BU398 Study Guide - Winter 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - International, Correlation And Dependence, Walmart
BU398
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
BU398
Lecture 1: Introduction to OB
Organizations
➢ Organizations are defined as:
o Social entities
o Goal-directed
o Deliberately structured and coordinated
o Linked to the environment
Organization Theory
➢ Ideas about what organizations are and how they work
➢ Closed vs. Open Systems
o Closed: Environment is assumed to be stable
o Open: must interact with (and adopt to) environment
Organizational Dimensions
➢ Structural dimensions: describe the internal characteristics of an organization
➢ Contextual dimensions: characterize the whole org. and elements of the environment
Mintzberg’s Five Organizational Parts
➢ Top Management
o Ensure the org. follows its mission and manages its relationship with its
environment
➢ Middle Management
o Concerned with converting the objectives and broad plans of top management
into operational plans that can be carried out by the workers
➢ Technical Support Staff
o Concerned with the best way of doing a job, specifying output criteria, and
ensuring that personnel have appropriate skills
➢ Support Staff
o Adds administrative functions that provides services to itself
➢ Operating Core
o The basic work of producing the products or delivering the services
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
BU398
Lecture 2: Goals, Strategy and Culture
Principle of Fit
➢ Environment
o Fit/Alignment:
▪ Goals
▪ Strategy
▪ Culture and Structure
o Tie all of the aspets aove to the usiess’s eviroet
Types of Goals
➢ Official Goals
o Mission statement
▪ Desries the org.’s vision, its shared values and beliefs, and its purpose
▪ Business scope and outcomes the org. is trying to achieve
o The overall goal for the org. and its reason for existence
▪ No mention of financial goals
➢ Operative Goals
o Specific, measurable outcomes that quantify the official goals
o Types of operative goals:
▪ Performance Goals
• Measurable goals such as growth, output volume, and profitability
▪ Innovation and Change Goals
• Pertains to internal flexibility and readiness to adapt to
unexpected changes in the environment
▪ Productivity Goals
• Concerned with the amount of output achieved from available
resources
Culture
➢ Two parts to a orgaizatio’s ulture:
o Observable symbols, ceremonies, stories, slogans, behaviours, etc.
o Underlying values such as assumptions, beliefs, attitudes and feelings
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Organizations are defined as: social entities, goal-directed, deliberately structured and coordinated, linked to the environment. Ideas about what organizations are and how they work. Closed vs. open systems: closed: environment is assumed to be stable, open: must interact with (and adopt to) environment. Structural dimensions: describe the internal characteristics of an organization. Contextual dimensions: characterize the whole org. and elements of the environment. Top management: ensure the org. follows its mission and manages its relationship with its environment. Middle management: concerned with converting the objectives and broad plans of top management into operational plans that can be carried out by the workers. Technical support staff: concerned with the best way of doing a job, specifying output criteria, and ensuring that personnel have appropriate skills. Support staff: adds administrative functions that provides services to itself. Operating core: the basic work of producing the products or delivering the services.
