LSUS MBA 701 EXAM 2 CERTIFICATION
PREPARATION GUIDE
◉ Organizational Theory Foundation: Historical Roots: Chester
Barnard.
Answer: -Book: "The Functions of the Executive"
--"Formal Organization:" system of consciously coordinated
activities of two or more persons
-Stressed the cooperative aspects of organizations.
◉ Modern Theoretical Foundation.
Answer: -Organization was viewed as a "system made up of
interacting parts;" stresses input of the external environment
◉ Contingency Approach.
Answer: No single best way to organize
-Organizational design must be fitted to the existing environmental
conditions
-Organizations change through internal transformation/adaptation
◉ Organizational Ecology Theory: Natural Selection/Ecological view.
Answer: -Org. ecology theory challenges the contingency approach.
,-Process of the "survival of the fittest"/selection & replacement
◉ Information Processing & organizational learning.
Answer: Based on systems theory and emphasize the important of
GENERATIVE over adaptive learning in rapid evolving external
environments
◉ Learning Organization: Single Loop.
Answer: Improving organization's capacity to achieve known
objectives
-Org is learning without significant change in its basic assumptions
◉ Learning Organization: Double Loop.
Answer: Reevaluates the nature of organization's objectives and the
values/beliefs surrounding them.
-Changing the organization's culture
-Org's learning "how to learn"
◉ Adaptive Learning.
Answer: -first stage of learning organization
-adapting to environmental changes
-Adaptive Changes: Learn Six Sigma, TQM
, ◉ Generative Learning.
Answer: -Creativity and innovation, going beyond just adapting to
change and being ahead of it.
-Total reframing of org's experiences and learning from that process
◉ Three major dimensions/characteristics of learning
organizations.
Answer: -Presence of Tension: stems from the gap between org's
vision & reality; suggest the learning org continuous questions and
challenges status quo.
-Systems Thinking: shared vision of employees throughout the
whole org, and openness of new ideas and external environment.
-Culture Facilitating Learning: org culture places a high value on
process of learning and goes beyond mere lip service by setting
mechanisms in place for suggestions, teams, empowerment, and
empathy.
◉ OB in Learning Org.
Answer: -Adaptive: employees' reacting to environmental changes
with routine, standard responses that often result in only short-run
solutions.
-Generative: affect the way personnel defines and solves problems;
employees taught how to examine the effect of their decisions and
change their behaviors as needed.
PREPARATION GUIDE
◉ Organizational Theory Foundation: Historical Roots: Chester
Barnard.
Answer: -Book: "The Functions of the Executive"
--"Formal Organization:" system of consciously coordinated
activities of two or more persons
-Stressed the cooperative aspects of organizations.
◉ Modern Theoretical Foundation.
Answer: -Organization was viewed as a "system made up of
interacting parts;" stresses input of the external environment
◉ Contingency Approach.
Answer: No single best way to organize
-Organizational design must be fitted to the existing environmental
conditions
-Organizations change through internal transformation/adaptation
◉ Organizational Ecology Theory: Natural Selection/Ecological view.
Answer: -Org. ecology theory challenges the contingency approach.
,-Process of the "survival of the fittest"/selection & replacement
◉ Information Processing & organizational learning.
Answer: Based on systems theory and emphasize the important of
GENERATIVE over adaptive learning in rapid evolving external
environments
◉ Learning Organization: Single Loop.
Answer: Improving organization's capacity to achieve known
objectives
-Org is learning without significant change in its basic assumptions
◉ Learning Organization: Double Loop.
Answer: Reevaluates the nature of organization's objectives and the
values/beliefs surrounding them.
-Changing the organization's culture
-Org's learning "how to learn"
◉ Adaptive Learning.
Answer: -first stage of learning organization
-adapting to environmental changes
-Adaptive Changes: Learn Six Sigma, TQM
, ◉ Generative Learning.
Answer: -Creativity and innovation, going beyond just adapting to
change and being ahead of it.
-Total reframing of org's experiences and learning from that process
◉ Three major dimensions/characteristics of learning
organizations.
Answer: -Presence of Tension: stems from the gap between org's
vision & reality; suggest the learning org continuous questions and
challenges status quo.
-Systems Thinking: shared vision of employees throughout the
whole org, and openness of new ideas and external environment.
-Culture Facilitating Learning: org culture places a high value on
process of learning and goes beyond mere lip service by setting
mechanisms in place for suggestions, teams, empowerment, and
empathy.
◉ OB in Learning Org.
Answer: -Adaptive: employees' reacting to environmental changes
with routine, standard responses that often result in only short-run
solutions.
-Generative: affect the way personnel defines and solves problems;
employees taught how to examine the effect of their decisions and
change their behaviors as needed.
