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Management 210: 11th Ed. Robbins & Coulter
Definitions for Midterm
215
Management
Undergraduate 2
09/13/2011
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Term
I. Manager
 Definition
Someone who coordinates and oversees the work of other people so that organizational goals can be accomplished.
Term
I. First-line Managers
 Definition
Managers at the lowest level of management who manage the work of nonmanagerial employees.
Term
I. Middle Managers
 Definition
Managers between the lowest level and top levels of the organization who manage the work of first-line managers.
Term
I. Top Managers
 Definition
Managers at or near the upper levels of the organization structure who are responsiblw for making organization-wide decisions and establishing the goals and plans that affect the entire organization.
Term
I. Organization
 Definition
A deliberate arrangement of people to accomplish some specific purpose.
Term
I. Management
 Definition
Coordination and overseeing the work activities of others so that their activities are completed efficiently and effectively.
Term
I. Efficiency
 Definition
Doing things right, or getting the most output from the least amount of inputs.
Term
I. Effectiveness
 Definition
Doing the right things or completing activities so that organizational goals are attained.
Term
I. Planning
 Definition
Management function that involves setting goals, establishing strategies for achieving those goals, and developing plans to integrate and coordinate activities.
Term
I. Organizing
 Definition
Management function that involves arranging and structuring work to accomplish the organization's goals.
Term
I. Leading
 Definition
Management function that involves working with and through people to accomplish organizational goals.
Term
I. Controlling
 Definition
Management function that involves monitoring, comparing, and correcting work performance.
Term
I. Managerial roles
 Definition
Specific actions or behaviors of and exhibited by a manager.
Term
I. Interpersonal Roles
 Definition
Managerial roles that involve people and other duties that are ceremonial and symbolic in nature.
Term
I. Informational roles
 Definition
Managerial roles that involve collecting, receiving and disseminating information.
Term
I. Decisional roles
 Definition
Managerial roles that revolve around making choices.
Term
I. Technical skills
 Definition
Job-specific knowledge and techniques needed to proficiently perform work tasks.
Term
I. Human skills
 Definition
The ability to work well with other people individually and in a group.
Term
I. Conceptual skills
 Definition
The ability to think and to conceptualize about abstract and complex situations.
Term
I. Sustainability
 Definition
A company's ability to achieve the business goals and increase long-term shareholder value by integrating economic environmental and social opportunities into its business strategies.
Term
I. Universality of management
 Definition
The reality that management is needed in all types and sizes of organizations, at all organization levels, in all organizational areas, and in organizations no matter where located.
Term
I. Division of labor (job specialization)
 Definition
The breakdown of jobs into narrow and receptive tasks.
Term
I. Industrial revolution
 Definition
A period during the late eighteenth century when machine power was substituted for human power making it more economical to manufacture goods in factories than at home.
Term
I. Classical approach
 Definition
Fist studies of management which emphasized rationality and making organizations and workers as efficient as possible.
Term
I. Scientific management
 Definition
An approach that involves using the scientific method to find the "one best way" for a job to be done.
Term
I. Therbligs
 Definition
A classification scheme for labeling basic hand motions.
Term
I. General administrative theory
 Definition
An approach to management that focuses on describing what managers do and what constitutes good management practice.
Term
I. Principles of management
 Definition
Fundamental rules of management that could be applied in all organizational situations and taught in schools.
Term
I. Bureaucracy
 Definition
A form of organization characterized by division of labor,a clearly defined hierarchy, detailed rules and regulations and impersonal relationships.
Term
I. Organizational behavior (OB)
 Definition
The study of the actions of people at work.
Term
I. Hawthorne Studies
 Definition
A series of studies during the 1920s and 1930 that provided new insights into individual and group behavior.
Term
I. Quantitative approach
 Definition
The use of quantitative techniques to improve decision making.
Term
I. Total quality management (TQM)
 Definition
A philosophy of management that is driven by continuous improvement and responsiveness to customer needs and expectations.
Term
I. System
 Definition
A set of interrelated and interdependent paths arranged in a manner that produces an unified whole.
Term
I. Closed system
 Definition
Systems that are not influenced by and do not interact with their environment.
Term
I. Opened system
 Definition
Systems that interact with their environment.
Term
I. Contingency approach
 Definition
A management approach that recognizes organizations as different, which means they face different situations (contingencies) and require different ways of managing.
Term
II. Omnipotent view of Management
 Definition
The view that managers are directly responsible for an organization's success or failure.
Term
II. Symbolic view of management
 Definition
The view that much of an organization's success or failure is due to external forces outside managers' control.
Term
II. External environment
 Definition
Those factors and forces outside the organization that affect its performance.
Term
II. Environmental uncertainty
 Definition
The degree of change and complexity in an organization's environment
Term
II. Environmental complexity
 Definition
The number of components in an organization's environment and the extent of the organization's knowledge about those components.
Term
II. Stakeholders
 Definition
Any constituencies in the organization's environment that are affected by an organization's decisions.
Term
II. Organizational culture
 Definition
There shared values, principles, traditions, and ways of doing things that influence the way organizational members act.
Term
II. Strong cultures
 Definition
Organizational cultures in which the key values are intensely held and widely shared.
Term
II. Socialization
 Definition
The process that helps employees adapt to the organization's culture.
Term
II. Workplace spirituality
 Definition
A culture where organizational values promote a sense of purpose through meaningful work that takes place in the context of community.
Term
VII. Decision
 Definition
A choice among two or more alternatives.
Term
VII. Problem
 Definition
An obstacle that makes it difficult to achieve a desired goal or purpose.
Term
VII. Decision criteria
 Definition
Criteria that define what's important or relevant to resolving a problem.
Term
VII. Rational decision making
 Definition
Describes choices that are logical and consistent and maximize value.
Term
VII. Bounded rationality
 Definition
Decision making that's rational, but limited (bounded) by an individual's ability to process information.
Term
VII. Satisfice
 Definition
Accept solutions that are "good enough"
Term
VII. Escalation of commitment
 Definition
An increased commitment to a previous decision despite evidence it may have been wrong.
Term
VII. Intuitive decision making
 Definition
Making decisions on the basis of experience, feelings, and accumulated judgement.
Term
VII. Evidence-based management (EBMgt)
 Definition
The systematic use of the best available evidence to improve management practice.
Term
VII. Structured problems
 Definition
Straightforward, familiar, and easily defined problems.
Term
VII. Programmed decision
 Definition
A repetitive decision that can be handled by a routine approach.
Term
VII. Procedure
 Definition
A series of sequential steps used to respond to a well-structured problem.
Term
VII. Rule
 Definition
An explicit statement that tells managers hat can or cannot be done.
Term
VII. Policy
 Definition
A guideline for making decisions.
Term
VII. Unstructured problems
 Definition
Problems that are new or unusual and for which information is ambiguous or incomplete.
Term
VII. Non-programmed decisions
 Definition
Unique and nonrecurring decisions that require a custom-made solution.
Term
VII. Certainty
 Definition
A situation in which a manager can make accurate decisions because all outcomes are known.
Term
VII. Risk
 Definition
A situation in which the decision maker is able to estimate the likelihood of certain outcomes.
Term
VII. Uncertainty
 Definition
A situation in which a decision maker has neither certainty nor reasonable probability estimates available.
Term
VII. Linear thinking style
 Definition
Decision style characterized by a person's preference for using external data and facts and processing this information through rational, logical thinking.
Term
VII. Nonlinear thinking style
 Definition
Decision style characterized by a person's preference for internal sources of information and processing this information with internal insights, feelings, and hunches.
Term
VII. Heuristics
 Definition
Rules of thumb that managers use to simplify decision making.
Term
VIII. Planning
 Definition
Defining the organization's goals, establishing strategies for achieving those goals, and developing plans to integrate and coordinate work activities.
Term
VIII. Goals (objectives)
 Definition
Desired outcomes or targets.
Term
VIII. Plans
 Definition
Documents that outline how goals are going to be met.
Term
VIII. Stated goals
 Definition
Official statements of what an organization says, and what it wants its various stakeholders to believe, its goals are.
Term
VIII. Real goals
 Definition
Goals that an organization actually pursues, as defined by the actions of its members.
Term
VIII. Strategic plans
 Definition
Plans that apply to the entire organization and establish the organization's overall goals.
Term
VIII. Operational plans
 Definition
Plans that encompass a particular operational area of the organization.
Term
VIII. Long-term plans
 Definition
Plans that encompass a particular operational area of the organization.
Term
VIII. Short-term plans
 Definition
Plans covering one year or less.
Term
VIII. Specific plans
 Definition
Plans that are clearly defined and leave no room for interpretation.
Term
VIII. Directional plans
 Definition
Plans that are flexible and set out general guidelines.
Term
VIII. Simple-use plan
 Definition
A one-time plan specifically designed to meet the needs of an unique situation.
Term
VIII. Standing plans
 Definition
Ongoing plans that provide guidance for activities performed repeatedly.
Term
VIII. Traditional goal setting
 Definition
An approach to setting goals in which top managers set goals that then flow down through the organization and become subgoals for each organizational area.
Term
VIII. Means-ends chain
 Definition
An integrated network of goals in which the accomplishment of goals at one level serves as the means for achieving the goals, or ends, at the next level.
Term
VIII. Management by objectives (MBO)
 Definition
A process of setting mutually agreed-upon goals and using those goals to evaluate employee performance.
Term
VIII. Mission
 Definition
The purpose of an organization.
Term
VIII. Commitment concept
 Definition
Plans should extend far enough to meet those commitments made when the plans were developed.
Term
VIII. Formal planning department
 Definition
A group of planning specialists whose sole responsibility is helping write organizational plans.
Term
VIII. Environmental scanning
 Definition
Screening information to detecting emerging trends.
Term
VIII. Competitor intelligence
 Definition
Gathering information about competitors that allows managers to anticipate competitors' actions rather than merely react to them.
Term
X. Organizing
 Definition
Arranging and structuring work to accomplish the organization's goals.
Term
X. Organizational structure
 Definition
The formal arrangement of jobs within an organization.
Term
X. Organizational chart
 Definition
The visual representation of an organization's structure.
Term
X. Organizational design
 Definition
Creating or changing an organization's structure.
Term
X. Work specialization
 Definition
Dividing work activities into separate job tasks.
Term
X. Departmentalization
 Definition
The basis by which jobs are grouped together.
Term
X. Cross-functional team
 Definition
A work team composed of individuals from various functional specialities.
Term
X. Chain of command
 Definition
The line of authority extending from upper organizational levels to the lowest levels, which clarifies who reports to whom.
Term
X. Authority
 Definition
The rights inherent in a managerial position to tell people what to do and to expect them to do it.
Term
X. Acceptance theory of authority
 Definition
The view that authority comes from the willingness of subordinates to accept it.
Term
X. Line authority
 Definition
Authority that entitles a manager to direct the work of an employee.
Term
X. Staff authority
 Definition
Positions with some authority that have been created to support, assist, and advise those holding line authority.
Term
X. Responsibility
 Definition
THe obligation or expectation to perform any assigned duties.
Term
X. Unity of command
 Definition
The management principle that each person should report to only one manager.
Term
X. Span of control
 Definition
The number of employees a manager can efficiently and effectively manage.
Term
X. Centralization
 Definition
The degree to which decision making is concentrated at upper levels of the organization.
Term
X. Decentralization
 Definition
The degree to which lower-level employees provide input or actually make decisions.
Term
X. Employee empowerment
 Definition
Giving employees more authority (power) to make decisions.
Term
X. Formalization
 Definition
How standardized an organization's jobs are and the extent to which employee behavior is guided by rules and procedures.
Term
X. Mechanistic organization
 Definition
An organizational design that's rigid and tightly controlled.
Term
X. Organic organization
 Definition
An organizational design that's highly adaptive and flexible.
Term
X. Unit production
 Definition
The production of items in units or small batches.
Term
X. Mass production
 Definition
The production of items in large batches.
Term
X. Process production
 Definition
The production of items in continuous processes.
Term
X. Simple structure
 Definition
An organizational design with low departmentalization, wide spans of control, centralized authority, and little formalization.
Term
X. Functional structure
 Definition
An organizational design that groups together similar or related occupational specialties.
Term
X. Divisional structure
 Definition
An organizational structure made up of separate, semiautonomous units or divisions.
Term
XI. Team structure
 Definition
An organizational structure in which the entire organization is made up of work teams.
Term
XI. Matrix structure
 Definition
An organizational structure that assigns specialists from different functional departments to work on one or more projects.
Term
XI. Project structure
 Definition
An organizational structure in which employees continuously work on projects.
Term
XI. Boundaryless organization
 Definition
An organization whose design is not defined by, or limited to, the horizontal, vertical, or external boundaries imposed by a predefined structure.
Term
XI. Virtual organization
 Definition
An organization that consists of a small core of full-time employees and outside specialists temporarily hired as needed to work on projects.
Term
XI. Network organization
 Definition
An organization that uses its own employees to do some work activities and networks of outside suppliers to provide other needed product components or work processes.
Term
XI. Learning organization
 Definition
An organization that has developed the capacity to continuously learn, adapt, and change.
Term
XI. Cross-functional team
 Definition
A work team composed of individuals from various functional specialities.
Term
XI. Task force (or ad hoc committee)
 Definition
A temporary committee or team formed to tackle a specific short-term problem affecting several departments.
Term
XI. Communities of practice
 Definition
Groups of people who share a concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise in that area by interacting on an ongoing basis.
Term
XI. Open innovation
 Definition
Opening up the search for new ideas beyond the organization's boundaries and allowing innovations to easily transfer inward and outward.
Term
XI. Strategic partnerships
 Definition
Collaborative relationships between two ore more organizations in which they combine their resources and capabilities for some business purpose.
Term
XI. Telecommuting
 Definition
A work arrangement in which employees work at home and are linked to the workplace by computer.
Term
XI. Compressed workweek
 Definition
A workweek where employees work longer hours per day but fewer days per week.
Term
XI. Flextime (or flexible work hours)
 Definition
A scheduling system in which employees are required to work a specific number of hours a week but are free to vary those hours within certain limits.
Term
XI. Job sharing
 Definition
The practice of having two or more people split a full-time job.
Term
XI. Contingent workers
 Definition
Temporary, freelance, or contract workers whose employment is contingent upon demand for their services.
Term
XII. High-performance work practices
 Definition
Work practices that lead to both high individual and high organizational performance.
Term
XII. Labor union
 Definition
An organization that represents workers and seeks to protect their interests through collective bargaining.
Term
XII. Affirmative action
 Definition
Organizational programs that enhance the status of members of protected groups.
Term
XII. Work councils
 Definition
Groups of nominated or elected employees who must be consulted when management makes decisions involving personnel.
Term
XII. Board representatives
 Definition
Employees who sit on a company's board of directors and represent the interests of the firm's employees.
Term
XII. Human resource planning
 Definition
Ensuring that the organization has the right number and kinds of capable people in the right places and at the right times.
Term
XII. Job analysis
 Definition
An assessment that defines jobs and the behaviors necessary to perform them.
Term
XII. Job description
 Definition
A written statement that describes a job.
Term
XII. Job specification
 Definition
A written statement of the minimum qualifications that a person must possess to perform a given job successfully.
Term
XII. Recruitment
 Definition
Locating, identifying, and attracting capable applicants.
Term
XII. Decruitment
 Definition
Reducing an organization's workforce.
Term
XII. Selection
 Definition
Screening job applicants to ensure that the most appropriate candidates are hired.
Term
XII. Realistic job preview (RJP)
 Definition
A preview of a job that provides both positive and negative information about the job and the company.
Term
XII. Orientation
 Definition
Introducing a new employee to his or her job and the organization.
Term
XII. Performance management system
 Definition
Establishes performance standards that are used to evaluate employee performance.
Term
XII. Skill-based pay
 Definition
A pay system that rewards employees for the job skills they can demonstrate.
Term
XII. Variable pay
 Definition
A pay system in which an individual's compensation is contingent on performance.
Term
XII. Downsizing
 Definition
The planned elimination of jobs in an organization.
Term
XII. Sexual harassment
 Definition
Any unwanted action or activity of a sexual nature that explicitly or implicitly affects an individual's employment, performance, or work environment.
Term
XII. Family-friendly benefits
 Definition
Benefits that accommodate employees' needs for work-life balance.
Term
XVIII. Controlling
 Definition
The process of monitoring, comparing, and correcting work performance.
Term
XVIII. Control process
 Definition
A three-step process of measuring actual performance, comparing actual performance against a standard, and taking managerial action to correct deviations or inadequate standards.
Term
XVIII. Range of variation
 Definition
The acceptable parameters of variance between actual performance and the standard.
Term
XVIII. Immediate corrective action
 Definition
Corrective action that corrects problems at once to get performance back on track.
Term
XVIII. Basic corrective action
 Definition
Corrective action that looks at how and why performance deviated before correcting the source of deviation.
Term
XVIII. Performance
 Definition
The end result of an activity.
Term
XVIII. Organizational performance
 Definition
The accumulated results of all the organization's work activities.
Term
XVIII. Productivity
 Definition
The amount of goods or services produced divided by the inputs needed to generate that output.
Term
XVIII. Organizational effectiveness
 Definition
A measure of how appropriate organizational goals are and how well those goals are being met.
Term
XVIII. Feedforward control
 Definition
Control that takes place before a work activity is done.
Term
XVIII. Concurrent control
 Definition
Control that takes place while a work activity is in progress.
Term
XVIII. Management by walking around
 Definition
A term used to describe when a manager is out in the work area interacting directly with employees.
Term
XVIII. Feedback control
 Definition
Control that takes place after a work activity is done.
Term
XVIII. Balanced scorecard
 Definition
A performance measurement tool that looks at more than just the financial perspective.
Term
XVIII. Management information system (MIS)
 Definition
A system used to provide management with needed information on a regular basis.
Term
XVIII. Benchmarking
 Definition
The search for the best practices among competitors or non-competitors that lead to their superior performance.
Term
XVIII. Benchmark
 Definition
The standard of excellence against which to measure and compare.
Term
XVIII. Employee theft
 Definition
Any unauthorized taking of company property by employees for their personal use.
Term
XVIII. Service profit chain
 Definition
The service sequence from employees to customers to profit.
Term
XVIII. Corporate governance
 Definition
The system used to govern a corporation so that the interests of a corporate owners are protected.
Term
IV. Workforce diversity
 Definition
The ways in which people in an organization are different from and similar to one another.
Term
IV. Surface-level diversity
 Definition
Easily perceived differences that may trigger certain stereotypes, but that do not necessarily reflect the ways people think of feel.
Term
IV. Deep-level diversity
 Definition
Differences in values, personality, and work preferences.
Term
IV. Race
 Definition
The biological heritage (including skin color and associated traits) that people use to identify themselves.
Term
IV. Ethnicity
 Definition
Social traits (such as cultural background or allegiance) that are shared by a human population.
Term
IV. Bias
 Definition
A tendency or preference toward a particular perspective or ideology.
Term
IV. Prejudice
 Definition
A preconceived belief, opinion, or judgement toward a person or a group of people.
Term
IV. Stereotyping
 Definition
Judging a person based on a perception of a group to which that person belongs.
Term
IV. Discrimination
 Definition
When someone acts out their prejudicial attitudes toward people who are the targets of their prejudice.
Term
IV. Glass ceiling
 Definition
The invisible barrier that separates women and minorities from top management positions.
Term
IV. Mentoring
 Definition
A process whereby an experienced organizational member (a mentor) provides advice and guidance to a less-experienced member (a protégé).
Term
IV. Diversity skills training
 Definition
Specialized training to educate employees about the importance of diversity and teach them skills for working in a diverse workplace.
Term
IV. Employee resource groups.
 Definition
Groups made up of employees connected by some common dimension of diversity.
Term
VI. Organizational change
 Definition
Any alteration of people, structure, or technology in an organization.
Term
VI. Change agent
 Definition
Someone who acts as a catalyst and assumes the responsibility for managing the change process.
Term
VI. Organizational development (OD)
 Definition
Change methods that focus on people and the nature and quality of interpersonal work relationships.
Term
VI. Stress
 Definition
The adverse reaction people have to excessive pressure placed on them from extraordinary demands, constraints, or opportunities.
Term
VI. Stressors
 Definition
Factors that cause stress.
Term
VI. Role conflicts
 Definition
Work expectations that are hard to satisfy.
Term
VI. Role overload
 Definition
Having more work to accomplish than time permits.
Term
VI. Role ambiguity
 Definition
When role expectations are not clearly understood.
Term
VI. Type A personality
 Definition
People who have a chronic sense urgency and an excessive competitive drive.
Term
VI. Type B personality
 Definition
People who are relaxed and easygoing and accept change easily.
Term
VI. Creativity
 Definition
The ability to combine ideas in an unique way or to make unusual associations between ideas.
Term
VI. Innovation
 Definition
Taking creative ideas and turing them into useful products or work methods.
Term
VI. Idea champion
 Definition
Individuals who actively and enthusiastically support new ideas, build support, overcome resistance, and ensure that innovations are implemented.
Term
V. Social obligation
 Definition
When a firm engages in social actions because of its obligation to meet certain economic and legal responsibilities.
Term
V. Classical view
 Definition
The view that management's only social responsibility is to maximize profits.
Term
V. Socioeconomic view
 Definition
The view that management's social responsibility goes beyond making profits to include protecting and improving society's welfare.
Term
V. Social responsiveness
 Definition
When a firm engages in social actions in response to some popular social need.
Term
V. Social responsibility
 Definition
A business's intention, beyond its legal and economic obligations, to do the right things and act in ways that are good for society.
Term
V. Social screening
 Definition
Applying social criteria (screens) to investment decisions.
Term
V. Green management
 Definition
Managers consider the impact of their organization on the natural environment.
Term
V. Ethics
 Definition
Principles, values, and beliefs that define what is right and wrong behavior.
Term
V. Values
 Definition
Basic convictions about what is right and wrong.
Term
V. Ego strength
 Definition
A personality measure of he strength of a person's convictions.
Term
V. Locus of control
 Definition
A personality attribute that measures the degree to which people believe they control their own fate.
Term
V. Values-based management
 Definition
The organization's values guide employees in the way they do their jobs.
Term
V. Code of ethics
 Definition
A formal statement of an organization's primary values and the ethical rules it expects its employees to follow.
Term
V. Whistle-blower
 Definition
Individuals who raise ethical concerns or issues to others.
Term
V. Social entrepreneur
 Definition
An individual or organization who seeks out opportunities to improve society by using practical, innovative, and sustainable approaches.
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