Management
1. Researchers frequently refer to the "Big Five" personality traits. Discuss any three of these traits and explain the advantages and disadvantages of each of them in terms of helping or hurting the effectiveness of a manager.
1. Extraversion- Positive emotions and moods and feel good about self & others HIGH- (extroverts) affectionate, outgoing, friendly LOW- (introverts) less inclined towards social interaction 2. Negative affectivity- negative emotions and moods, critical of self & others HIGH- dissatisfied easily and complain about own and other's lack of progress (Jobs) LOW- Calm and relaxed less critical of self and others 3. Agreeableness- tendency to get along well with others HIGH- likeable and care about others LOW- distrustful of others, unsympathetic, uncooperative 4. Conscientiousness- tendency to be careful, diligent, and persevering HIGH- organized and self-disciplined LOW- Appear to lack direction and self-discipline 5. Openness to experience- tendency to be original, have broad interests, daring to take risks HIGH- curiosity seeker, explorer, risk taker LOW- conservative in their planning and decision making
What are the building blocks of competitive advantage? Why is obtaining a competitive advantage an important to managers?
4 Blocks: o Efficiency o Quality o Innovation o Responsiveness to customers Competitive advantage is the key to succeeding in the business world. Once a company establishes differentiation from all the other businesses, customers will tend to buy from that company. For example, Apple has achieved this differentiation from other electronic companies. Since Apple has such a notable name brand, new and repeat customers continue to buy their products, regardless of high prices, due to their quality name.
9. Differentiate between an open and a closed system.
An OPEN system takes in resources from external environment and transforms them into goods and services that are then sent back to that environment where customers buy them. ⇨ Input stage- acquires resources such as raw materials, money, and skilled workers to produce goods and services ⇨ Conversion stage- transformed into outputs of finished goods (machinery, computers, human skills) ⇨ Output stage- released to the external environment (goods services) THESE STAGES CAUSE SYNERGY (combined actions of individual departments cause performance gains) A CLOSED system is a self contained system that isn't affected by changes in it's external environment. These closed systems are likely to experience entropy, which is the tendency to lose their ability to control it and thus dissolve and disintegrate.
10. Explain the "organic structure". Why is it important for companies like Google and Apple to operate with organic structures?
An organic structure is where authority is decentralized into middle and first-line managers and tasks. Roles are left ambiguous to encourage employees to cooperate and respond quickly to the unexpected. Google and Apple are very large companies and they need managers on each working level of the organization and can react quicker to changing environment. Also these companies can afford the expensive operating costs (due to more management time, money and effort).
5. Define bureaucracy and identify the five principles that a bureaucratic system of administration is based on.
Bureaucracy- a formal system of organization and administration designed to ensure efficiency and effectiveness. 1. Manager's formal authority derives derives from the position he or she holds in an organization 2. People should occupy positions based on their performance rather than on social standing or contacts 3. The extent of each position's formal authority and task responsibilities and its relationship to other positions in an organization, should be clearly specified. 4. To exercise authority effectively in an organization, positions should be arranged hierarchically so that employees know who to report to and who reports to them 5. Managers create a well-defined system of rules, standard operating procedures, and norms so that they can effectively control behavior within an organization. ⇨ all leads to organizational performance
Identify and briefly define the three major types of managerial skills that managers need.
Conceptual Skills o Ability to analyze and diagnose a situation and distinguish between cause and effect o Top managers require outstanding conceptual skills because their primary responsibilities are planning and organizing Human Skills o The ability to understand, alter, lead, and control the behavior of other individuals and groups o All levels of managers strive to continuously hone and improve their human skills Technical Skills o Job-specific skills required to perform a particular type of work or occupation at a high level o The technical skills required by managers are dependent upon their position within the organization
Discuss the relationship between "efficiency" and "effectiveness" and identify real organizations you think are, or are not, efficient and/or effective.
Efficiency- a measure of how well or how productively resources are used to achieve goals Effectiveness- A measure of the appropriateness of the goals an organization is pursuing and the degree to which they are achieved If a firm is both effective and efficient that means the right goals are being pursued and resources are being used well to achieve them. This results in a product customers want at a quality and price they can afford.
Identify three levels of management and explain the basic responsibilities of each.
First line managers- (supervisors) o Responsible for the daily supervision of the non-managerial employees who perform the specific activities necessary to produce goods and service Middle Managers o Responsible for finding the best way to use resources to achieve organizational goals. Supervise first-line managers Top Managers o Responsible for the performance of all departments o Decide how different departments should interact o Establish organizational goals o Monitor how well middle managers utilize resources to achieve goals
3. Define job satisfaction and discuss why it is so important for managers to be satisfied with their jobs
Job satisfaction- a collection of feelings and beliefs managers have about their current jobs. o High on job satisfaction- positive view of jobs... causes managers to go the extra mile or perform organizational citizenship behaviors (behaviors that aren't required of an organizational member but contribute to organizational efficiency, effectiveness, and competitive advantage)
What are the benefits of studying management?
Knowing the process of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling to achieve organizational goals of a company.
2. Managers have very different points of view about how much control they have over what happens to them on the job and in their personal lives. Discuss the two major forces of control that can affect a manager and explain the advantages and disadvantages of each of them in terms of their possible impact on the effectiveness of the manager.
Locus of control-individual's beliefs concerning amount of control they have over what happens to and around them ⇨ Internal Locus of Control o Belief that they're responsible for their own fate o Own actions and behaviors are major and decisive determinants of outcomes ⇨ External Locus of Control o Tendency to locate responsibility for one's fate in outside forces and to believe one's own behavior has little impact on outcomes
8. Define management science theory and identify and explain the branches of management science.
Management Science theory- contemporary approach to management that focuses on the use of rigorous quantitative techniques to help managers make maximum use of organizational resources to produce goods and services 4 branches 1. Quantitative Management- mathematical techniques (linear programming modeling simulation) to help managers make better decisions 2. Operations Management- set of techniques that can be used to analyze any aspect of an organization's production system to increase efficiency (production planning, facilities location and design) 3. Total quality management- Focuses on analyzing an organization's input, conversion, and output activities to increase product quality 4. Management information systems- Help managers design systems that provide information that's vital for effective decision making
6. Explain how culture influences the way managers perform their four main functions: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.
Managers contribute to developing organizational culture
4. Explain the ASA Model. How does it help explain the formation of organizational cultures?
Organizational culture- shared set of beliefs, expectations, values, norms, and work routines that influence how individuals, groups and teams interacts with one abother to complete organizational goals. ASA Model o Attraction-Selection-Attrition • Model that explains the role that founders' personal characteristics play in determining organizational culture • Founders of firms tend to hire employees whose personalities are close to their own, which may or may not benefit the organization over the long term ASA model helps contribute to create a strong organizational culture (intense commitment to cultural values.
Identify and describe the three steps in the planning process.
Planning is identifying and selecting appropriate goals Three steps o Deciding which goals the organization will pursue o Deciding what courses of action to adopt to attain those goals o Deciding how to allocate organizational resources The outcome of planning -> Strategy Strategy- what goals to pursue, what actions to take, and how to use resources
2. Discuss the management contributions of the Gilbreths.
Refinement of Taylor's analysis of worker movements with Time and Motion studies Aims • Used film to analyze worker movements to: • Analyze every individual action and break it into each of its component actions • Find better ways to perform each component action • Reorganize each of the component actions so that the action as a whole could be performed more efficiently (at less cost in time and effort) • Interested in the study of fatigue (physical characteristics the workplace -> Job stress -> fatigue -> poor performance) -> Bricklaying
"Restructuring" is a popular management technique in recent business experience within the United States. Define this term. Discuss both its positive and negative effects on the business that is restructured.
Restructuring o Reorganizing the legal, ownership, operational, or other structures of a company for the purpose of making it more profitable, or better organized for its present needs o Businesses often require restructuring, due to internal or external conflicts. This opportunity may greatly benefit the company. Say a company is in debt, if it undergoes debt restructuring, its debts may become more manageable. Cutting benefits or salaries and increasing product price may be tactics to solve this. o Restructuring can also hurt a business. A marketing department may restructure their approach to customers and end up being in a worse off situation then they were prior to the reform.
8. Explain what organizational rites are. What are the different types? Give examples.
Rites-formal events that recognize incidents of importance to the organization as a whole and to specific employees o Rites of passage- determine how individuals enter, advance within, or leave the organization o Rites of integration- Shared announcements of organization successes, build and reinforce common bonds among organizational members o Rites of enhancement- Let organizations publicly recognize and reward employees' contributions and thus strengthen their commitment to organizational values
1. Define scientific management and discuss any two of these four principles and explain how each of them could be applied to workers in an automobile assembly line. What are the benefits of studying management?
Scientific Management is the systematic study of relationships between people and tasks for the purpose of redesigning the work process to increase efficiency. (PICK TWO) • Principle 1: Identify the best practices Study the way workers perform their tasks • Principle 2: Standard Operation Procedures Codify the new methods into standard operating procedures. • Principle 3: Match workers skills and abilities Carefully select workers who posses skills and abilities and train them to perform the task. • Principle 4: Pay and performance Establish a fair or acceptable level of performance for a task, and develop a pay system.
Discuss the importance of a manager having technical skills.
Technical skills are dependent on that certain manager's position within a company. For example, a data analyst must be able to collect data, understand it, and use it to benefit the company. If a data analyst doesn't possess these skills, then that position is not fit for him/her. Each position's manager needs to have the technical skills required for a company to run smoothly and efficiently.
7. Differentiate between terminal and instrumental values. How do they contribute to the organizational culture?
Terminal Values • A personal conviction about life-long goals or objectives • Often lead to the formation of norms: • Informal rules of conduct for behaviors considered to be important within an organization • Desirable states of existence we work toward • Ex. - happiness, self-respect, inner harmony Instrumental Values • A personal conviction about desired modes of conduct or ways of behaving • More focused on personality traits • Ex. - honesty, sincerity, ambition
5. Differentiate between terminal and instrumental values. How do they contribute to the organizational culture?
Terminal Values- Signify what an organization and its employees are trying to accomplish Instrumental Values- Guide the ways in which the organization and its members achieve their organizational goals
6. The Hawthorne studies had a great impact on the early study of management theory. Discuss these studies in terms of how they were designed and in terms of the results, which were helpful to developing a better understanding of how managers should behave in the workplace.
The Hawthorne studies began as an attempt to investigate how the level of lighting affected worker fatigue and performance. (Scientific management approach) Results unexpectedly showed that regardless of the level of lighting, productivity increased. ⇨ Concluded by Elton mayo that an increase in worker productivity could not be solely attributed to the effects of changes in the work setting. ⇨ Discovered the HAWTHORNE EFFECT that the presence of researchers affected the results ⇨ Each managers personal behavior or leadership can affect employee's performance
4. Define administrative management and briefly discuss two major contributions from Max Weber and Henri Fayol.
The study of how to create an organizational structure and control system that leads to high efficiency and effectiveness. • Weber Believed that bureaucracy (a formal system of organization and administration designed to ensure efficiency and effectiveness) was rational, efficient, ideal organization based on the principles of logic. Developed 5 principles of a bureaucratic system of administration (Hierarchy managers at top with rules and specific roles have specific tasks to accomplish) • Fayol's principles of management Creates 14 principles that he believed to be essential to increase efficiency. Division of labor, authority and responsibility, unity of command, line of authority, centralization, unity of direction, equity, order, initiative, discipline, remuneration of personnel, stability of tenure of personnel, subordination of individual interests to the common interest, esprit de corps.
7. Managers who accept the assumptions of McGregor's Theory X are likely to design a very different work situation than managers who accept the assumptions of Theory Y. Discuss how managers who are committed to Theory X assumptions are likely to organize their work environment in terms of their relationships with their subordinates
Theory X- A negative set of assumptions about workers ... Causes managers to supervise workers closely and control their behavior by rewards and punishments Theory Y- A positive set of assumptions about workers ... Causes managers to create a work setting that encourages commitment to organizational goals and provides opportunities for workers to be imaginative and to exercise initiative and self-direction.
Define the two major trends of empowerment and self-managed work teams, and give a realistic business example of each of these.
Trends: • Better attitudes of employees • Increased performance of employees • Ex. - SAS ? Know they definitely empower employees, through all the benefits and overall attitude. Don't think they had self-managed work teams though. I know one video we watched had a company with them but don't remember which company.
Discuss the four principal managerial tasks. For each, give a realistic business example of how a manager performs this task. EX) Trader Joes
o Planning- Choosing appropriate organizational goals, courses of action, and resource allocation to achieve these goals. • Ex) identify a niche market for supplying specialty products. Offer fine foods to complement fine wines o Organizing- Establish task and authority relationships that allow people to work together to achieve organizational goals • Ex) Creating a store environment with Hawaiian resort theme and providing samples of food and drinks. o Leading- Motivate, coordinate, and energize individuals and groups to work together to achieve organizational goals • Ex) Decentralize authority, empower salespeople to take responsibility for meeting customer needs o Controlling- Establish accurate measuring systems to evaluate how well the organization has achieved its goals • Policy of promotion inside the company
3. Discuss how scientific management brought many workers more hardship than gain and a distrust of managers.
• Lack of incentive program • Managers frequently implemented only the increased output side of Taylor's plan • Workers did not share in the increased output • Downside of job specialization • Specialized jobs became very boring, dull • Workers ended up distrusting the Scientific Management method
