International Business

1. In your organization, what does your superior expect from you in terms of performance? Is it stated in writing? If you wrote down your job objective and your boss wrote down what he or she expects of you, would the two be consistent? 10 marks

2. Do you see any reasons why managing by objectives may result in increased use of matrix organization structures? 10 marks

3. Interview two managers. Ask them what criteria are used for their performance appraisal. Are the criteria verifiable? Do these managers think that the performance evaluation measures their performance in a fair manner? 10 marks

4. How do advances in technologies, globalization, and entrepreneurship affect business? 10 marks

5. Explain the nature of and reasons for each step usually found in the development of a production and operations management program. 10 marks

6. What is the systems approach to selection of managers? Why is it called a systems approach? How does it differ from other approaches? 10 marks

7. In a decision problem you know of, how and where would you apply the principle of the limiting factor? Did you apply this principle in selecting the class or section of the class you are attending? In what ways? 10 marks

8. Spirituality in the Workplace 30 marks

Traditionally, the workplace and spirituality did not mix in America. But things are changing. Andre Delbecq, a professor at Santa Clara University, a Jesuit institution, said, "There were two things I thought I'd never see in my life, the fall of the Russian empire and God being spoken about in a business school." Now management books and conferences (including the annual meeting of the Academy of Management) deal with the various aspects of how God can be brought into the organizational environment. To be sure, people who want to integrate spiritual dimensions into the workplace are still considered rebels. But ServiceMaster, a Fortune 500 company with some 75,000 employees, created a spiritual organization culture many years ago. Indeed, Peter Drucker, one of the most prolific writers on management, had high regards for the company that is known for its products such as Terminix, TruGreen, and Merry Maids.

When people in the United States were asked if they believe in god, some 95 percent said yes. It is in a spiritual context that businesspeople under the daily pressure of work can discuss their deepest feeling. As the baby boomers, now in their 0s, are reaching the top in their corporate life, they begin to wonder what life is all about. They lived thought the youth culture of the 1960s and the greed-dominated 1980s. they are now questioning the real meaning of life

...