Management Study Guide
1. We have covered a lot of material over the past two months. The final examination will consist of 10 short answer questions and 2 case study questions. The 10 short answer questions are similar in structure to short answer questions provided in the quizzes. Ensure you thoroughly read the case study provided with your final before answering the two case study questions. The exam counts towards 30% of your final grade and one cannot pass the course without completing the proctored exam.
The examination is a closed resource examination; consequently, no books or notes will be allowed. You will have two hours to complete the examination. The final examination is comprehensive. It includes material in Chapters 1 – 20. 2. By providing this review, I hope to channel your preparation and study for the final examination to key areas concerning principles of management, but remember you are responsible for all the information covered since the beginning of class.
One should ensure a comprehensive knowledge of the Core Learning Objectives, delineated in each Weeks Overview, Objectives and Weekly Activities, sub section “The Objectives” and denoted by a light blue box with a black key in it. Key areas include the following: Know and briefly describe the five basic management functions. Planning – deciding what objectives to pursue during a future period and what to do to achieve those objectives.
Organizing – grouping activities, assigning activities, and providing the authority necessary to carry out the activities Staffing – determining human resource needs and recruiting, selecting, training, and developing human resources Leading – directing and channeling human behavior toward the accomplishment of objectives Controlling – measuring performance against objectives, determining causes of deviations, and taking corrective action where necessary Define “management” and explain the managerial significance of “effectiveness” and “efficiency”.
Management is a form of work that involves coordinating an organization’s resources – land, labor, and capital – to accomplish organizational objectives. Also known as getting things done through people List five methods that can used to train or develop employees. OJT – a rainee is shown how to perform the job and allowed to do it under the trainer’s supervision Job Rotation – also called cross-training, employee learns several different jobs within a work unit or department and performs each job for a specific period Vestibule – procedures and equipment similar to those used in the actual job are set up in a special working area called a vestibule.
Classroom – most familiar method of training, methods are lecture, discussion, audiovisual methods, experiential methods, and computer based training. Computer-assisted – allows the employee to absorb information from a preset computer program and advance their knowledge in a self-paced format Understand and briefly describe effective management communication skills. Managers must give direction to the people who work for them – employees often perform their jobs poorly b/c they do not understand what is expected of them.
Managers must be able to motivate people – ability to communicate to get employees excited about their jobs Managers must be able to convince customers that they should do business with them Managers must be able to absorb the ideas of others – must be able to understand and accept other people’s viewpoints Managers must be able to persuade other people – Describe four social responsibilities.
Philanthropy and volunteerism – efforts to improved human welfare, time and money to charitable, cultural, and civic organizations Environmental Awareness – limiting the damage their operations cause to the environment Sensitivity to Diversity – Maintain an ethnically diverse workforce Quality of Work Life – Adopting policies that contribute to the quality of life for their employees, such as flex hours, on-site daycares, etc Describe and recognize legal and ethical responsibilities.
Legal responsibility – responsibility of a business to comply with federal and state regulations that affect business operations Ethical responsibility – responsibility of a business to comply with its own set code of ethics along with ethical business laws Recognize when TQM would benefit an organization. Total Quality Management – management philosophy that emphasizes ‘managing the entire organization so that it excels in all dimensions of products and services that are important to the customer’ List three methods for training and developing managers.
What are organizing work and structure? Organizing work – process of division of labor accompanied by an appropriate delegation of authority; benefits of organizing work – establishes lines of authority, improves efficiency and the quality of work through synergism, improves communication Organizing structure – is the framework that defines the boundaries of the formal organization and within which the organization operates; Strategy, size, environment, organization and technology are factors that affect the organizing structure Recognize when MBO would benefit an organization.
Management by Objectives (MBO) – philosophy based on converting organizational objectives into personal objectives; MBO works best when the objectives of each organizational unit are derived from the objectives of the next higher unit in the organization; it assumes that establishing personal objectives elicits employee commitment, which leads to improved performance Articulate and explain change and culture. Change – bringing about something different than the previous way or situation.
In organizations, usually refers to technological, environmental or internal changes Culture – set of important understandings (often unstated) that members of a community share; ‘the way we do things around here’ Distinguish between mechanistic and organic organizations. Mechanistic – organizational systems characterized by rigid delineation of functional duties, precise job descriptions, fixed authority and responsibility, and a well developed organizational hierarchy through which information filters up and instructions flow down Organic – organizational systems characterized by less formal job descriptions, greater emphasis on daptability, more participation, and less fixed authority Assess and describe the . Employees are the most valuable asset to an organization. The goal of staffing is to obtain the best available people for the organization and to develop the skills and abilities of those people. Recognize the Herzberg two factor theory to employee motivation Herzberg’s 2 factor theory, aka motivation-maintenance or motivation-hygiene, is based off the idea that hygiene or maintenance factors, such as supervision, money, status, do not produce motivation but can prevent motivation from occurring.
However motivator factors, such as achievement, recognition, advancement, provides true motivation. Discuss the international business environment in terms of management awareness, global competition, and strategic planning International trade consists of the exchange of goods and services by different countries. Compare and contrast the following three; basic planning, operations management, and strategic management.
Planning – process of deciding what objectives to pursue during a future time period and what to do to achieve those objectives Operations management – short range planning done primarily by middle to lower level managers, it concentrates on the formulation of the functional plans Strategic management – analogous to top-level, long range planning; covers a relatively long period; affects many parts of the organization Define conflict and stress. What are some ways it can it be reduced?
Conflict – overt behavior that results when an person or group thinks a perceived need of the person or group has been blocked or is about to be blocked Stress – mental or physical condition that results from a perceived threat of danger (physical or emotional) and the pressure to remove it Ways to reduce conflict/stress: Communication, shortening hours of direct contact with customers, special leaves (sabbatical), on-site exercise facilities, clearly defining employee jobs, flextime or telecommuting, early retirement programs, introducing changes gradually Assess and describe work teams.
Formal work team – established and formally recognized by management, established to carry out specific tasks Informal work team – established by personal contacts and interactions among people and isn’t formally recognized by management Quality circle – composed of a group of employees, usually 5-15 people, who are members of a single work unit, section or department. The basic purpose of a quality circle is to discuss quality problems and generate ideas that might help improve quality.
Self-Directed – members are empowered to control the work they do without a formal supervisor Virtual work team – teams that use mainly technology-supported communication, with team members working and living in different locations Recognize when TQM would benefit an organization. Total Quality Management – management philosophy that emphasizes ‘managing the entire organization so that it excels in all dimensions of products and services that are important to the customer’
Recognize and understand the implications of job enrichment, enlargement and rotation. Job enrichment – upgrading of the job by adding motivator factors Job enlargement – giving an employee more of a similar type of operation to perform Job rotation – a trainee goes from 1 job to another within the organization, generally remaining at each job from 6 – 12 months Each of these processes are used in attempt to solve motivational problems with employees Describe quality circle and recognize when there implementation may help an organization.
Quality circle – composed of a group of employees, usually 5-15 people, who are members of a single work unit, section or department. The basic purpose of a quality circle is to discuss quality problems and generate ideas that might help improve quality. Benefits include increasing employee participation, encourage communication and trust among members and managers, inexpensive way to provide training, and solves problems Define, explain, and provide an example of operations control. Operations management – is the management of the production function in any organization;
Describe the difference between leadership and management. Effective leadership in organizations creates a vision of the future that considers the legitimate long-term interests of the parties involved in the organization, develops a strategy for moving toward that vision, enlists the support of employees to produce the movement, and motivates employees to implement the strategy. Management is a process of planning, organizing staffing, motivating and controlling through the use of formal authority.
Leadership is the ability to influence people to willingly follow one’s guidance or adhere to one’s decisions Management is a form of work that involves coordinating an organization’s resources – land, labor, and capital – to accomplish organizational objectives. Define the concept of synergy and how it relates to management of organizations. Organization improves the efficiency and quality of work through synergism. For example, synergism results when three people working together produce more than three people working separately.
Synergism can result from division of labor or from increased coordination, both of which are products of good organization. Synergy – occurs when individuals or groups work together to produce a whole greater than the sum of the parts. Evaluate and describe four characteristics common to all organizations. Group of people, working together, in some concerted or coordinated effort to, obtain objectives Describe at least three approaches or theories to motivate employees.
Scientific management approach – based on the assumption that money is the primary motivation of people; if the monetary award is great enough, employees will work harder and produce more Equity approach – is based on the idea that people wanted to be treated fairly in relationship to others Reinforcement approach – is based on the idea that behavior that appears to lead to a positive consequence tends to be repeated, whereas behavior that appears to lead to a negative consequence tends not to be repeated Recognize when “flattening an organization” may be appropriate Flatter organizations have fewer levels and larger ps of management at each level. Sometimes when forced to downsize, flattening an organization is resulted.
