ETS Business Major Field Test: Organizational Behavior

Robert Blake and Jane Mouton's Managerial Grid

1. Leadership

2. Establish the culture through organizational development

3. Write and communicate policies

4. Establish budgets

5. Establish and communicate short and long-range plans

6. Take corrective action as needed

7. Centralized control whereby top management must approve all non-routine decisions

8. Decentralized control whereby middle management is reponsible for control of it's department's actions

9. Empowerment whereby an employee is authorized to make all decisions necessary to get the job done

According to the Motorola website,  " 'Sigma' is often used as a scale for levels of 'goodness' or quality. Using this scale, 'Six Sigma' equates to 3.4 defects per one million opportunities (DPMO). Therefore, Six Sigma started as a defect reduction effort in manufacturing and was then applied to other business processes for the same purpose."

Studies at Western Electric (Hawthrone) over the years by Elton Mayo's group revolutionized management of groups.  One important conclusion is that it is necessary to identify formal leaders and assist and motivate them to achieve organization objectives.