Idaho State UniversityMGT 3312DiscussionQ8

Discussion Question Week #8 Chapter 26 Questions With Example 1 in mind--if a student asks a professor to bump his or her grade up because [enter very convincing reason here], why might the professor be reluctant to d ...

Discussion Question Week #8 Chapter 26 Questions With Example 1 in mind--if a student asks a professor to bump his or her grade up because [enter very convincing reason here], why might the professor be reluctant to do so? Again considering example 1, why do financial control persons usually refuse to listen to the reasoning (sob stories) of project manages who are over budget and need just a bit of extra funding? How would you analyze the sentry’s behavior in terms of game theory? 10 = very positive outcome 5 = positive outcome -5 = fairly negative outcome -10 = very bad outcome Shoo t Don't Shoot Frien d -5 5 Foe 10 -10 How would you analyze the incentive structure of the representative from the corporate communications department? It will help to add an option to the matrix key of "0" for neither favorable nor unfavorable. Approv e Don't Approve Unsuitabl e -10 0 Suitable 0 5 Why do people take jobs as "watchdogs," given that such jobs have few, if any, positive rewards? And, what lesson should you as the reader learn about how persons taking watchdog positions "fail to understand the nature of the situation at the outset?" Chapter 27 Questions Why does Ted spend “a lot of his time trying to explain why it is necessary and proper for things to be the way they are,” and what is the downside to his attitude? How do Stanley and Ben benefit from pursuing “the more profitable course of trying to learn why things are the way they are?” In the chapter, Stan explains to his superiors Ben and Ted why information is kept secret. Might there be times when you might not want to explain to your superiors why things are the way they are? How might current news stories such as the Volkswagen scandal and the Hillary Clinton email story reflect the lessons of this chapter? Box 10 Question Why did this study, and its statistically derived conclusion, not pas the "need to know" test? Chapter 28 Questions In your own words, answer Stanley’s question, “Why is Ted doing this?” With the events of this story in mind, what is the benefit of documenting commitments made by others that affect your self-interest? What is the risk in referring back to these commitments, especially if you are a lower level professional such as Stanley? What does the text mean when it says that Faust is “trading on his reputation”? Have you ever had to deal with a situation where someone else (perhaps a high level manager) took some or all of the credit for the work you have done? How did you deal with the situation and why? Chapter 29 Questions Why do the foreman cook the books in situations similar to the one illustrated in the chapter? Could this faulty accounting lead to future problems? How would you diagram the foreman's payoff matrix? (It is described in the paragraphs beginning with "Precisely. Then you can understand management's problem...") Foreman's payoff matrix: Accurac y Coincidenc e (Agreement) Contractor is: Satisfied 5 10 Dissatisfied -10 -5 What Dr. Faust left unsaid, “is that it is management’s greatest folly to believe that organizational members, when called upon to supply information that can affect their own organizational well-being, can be neutral with regard to that information.” Can you think of examples from your own experience to illustrate Faust’s point? Chapter 30 Questions What do you think of Kerry's first motivational tactic in this story? ("Is this the best you can do?") Could it work in the short run? In the long run? What do you think of Kerry's other motivational tactic, posting Stan's name on the whiteboard in his office? What is meant by the statement "sometimes judgment can trump analysis" in this story? What does it mean in general? How did the placing of Stan’s name on Kerry’s white board for a few months influence Stan’s motivation? What would you have done in Stan’s position if your boss had appeared to be displeased with your work?