Ten Question Assignment

DE BUAD 262 Organizational Behavior

The following questions require you to think critically about the content presented in your text, synthesize the materials and/or reflect upon how the concepts apply in your own experience.

Answer each question clearly and comprehensively making sure you tie in all appropriate and relevant terms and theoretical concepts from your text. Answer the questions in proper sequence and begin your answer by restating the question. Use other information sources as well as your text i.e. other texts, newspapers, business magazines etc. as appropriate, as they can considerably strengthen your answers. Where possible enrich your answers with illustrations from your own personal experience or observations. Your answer to each question should be around 500 wordsin length and be properly formatted using APA.

Your assignment will require you to explain and apply terms from the text. Be sure that you explain/define the terms so that I will understand and that I know that you know the correct meaning. While such explanations can properly occur in the sentence, in parenthesis, or in a footnote, I strongly prefer that you define /explain your terms in a footnote at the bottom of the page. Please cite references from the text the same as you would any other source.

What Profs Want.

All material that is taken from source material, other than your own experience, should be cited to avoid plagiarism. Also, make sure you paraphrase material correctly; avoid word for word plagiarism as explained in “What Profs Want” posted on the course site. Again a reminder, use examples liberally to strengthen your report and support your point. Examples can be drawn from your personal experiences (ideal situation) other texts, the Internet, business magazines, newspapers such as the Globe and Mail, .and if you are desperate from your course text.)

Please include student ID number, course and section number. Also, number your pages.

Please submit your assignment as a Word document to the Assignment Dropbox no later than the deadline posted on the course site. Any assignment not submitted by the time listed above will be graded as ‘0’ unless a valid and relevant medical certificate is presented which explains the failure to meet the deadline. If you have other conflicts which might impact on your ability to meet the deadline, contact me as soon as possible.

1) One of the challenges in the Canadian workplace is managing diversity. Managers must address the differences among diverse groups of people. Describe what is meant by diversity in the workplace and then explain how organizations of today must manage and/or accommodate this diversity. Provide examples to support your response.

2) What is perception? Describe in detail the three factors that influence perception. Give specific examples to illustrate your answers.

3) Compare and contrast some of the values of the Asian, Aboriginal, Francophone, and Anglophone cultures. For each culture, explain at least one way in which their values may impact management practices and strategies.

4) Describe and discuss equity theory and explain how a manager might apply it in the workplace. Give specific examples to illustrate your answer.

5) Describe in detail at least five barriers to effective communication within organizations and explain how these barriers can be overcome. Give specific examples to illustrate your answers.

6) Discuss in detail the concept of organizational politics. What constitutes political behaviour, why and how does it occur in organizations, and how do people use politics for their own benefit? Give specific examples to support your answer.

7) Do men and women lead differently? Compare and contrast men’s and women’s leadership characteristics and styles, and their general effectiveness in the workplace. Give specific details to support your answer.

8) Discuss in detail the four ethical decision criteria and relate them to issues and decisions about corporate social responsibility. Give specific examples to support your answer.

9) Why do people and organizations resist change? Discuss the tactics that organizations use to overcome resistance to change. How are some of these tactics related to organizational power and politics? Support your answers with specific examples.

10) Consider a group situation in which you have worked. To what extent did this group rely on the technical skills of the group members vs. their interpersonal skills? Which skills seemed most important in helping this group function well?