Chapter 7

Brainstorming,

A problem solving technique that required coming up with as many solutions to a problem as possible in a short period of time with no censoring of ideas.

knowledge management

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

Enabling

Giving workers the education and tools they need to make decisions

Human relations skills

Skills that involve communication and motivation; they enable managers to work through and with people. Skills associated with leadership—coaching, morale building, delegating, training and development, and supportiveness—are also human relations skills.

Technical skills

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

Conceptual skills

Skills that involve the ability to picture the organization as a whole and the relationship among its various parts. Needed in planning, organizing, controlling, systems development, problem analysis, decision making, coordinating, and delegating.

3 Skills Managers must have?

Technical skills, Human relations skills, Conceptual skills.

Goals

The broad, long-term accomplishments an organization wishes to attain. (setting goals is often a team process)

PMI

A problem solving technique that lists all the Pluses for a solution in one column, all the Minuses in another, and the Implications in a third. (The idea is to make sure the pluses exceed the minuses.)

The Six D's of Decision Making

1. Define the situation 2. Describe and collect needed information 3. Develop alternatives 4. Decide which alternative is best 5. Do what is indicated 6. Determine whether the decision was a good one and follow up

Control Process

1. Establishing clear performance standards. 2. Monitoring and recording actual performance or results. 3. Comparing results against plans and standards 4. Communicating results and deviations to the appropriate employees. 5. Taking corrective action when needed and providing positive feedback for work well done. (For managers to measure results, the standards must be specific, attainable, and measurable.) (Accounting and finance are often the foundations for control systems because they provide the numbers management needs to evaluate progress.)

Planning

A management function that includes anticipating trends and determining the best strategies and tactics to achieve organizational goals and objectives. (Planning is a key management function because accomplishing the other functions depends heavily on having a good plan.)

Organizing

A management function that includes 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.

Staffing

A management function that includes hiring, motivating, and retaining the best people available to accomplish the company's objectives.

Controlling

A management function that involves establishing clear standards to determine whether or not an organization is progressing toward its goals and objectives, rewarding people for doing a good job, and taking corrective action if they are not.

SWOT Analysis

A planning tool used to analyze an organization's Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. (Opportunities and threats are often external to the firm and cannot always be anticipated. Weaknesses and strengths are more often internal and therefore more within reach of being measured and fixed)

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 which include: The organization's self-concept. Its philosophy. Long-term survival needs. Customer needs. Social responsibility. Nature of the product or service.

Leadership Styles

Autocratic leadership, Participative (democratic) leadership, free-rein leadership.

Decision making

Choosing among two or more alternatives. (decision making is the heart of all the management functions.)

A Leader must:

Communicate a vision and rally others around that vision. Establish corporate values. Promote corporate ethics. Embrace change. Stress accountability and responsibility.

Leading

Creating a vision for the organization and guiding, training, coaching, and motivating others to work effectively to achieve the organization's goals and objectives.

External customers

Dealers, who buy products to sell to others, and ultimate customers (or end users), who buy products for their own personal use.

Internal customers

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

Leadership

Leadership is creating a vision for others to follow, establishing corporate values and ethics, and transforming the way the organization does business in order to improve its effectiveness and efficiency. Good leaders motivate workers and create the environment for them to motivate themselves. (Management is carrying out the leader's vision; Managers strive to produce order and stability, whereas leaders embrace and manage change.)

Participative (democratic) leadership

Leadership style that consists of managers and employees working together to make decisions. (Employees meet to discuss and resolve management issues by giving everyone some opportunity to contribute to decisions.)

Autocratic Leadership

Leadership style that involves making managerial decisions without consulting others. (effective in emergencies and when absolute followership is needed—for example, when fighting fires. Autocratic leadership is also effective sometimes with new, relatively unskilled workers who need clear direction and guidance.)

Free-Rein Leadership

Leadership style that involves managers setting objectives and employees being relatively free to do whatever it takes to accomplish those objectives. (Leadership style that involves managers setting objectives and employees being relatively free to do whatever it takes to accomplish those objectives.)

Control Function

Measures performance relative to the planned objectives and standards, rewards people for work well done, and takes corrective action when necessary.

Top management

The highest level of management, consisting of the president and other key company executives who develop strategic plans. Job titles and abbreviations you're likely to see often are chief executive officer (CEO), chief operating officer (COO), chief financial officer (CFO), and chief information officer (CIO) or in some companies chief knowledge officer (CKO) (Note: At the top of the ladder, the need is for people who are visionaries, planners, organizers, coordinators, communicators, morale builders, and motivators) Needs strong conceptual skills and rely less on technical skills

Middle Management

The level of management that includes general managers, division managers, and branch and plant managers who are responsible for tactical planning and controlling. (Ex: in colleges, deans and department heads) Needs to have a balance between technical and conceptual skills.

Supervisory Management

The level of management who are directly responsible for supervising workers and evaluating their daily performance. This level is often known as first-line managers (or supervisors) because they're the first level above workers. This is the first management position you are most likely to acquire after college. Needs strong technical skills and rely less on conceptual skills.

Transparency

The presentation of a company's facts and figures in a way that is clear and apparent to all stakeholders.

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. (policies are broad guidelines for action, and strategies determine the best way to use resources.) At this stage, top managers of the company decide which customers to serve, when to serve them, what products or services to sell, and the geographic areas in which to compete.

Tactical planning

The process of developing detailed, short-term statements about what is to be done, who is to do it, and how it is to be done. Managers or teams of managers at lower levels of the organization normally make tactical plans. Such plans can include setting annual budgets and deciding on other activities necessary to meet strategic objectives.

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

Operational planning

The process of setting work standards and schedules necessary to implement the company's tactical objectives. The operational plan is the department manager's tool for daily and weekly operations. An operational plan may include, for example, the specific dates for certain truck parts to be completed and the quality specifications they must meet.

Problem Solving

The process of solving the everyday problems that occur. Problem solving is less formal than decision making and usually calls for quicker action.

Management

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

Progressive managers

They emphasize teams and team building and tend to guide, train, support, motivate, and coach employees rather than tell them what to do.

3 Levels of Management

Top management, Middle management, and Supervisory management. (Note: The further up the managerial ladder a person moves, the less important his or her original job skills become.)

Problem-Solving Teams

Two or more workers assigned to solve a specific problem (Ex: Why aren't customers buying our service contracts?).

Rational Decision Making Model

a series of steps managers often follow to make logical, intelligent, and well-founded decisions. (Think of the steps as the six D's of decision making.)

Empowerment

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

Objectives

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

Forms of Planning

strategic, tactical, operational, contingency.

Directing

telling employees exactly what to do to meet the goals and objectives of the organization. (directing includes giving assignments, explaining routines, clarifying policies, and providing feedback on performance.)

Big Data

the vast quantity of data available for decision making