1.2 Fred's company needs to dramatically cut costs. Which of the following structural
decisions will help her immediately reduce costs?
a) doubling the span of control
b) decreasing the unity of command
c) increasing the chain of command
d) decentralizing management decisions
e) formalizing work processes
1.3 Which of the following types of conflict identified by the interactionist view is the
least functional and the most damaging to productivity?
a) task
b) organizational
c) relationship
d) process
e) institutional
1.4 Which of the following is not a characteristic of nonverbal communication?
a) intonation
b) universal meaning
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c) facial expression
d) physical distance
e) meaningful information
1.5 The ___
perspective focuses on productive conflict resolution starting both
before and after the behavioral stage of conflict occurs, to minimize the negative
effects on the organization.
a) interactionist conflict
b) task conflict
c)
process conflict
d)
managed conflict
e) traditional conflict
1.6 ___
orientation is the characteristic of organizational culture that addresses
the degree to which management decisions take into consideration the effect of
outcomes on people within the organization.
a) Humanistic
b) Community
c) Team
d) Relationship
e) People
1.7 Institutionalization can be an asset and a liability. In which of the following
situations is it a liability?
a) It doesn't go out of business when a leader is changed.
b) Acceptable modes of behavior are self-evident to all.
c) The organization is valued for itself.
d) Maintaining the organization becomes an end-in-itself.
e) The organization has a life apart from the founders.
1.8 Which of the following is true regarding behavioral structured interviews?
a) They are conducted in a similar manner as audition-type interviews.
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b) They decrease an interviewer's reliance on his or her "gut feelings."
c) They are most useful when interviewing high-performing workers.
d) They are useful only for interviewing non-skilled workers.
e)
They increase the effectiveness of the interview technique.
1.9 Terry is a sales representative for his company. He is attending a company
training program about the types of expenses that are considered legal
deductions for tax purposes, and how to distinguish between personal expenses
and business expenses. Terry is attending training to improve his ___
skills.
a) literacy
b) problem-solving
c) interpersonal
d) ethics
e) technical
1.1O All of the following are steps in the process of action research except
a) diagnosis
b) forming
c) feedback
d) action
e)
evaluation
Question 2
True or False (Each question carries one (1) mark)
2.1 You should expect that long-time career executives will be proponents of change.
2.2 Research demonstrates that any effort to resist change is dysfunctional in terms
of organizational effectiveness.
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2.3 Senior executives establish norms that filter down through the organization as to
whether risk-taking is desirable.
2.4 Most formal training revolves around employees simply helping each other out.
2.5 Technical training has become increasingly important because of changes in
organizational design.
2.6 The size of an organization affects the organization's structure at a decreasing rate
of impact.
2.7 By definition, all political behavior is considered an illegitimate activity.
2.8 If the aspiration ranges of two parties overlap, then a settlement range for the
conflict exists.
2.9 Once a conflict is perceived, it is automatically personalized.
2.1 O The most comprehensive and replicated of the behavioral theories resulted from
research begun by Fred Fiedler.
Section B
[15]
Question 3
Ethical Dilemma
StressingOut Employeesis YourJob
Some of the most admired business leaders argue that the only way to get the most out
of people is to stretch them. Both business anecdotes and research evidence seem
to back this view. "If you do know how to get there, it's not a stretch target," former GE
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CEO Jack Welch has said. "We have found that by reaching for what appears to be the
impossible, we often actually do the impossible; and even when we don't quite make it,
we inevitably wind up doing much better than we would have done."
As for the research evidence, we noted in Chapter 7 that goal-setting theory-whereby
managers set the most difficult goals to which employees will commit-is perhaps
the best-supported theory of motivation. The implication is that to be the most effective
manager you need to push, push, and push more.
But does this pose an ethical dilemma for managers? What if you learned that pushing
employees to the brink came at the expense of their health or their family life? While it
seems true that managers get the performance they expect, it also seems likely that
some people push themselves too hard. When Kathie Nunley, who travels more than 100
days each year, had to miss the occasion when her son won an art competition, the only
person she could share her news with was the Delta ticket agent. "It hit me how sad it
was that I was sharing this moment with an airline agent rather than my son," she said.
On the one hand, you may argue that employees should be responsible for their own
welfare, and that it would be paternalistic, and encourage mediocrity, for
organizations to "care for" employees. On the other hand, if your stretch goals mean your
best employees are those who give it all for the organization-even putting aside their
own personal or family interests-is that what you wish your results as a manager to be?
Questions
3.1 Do you think there is a trade-off between the positive (higher performance) and
negative (increased stress) effects of stretch goals?
(4)
3.2 Do you think a manager should consider stress when setting stretch goals for
employees? If you answered no, what should a manager do if a valued employee
complains of too much stress? If you answered yes, how might you consider
stress in setting goals?
(5)
3.3 How do you think you would respond to stretch goals? Would they increase your
performance? Would they stress you?
(6)
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Section C
(65)
Question 4
4.1 Why might a charismatic leader exhibit unethical behaviour, and what have
researchers proposed to reduce the likelihood of such ethical problems? (12)
4.2 Distinguish between legitimate political behavior and illegitimate political
behaviour.
(10)
4.3 Describe the first step of the negotiation process. How does the negotiating
parties' relationship affect this step, and help determine the kind of bargaining
that will be done (integrative or distributive)?
(12)
4.4 Explain how an institutionalized culture can be a barrier to diversity. (10)
4.5 Describe informal training. Provide a workplace example of an informal training
for technical skills and another for problem-solving skills.
(12)
4.6 Define "change agent" and describe where change is most likely to come from.
(9)
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