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