Students should write an essay response to each question. I suggest thinking about the organization and structure of your answer before writing it. Using a basic outline first to organize your thoughts is always a good idea. There is not a word count or exact page specification, but I think it will take about a page or so for each question to develop a good essay.
You may want to write it on your word processor (or in longhand first if that is your preferred style) and then put it in the quiz box. I suggest this because in writing an essay like this it is best to write it and then make sure you read it over for both editorial changes and other substantive changes. I find that when I read something for a second time there are always improvements that can be made.
This test is worth 20% of the total grade for the course so it is a good idea to make sure you give your best thoughts and documentation (reference citations).
General Note: These are four rather open ended essay questions. My assessment of your essay responses will be based on your demonstration of an ability to take the text and other class readings and explicitly apply them to the question posed. When I read your essay the basis upon which you are responding should be clear, and should be explicitly derived from the readings.
It is up to you to demonstrate to me that you have read and understand the related class reading material and can apply it to the question (Reference Citations). There is not a single right answer to any of these questions, but that does not mean that every essay is equal no matter what is said.
Complete each question:
1. Early in the course we discussed bureaucracy. We said this form of organization was the starting point for understanding all modern organizations. Based on the text and other class readings develop an essay that begins with a brief definition of bureaucracy and the reason why this form of organization remains the cornerstone of organization structure.
Then, give three reasons why the principles of bureaucracy may sometimes be dysfunctional for an organization. Conclude your essay with a discussion of three principles that might be used for designing organizational structure that would avoid bureaucratic dysfunction. Express each principle as a complete sentence, and with each briefly describe why you find the principle to be important in the design of organization structure. Number the principles as: P1,P2 & P3.
Note: as you organize your essay remember that I am looking for your ability to extract and synthesize ideas from the readings, not just personal opinions.
2. Why does control matter? Begin your essay with a brief answer to this question. Then, identify three principles from the readings that best tell us how to design a control system for an organization. Each principle should be expressed as a single complete sentence. Then, briefly describe why these principles are important for the development of systems of organization control.
Note: I am looking for your assessment and symmetrization of the ideas from the readings on organization control. You should be explicit in identifying and summarizing ideas from the readings.
3. Assume you are a consultant to the CEO of the XYZ Company. The company manufactures custom electronic components for passenger aircraft. In its thirty-year history XYZ has been organized as a traditional functional bureaucracy. The CEO has brought you in to recommend a solution to what she thinks are two significant problems.
First, there has been significant growth and appears to be the opportunity to expand the company product line into two related but different areas, military aircraft and the space program. Small initial developments in these two areas seem to offer significant future opportunities.
Second, for the first time in twenty years one of the customers made a significant complaint about the quality of the product by returning ten percent of a recent order as defective.
From a design perspective how might these two issues be addressed. The CEO suspects there is a relationship between the two issues. In your essay draw on the text and other class readings to hypothesize how the CEO might consider related design changes in both structure and control to deal with these two problems.
Note: Remember you are not being asked to actually design either the structure or control system for this company. You are being asked to identify principles that will help the CEO think about these two problems and the potential interrelationship between them based on your knowledge gained from the class readings.
4. Identify three new principles or theories of management you learned in this course and discuss how you can apply these concepts in the workplace.
Each question counts for 1/4 of the total grade. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ANSWERED AND SUBMITTED RESPONSES TO ALL FOUR QUESTIONS. Identify your responses: R-Q1, R-Q2 ,R-Q3, &R-FALLQ4.
NOTE: Have you used reference sources (Citations) from the text and the outside readings to support your responses.??