Z94.10 Management

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Bibliography

 

SAFETY NEEDS. The needs in Maslow’s hierarchy that pertain to the desire to feel secure, and free from threats to our existence.

SALES BUDGET. An operating budget that indicates anticipated revenues.

SALES-FORCE COMPOSITE. A method of judgmental forecasting that is used mainly to predict future sales and typically involves obtaining the views of various salespeople, sales managers, and/or distributors regarding the sales outlook.

SATISFACTION-PROGRESSION PRINCIPLE. A principle incorporated into ERG theory which states that satisfaction of one level of need encourages concern with the next level.

SATISFACTION MODEL. A nonrational model of managerial decision making stating that managers seek alternatives only until they find one that looks satisfactory, rather than seeking the optimal decision.

SATISFIERS. Motivating factors which figure in the two-factor theory of motivation that relate mainly to the content of the job (such as the work itself and feelings of achievement).

SCENARIOS. Outlines of possible future conditions, including possible paths the organization could take that would likely lead to these conditions.

SCHEDULES OF REINFORCEMENT. Patterns of rewarding that specify the basis for and timing of positive reinforcement.

SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT. An approach within classical management theory that emphasizes the scientific study of work methods in order to improve worker efficiency.

SELECTION. An activity in the staffing process that involves determining which job candidates best suit organizational needs.

]SELECTION INTERVIEW. A relatively formal, in-depth conversation conducted for the purpose of assessing a candidate’s knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as providing information to the candidate about the organization and potential jobs.

SELF-ACTUALIZED NEEDS. The needs in Maslow’s hierarchy that pertain to the requirement of developing our capabilities and reaching our full potential.

SELF-CONTROL. A component of social learning theory involving our ability to exercise control over our own behavior by setting standards and providing consequences for our own actions.

SELF-EFFICACY. The belief in one’s capabilities to perform a specific task.

SELF-MANAGING TEAM.  A work group given responsibility for a task area without day-to-day supervision and with authority to influence and control both group membership and behavior.

SELF-ORIENTED ROLES. Roles that are related to the personal needs of group members and often negatively influence the effectiveness of a group.

SELF-SERVING BIAS. The tendency to perceive oneself as responsible for successes and others as responsible for failure.

SEMANTIC BLOCKS. The blockages or difficulties in communication that arise from word choices.

SEMANTIC NET. The network of words and word meanings that a given individual has available for recall.

SENDER. The initiator of the message in the communication process.

SEQUENTIAL INTERDEPENDENCE. A type of technological interdependence in which one unit must complete its work before the next until in the sequence can begin work.

SHAPING. A technique associated with positive reinforcement that involves the successive rewarding of behaviors that closely approximate the desire response until the actual desired response is made.

SIMPLE STRUCTURE. The structural configuration in Mintzberg’s typology characterized by functional departmentalization, a strong concentration of power at the top, low formalization, and emphasis on direct supervision.

SIMULATION. A quantitative planning technique that uses mathematical models to imitate reality.

SINGLE-USE PLANS. Plans aimed at achieving a specific goal that, once reached, will most likely not recur in the future.

SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP THEORY. A contingency theory (developed by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard) based on the premise that leaders need to alter their behaviors depending on the readiness of followers.

SITUATIONAL THEORIES. Theories of leadership that take into consideration important situational factors.

SKILL-BASED PAY. A compensation system in which employees’ rates of pay are based on the number of predetermined skills that the employees have mastered.

SKILL VARIETY. A core job characteristic involving the extent to which the job entails a number of activities that require different skills.

SKILLS INVENTORY. A data bank (usually computerized) containing basic information about each employee that can be used to assess the likely availability of individuals for meeting current and future human resources needs.

SLACK. Latitude about when various activities can be started on the noncritical paths in a PERT network without endangering the completion date of the entire project.

SLACK RESOURCES. A means of facilitating horizontal coordination that involves a cushion of resources that aids adaptation to internal and external pressures, as well as initiation of changes.

SMOOTHING. A method of adapting to environmental fluctuations that involves taking actions aimed at reducing the impact of fluctuations, given the market.

SOCIAL AUDIT. A systematic study and evaluation of the social, rather than the economic, performance of an organization.

SOCIAL FORECASTING. The process of identifying social trends, evaluating the organizational importance of those trends, and integrating these assessments into the organization’s forecasting program.

SOCIAL INFORMATION-PROCESSING APPROACH. A job design approach arguing that individuals often form impressions of their jobs from socially provided information, such as comments by supervisors and coworkers.

SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY. A theory of motivation having aspects of both cognitive and reinforcement theories which argues that learning occurs through the continuous reciprocal interaction of our behaviors, various personal factors, and environmental forces.

SOCIAL LOAFING. The tendency of individuals to expend less effort when working in groups than when working alone.

SOCIAL SCANNING. The general surveillance of various elements in the task environment to detect evidence of impending changes that will affect the organization’s social responsibilities.

SOCIALIST ECONOMY. An economy in which the means of production are owned by the state and economic activity is coordinated by plan.

SOCIOCULTURAL ELEMENT. The element of the mega-environment that includes the attitudes, values, norms, beliefs, behaviors, and associated demographic trends that and characteristic of a given geographic area.

SOFTWARE. The set of programs, documents, procedures, and routines associated with the operation of a computer system that makes the hardware capable of its various activities.

SOLDIERING. A work practice whereby workers deliberately work at less-than-full capacity, the observation of which led Taylor to develop his scientific management approach.

SPAN OF MANAGEMENT, OR SPAN OF CONTROL. A means of vertical coordination involving the number of subordinates who report directly to a specific manager.

SPONSOR. A middle manager who recognizes the organizational significance of an idea, helps obtain the necessary funding for development of the innovation, and facilitates its actual implementation.

STABILITY STRATEGY. A grand strategy that involves maintaining the status quo or growing in a methodical, but slow manner.

STAFF POSITION. A position whose primary purpose is providing specialized expertise and assistance to line positions.

STAFFING. The set of activities aimed at attracting and selecting individuals for positions in a way that will facilitate the achievement of organizational goals.

STANDARD COST CENTER. A responsibility center whose budgetary performance depends on achieving its goals by operating within standard cost constraints.

STANDING COMMITTEE. A permanent task group of individuals charged with handling recurring matters in a narrowly defined subject area over an indefinite, but generally lengthy, period of time.

STANDING PLANS. Plans that provide ongoing guidance for performing recurring activities.

START-UP. A new firm or venture started from scratch by an entrepreneur.

STATISTICAL PROCESS CONTROL. A statistical technique employed in quality control that uses periodic random samples taken during actual production to determine whether acceptable quality levels are being met or production should be stopped for remedial action.

STEREOTYPING. The tendency to attribute characteristics to an individual on the basis of an assessment of the group to which the individual belongs.

STOCKOUT COST. An inventory cost that involves the economic consequences of running out stock (such as loss of customer goodwill and possibly sales).

STORMING. A stage of group development in which group members frequently experience conflict with one another as they locate and attempt to resolve differences of opinion regarding key issues.

STORY. A narrative based on true events, which sometimes may be embellished to highlight the intended value.

STRATEGIC BUSINESS UNIT (SBU). A distinct business, with its own set of competitors, that can be managed reasonably independently of other businesses within the organization.

STRATEGIC CONTROL. A control type concerning mainly top managers that involves monitoring critical environmental factors that could affect the viability of strategic plans, assessing the effects of organizational strategic actions, and ensuring that strategic plans are implemented as intended.

STRATEGIC CONTROL POINTS. Performance areas chosen for control because they are particularly important in meeting organizational goals.

STRATEGIC GOALS. Broadly defined targets or future end results set by top management.

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT. A process through which managers formulate and implement strategies geared to optimizing strategic goal achievement, given available environmental and internal conditions.

STRATEGIC PLANS. Detailed action steps such plans are developed by top management in consultation with the board of directors and middle management.

STRATEGIES. Large-scale action plans for interacting with the environment in order to achieve long-term goals.

STRATEGY FORMULATION. The part of the strategic management process that involves identifying the mission and strategic goals, conducting competitive analysis, and developing specific strategies.

STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION. The part of the strategic management process that focuses on carrying out strategic plans and maintaining control over how those plans are carried out.

SUBSTITUTES. Situational factors that make leadership impact not only impossible but also unnecessary or negate their effectiveness.

SUBSTITUTES FOR LEADERSHIP. An approach that attempts to specify some of the main situational factors likely to make leader behaviors unnecessary or to negate their effectiveness.

SUNK COSTS. Costs that, once incurred, are not recoverable and should not enter into considerations of future courses of action.

SUPERORDINATE GOALS. Major common goals that require the support and effort of all parties and on which the manager is sometimes able to refocus individuals or groups in conflict, thus reducing or resolving the conflict.

SUPPLIERS. The element of the task environment that includes those organizations and individuals that supply the resources an organization needs to conduct its operations.

SUPPORTIVE. A leader behavior identified in path-theory that entails showing concern for the status, well-being, and needs of subordinates; doing small things to make the work more pleasant; and being friendly and approachable.

SWOT ANALYSIS. A method of analyzing an organization’s competitive situation that involves assessing organizational strength (S) and weaknesses (W), as well as environmental opportunities (O) and threats (T).

SYMBOL. An object, act, event, or quality that serves as a vehicle for conveying meaning.

SYMBOLIC PROCESSES. Components of social learning theory involving the various ways that we use verbal and imagined symbols to process and store experiences in representational forms that can serve as guides to future behavior.

SYNECTICS. A technique for enhancing creativity that relies on analogies to help group members look at problems from new perspectives.

SYNERGY. A major characteristic of open systems; the ability of the whole to become more than the sum of its parts.

SYSTEM. A set of interrelated parts that operate as a whole in pursuit of common goals.

SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE. A series of stages that are used in the development of most medium- and large-size information systems.

SYSTEMS THEORY. A view of management based on the notion that systems.

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