UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE
FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT
MGT3360 FINAL EXAM OVERVIEW
1.
2.
20 Multiple Choice Questions................................ 20 x 1........................ 20
3 Essay Questions from choice of 5..................... 3 x 15........................ 45
65
Space available for each essay will be one side of one page.
Think through your answers ahead of time and be concise. Group discussion of questions is encouraged, but the formulation of answers must be an individual effort. The objective of this method of testing is to encourage you to give more sustained thought to the application of a conceptual framework than might normally be the case in a standard time-limited exam.
Be sure that your answers strive to apply and illustrate the theories we have discussed.
Numbers in parentheses following each question give a breakdown of marks where applicable
This is not an “open book” exam. No papers will be permitted into the exam. Time available for the exam: 120 minutes (Thursday, April 28 th 9:00 – 11:00, AH177)
The five essay questions you will see on your exam (from which you must choose three) will be taken from the following eight:
Essay Questions
1. Explain
Thompson’s levels of interdependence, identify an example of each level within the academic activities of the university, and use the example to illustrate the theory. (5 + 5 + 5)
2. It is ten years from now. You have recently returned to your organization with an
MBA from a well-known graduate school that counts many of your colleagues in other departments (Engineering, R&D) among its successful alumni. Janet, a senior V.P. in your department (Marketing), has been showing an interest in your career lately and has asked for your input regarding a rethinking of your division’s product line-up. You have recently put forward an idea for a new product but it has received mixed reviews. Several people at divisional headquarters have actively expressed support saying new products are needed, but one or two have also come out quite strongly against the idea by suggesting that it is not technically feasible. A meeting has been called at headquarters to discuss how to improve divisional sales.
Explain how you will use political tactics before and during the meeting to get your new product proposal supported. (3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 3)

3.
The President of U of L has decided to reposition the university as an exclusively teaching-based university (i.e. faculty will no longer be required or even permitted to do research except on their own time), but he needs to know how to do it, that is, which type of change and which mode of change (class handout) he should be using. Perform a diagnosis of the situation using each of the contingency factors from the handout and make a change strategy recommendation that draws on your analysis. ((1 x 10) + 5)
4. Consider the following situation:
You hold the position of marketing director for a construction company in a foreign country where your company has bid on a substantial project. Yesterday, the cousin of the minister who will award the contract suggested that he could be of some help… for $20,000. If you do not make this payment, you are certain that he will make a similar offer to your competitor (who has won the last three contracts.)
Use the moral philosophy framework described in class (Utilitarian, Categorical
Imperative, and Cultural Relativism) to make three distinct arguments regarding what to do in this situation. Note that you may come up with similar recommendations about what to do in more than one of your three arguments, but there should be no overlap in how you get to those recommendations. (5 + 5 + 5)
5.
Which of the following decision approaches best characterizes how decisions were made in your group this term: management science, Carnegie, incremental decision, or garbage can? Justify your choice in process terms using actual decisions made by the group as illustrations . Was this approach consistent with the contingency decisionmaking framework? Why or why not?
(10 + 5)
6.
For each of the following pairings, use the concepts of horizontal power to provide a different justification for why the first might have more power than the second .
(i.e. – there are five different sources of horizontal power. Choose the best ‘fit’ for each source from those below so that all sources and all examples are matched up.) As always, be sure to support your argument with specific assumptions from the example. a) University Advancement department (http://www.uleth.ca/advancement/) vs.
Caretaking department (http://www.uleth.ca/pln/crt) b) Faculty of Education vs. HR department at U of L c) Engine manufacturing plant vs. truck assembly plant at Ford d) Prime Minister’s Press Secretary vs. Travel Coordinator e) Software development department vs. legal department at Microsoft (5 x 3)
7.
The somewhat eccentric President of your company seems genuinely convinced that something called clan control is the best thing for your firm. The company is pretty big and composed of several divisions: Food Products, Transportation and Electronic
Gaming. The Gaming division in which you work is pretty small and people seem to get along well without having to go through the channels to their boss every time something comes up – which it often does given the technology in this industry! Something else that
(3 x 5)

you like about this business is the opportunity every year to kick the other divisions’ butts. Things aren’t always as stable in your industry as theirs and their overall revenues dwarf yours, but you still post a better ROI year in and year out. You just wish that headquarters could figure out some way to make the competition meaningful instead of just adding more paperwork and procedures to your life.
What advice would you give the President concerning the appropriate control system: a) for the company ? b) for your division ? (8 + 7)
8.
You are a vice-president in a firm that has been taking a beating in the marketplace at the hands of low-cost competitors using third world labor to assemble their products. You see little future at the low end of the market and would like to focus more on customer service as a competitive edge, but you are concerned that the existing culture of the firm is too focused on efficiency and cost-cutting. You’re aware of how
Disney uses culture to ensure that all employees (sorry, cast members) get ‘the message’ and think there is a role for culture in your planned turnaround. Using rites & ceremonies, stories, symbols and language (and your imagination), put together a proposal to the CEO outlining how you plan to change the culture of the firm to better align it with the new customer service strategy.
(15)