Pre-questions for the final exam, Psychology 360
1. In Working for the Japanese, Fucini and Fucini describe how the
organization of work at Mazda's Flatrock, MI plant differed from traditional
automobile production. Notably, workers organized into teams were given
unprecedented autonomy to orchestrate tasks and schedules. This level of
freedom contrasted starkly with Hamper's description of the nasty and
brutish conditions at Flint Truck and Bus. In comparison with GM, life at the
Flatrock plant should have been a worker's paradise. That is, conditions were
ideal to promote progress toward mutual goals by management and workers.
Yet, shortly after beginning operations, the Flatrock workforce was in turmoil,
culminating in a renegade union election. As the Mazda workers themselves
wondered: How did something so right end up turning out so wrong? In
thinking about the Flatrock plant's problems, consider the following factors
and offer a psychological description of how each factor undermined the
cooperative orientation of the Flatrock workers: a) deliberate understaffing of
the plant workforce; b) emphasis in training on team problem solving; c)
preference for hiring non-auto workers; and d) cultural differences between
the American and the Japanese employees. [Hint: Think about characteristics
of the Flatrock context that made factors a, b, c & d antecedents to difficulty.]
2. The April 21 issue of Time magazine reports on the explosion in email
traffic within American corporations. The article points to three critical
problems associated with increased email use. First, managers are
overwhelmed by too many email messages. For example, the chairman of a
software company found that his managers were receiving 200 to 300
messages each day. Second, email leads too easily to misconstrual of critical
or complex messages. For instance, the president of a marketing firm noted
that "...e-mail leaves a lot of blank spaces in what we say, which the recipient
tends to fill with the most negative interpretation." Finally, email makes it
too easy to defer responsibility. That is, workers who would shy from seeking
a face-to-face meeting with the boss don't hesitate to type out a "What do you
think?" message on the most trivial of matters. Consider these issues and
then: a) use the theory of bounded rationality to explain why a high volume
of email messages would complicate decision-making for managers; b) use
the theory of media richness to describe why email leads too easily to
misconstrual of critical or complex messages; and c) use theories about
bureaucratic structure and the "chain of command" to explain why using
email to defer responsibility would reduce the efficiency of organizational
information processing. [Hint: Consider the assumptions and predictions of
each theory.]
3. In their classic formulation, Raven and French describe five types of
individual power: reward, coercive, referent, legitimate, and expert. In
psychological terms, explain the basis of each type of power and the reason
each type of power leads to influence over others. Next, describe an example
of reward power and an example of referent power that Ross Johnson used in
the RJR Nabisco takeover battle, as illustrated in the film "Barbarians at the
Gate." Next, describe the political strategies of scapegoating and of secrecy.
Give an example of how Johnson used scapegoating and an example of how
he used secrecy. Finally, describe how Johnson's use of scapegoating and
secrecy ultimately undermined the extent of his referent power. [Hint:
Consider Johnson's reputation with the RJR Nabisco board before and after
the board discovered the magnitude of his personal profit in the event of a
successful takeover.]
4. The importance of leadership was recently observed when 39 members of
the "Heaven's Gate" cult committed mass suicide based on the beliefs of their
leader, Marshall Applewhite ("Do"). Clearly, Applewhite had tremendous
influence over his followers. Some theorists would say that Applewhite was
a "born" leader while others would say he was a "made" leader. Describe one
theory based on the assumption that leaders are born, and one theory based
on the assumption that leaders are made. Then, apply each theory to explain
how an individual such as Applewhite could have so flagrantly altered his
follower's beliefs and directed their actions. Finally, consider Applewhite as a
transformational leader. Describe the behaviors and processes you would
expect to observe if Applewhite's ability to transform followers' focus from
self-interest to collective interest was a result of idealized influence. [Hint:
Consider the characteristics that your selected "born" and "made" theories
propose to account for potent leadership.]
5. In terms of structural characteristics, Mazda's Flatrock plant (as described by
Fucini and Fucini) differs dramatically from GM's Flint Truck and Bus plant
(as described by Hamper). Describe the differences between the two plants in
terms of the following dimensions: environmental conditions (stability); the
extent of specialization; the extent of formalization; and the degree of
centralization of authority. Next, define the features of mechanistic VS
organic organizations, and locate each plant on the continuum between
mechanistic and organic structures. Finally, compare the characteristics of
jobs at the more mechanistic plant with jobs at the more organic plant and,
based purely on job characteristics, predict which plant should have workers
with higher job satisfaction. [Hint: In thinking about job satisfaction, consider
the influence of a more mechanistic structure VS a more organic structure on
core job dimensions and associated critical psychological states.]
6. You are a consultant to a management team considering a crucial decision
about the launch of a new product. If the product succeeds, the firm will gain
a dominant market share. If the product fails, the company will probably go
bankrupt. The company's chief competitor is moving quickly to bring a rival
product to market, so the management team is under intense deadline
pressure. Further, the CEO and founder of the corporation is an outspoken
woman with a low tolerance for dissent. Finally, in the past when the
company faced risky decisions with high stakes, the management team always
made the winning choice. In your report to the management team, define
groupthink and assess the team's vulnerability to groupthink surrounding
the product launch decision. Next, describe three symptoms of groupthink
that the management team can watch for to determine whether groupthink is
occurring. Finally, describe three strategies that you would recommend the
group use to combat groupthink. [Hint: Remember the groupthink video we
watched in class.]