What was the single most useful theory or concept you learned in this course?

Note: Answer the first question, then choose two additional questions to answer. You
may use your book, readings, and the OLC to answer the questions. Please type your
answers
(double spaced, 12 font, 1 inch margins, 5 pages max). You should upload your essays
to Assignments in Blackboard. Good luck!
1. What was the single most useful theory or concept you learned in this course? Please
describe the theory and explain how you have been able to apply the theory at work,
or how you plan to apply the theory in the future. (10 pts)
CHOOSE TWO OF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: (20 pts each)
2. Can managers be trained to be effective leaders? a) Choose a leadership theory to
support your answer. b) Assuming you believe they can be trained, what would you
include in your training program? (I have added a powerpoint on Leadership that you
might find helpful. Look in Course Documents.)
3. Your organization‟s president has read a lot about teams in the popular press and
wants to implement teams throughout your division on a trial basis. She has asked
you to lead the transition. Up until now, your organization has not had a history of
using teams to reach its goals, and in fact, has relied on the more traditional form of a
“command-and-control” hierarchy to reach its goals. Based on your readings about
groups and teams and your insights about group process, how would you go about
building high performance teams in your division? Are there any special
considerations for virtual teams? Are there any drawbacks to teams you should warn
her about?
4. Why is the glass ceiling metaphor inadequate for explaining women‟s lack of
progress in reaching the C-suite? What are the major barriers to their advancement?
Assume you are a high-level manager at a Fortune 500 firm. What would you do to
ensure that women have the same promotional opportunities as equally qualified
men? Be sure to consult the article by Eagly and Carli (HBR, 2007) as you frame
your answer, and be sure to go beyond quick fixes like flextime and on-site daycare.
5. From Rob Kaiser: “According to conventional wisdom, leadership is about
influencing individuals to contribute to group goals. Although the preferred way for
leaders to influence followers has changed with the times—command and control
leadership during the predictable days of industry, a more engaging person-oriented
approach for the softer and less certain knowledge economy—the core assumption
remains that leaders contribute to the bottom line by cajoling, inspiring, and
motivating followers. The problem is that this view cannot explain „the Apple
paradox.‟ By all accounts, Steven Jobs, the founder and CEO of Apple Inc., is a
difficult person—abrasive, angry, mean, hard to satisfy, volatile, and supremely
arrogant. He reduces subordinates to tears, takes credit for their ideas, curses them in
public, and even yells at Board members. According to the conventional model, Jobs
is a horrible leader…” However, Jobs has over 100 patents to his name, has created
radical new products and new markets, has been deeply involved in the business, and
has recruited some of the best talent in the world to work for Apple. Based on your
knowledge of organizational behavior and leadership, how do you explain the
apparent paradox? What theory or theories can provide insight?
6. Companies do not usually advertise that they expect employees to work 12-hour days;
instead, they nurture a corporate culture of over-achievement and create expectations
that long hours of work are essential for success in the company. Especially in
today‟s economy, employees are highly unlikely to complain. However, long stressful
hours will ultimately lead to employee burnout, illness, and ultimately reduced job
performance and life satisfaction. Jonathan Fields, a former hedge-fund lawyer for a
large-firm in NYC turned serial entrepreneur, almost worked himself to death before
getting out of the law business and into entrepreneurial adventures. Imagine that you
are the owner of a highly stressful but surviving business, and you want to make sure
that your employees are not headed toward role overload and burnout. How would
you go about diagnosing sources of stress and burnout (e.g., what diagnostic
questions would you ask?), and what steps would you to take to ensure that your
employees do not sacrifice their physical and mental well being for the sake of your
company?