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Glossary

accountability

The expectation that a member is able to provide compelling reasons for the decisions that they make. (See section 10.4)

acquisitive economics

The management of property and wealth in such a way that the short-term monetary value for owners is maximized (profit maximization focus). (See section 3.2)

adaptability culture

A culture that tends to place greater value on flexibility and change. (See section 11.2.2)

administrative appraisals

The basis for pay, promotion, and termination decisions. (See section 12.5)

administrative inertia

When existing structures and systems persist simply because they are already in place. (See section 7.5.2)

agency costs

Expenses that owners pay to ensure that managers act in the interests of the firm rather than in their own self-interest. (See section 6.2.2)

agreement on aims and means

The level of consensus among decision-makers about the goals of an organization and the best way to achieve those goals. (See section 7.4.2)

analyzer organization design

Tends to have a dual (cost leader plus differentiator) or compounder (minimizer plus transformer) strategy, an outreach structure and market culture, an oasis environment, and an engineering technology. (See section 11.3)

authority

The formal power given to specific members (usually managers) to arrange resources and/or to assign tasks and direct the activities of other members in ways that help to achieve organizational goals. (See section 10.4.1)

BCG matrix

Classifies each strategic business unit (SBU) according to (a) its market share, and (b) the rate at which its industry is growing. (See section 8.5.2)

behavior modification

A set of techniques by which reinforcement theory is used to modify human motivation and behavior. (See section 14.3.1)

behavioral interview questions

Asking applicants to draw from their experience to share an example of their work-related actions. (See section 12.3.2)

benefit corporation

A for-profit corporate entity that has legally defined and recognized social or environmental goals. (See section 6.3.4)

bounded rationality

The tendency to make suboptimal decisions because individuals lack complete information and have limited cognitive ability to process information. (See section 2.3.3)

bureaucratic organizing

Emphasizes the design and management of organizations on an impersonal, rational basis via methods like clearly defined lines of authority and responsibility, formal record keeping, and rule-based decision-making. (See section 2.3.1)

business case

A justification, often documented, that shows how a proposed new organizational initiative will enhance the organization’s financial bottom line. (See section 1.3.2)

business model

Describes the inputs and processes an organization uses to create, deliver, and capture value. (See section 6.3.3)

business plan

A written document that describes the key features, actions, structure, and systems for a proposed new organization that is designed to take advantage of an entrepreneurial opportunity. (See section 6.3.3)

business-level strategy

The combination of goals, plans, and actions that an organization in a specific industry uses to accomplish its mission. (See section 8.5.1)

capitalism

An economic system based on rewarding entrepreneurs for profitably combining resources in ways that create valued goods and services. (See section 2.2.5)

cash cow

An organization that enjoys a high market share in a low growth or mature industry. (See section 8.5.2)

centralization

The extent to which decision-making authority resides atop the organization’s hierarchy. (See section 10.4.1)

certainty

Certainty exists when managers know exactly what outcomes are associated with each alternative they are choosing among, the possible payoffs associated with each possible outcome for each alternative, and the probability or likelihood that each pay-off will occur. (See section 7.4.1)

change agent

Someone who acts as a catalyst and takes leadership and responsibility for managing part of the change process. (See section 13.3.3)

change-oriented behavior

Monitoring and understanding the work unit’s larger environment, discovering innovative ways of working within it, and promoting the implementation of major changes in strategy, structures, and systems, or in the array of goods and services that are offered. (See section 15.3.3)

classic entrepreneur

Individual who starts an entirely new organization to pursue a new product or service idea. (See section 1.4.2)

classical rational decision-making approach

Listing all possible options to choose from, determining the costs and benefits associated with each, and then choosing the best option. (See section 7.4.3)

closed systems

Looking at managing activities as though the organization were a self-contained and self-sufficient unit. (See section 2.3.3)

co-operative

An organization that is owned and democratically run directly by its members. (See section 6.3.3)

coercive power

The ability to influence the behavior of others through the threat of punishment. (See section 14.3.4)

cognitive scripts

Learned guidelines or procedures that help people interpret and respond to what is happening around them.

collective agreement

A contract negotiated by employers and unions that specifies and regulates duties and responsibilities that employees and employers have to one another. (See section 12.1)

collective bargaining

The process used when management negotiates wages and other terms of employment with a union or organized group of workers. (See section 12.1)

communication

The process of transmitting information via meaningful symbols so that a message is understood by others. (See section 17.1)

communication channel

The organizational path that information travels via a medium. (See section 17.3)

communication medium

The means used to deliver and receive information. (See section 17.3)

compassion

Standing alongside people who are suffering and doing what you can to support them. (See section 5.3.3)

compensation

Monetary payments such as wages, salaries, and bonuses as well as other goods, commodities, and intangible rewards that are given to organizational members. (See section 12.5.2)

competitors

Other organizations that offer similar products or services, or that offer products or services that meet the same customer need. (See section 6.3.3)

compounder strategy

When an organization simultaneously follows both a minimizer and a transformer strategy, both reducing negative externalities and enhancing positive externalities. (See section 8.5.1)

conceptual skills

The ability to think about complex and broad organizational issues. (See section 1.2)

concurrent control

Determines whether an organization’s conversion processes meet its performance standards. (See section 18.2.1)

conglomerates

Diversified organizations with SBUs in unrelated industries. (See section 8.5.2)

consequential utilitarianism

Optimizing an action’s rightness (and limiting its wrongness) as measured by its effect on the net overall happiness outcome for everyone involved. (See section 1.3.2)

content school

The rational-analytic, top-down, and linear aspects of strategy formulation. (See section 9.5)

contingency plans

How managers will respond to possible future events that could disrupt existing plans. (See section 9.3.2)

contingency theory

A theory the best way to manage a specific organization depends on, and is determined by, identifying the optimal fit between its structure, culture, environment, technology, and strategy. (See section 2.3.3)

contingent workers

Individuals who are contracted for a specific project or fixed time period but are not considered to be permanent employees of the host organization. (See section 12.6)

continuous improvement

Making many small, incremental improvements with regard to how things are done in an organization. (See section 7.4.3)

controlling

Seeks to ensure that an organization’s activities serve to accomplish its goals. (See section 18.1)

conventional profit

The difference between a firm’s financial expenses and its financial revenues. (See section 3.3.3)

core competency

A resource or ability that is essential for the achievement of organizational goals. (See section 8.3.2)

corporate social responsibility

Managers’ obligations to act in ways that enhance societal well-being even if there are no direct benefits to the firm’s financial well-being by doing so. (See section 2.3.5)

corporate-level strategy

Determines the combination of industries in which a diversified organization will have an SBU. (See section 8.5.2)

corporation

A business that enjoys many of the privileges and legal rights of a person, is considered by law to be an entity separate from its owners, and where the financial liability of its owners is limited to the value of their investment in the firm. (See section 2.2.5)

cost leadership strategy

When an organization has lower financial costs than rivals do for similar products, so that it can capture more profit and/or a higher market share via lower prices. (See section 8.5.1)

cradle-to-cradle design

Ensuring that the material content of products at the end of their useful life can be reused to make new products and that new products are made from expired products. (See section 4.2.1)

crises

Events that have a major effect on the ability of an organization’s members to carry on their daily tasks. (See section 9.3.2)

crowdfunding

Involves entrepreneurs receiving small amounts of money from a large number of people, often in exchange for a reward (but typically not repayment of the funds or a role in management). (See section 6.3.4)

customer power

How much influence customers have on an organization. (See section 8.4.2)

data

Facts and figures, some of which managers deem useful but the majority are not. (See section 18.2.2)

debt financing

When entrepreneurs borrow money from a bank, family and friends, or a financial institution that must be paid back at some future date. (See section 6.3.3)

decision

A choice that is made among a number of available alternatives to address a problem or opportunity. (See section 7.1)

decision support systems

Used to gather and manipulate data from a variety of sources to help evaluate performance. (See section 18.2.2)

decoding

When the receiver attributes meaning to the message. (See section 17.4)

defender organization design

Tends to have a cost leader or minimizer strategy, a programmed structure and hierarchy culture, a barren environment, and a routine technology. (See section 11.3)

delegation

The process of giving authority to a person or group to make decisions in a specified sphere of activity. (See section 10.4.1)

deliberative dialogue

Gathering a variety of stakeholders together to learn ideas from one another about how to address an issue. (See section 17.2.1)

departmentalization

How members and resources are grouped together to achieve the work of the larger organization. (See section 10.5.1)

development

Learning activities that result in broad growth and training beyond the scope of one’s current job. (See section 12.4.2)

developmental appraisals

Feedback on progress toward expectations and identify areas for improvement. (See section 12.5.1)

differentiation strategy

When an organization offers products or services with unique features that cost less for it to provide than the extra price that customers are willing to pay for the features. (See section 8.5.1)

dignification

Treating everyone with dignity and respect in community. (See section 10.4.2)

dilemmas

Situations in which one must choose when there is no obvious best choice. (See section 5.5.2)

discrimination

When someone is treated unjustly or badly based on characteristics such as their race, age, gender, or disability. (See section 12.1)

distinctive competency

A competency that an organization has that is superior to that of its competitors. (See section 8.3.2)

diversified organization

Competes in more than one industry or sector, or serves customers in several different product, service, or geographic sectors. (See section 8.5.2)

divestment

The process of decreasing the number of industries in which a diversified firm operates an SBU. (See section 8.5.2)

divisional structure

Where members work together as a subunit that provides a specific kind of product or service, serves similar customers, or operates in the same geographic region. (See section 10.5.1)

documentational capitalism

Capitalism that is characterized by an emphasis on detailed contracts, public financial reports, short-term maximization of financial performance, management independence and rights, stringent anti-trust legislation, rewarding a labor force that is mobile and has transferable skills, and using stock options to motivate managers. (See section 3.2.1)

dual strategy

When an organization combines both a cost leadership and a differentiation strategy. (See section 8.5.1)

ecological footprint

The amount of the Earth’s natural resources that are required to sustain a particular lifestyle or activity. (See section 4.2)

ecological well-being

A condition evident when the Earth’s natural systems are functioning in a way that sustains and enhances the flourishing of life. (See section 4.2)

economics

How goods and services are produced, distributed, and consumed. (See section 3.2.2)

economies of scale

Cost savings that arise from producing a large volume of output. (See section 6.2.1)

egalicentrism

Characterized by two-way, give-and-take communication that fosters mutual understanding and community. (See section 5.4.4)

elevator pitch

A succinct description of the entrepreneur’s plan and the value it offers. (See section 6.3.2)

employee relations

Activities that are necessary to effectively manage the relationship between employers and employees. (See section 12.1)

encoding

Choosing the symbols and media that are used to develop and transmit a message. (See section 17.3)

enlightened centralization

A variation of FBL centralization that embraces SET dignification on a piecemeal basis when it profitably reduces negative socio-ecological externalities. (See section 10.4.2)

enlightened consequential utilitarianism

Suggests that ethical management seeks to improve an organization’s financial well-being, especially via reducing negative social and ecological externalities. (See section 1.3.2)

enlightened departmentalization

A variation of FBL departmentalization coupled with some SET participation in cases where the latter enhances the organization’s financial well-being. (See section 10.5.2)

enlightened specialization

A variation of FBL specialization that embraces SET sensitization in instances where it profitably reduces negative socio-ecological externalities. (See section 10.3.1)

enlightened standardization

A variation of FBL standardization that embraces SET experimentation when it profitably reduces negative socio-ecological externalities. (See section 10.2.2)

entrepreneur

Someone who conceives of new or improved goods or services and exhibits the initiative to develop that idea by making plans and mobilizing the necessary resources to convert the idea into reality. (See section 1.4)

entrepreneurial start-up plan (ESUP)

Identifies an entrepreneurial opportunity and describes a detailed management plan for acting on that opportunity. (See section 1.4.2)

entropy

The natural tendency for a closed system to fail because it is unable to acquire the inputs and energy it requires. (See section 2.3.3)

environmental munificence

The availability of resources in the environment that enable organizations to grow and change. (See section 11.2.3)

environmental stability

The prevalence and speed of change among key resources and stakeholders in an organization’s external environment. (See section 11.2.3)

equity financing

When investors in a new venture receive shares and become part owners of the organization. (See section 6.3.3)

equity theory

A theory based on the logic of social comparisons and the idea that people are motivated to seek and preserve social equity in the rewards they expect for performance. (See section 14.3.2)

escalation of commitment

When a manager perseveres with the implementation of a poor decision in spite of evidence that it is not working. (See section 7.5.2)

ethics

Principles one uses to choose the right action, particularly when the action affects others. (See section 5.5.2)

ethnocentric orientation

When managers enter a foreign country with the belief that practices from their home country offer the best way to manage in a foreign country. (See section 5.4.2)

expectancy

The probability perceived by an individual that exerting a given amount of effort will lead to a certain level of performance. (See section 14.3.1)

expectancy theory

Describes how motivation can be increased by increasing employees’ expectations that they can achieve certain goals, and that the achievement of those goals will be linked to rewards that they value. (See section 14.3.1)

experimentation

Members’ ongoing voluntary implementation of new and possibly better ways of performing tasks on a trial basis. (See section 10.2.2)

expert power

The ability to influence the behavior of others based on special knowledge, skills, and expertise that one possesses. (See section 14.3.4)

explicit knowledge

Information that can be codified or articulated. (See section 7.4.1)

external focus culture

Prioritizes organizational objectives over employee needs. (See section 11.2.2)

external focus structure

Characterized by an emphasis on how stakeholders beyond an organization’s boundaries engage in experimentation, sensitization, dignification, and participation. (See section 11.2.1)

externalities

Positive and negative effects that organizations have on society that are not reflected in their financial statements. (See section 1.3.2)

extrinsic motivation

Behavior that is exhibited because of the promise of some desired outcome (reward) from someone else. (See section 14.1)

fair trade

An approach to trade that tries to ensure that workers in low-income countries are paid a fair price for the products they produce. (See section 3.4.1)

family

A group of people—typically connected by marriage or kinship ties—who have a shared history, who feel a sense of collective belonging, and who are committed to helping each other build a shared future. (See section 6.2.2)

family business

An organization controlled by two or more members of a single family, in cooperation or in succession. (See section 6.2.2)

FBL management

An approach that emphasizes maximizing an organization’s financial well-being, which is typically achieved by appealing to individual self-interests. (See section 1.3.2)

feedback control

Determines whether an organization’s outputs meet its performance standards. (See section 18.2.1)

feedforward control

Determines whether an organization’s inputs meet its performance standards. (See section 18.2.1)

filtering

When information is intentionally withheld or not communicated to others. (See section 17.2)

first-mover advantage

A performance advantage enjoyed by the first organization or product to reach a large portion of the potential market. (See section 6.3.3)

fixed costs

Business expenses that do not vary with the quantity of organizational output. (See section 6.2.1)

focus strategy

The portion of an overall market that an organization is targeting to serve. (See section 8.5.1)

formalization

The written documentation in an organization. (See section 10.2.1)

fragile player

An organization that creates both positive and negative externalities. (See section 8.5.2)

franchising

Involves a franchisor selling a franchisee a complete package to set up an organization, including such things as using its trademark and trade name, its products and services, its ingredients, its technology and machinery, as well as its management and standard operating systems. (See section 1.4.2)

free trade

The idea that goods and services can flow across national and international boundaries without financial barriers (i.e., tariffs, quotas, or subsidies). (See section 3.4.1)

frustration-regression principle

When people who are unable to satisfy some needs at a basic level compensate by focusing on over-satisfying other needs. (See section 14.2.2)

functional structure

Where members are placed in the same department based on their having similar technical skills and using similar resources to perform their tasks. (See section 10.5.1)

Gantt chart

A bar graph that managers could use to schedule and allocate resources for a production job. (See section 2.3.1)

genuine profit

The difference between a firm’s financial expenses and its financial revenues after considering its socio-ecological externalities. (See section 3.3.3)

globalization

Changes in economics, technology, politics, and culture that result in increasing interdependence and integration among organizations and people around the world. (See section 3.4.1)

goal displacement

When people become so focused on specific goals that they lose sight of other, more important goals. (See section 9.2.2)

goals

Objectives or desired results that members in an organization are pursuing. (See section 7.4.2)

greenwashing

Deliberately using misleading information in order to present a false image of ecological responsibility. (See section 3.3.2)

gross domestic product (GDP)

The total financial value of all the goods and services produced within a country. (See section 3.3.2)

group

A collection of three or more people who share a common interest or association. (See section 16.2.1)

group efficacy

Group members’ belief that they are able to complete a task successfully. (See section 14.3.1)

groupthink

The tendency of team members to strive for and maintain unanimity in decision-making rather than thoroughly considering all alternatives. (See section 16.3.1)

growth-oriented entrepreneurs

Distinguished by a strong and clear intention to grow a new organization into a large and influential force in their industry. (See section 1.4.2)

harvesting

Withdrawing one’s financial investment (i.e., ownership) in an organization with the intent of achieving financial gain by doing so. (See section 18.3)

Hawthorne effect

Suggests that giving workers special treatment increases their productivity. (See section 2.3.2)

horizontal integration

When an organization’s services or product lines are expanded or offered in new markets. (See section 8.5.2)

human relations movement

Managerial actions aimed at increasing employee satisfaction in order to improve productivity. (See section 2.3.2)

human resource management (HRM)

The set of organizational activities directed at attracting, developing, and maintaining a well-functioning workforce. (See section 12.1)

hybrid economics

Managing property and wealth to maximize monetary value for owners, while simultaneously reducing negative socio-ecological externalities for key stakeholders (harm reduction focus). (See section 3.2.2)

hybrid structure

Seeks the advantages of the functional structure (by achieving internal efficiencies and developing internal expertise in some areas) and the advantages of the divisional structure (by being able to adapt to changes in a dynamic external environment. (See section 10.5.1)

hygiene factors

Address issues of work context; they include working conditions, pay, company policies, and interpersonal relationships. (See section 14.2.2)

idea champion

Someone who actively and enthusiastically supports a new idea. (See section 13.3.3)

ideal type of management

A specified constellation of concepts and theory that collectively identifies what effective management means and how it is practiced. (See section 1.3.3)

imitation

The application of existing ideas, which may come from other units within the organization or from outside of the organization. (See section 13.2.3)

incremental change

When an existing organization design is fine-tuned. (See section 13.2.1)

individualism

Placing a high value on self-interests. (See section 2.2.5)

industry

All organizations that are active in the same sector of social, political, and/or economic activity. (See section 8.4)

information

Data that have been given meaning and value. (See section 18.2.2)

information distortion

The tendency to overlook or downplay feedback that makes a decision look bad, and instead to focus on feedback that makes the decision look good. (See section 7.5.2)

information system

Mechanisms that identify, collect, organize, and disseminate information. (See section 18.2.2)

inimitable resources

Resources that cannot be copied or developed by other organizations, or are costly or difficult to do so. (See section 8.3.2)

initial public offerings

When a firm’s ownership shares are sold for the first time on a public securities exchange. (See section 17.5.3)

initiating structure

Behaviors like determining tasks and roles and assigning them to members, coordinating members’ actions, and maintaining the standards for task performance. (See section 15.3.1)

innocent bystander

An organization that has high sustainable development but low restorativeness. (See section 8.5.2)

innovation

The development and implementation of new ideas and practices. (See section 13.2.3)

institutionalization

When certain practices or rules have become valued in and of themselves. (See section 2.3.4)

instrumentality

The perceived probability that successfully performing to a certain level will result in attaining a desired outcome. (See section 14.3.1)

intensity of rivalry

The extent or strength of competition among the organizations in an industry. (See section 8.4.5)

internal focus culture

Places relatively more value on the needs of employees as compared to overall organizational goals. (See section 11.2.2)

internal focus structure

Characterized by an emphasis on how stakeholders within an organization’s boundaries engage in experimentation, sensitization, dignification, and participation. (See section 11.2.1)

intrapreneurs

Individuals who exhibit entrepreneurship within an existing organization. (See section 1.4.2)

intrinsic motivation

Behavior that is exhibited because the task is inherently satisfying, enjoyable, or meaningful to the person. (See section 14.1)

intuition

Making decisions based on tacit knowledge, which can be based on experience, hunches, or “gut feel.” (See section 7.4.1)

invisible hand

The idea that the good of the community is increased when every individual is permitted to pursue their own self-interested goals. (See section 1.3.2)

job analysis

The investigative process of gathering and interpreting information to identify the requirements of a particular job. (See section 12.2)

job description

A document that specifies what tasks are to be performed in a particular position, as well as the knowledge, skills, education and training, credentials, prior experience, physical abilities, and other characteristics that are required. (See section 12.2)

job-based pay

A standardized system where employees receive financial rewards based on their position title. (See section 12.5.2)

jobs

Opportunities to get paid by an organization in return for doing work that produces goods and services.

labor union

An organization that represents workers and negotiates with their employers (and in some countries, with the government) on the workers’ behalf.

lavish actors

Organization that are low on both sustainability and restorativeness.

leading

The process of influencing others so that their work efforts lead to the achievement of organizational goals.

legitimate power

The capacity of someone to influence other people by virtue of one’s position in an organization’s hierarchy of authority.

liability of newness

New organizations’ greater chance of failing compared to older organizations in the same industry or situation.

liability of smallness

Small organizations’ greater chance of failing compared to larger organizations in the same industry or situation.

life-cycle assessment

Areas where there could be ecological benefits and financial savings in the overall process of how an organization sources raw materials, transforms them into new products, sells them to customers, and how they are used, maintained, and disposed of by consumers.

line authority

The formal power to direct and control immediate subordinates.

living wage

Enough money to pay for the basic amenities of life, including adequate housing, food, clothing, education, and healthcare.

local multiplier effect

The enhanced financial well-being a community gains when it supports locally owned businesses.

locavores

People whose diet consists only or principally of locally grown or produced food.

locus of control

A person’s beliefs about the sources of success and failure.

management

(a) The process of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling human and other organizational resources toward (b) the effective achievement of organizational goals.

market

The impersonal laws of supply and demand that dictate what firms can and cannot do.

market cannibalization

The negative effect that a new product or service has on an organization’s existing products and services.

materialism

Placing a high value on physical possessions, financial well-being, and productivity.

matrix departmentalization

When an organization has both divisional and functional departments, and members are simultaneously assigned to both.

meaningful work

An activity that enhances the meaning of life for those doing the work.

mechanistic structure

Characterized by standardization, narrow specialization, centralization, and functional departmentalization.

media richness

A medium’s ability to resolve ambiguity.

message

A specific idea or general information.

micropreneurs

Those who seek to develop successful and viable organizations but not large ones; they do not include size in their definition of success.

minimizer strategy

When an organization minimizes negative socio-ecological externalities while ensuring that it remains financially viable.

mission statement

Identifies the fundamental purpose of an organization, and often describes what an organization does, whom it serves, and how it differs from similar organizations.

monopreneurs

Individuals who start a viable organization in order to manage it for the rest of their career.

moral hazard

The risk that managers might use the firm’s resources to benefit other interests to the detriment of the owners’ financial gain.

motivation

A psychological force that helps to explain what arouses, directs, and maintains human behavior.

motivator factors

Address issues of work content; they include interesting work, autonomy, responsibility, being able to grow and develop on the job, and having a sense of accomplishment.

natural environment

All living and non-living things that have not been created by human technology or human activity.

natural management of money

Enhancing overall well-being by using money to facilitate the transfer of valued goods in a community-sustaining way.

negative reinforcement

The removal of an unpleasant consequence following a desired behavior.

nepotism

Preferential treatment of relatives and friends, especially by giving them jobs for which they are not the most qualified.

net productivity

The growth in the total goods and services created per the number of hours worked.

network structure

When an organization enters fairly stable and complex relationships with a variety of other organizations that provide essential services, including manufacturing and distribution.

noise

Anything that interferes with the transmission of a message.

non-governmental organization (NGO)

A non-profit organization whose primary mission is to model and advocate for social, cultural, legal, or environmental change.

non-programmed decision

Developing and choosing a new way of dealing with a problem or opportunity.

non-substitutable resources

Resources that cannot be easily substituted with other resources.

omission

The absence of any reinforcement, positive or negative, following the occurrence of a behavior.

on-the-job training

When someone who knows how to perform a particular task shows and teaches someone else how to do it.

open systems

An emphasis on the organization’s place in the larger environment, and how the organization takes inputs from the environment and transforms them into outputs that go into the environment.

operational goals

Outcomes to be achieved by an organizational department, workgroup, or individual member.

operational plans

Specifying what activities will be used to meet a goal, when they should be accomplished (in light of existing commitments and constraints), and how the required resources will be acquired.

operations information systems

Used to monitor and coordinate the flow of work between various organizational subunits and their suppliers.

opportunities

Conditions in the external environment that have the potential to help managers meet or exceed organizational goals.

opportunity identification

The process of selecting promising entrepreneurial ideas for further development.

organic structure

Characterized by little standardization, broad specialization, limited centralization, and divisional departmentalization.

organization

A goal-directed, deliberately structured group of people working together to provide specific goods and services.

organization chart

A diagram that depicts the reporting relationships and authority structure of the organization.

organization design

The process of ensuring that there is a good “fit” between an organization’s structure, culture, environment, technology, and strategy.

organization design type

A coherent alignment of an organization’s structure, culture, and strategy to fit the prevailing environment and technology.

organizational change

The substantive modification of some aspect of an organization.

organizational citizenship behavior (OCB)

Going above and beyond normal, required practices in order to serve organizational stakeholders.

organizational commitment

A motivational force that binds a person to a particular organization.

organizational conflict

When one member or unit challenges another.

organizational culture

The set of shared values and norms that influence how members perceive and interact with each other and with other stakeholders.

organizational environment

All the actors, forces, and conditions outside the organization.

organizational imprinting

The tendency for organizations to take on qualities that reflect conditions when they were founded and to continue displaying those qualities after the founding stage.

organizational life cycle theory

How organizations, as they grow in age and size, move in a predictable progression from one generic organizational design type to another.

organizational norms

The informal rules that guide social and task behavior in a group.

organizational values

The foundational beliefs that members hold about the goals of the organization and how those goals should be achieved.

outsourcing

Using contracts to transfer some of an organization’s recurring internal activities and decision-making rights to outsiders.

participation

Mutual decision-making that gives stakeholders a voice in how the organization is managed and how jobs are performed.

partnership

When two or more entrepreneurs own and operate the firm and are responsible for all of its debts.

pay for performance

A system where employees’ compensation is based on activities and outputs of individual employees, and/or their workgroup, and/or the entire organization.

performance appraisal

Specifies, assesses, and provides feedback to jobholders regarding what they are expected to do.

performance management

HRM processes designed to ensure that individual and team activities and outputs are aligned with the organization’s strategic goals.

performance standards

Metrics used to determine how well a particular employee, department, or organization is doing its work.

persistence

Remaining committed to a course of action despite obstacles.

pet

An organization that has a low market share in a low growth industry.

place-based organizing

An organizational approach characterized by having ownership, productive activities, and resources located in a specific geographic location.

plans

The steps and actions that are required to achieve goals.

policies

Guidelines for making decisions and taking action in various situations.> provide guidelines for making decisions and taking action in various situations.

political decision-making approach

Negotiations about which means and ends to pursue, identifying costs and benefits associated with various options, with the final choice often reflecting a compromise that partially satisfies the competing interests of those involved.

political-legal environment

The prevailing philosophy and objectives of the various levels of government, as well as their ongoing laws and regulations.

polycentrism

When managers enter another country recognizing that the best way to manage involves attending to and adapting practices and customs from the host country.

positive reinforcement

The administration of a pleasant and rewarding consequence following a desired behavior.

power

The potential that one person has to influence and control someone else’s behavior or to change the course of events.

praxis

A combination of critical reflection and practical action that facilitates positive change.

precautionary principle

A principle that states that before anyone undertakes on action that has a reasonable risk of harming others or the environment, that person must demonstrate that the action is not harmful.

predictability culture

A culture that tends to place greater value on stability and control.

proactive change

Change that is designed and implemented in an orderly and timely fashion.

process school

An approach that emphasizes that strategy formulation and implementation are ongoing and iterative, where one aspect influences the other.

programmed decision

A response to an organizational problem or opportunity chosen from a set of standard alternatives.

programmed decisions

The response to an organizational problem or opportunity is chosen from a set of standard alternatives.

prospector organization design

Tends to have a differentiator or transformer strategy, a pioneer structure and adhocracy culture, a prolific environment, and a non-routine technology.

psychological contract

An unwritten expectation related to the exchanges between an employee and the organization.

punishment

The application of an unpleasant consequence after an undesirable behavior has occurred.

question mark

An organization that has a low market share but operates in a rapidly growing industry.

quotas

Restrictions on the quantity of specific goods or services that can be imported (or exported).

random decision-making approach

Negotiations among decision-makers about which means and ends to pursue, and then making a choice even though decision-makers are unable to determine the costs and benefits associated with possible options.

rare resources

Resources that few other organizations have.

reactive change

Change that makes ad hoc or piece-meal responses to unanticipated events or crises as they occur.

realistic job preview

Provides job applicants with information regarding both the positive and negative aspects of a position they are applying for.

recruitment

The process of identifying and attracting people with the KSAOs an organization needs.

referent power

The ability to influence the behavior of others on account of their loyalty to or desire to imitate or identify with the power holder.

reinforcement theory

An explanation of how to motivate employees to change their on-the-job behavior through the appropriate use of rewards and punishments.

related diversification

Expanding an organization’s activity into industries that are related to its current activities.

relational capitalism

Capitalism that is characterized by an emphasis on relational contracts, the long-term reputation and financial performance of an organization, employee rights, satisfying the needs of many different stakeholder groups, and investment in developing the skills of employees.

relationship-oriented behavior

Showing concern and respect for group members, being friendly and approachable, treating other members as equals, and being open to their input.

resources

Assets, capabilities, processes, attributes, and information that are controlled by an organization and that enable it to formulate and implement a strategy. It is helpful for managers to look at three different types of internal resources: physical, human, and intangible.

responsibility

The obligation or duty of members to perform assigned tasks.

reward power

The ability to influence the behavior of others by giving or withholding positive benefits or rewards.

risk

Risk is evident when decision-makers have at least some knowledge about the likelihood of the different possible outcomes that might occur if they choose to implement a particular alternative, and the pay-offs associated with each outcome.

rules and regulations

Prescribed patterns of behavior that guide work tasks.

satisficing

Evident when decision-makers do not attempt to develop an optimal solution to a problem, but rather collect enough information and develop enough alternatives until they feel they are able to choose one that provides an adequate solution.

scalar chain

Where clear lines of authority extend from the top to the bottom of an organization’s hierarchy and include every employee.

scientific management

A management approach that focuses on determining the best way to carry out specific jobs via designing the optimal process for performing a job, selecting people with the required abilities, training them to improve their efficiency, and developing reward systems that will optimize productivity.

scripts

Learned guidelines or procedures that help people interpret and respond to what is happening around them.

seeding

Transferring one’s ownership to new owners with the intent of facilitating further socio-ecological well-being.

selection

The process of choosing whom to hire among a pool of recruited job applicants.

selection reliability

The ability of a selection method or tool to consistently provide accurate assessments.

selection validity

The relationship between the scores applicants receive during assessment and their subsequent job performance.

self-efficacy

The confidence and belief that one can accomplish a task successfully.

self-fulfilling prophecies

To shape and control people’s actions by channeling behavior in a scripted direction rather than in alternative (possibly more positive) directions.

semantic problems

When words have different meanings for different people.

sensitization

Members’ active awareness of how their work fits with that of co-workers and others, with an eye toward improving practices via experiments that take advantage of opportunities or address needs.

serial entrepreneurs

Individuals who start many organizations.

served available market (SAM)

Everyone in the total available market (TAM) who is likely to actually use the product or service.

SET management

An approach that emphasizes enhancing social and ecological well-being while maintaining financial viability.

simple organization design

Tends to have a focus strategy, a familial structure and clan culture, a harsh environment, and a craft technology.

situational interview questions

Asking applicants to respond to a specific scenario that is likely to arise on the job in the future.

social cohesion

The attachment and attraction of team members to one another.

social construction of reality

When something is perceived to be an objective reality and people allow it to shape their thinking and actions, even though its meaning has been subjectively created by humans and must be constantly recreated by humans in order to continue to exist.

social enterprises

Entrepreneurial organizations created intentionally and specifically to pursue a social or environmental well-being mission.

social skills

Abilities in getting along with people, leadership, helping others to be motivated, communication, and conflict resolution.

socially responsible investing

Investment decisions that seek to maximize “financial returns via strategically reducing negative social and ecological externalities.”

sole proprietorship

A business that is owned and operated by one entrepreneur who is responsible for all of its debts.

span of control

The number of members that report directly to a given manager.

specialization

Selecting subsets of standardized organizational tasks and allocating them to separate jobs.

staff authority

The formal power to advise and provide technical support for others but not to tell them what to do.

staffing

The HRM process of identifying, attracting, hiring, and retaining people with the necessary KSAOs to fulfill the responsibilities of current and future jobs in the organization.

stakeholder map

A description of the organizational resources a new start-up has (and needs) to manage the key forces in its industry, and the key relationships it needs to establish and maintain.

stakeholders

Parties that have an interest in what an organization does because they contribute resources to the organization and/or are affected by its operations.

standard operating procedures

Specific steps that must be taken when performing recurring tasks.

standardization

Developing uniform practices for organizational members to follow in doing their jobs.

standing plans

Operational plans for activities that are performed repeatedly.

star

Enjoys a high market share in a rapidly growing industry.

strategic alliance

Pooling organizational resources and know-how to share the risks and rewards for developing a market.

strategic business unit

Has its own mission statement, industry, products and services, business-level strategy, and financial statements.

strategic learning

Using insights from an organization’s actual strategy to improve its intended strategy.

strategic management

The analysis and decisions that are necessary to formulate and implement strategy.

strategy

The combination of goals, plans, and actions that are designed to accomplish an organization’s mission.

strengths

Valuable or unique resources that an organization has or any activities that it does particularly well.

subsidies

Direct or indirect payments to domestic businesses that help them compete with foreign companies.

substitutes

Products or services that are similar or that meet the same needs of a customer but come from a different industry.

succession plan

Identifying and grooming talented employees who have the potential of doing well in jobs of increased responsibility within the organization.

supplier power

How much influence suppliers have over an organization.

sustainability hero

An organization that minimizes negative externalities (high sustainable development) and enhances positive externalities (high restorativeness).

sustainable development

Meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

sustainable impact investing

Investment decisions that “seek to optimize social and ecological well-being without a need to maximize financial returns.”

sustenance economics

Managing property and wealth to increase the long-term overall well-being for owners, members, and other stakeholders (well-being focus).

synergy

When the performance gain that results from two or more units working together—such as two or more organizations, departments, or people—is greater than the simple sum of their individual contributions.

tacit knowledge

Information or other insight that people have that is difficult to codify or articulate.

target market

Everyone in the served available market (SAM) that the organization will intentionally try to make into a customer or client in the near future.

tariffs

Taxes on goods or services entering a country.

task cohesion

Team members’ attachment and shared commitment to the group’s purpose and the means for achieving it.

task forces

Teams that disband when their work has been completed, with members “floating” from one task force to the next as the need arises.

task interdependence

The degree to which the actions and outputs of one task influence, and are influenced by, the actions and outputs of another.

task-oriented behavior

Designing, implementing, and explaining organizational structures and systems that enable and motivate members to perform their tasks.

TBL cost leadership strategy

When an organization has lower financial costs than its rivals, thanks to reductions in its ecological and/or social negative externalities, thereby contributing to its financial well-being.

TBL differentiation strategy

When an organization offers products or services with socio-ecological benefits that cost less for it to provide than the extra price that customers are willing to pay for them.

TBL management

Enhancing an organization’s financial well-being while simultaneously reducing its negative socio-ecological externalities.

team

A collection of three or more people who share task-oriented goals, work toward those goals interdependently, and are accountable to one another to achieve those goals.

technical skills

Expertise in a particular area like marketing, accounting, finance, or human resources.

technology

The combination of equipment (e.g., computers, machinery, tools) and skills (e.g., techniques, knowledge, processes) that are used to acquire, design, produce, and distribute goods and services.

Theory X

The assumption that people are inherently lazy, dislike work, will avoid working hard unless forced to do so, and prefer to be directed rather than accept responsibility for getting their work done.

Theory Y

The assumption that work is as natural as play, that people are inherently motivated to work, and that people will feel unfulfilled if they do not have the opportunity to work and thereby make a contribution to society.

threat of new entrants

The extent to which conditions make it easy for other organizations to enter or compete in a particular industry.

threat-rigidity response

Where people who face a crisis, whether as individuals or in groups, tend to revert to familiar patterns of behavior that they perceive to have been successful in the past.

threats

Conditions in the external environment that have the potential to prevent managers from meeting organizational goals.

time and motion studies

Precisely measuring how long it takes to perform a task in different ways, and using these data to identify the best way to do a task.

total available market (TAM)

Everyone who could potentially benefit from the product or service.

Total Quality Management

How managers can continuously improve organizational work systems so that products and services better meet the quality desired by customers.

training

Learning activities that improve a jobholder’s skills or performance.

traits

Personal characteristics that are relatively stable.

transaction costs

Expenses that do not contribute directly to producing an organizational output, but exist only to reduce threats from opportunism and uncertainty.

transaction processing systems

Systems used to record customer orders, track purchases from suppliers, and so on.

transformational change

When an organization shifts from one type of organizational design to another.

transformer strategy

When an organization creates positive externalities, often by adding value to resources that were previously underappreciated or wasted.

trial-and-error decision-making method

Involves listing possible incremental options to choose from, attempting to determine the costs and benefits associated with each, and then choosing the option that offers the greatest opportunity for improvement with the lowest chance of making a mistake.

turnover

The rate at which employees leave an organization and are replaced.

uncertainty

Uncertainty exists when managers do not know what outcomes are associated with each alternative they are choosing among, do not know the possible payoffs associated with each possible outcome for each alternative, and do not know the probability or likelihood that each pay-off will occur.

unity of command principle

Where each employee reports to only one superior.

unnatural management of money

Maximizing financial well-being by using money to make money.

unrelated diversification

When an organization grows by investing in or establishing SBUs in an industry unrelated to its current activity.

valence

The value an individual attaches to an outcome.

valuable resources

Resources that managers can use to neutralize threats or to exploit opportunities to meet their organization’s mission in light of conditions in the external environment.

value capture

Acquiring part of the financial benefits associated with the value being created.

value chain

The sequence of activities needed to convert an organization’s inputs into outputs.

value creation

Offering goods and services that are valued by society.

value proposition

A statement of why a customer should choose the organization’s specific product or service.

venture capitalists

Companies or individuals that invest money in an organization in exchange for a share of the ownership and profits.

vertical integration

When an organization produces its own inputs (upward integration) or sells its own outputs (downward integration).

virtual organization

Where work is done by people who come and go on an as-needed basis and who are networked together with an information technology architecture that enables them to synchronize their activities.

virtue ethics

Focuses on how happiness is achieved by practicing virtues in community.

vision statement

Describes what an organization is striving to become and thus provides guidance to organizational members.

weaknesses

A lack of specific resources or abilities that an organization needs in order for it to do well.

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Management: Financial, Social, and Ecological Well-Being Copyright © 2025 by Sapajo Publishing is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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