9 discussion questions in 2 topics
Please check these 2 attachments:
I need someone to do the 5 discussion questions in “Building a better boss.docx” and the 4 discussion questions in “Not sold out.docx”?
I need the answers to be after reading and understanding all topics and I need a full and perfect discussion answers. Minimum 25 lines on a word document for each topic. Use font size 12 / Times New Roman, 1″ Margins on all four sides. So, about a page for each topic.
Also, check the file “Leader and or Manager.docx” and I need you to answer the two questions perfectly.
Case Application 2 Building a Better Boss
Google doesn’t do anything halfway. So when it decided to “build a better boss,” it did what it does best?.?.?.?look at data.55 Using data from performance reviews, feedback surveys, and supporting papers turned in for individuals being nominated for top-manager awards, Google tried to find what a great boss is and does. The project, dubbed Project Oxygen, examined some 100 variables and ultimately identified eight characteristics or habits of Google’s most effective managers. Here are the “big eight”:
• Provide an unambiguous vision of the future;
• Help individuals to reach their long-term work goals;
• Express interest in employees’ well-being;
• Insure you have the necessary technical abilities to support employee efforts;
• Display effective communication skills, especially listening;
• Provide coaching support when needed;
• Focus on being productive and on end results; and
• Avoid over-managing; let your team be responsible.
At first glance, you’re probably thinking that these eight attributes seem pretty simplistic and obvious, and you may be wondering why Google spent all this time and effort to uncover these. Even Google’s vice president for people operations, Laszlo Bock, said, “My first reaction was, that’s it?” Another writer described it as “reading like a whiteboard gag from an episode of The Office.” But, as the old saying goes, there was more to this list than meets the eye.
When Bock and his team began looking closer and rank ordering the eight items by importance, Project Oxygen got interesting—a lot more interesting! And to understand this, you have to understand something about Google’s approach to management since its founding in 1999. Plain and simple, managers were encouraged to “leave people alone. Let the engineers do their stuff. If they become stuck, they’ll ask their bosses, whose deep technical expertise propelled them to management in the first place.” It’s not hard to see what Google wanted its managers to be—outstanding technical specialists. Mr. Bock explains, “In the Google context, we’d always believed that to be a manager, particularly on the engineering side, you need to be as deep or deeper a technical expert than the people who work for you.” However, Project Oxygen revealed that technical expertise was ranked number eight (very last) on the list. So, here’s the complete list from most important to least important, along with what each characteristic entails:
• Provide coaching support when needed (provide specific feedback and have regular one-on-one meetings with employees; offer solutions tailored to each employee’s strengths)
• Avoid over-managing; let your team be responsible (give employees space to tackle problems themselves, but be available to offer advice)
• Express interest in employees’ well-being (make new team members feel welcome and get to know your employees as people)
• Focus on being productive and on end results (focus on helping the team achieve its goals by prioritizing work and getting rid of obstacles)
• Display good communication skills, especially listening (learn to listen and to share information; encourage open dialogue and pay attention to the team’s concerns)
• Help individuals to reach their long-term work goals (notice employees’ efforts so they can see how their hard work is furthering their careers; appreciate employees’ efforts and make that appreciation known)
• Provide an unambiguous vision of the future (lead the team but keep everyone involved in developing and working towards the team’s vision)
• Insure you have the necessary technical abilities to support employee efforts (understand the challenges facing the team and be able to help team members solve problems)
Now, managers at Google aren’t just encouraged to be great managers, they know what being a great manager involves. And the company is doing its part as well. Using the list, Google started training managers, as well as providing individual coaching and performance review sessions. You can say that Project Oxygen breathed new life into Google’s managers. Bock says the company’s efforts paid off quickly. “We were able to have a statistically significant improvement in manager quality for 75 percent of our worst-performing managers.”
Discussion Questions
1-17. Describe the findings of Project Oxygen using the functions approach, Mintzberg’s roles approach, and the skills approach.
1-18. Are you surprised at what Google found out about “building a better boss?” Explain your answer.
1-19. What’s the difference between encouraging managers to be great managers and knowing what being a great manager involves?
1-20. What could other companies learn from Google’s experiences?
1-21. Would you want to work for a company like Google? Why or why not?
HW3aQualities and attributes of a leader/manager (5 points)
Group I Group II Group III
0–5 Years 6–15 Years > 15 Years
Engineering Engineering Engineering
Experience Experience Experience
Highest-Ranked Qualities and Attributes
1. Ability to inspire 1. Enthusiasm 1. Integrity
2. Persuasiveness 2. Stability 2. Ability to inspire
3. Mental capacity 3. Self-discipline 3. Tact
4. Self-discipline 4. Ability to inspire 4. Stability
5. Enthusiasm 5. Integrity 5. Self-discipline
6. Tact 6. Mental capacity 6. Persuasiveness
7. Stability 7. Persuasiveness 7. Industry
8. Integrity 8. Cooperativeness 8. Enthusiasm
9. Cooperativeness 9. Ability to teach 9. Mental capacity
Lowest-Ranked Qualities and Attributes
18. Health 18. Health 18. Health
17. Forcefulness 17. Vitality 17. Forcefulness
16. Personal magnetism 16. Forcefulness 16. Ability to teach
15. Humanism 15. Personal magnetism 15. Personal magnetism
14. Vitality 14. Humanism 14. Humanism
13. Endurance 13. Endurance 13. Cooperativeness
12. Industry 12. Industry 12. Vitality
11. Scientific approach to problems 11. Scientific approach to problems 11. Scientific approach to problems
10. Ability to teach 10. Tact 10. Endurance
a) Which qualities and attributes would you like your boss to have? Rank the above qualities and attributes from more important to less important. Explain why? (Minimum five lines)
HW3bWhat type of leadership is best? (5 points)Explain why? (Minimum five lines)
There are different types of leaders. Some leaders are more concern about the production of the company. Some leaders are more concern about people.
Case Application 2 Not Sold Out
Competitors in the movie theater industry had hoped that they were through the challenges they’d faced during the economic downturn.66 After ticket sales revenue in 2011 fell 4 percent from the previous year, revenue in 2012 was up 6.1 percent. However, in 2013, revenues were up again, but just barely—not even by 1 percent. The numbers of people going to see a movie continue to stall. So, the industry has tried to pump up revenue with high-profile movies, higher ticket prices, and premium amenities.
The number of movie screens in the United States totals a little more than 39,000. Together, the four largest movie theater chains in the United States have a little over 19,200 screens—and a lot of seats to fill. The largest, Regal Entertainment Group (based in Knoxville, Tennessee), has more than 7,300 screens. AMC Entertainment (based in Kansas City, Missouri) has almost 5,000 screens. The other two major competitors are Cinemark (based in Plano, Texas—about 4,400 screens) and Carmike Cinemas (based in Columbus, Georgia—almost 2,500 screens). The challenge for these companies is getting people to watch movies on all those screens, a decision that encompasses many factors.
One important factor, according to industry analysts, is the uncertainty over how people want their movies delivered, which is largely a trade-off between convenience and quality (or what the experts call fidelity experience). Will consumers choose convenience over quality and use mobile devices such as iPads? Will they trade some quality for convenience and watch at home on surround-sound, flat-screen, high-definition home theater systems? Or will they go to a movie theater with wide screens, high-quality sound systems, and the social experience of being with other moviegoers and enjoy the highest-fidelity experience—even with the inconveniences? Movie theater managers believe that mobile devices aren’t much of a threat, even though they may be convenient. On the other hand, home theater systems may be more of a threat as they’ve become extremely affordable and have “acceptable” quality. Although not likely to replace any of these higher-quality offerings, drive-in theaters, analysts note, are experiencing a resurgence, especially in geographic locations where they can be open year-round. The movie theater chains are also battling IMAX Corporation for customers as movie screens get bigger and bigger. Over the last five years, the number of these oversized screens built by the five largest theater companies has grown to the point where it almost equals the number of IMAX locations. The movie theater chains have invested in these formats because it can add several extra dollars to the ticket price, resulting in increased revenues.
Another factor managers need to wrestle with is the impression consumers have of the movie-going experience. A consumer lifestyle poll showed that the major dislike about going to the movies was the cost, a drawback cited by 36 percent of the respondents. Other factors noted included the noise, uncomfortable seats, the inconvenience, the crowds, and too many previews/commercials before the movie.
A final question facing the movie theater industry and the major film studios is how to be proactive in avoiding the problems that the recorded music industry faced with the illegal downloading of songs. The amount of entertainment streamed online (which includes both music and video) continues to experience double-digit growth. The biggest threat so far has been YouTube, which has become a powerful force in the media world with owner Google’s backing. But now Amazon and Netflix are flexing their movie muscles as well. To counter that threat, industry executives have asked for filtering mechanisms to keep unlawful material off these sites and to develop some type of licensing arrangements whereby the industry has some protection over its copyrighted film content.
Discussion Questions
3-21 Using Exhibit 3-2, what external components might be most important for managers in movie theater chains to know about? Why?
3-22 According to the case, what external trends do managers at the movie theater chains have to deal with?
3-23 How do you think these trends might constrain decisions made by managers at the movie theater chains?
3-24 What stakeholders do you think might be most important to movie theater chains? What interests might these stakeholders have?
