MADM 701 - Heller - Module 2 Exam
Questions and Answers
What was Chester Barnard's contribution to organization theory? - Answers -Proposed
a comprehensive theory of cooperation in formal organizations.
•Formal organization—system of coordinated activities of 2 or more •Believed that
authority should come from the bottom up•Put emphasis on importance of human
element in organization
What are open-systems? - Answers -System made up of interacting parts from external
environment
What is the contingency approach? - Answers -No single best way to organize; design
must be fitted to existing
environmental conditions
What is organizational learning? - Answers -Emphasizes innovation and creativity over
adapting to change
What are the two types of learning? - Answers -single loop and double loop
What is single loop learning? - Answers -improving organization's capacity to achieve
known
objectives (routine and behavioral learning)
What is double loop learning? - Answers -reevaluating objectives and the beliefs
surrounding
them (changing the organizational culture)
What are takers? - Answers -People who are self-serving in their interactions. Its all
about what can you do for me.
What is a giver? - Answers -People who say What can I do for you?
There's givers and takers. What are most people? - Answers -Matchers (I'll scratch your
back if you scratch mine)
The more ___ in a company, the better the organization overall. - Answers -givers
, Givers are the worst performers. So who are the best performers? - Answers -Givers!
They are overrepresented at the bottom AND the top.
Not takers: they tend to rise quickly and also fall quickly.
How to support givers to keep them at the top? - Answers -1. Protect givers from
burnout (set boundaries)
2. Encourage help-seeking (helps others become givers too!)
3. Get the right people on the bus (one taker will make givers stop helping) Keep the
wrong people off the bus!
What are the 3 characteristics of learning organizations? - Answers -•Presence of
Tension—creative tension (motivation to learn) •Systems Thinking—shared vision and
openness to new ideas •Culture—high value placed on process of learning
What is meant by presence of tension, which is a characteristic of learning
organizations? - Answers -creative tension/motivation to learn
What is meant by systems thinking, which is a characteristic of learning organizations? -
Answers -shared vision and openness to new ideas
What is meant by culture, which is a characteristic of learning organizations? - Answers
-high value placed on process of learning
What is adaptive learning? - Answers -employees simply react to environmental
changes with standard responses leading to short-term solutions
What is generative learning? - Answers -employees examine effect of decisions and
change behavior as needed
Cultural values - Answers -- Everyone has useful ideas and closest to problem usually
have
best
- Learning flows up and down and new ideas are important
- Mistakes are learning opportunities
learning organization theory - Answers -A theory of formal organizations that developed
on the premise that rational planning is not sufficient for an organization to survive in a
rapidly changing environment such as the one in which we live, that formal
organizations must become complex systems that are capable of constant learning
How does a learning organization differ from a traditional organization? - Answers -
What is organizational design? - Answers -Creation or reshaping of the organization's
structure
Questions and Answers
What was Chester Barnard's contribution to organization theory? - Answers -Proposed
a comprehensive theory of cooperation in formal organizations.
•Formal organization—system of coordinated activities of 2 or more •Believed that
authority should come from the bottom up•Put emphasis on importance of human
element in organization
What are open-systems? - Answers -System made up of interacting parts from external
environment
What is the contingency approach? - Answers -No single best way to organize; design
must be fitted to existing
environmental conditions
What is organizational learning? - Answers -Emphasizes innovation and creativity over
adapting to change
What are the two types of learning? - Answers -single loop and double loop
What is single loop learning? - Answers -improving organization's capacity to achieve
known
objectives (routine and behavioral learning)
What is double loop learning? - Answers -reevaluating objectives and the beliefs
surrounding
them (changing the organizational culture)
What are takers? - Answers -People who are self-serving in their interactions. Its all
about what can you do for me.
What is a giver? - Answers -People who say What can I do for you?
There's givers and takers. What are most people? - Answers -Matchers (I'll scratch your
back if you scratch mine)
The more ___ in a company, the better the organization overall. - Answers -givers
, Givers are the worst performers. So who are the best performers? - Answers -Givers!
They are overrepresented at the bottom AND the top.
Not takers: they tend to rise quickly and also fall quickly.
How to support givers to keep them at the top? - Answers -1. Protect givers from
burnout (set boundaries)
2. Encourage help-seeking (helps others become givers too!)
3. Get the right people on the bus (one taker will make givers stop helping) Keep the
wrong people off the bus!
What are the 3 characteristics of learning organizations? - Answers -•Presence of
Tension—creative tension (motivation to learn) •Systems Thinking—shared vision and
openness to new ideas •Culture—high value placed on process of learning
What is meant by presence of tension, which is a characteristic of learning
organizations? - Answers -creative tension/motivation to learn
What is meant by systems thinking, which is a characteristic of learning organizations? -
Answers -shared vision and openness to new ideas
What is meant by culture, which is a characteristic of learning organizations? - Answers
-high value placed on process of learning
What is adaptive learning? - Answers -employees simply react to environmental
changes with standard responses leading to short-term solutions
What is generative learning? - Answers -employees examine effect of decisions and
change behavior as needed
Cultural values - Answers -- Everyone has useful ideas and closest to problem usually
have
best
- Learning flows up and down and new ideas are important
- Mistakes are learning opportunities
learning organization theory - Answers -A theory of formal organizations that developed
on the premise that rational planning is not sufficient for an organization to survive in a
rapidly changing environment such as the one in which we live, that formal
organizations must become complex systems that are capable of constant learning
How does a learning organization differ from a traditional organization? - Answers -
What is organizational design? - Answers -Creation or reshaping of the organization's
structure
