William Started His Company, StoryMaps, in 2005 with a Lofty

question 62

Multiple Choice

William started his company, StoryMaps, in 2005 with a lofty goal. He wanted to "bring people together by revolutionizing the way they understand and communicate about their neighborhoods." StoryMaps allowed users to hover over a map location and zoom in to post stories, reminiscences, thoughts, photos, and reviews of locations and read those left by others. William envisioned StoryMaps as "a mashup of Yelp, Google Maps, and an online literary magazine" and the company's stated mission was that it would "foster meaningful conversations in the Internet age." He enlisted several well-known writers to contribute stories about map locations meaningful to them. Initially, StoryMaps approached schools and universities about incorporating StoryMaps into their curriculum. But when a startup expressed interest in partnering with StoryMaps to develop a mobile app that would reach a larger market, William was reticent. He did not think StoryMaps needed an app-at that time, apps were still fairly new, costly, and many of them failed. StoryMaps managed for a couple of years before finally going under in 2007. Why did William's vision fail?

• A)It did not reflect his personal needs as the leader of the company.
• B)It failed to adapt to environmental changes in the market.
• C)There was a lack of acceptance by those responsible for implementing it.
• D)It was too narrowly focused on short-term goals for the company.
• E)The vision failed to articulate clear, concrete, and attainable goals.

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Definitions:

Situational Factors

External influences that can impact behavior and performance, including the social, environmental, or task-specific contexts individuals find themselves in.

Ethical Factors

Elements that determine the morality of decisions, actions, and their impact on others.

Self-monitoring

Involves an individual's ability to regulate their behavior according to the demands of social situations or their personal goals.

Designing Natural Rewards

The process of integrating intrinsic rewards into job designs and work environments to motivate employees.