Understanding Business - Chapter 7
What is knowledge management?
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT is finding the right information, keeping the information in a readily accesible place, and making the information known to everyone in the firm.
What reasons can you give to account for changes in management?
Leaders of Fortune 100 companies today tend to be younger, more of them are female, and fewre of them were educated at elite universities. They know that many of their employees know more about technology and other practices than they do. Therfore, they tend to put more emphasis on motivation, teamwork, and cooperation. Managers in the future are likely to be assuming completely new roles in the firm. For one thing, they will be doing more expansion overseas.
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 do not. Basically, it means measuring whether what actually occurs meets the organization's goals.
What's the difference between a manager and a leader?
A MANAGER plans, organizes, and controls functions within the organization. a LEADER has vision and inspires others to grasp that vision, establishes corporate values, emphasizes coporate ethics, and doesn't fear change.
Planning
A management function that includes anticipating trends and determining the best strategies and tactics to achieve organizational goals and objectives.
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 company objectives. Staffing is becoming a greater part of each manager's assignment, and all managers need to cooperate with human resource management to win and keep good workers.
Leading
A means creating a vision for the organization and guiding training, coaching, and motivating others to work effectively to achieve the organization's goals and objectives in a timely manner. i.e., The trend is to empower empower employees, giving them as much freedom as possible to become self-directd and self motivated. This function was once known as DIRECTING; that is, telling employes exactly what to do.
SWOT analysis
A planning tool used to analyze an organizations strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Oppotunities and Threats are often EXTERNAL to the firm and cannot always be anticipated. Weaknesse
Describe the various leadership styles.
AUTOCRATIC; (1) Manager makes decision and announces it, (2) Manager "sells" decision, (3) Manager presents ideas and invites questions; PARTICIPATIVE/DEMOCRATIC; (1) Manager presents tentative decision subject to change, (2) Manager presents problem, gets suggetions, makes decision, (3) Manager defines limits, asks groups to make decision; FREE REIGN; (1) Manager permits employees to function within limits defined by superior.
Mission Statement
An outline of the fundamental purpose of the organization. i.e., Top management usually sets the vision for the organization and then often works with others in the firm to establish a mission statement.
What does management look like today?
At one time, managers were called bosses, and their job consisted of telling people what to do, watching over them to be sure they did it, and reprimanding those who didn't. Many, if not most, managers still behave that way. Today, however, some managers tend to be more progressive. Ex., They emphasize teams and team building; they create drop-in centers, team spaces, and open work areas. They tend to guide, train, support, motivate, and coach employees rather than tell them what to do.
What are the five steps of the control function?
CONTROLLING incorporates (1) setting clear standards, (2) monitoring and recording performance, (3) comparing performance with plans and standards, (4) communicating results and deviations to employees, and (5) providing positive feedback for a job well done and taking corrective action if necessary.
Decision Making
Choosing among two or more alternatives. i.e. The r
Brainstorming
Coming up with as many solutions to a problem as possible in a short period of time with no censoring of idea's
External Customers
Dealers, who buy products to sell to others, and ultimate customers (or end user) who buy products for their own personal use.
Knowledge Management
Finding the right information, keeping that information in a readily accessible place, and making the information known to everyone in the firm. The key to success is learning how to process information effectively and turn it into knowledge that everyone can use to improve processes and procedures.
What's the difference between goals and objectives?
Goals are broad, long-term achievements that organizations aim to accomplish, whereas OBJECTIVES are specific, long-term plans made to help reach the goals.
Internal Customers
Individuals and units within the firm that receive services from other individuals or units
Human Relations Skills
Skills that involve communication and motivation, they enable managers to work through and with people. COMMUNICATION can be especially difficult when managers and employees speak different languages. SKILLS associated with leadership-coaching, morale building, delegating, training and development, and supportiveness-are also HUMAN RELATIONS SKILLS.
Which leadership style is best?
The most effective leadership style depends on the people being led and the situation. The challenge of the future will be to empower self-managed teams.
Contingency Planning
The preparing of alternative courses of action the firm can use if its primary plans don't work out. i.e., If an organization doesn't meet its sales goals by a certain date, the contingency plan may call for more advertising or a cut in prices at that time.
Transparency
The presentation of a company's facts and figures in a way that is clear and apparent to all stakeholders. Any employee can motivate others to work well, add to a company's ethical environment, and report ethical lapses when they occur.
Operational Planning
The process of setting work standards and schedules necessary to implement the company's tactical objectives OPERATIONAL PLANNING focuses on specific supervisors, department managers, and individual employees. The operational plan is the department manager's tool for daily and weekly operations. i.e., 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.
Vision
An encompassing explanation of why the organization exists and where it's trying to head. i.e., It gives the organization a sense of purpose and a set of values that unite workers in a common destiny.
What does empowerment mean?
EMPOWERMENT means giving employees the authority and responsibility to respond quickly to customer requests. Enabling is giving workers the education and tools they need to assume their new decision-making powers.
Autocratic Leadership
Leadership style that involves making managerial decisions without consulting others. This style is effective in emergencies and when absolute followership is needed. Ex., AUTOCRATIC LEADERSHIP is also effective sometimes with new, relatively unskilled workers who need clear direction and guidance. (1) manager makes decision and announces it, (2) Manager "sells" decision, (3) Manager presents ideas and invites questions.
Free Rein Leadership
Leadership style that involves managers setting objectives and employees being able to do whatever it takes to accomplish those objectives. FREE-REIN LEADERSHIP is often the most successful leadership style in certain organizations, such as those in which managers supervise doctors, professors, engineers or other professionals. the traits managers need in such organizations include warmth, friendliness, and understanding.
Participative Leadership (Democratic)
Leadership styles that consist of managers and employees working together to make decisions. Many large organizations like Google, apple, IBM,Cisco, and AT&T, and most smaller firms have been highly successful using the democrtic style of leadership that value traits such as flexibilty, good listening skills, and empathy.
PMI (Pluses, Minuses and Implications)
Listing all the plusses for a solution in one column, all the minusses in another column, and the implications in a third column
Are these skills equally important at all management levels?
Managers at different levels need different skills. Top managers rely heavily on HUMAN RELATIONS and CONCEPTUAL skills and rarely use technical skills, while first-line supervisors need strong TECHNICAL and HUMAN RELATIONS skills but we use conceptual skills less often. Middle managers need to have a balance of all three skills.
What is a SWOT analysis?
Managers look at the Strengths and Weaknesses of the firm and the Opportunities and Threats facing it.
What skills do managers need?
Managers must have three categories of skills: (1) TECHNICAL SKILLS ( ability to perform specific tasks such as selling products or developing software), (2) HUMAN RELATIONS SKILLS (ability to communicate and motivate), and (3) CONCEPTUAL SKILLS (ability to see organizations as a whole and how all the parts fit together).
Supervisory Management (First-Line Managers)
Managers who are directly responsible for supervising workers and evaluating their daily performance; they're often known as first -line managers (or supervisors) because they're the first level above workers.
How do you define each of these functions?
PLANNING includes anticipating trends and determining the best strategies and tactics to achieve organizational goals and objectives. ORGANIZING includes designing the structure of the organization and creating conditions and systems in which everyone and everything works together to achieve the organization's goals and objectives. LEADING means creating a vision for the organization, and communicating, guiding, training, coaching, and motivating others to achieve goals and objectives. CONTROLLING means measuring whether what actually occurs meets the organization's goals.
What are the four types of planning, and how are they related to the organization's goals and objectives?
STRATEGIC PLANNING is broad, long-range planning that outlines the goals of the organization. TACTICAL PLANNING is specific, short-term planning that lists organizational objectives. OPERATIONAL PLANNING is part of tactical planning and sets specific timetables and standards. CONTINGENCY PLANNING is developing an alternative set of plans in case the first set doesn't work out.
Strategic Planning
STRATEGIC PLANNING is done by top management and determines the major goals of the organization and the policies, procedures, strategies, and resources it will need to achieve them. i.e., POLICIES are broad guidelines for action, and STRATEGIES determine the best way to use resources. At the STRATEGIC PLANNING stage, top managers of the company decide which custonmers to serve, when to serve them, what products or services to sell, and the geographic areas in which to compete.
Technical Skills
Skills that involve the ability to perform tasks in a specific discipline (such as selling a product or developing software) or department (such as marketing or information systems).
Conceptual Skills
Skills that involve the ability to picture the organization as a whole and the relationships among its various parts. They are needed in planning, organizing, controlling, systems development, problem analysis, decision making, coordinating, and delegating.
Objectives
Specific, short-term statements detailing how to achieve the organizations goals. ex. One of your goals may be to learn basic concepts of management. an OBJECTIVE you could use to achieve this goal is to answer the chapter's Test Prep questions.
Tactical Planning
TACTICAL PLANNING is the process of developing detailed, short-term statements about what is to be done, who is to do it, and how. Managers or teams of managers at lower levels of the organization normally make tactical plans. Ex., If the strategic plan if a truck manufacturer, is to sell more trucks in the South, the tactical plan plan might be to fund more research of southern truck drivers' wants and needs, and to plan advertising to reach them.
Goals
The broad, long-term accomplishments an organization wishes to attain. i.e., (1) The foundation for setting specific goals and objectives, (2) workers and management need to agree on them, setting goals is often a team process.
What are the primary functions of management?
The four functions are (1) planning, (2) organizing, (3) leading, and (4) controlling.
Top Management
The highest level of management, consisting of the president and other key company executives who develop strategic plans. Chief Executive Officer (CEO), CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER (COO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), And Information Officer (CIO) or in Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO). The CEO is often also the president of the firm and is responsible foe all top-level decisions.
Middle Management
The level of management that includes general managers, division managers, and branch and plant managers who are responsible for tactile planning and controlling. Many firms have eliminated some middle managers throgh downsizing and have given their remaining managers more employees to supervise.Middle managers are still considered very important to most firms.
What are the steps involved in decision making?
The six Ds of decision making are (1) define the situation; (2) describe and collect needed information; (3) develop alternatives; (4) decide which alternative is best; (5) do what is indicated (begin implementation); and (6) determine whether the decision was a good one, and follow up.
What are the three levels of management in the corporate hierarchy?
The three levels of management are (1) TOP MANAGEMENT (highest level consisting of the president and other key company executives who develop strategic plans); (2) MIDDLE MANAGEMENT (general managers, division managers, and plant managers who are responsible for tactical planning and controlling); (3) SUPERVISORY MANAGEMENT (first-line managers/supervisors who evaluate workers' daily performance).
