1. Constraints on Managers: Organizational Culture and the Environment
Chapter 2
Constraints on Managers: Organizational Culture and the Environment
Chapter 2, Stephen P. Robbins, Mary Coulter, and Nancy Langton, Management, Ninth Canadian Edition
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada

2. Learning Outline After you read this chapter you should know the following learning objectives:
#1: How Much Control Do Managers Have?
#2: What Effect Does Culture Have On Managerial Actions?
#3: What Kinds of Cultures Can Managers Create?
#4: What Influence Does The Environment Have On Managers?
Chapter 2, Stephen P. Robbins, Mary Coulter, and Nancy Langton, Management, Ninth Canadian Edition
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada

3. The Manager: How Much Control?
The Omnipotent View
The view that managers are directly responsible for an organization’s success or failure
The quality of the organization is determined by the quality of its managers
Managers are held most accountable for an organization’s performance, yet it is difficult to attribute good or poor performance directly to their influence on the organization
Learning Objective #1
Chapter 2, Stephen P. Robbins, Mary Coulter, and Nancy Langton, Management, Ninth Canadian Edition
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada

4. The Manager: How Much Control?
The Symbolic View
The view that managers have only a limited effect on substantive organizational outcomes because of a large number of factors outside their control
The ability of managers to affect outcomes is influenced and constrained by external factors:
The economy, customers, governmental policies, competitors, industry conditions, technology, and the actions of previous managers
Managers symbolize control through their actions
Chapter 2, Stephen P. Robbins, Mary Coulter, and Nancy Langton, Management, Ninth Canadian Edition
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada

5. Exhibit 2.1 Parameters of Managerial Discretion
Chapter 2, Stephen P. Robbins, Mary Coulter, and Nancy Langton, Management, Ninth Canadian Edition
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada