Chapter 7

participative leadership

leadership style that consists of mangers and employees working together to make decisions

empowerment

means giving employees the authority to make a decision without consulting the manager and the responsibility to respond quickly to customer requests

external customers

dealers, who buy products to sell to others, and ultimate customers, who buy products for their own personal use

enabling

giving workers the education and tools they need to make decisions

autocratic leadership

leadership style that involves making managerial decisions without consulting others

free-rein leadership

leadership style that involves managers setting objectives and employees being relatively free to do whatever it takes to accomplish those objectives

problem-solving

less formal than decision making and usually calls for quicker action to resolve everyday issues

conceptual skills

skills that involve the ability to picture the organization as a whole and the relationships among its various parts

objectives

specific, short-term statements detailing how to achieve the organization's goals

goals

the broad, long-term accomplishments an organization wishes to attain

strategic planning

the process of determining the major goals of the organization and the policies and strategies for obtaining and using resources to achieve those goals

tactical planning

the process of developing detailed, short-term statements about what is to be done, who is to do it, and how

contingency planning

the process of preparing alternative courses of action that may be used if the primary plans don't achieve the organization's objectives

operational planning

the process of setting work standards and schedules necessary to implement the company's tactical objectives

decision making

choosing among two or more alternatives

brainstorming

coming up with as many solutions to a problem as possible in a short period of time with no censoring of ideas

top management

consists of the president and other key company executives who develop strategic plans

leading definition

creating a vision for the organization and communicating, guiding, training, coaching, and motivating others to achieve goals and objectives in a timely manner

crisis planning

a part of contingency planning that anticipates sudden changes in the environment

SWOT analysis

a planning tool used to analyze an organization's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats

rational decision-making model

a series of steps managers often follow to make logical, intelligent, and well-founded decisions

organizing tasks

allocating resources, assigning tasks, and establishing procedures for accomplishing goals, preparing a structure showing lines of authority and responsibility, recruiting, selecting, training, and developing employees, placing employees where they'll be most effective

vision

an encompassing explanation of why the organization exists and where it's trying to head

mission statement

an outline of the fundamental purposes of an organization

planning definition

anticipating trends and determining the best strategies and tactics to achieve organizational goals and objectives

organization definition

designing the structure of the organization and creating conditions and systems in which everyone and everything work together to achieve the organization's goals and objectives

controlling definition

establishes clear standards to determine whether an organization is progressing toward its goals and objectives, rewarding people for doing a good job, and taking corrective action if they are not

knowledge management

finding the right information, keeping the information in a readily accessible place, and making the information known to everyone in the firm

leading tasks

guiding and motivating employees to work effectively to accomplish organizational goals and objectives, giving assignments, explaining routines, clarifying policies, providing feedback on performance

middle management

includes general managers, division managers, and branch and plant managers who are responsible for tactical planning and controlling

staffing

includes hiring, motivating, and retaining the best people available to accomplish the company's objectives

supervisory management

includes those directly responsible for supervising workers and evaluating their daily performance

internal customers

individuals and units within the firm that receive services from other individuals or units

PMI

listing all the pluses for a solution in one column, all the minuses in another, and the implications in a third column

controlling tasks

measuring results against corporate objectives, monitoring performance relative to standards, rewarding outstanding performance, taking corrective action when necessary

planning tasks

setting organizational goals, developing strategies to reach those goals, determining resources needed, setting precise standards

human relations skills

skills that involve communication and motivation; they enable managers to work through and with people

technical skills

skills that involve the ability to perform tasks in a specific discipline or department

management

the process used to accomplish organizational goals through planning, organizing, leading, and controlling people and other organizational resources