Principles of Management Ch 1-7

Optimizing

Achieving the best possible balance among several goals

External Environment

All relevant forces outside a firm's boundaries, such as competitors, customers, the government, and the economy

Matrix Organization

An organization composed of dual reporting relationships in which some managers report to two superiors- a functional manager and a divisonal manager

Centralized Organization

An organization in which high-level executives make most decisions and pass them down to lower levels for implentation

Decentralized Organization

An organization in which lower level managers make important decisions

Union Shop

An organization with a union and a union security clause specifying that workers must join the union after a set period of time

Mission

An organization's basic purpose and scope of operations

Organizing

Assembling and coordinating the human, financial, physical, informational, and other resources needed to achieve goals

Performance Appraisal

Assessment of an employee's job performance

Satisficing

Choosing an option that is acceptable, although not necessarily the best or perfect

Selection

Choosing from among qualified applicants to hire into an organization

Resources

Inputs to a system that can enhance performance

Environmental Uncertainty

Lack of information needed to understand or preict the future

Right-to-work

Legislation that allows employees to work without having to join a union

Supply Chain Management

Managing the network of facilities and people that obtain materials from outside the organization, transform them into products and distribute them to customers

Incremental Model

Model of organizational decision making in which major solutions arise through a series of smaller decisions

Controlling

Monitoring performance and making needed changes

Competition

Most intense when: There are many direct competitors Industry growth is slow Product/service is not easily diffferentiated

Nonprogrammed Decisions

New, novel, complex decisions having no proven answers

Groupthink

Occurs when people choose not to disagree or raise objections because they don't want to break up a positive team spirit

Illusion of Control

People's belief that they can influence events, even when they have no control over what will happen

360- degree appraisal

Process of using multiple sources of appraisal to gain a comprehensive perspective on one's performance

Environmental Scanning

Searching out information that is unavailable to most people and sorting that information to interpret what is important and what is not

Structured Interview

Selection technique that involves asking all applicants the same questions and comparing thier responses to a standardized set of answers

Leading

Simulating people to be high performers

Planning

Systematically making decisions about the goals and activities that an individual, a group, a work unit, or the overall organization will pursue

Division of Labor

The assignment of different tasks to different people or groups

Delegation

The assignment of new or additional responsibilities to a subordinate

Hierarchy

The authority levels of the organizational pyramid

Recruitment

The development of a pool of applicants for jobd in an organization

Quality

The excellence of your product

Competitive Environment

The immediate environment surrounding a firm; includes supplies, customers, rivals, and the like.

Innovation

The introduction of new goods and services

Human Capital

The knowledge, skills, and abilities of employees that have economic value

Authority

The legitimate right to make decisions and to tell other people what to do.

Strategic Vision

The long-term direction and strategic intent of a company

Span of Control

The number of subordinates who report directly to an executive or supervisor

Benchmarking

The process of comparing an organization's practices and technologies with those of other companies

Management

The process of working with people and resources to accomplish organizational goals

Organization Chart

The reporting structure and division of labor in an organization

Corporate Governance

The role of a corporation's executive staff and board of directors in ensuring that the firm's activities meet the goals of the firm's stakeholders

Organizational Culture

The set of important assumptions about the organization and its goals and practices that members of the company share

Emotional Intelligence

The skills of understanding yourself, managing yourself, and dealing effectively with others

Certainty

The state that exists when decision makers have accurate and comprehensive information

Uncertainty

The state that exists when decision makers have insufficient information

Risk

The state that exists when the probability of success is less than 100% and losses may occur

Labor Relations

The system of relations between workers and management

Knowledge Workers

Workers whose primary contributions are ideas and problems-solving expertise

SWOT Analysis

A comparison of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that helps executives formulate strategy

Goal Displacement

A condition that occurs when a decision-making group loses its original goal and a new, less important goal emerges

Framing Effects

A decision bias influenced by the way in which a problem or decision alternative is phrased or presented

Bounded Rationality

A less-than-perfect form of rationality in which idea that consumers attempt to act rationally within their information-processing constraints

Specialization

A process in which different individuals and units perform different tasks

Brainstorming

A process in which group members generate as many ideas about a problem as they can; criticism is withheld until all ideas have been proposed

Management by Objectives

A process in which objectives set by a subordinate and a supervisor must be reached within a given time perios

Low-cost Strategy

A strategy an organization uses to build competitive advantage by being efficient and offering a standard, no-frills product

Differentiation Strategy

A strategy an organization uses to build competitive advantage by being unique in its industry or market segment along one or more dimensions.

Job Analysis

A tool for determining what is done on a given job and what should be done on that job

Barriers to Entry

Conditions that prevent new companies from entering an industry

Programmed Decisions

Decisions encountered and made before, having objectively correct answers, and solvable by using simple rules, policies, or numerical computations

Functional Organization

Departmentalization around specialized activities such as production, marketing, and human resources

Divisional Organization

Departmentalization that groups units around products, customers, or geographic regions

Switching Costs

Fixed costs buyer face if the change suppliers

Human Resources Management

Formal systems for the managemt of people within an organization

Social Capital

Goodwill stemming from your social relationships

Stakeholders

Groups and inviduals who affect and are affected by the achievement of the organization's mission, goals, and strategies

Demographic Trends

Growth of the labor force Increasing education and skill levels Immigration Increased numbers of women in the workforce Increasingly diverse workforce