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Business > Unit 10 > Flashcards

Unit 10 Flashcards

1
Q

Lewin’s force field analysis not on paper 2

A

balance between forces driving change in a business and forces resisting change
equilibrium = no change
change to occur = force must exceed the straining force
forces driving change: poor efficiency, lack of innovation, customer demand, legislation
factors resisting change: poor communication, self interest (potential job loss)

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2
Q

Kotter + Schlesiers resistance to change not on paper 2

A
  • self interest -> perceived threat, concerned with how that will effect employees jobs + finance
  • low tolerance of change -> inertia, “why change?”. previous changes
  • misunderstanding -> misinformed + inadequate info
  • different assessments of the situation -> differing opinions on the reason for change
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3
Q

Kotter + Schlesiers overcoming resistance to change not on paper 2

A
  • education + communication -> why is there need for change
  • participation + involvement -> getting involved in process
  • facilitation + support -> training, counselling
  • negotiation -> incentive to change
  • manipulation -> selective use of info to encourage
  • power/coercion -> being told what implications will be
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4
Q

Handy’s model of culture

A

power culture: few key people at the centre (make major decisions), few rules + bureaucracy, quick decision making

role culture: functional organisational structure, power derives from position, hierarchical bureaucracy

task culture: identify with task they are working on, teams formed, matrix organisation, no single power source

person culture: given their own parts of business to make decisions on + control, people believe themselves to be superior to the business, power lies in each group of individual

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5
Q

corporate governance

A

a system by which companies are directed + controlled

responsibly of board of directors

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6
Q

who are companies controlled by?

A

board of directors

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7
Q

who are companies owned by?

A

shareholders

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8
Q

key responsibilities of board of directors?

A
  • setting companies objectives
  • determining strategy
  • providing leadership for organisation
  • supervising the management
  • reporting to shareholders on how they’re doing
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9
Q

what is the shareholders role in corporate governance?

A

to appoint the directors

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10
Q

what is the divorce between ownership + control?

A

happens when the owners of a business do not control day to day decisions made in the business

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11
Q

what are non executive directors?

A

business people with no financial or personal ties to the executives and are there to give an impartial view

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12
Q

what are activist shareholders?

A

put pressure on existing on management or force through changes to management boards, some insist on businesses using profits to buy back shares to increase returns to existing shareholders

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13
Q

internal factors of causing change? not on paper 2

A
  • change in leadership -> organisational culture or structure
  • better than expected performance -> expand
  • poor financial performance -> retrenchment
  • type of business eg innovative likely to come up with better methods
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14
Q

external factors of causing change? not on paper 2

A
  • availability of new tech -> production faster + cheaper
  • consumer tastes change -> altering product range eg electrical cars
  • changes in ethical views may effect suppliers
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15
Q

not on paper 2 incremental change

A
  • gradually, usually the result of a strategic plan + often attempts to minimise disruption
  • mangers decide a time scale for changes
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16
Q

disruptive change not on paper 2

A
  • sudden forces firms to do things different

- may have to close or sell subsidy companies, spend heavily on promotions to raise consumer confidence etc

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17
Q

value of change not on paper 2

A
  • need to grow + stay comp. -> can allow to take adv of new effective ideas
  • people within a business naturally resist change but adv normally outweighs disruption
  • without change a company may fall behind its competitors -> insolvency
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18
Q

restructuring not on paper 2

A

changing the organisational structure

  • businesses that can do this efficiently can adapt to keep up w changes in external environment
  • can max the efficiency of decision making, communication + division of task
  • can reduce costs, make the business more comp.
  • might decentralise in fast changing environments to give more power + flexibility to departments
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19
Q

delayering not on paper 2

A

removing parts of an organisations hierarchy

- businesses w flexible structures can to delayer to reduce costs, improve communication + give more responsibility

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20
Q

mechanistic structure not on paper 2

A
  • rigid, works well for stable environments
  • centralised, decision making by managers
  • tall structure, long time to travel
  • slow to make changes
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21
Q

organic structure not on paper 2

A
  • decentralised, employees get a say
  • flat structure - fast communication
  • suited to changing environment, quick action
  • work in teams
22
Q

flexible employment contracts (not on it)

A

employees flexible, business effective at managing change eg zero hour contacts easily cope w changes in demand
-> achieve by employing a mixture of core + peripheral workers
-> can also outsource workers
-> can hold on to valuable employees + open up more job opportunities for skilled applicants
but could lead to poor communication + teamwork between staff who work at different times

23
Q

value of leadership

A

a good leader can take action to make sure change is smooth

  • > should take overall responsibility + also delegate
  • > create a clear inspiring vision
  • > motivate everyone to engage w the process
24
Q

type of leader upon change

A

authoritarian = employees fearful of change
laissez faire = employees not confident that changes will work out
most suitable is democratic or paternalistic

25
Q

value of good communication

A

can clearly pass on info + ideas to motivate people

  • senior managers need to communicate function objectives to department managers + strategy to staff
  • any employee affected needs to be told
26
Q

types of organisational structure

A

functional => organised into departments, each department may have own culture so hard to co-ordinate
product based => each product has its own division, ideal for strategies to grow market share of one product but could be unnecessary duplication of roles
regional => based on locations - suits market development strategy
matrix => organises staff by two different criteria, ensures working towards objectives

27
Q

network analysis

A

identifies the most efficient + cost effective way of completing a complex project

  • > used when implementing a strategy or launch of new product etc
  • > allows companies to work out when they’ll need resources
  • > helps with decision making knowing the LFT can make it easier to know when to launch
28
Q

float time

A

spare time available

29
Q

total float

A

LFT - duration - EST

the length of time you delay an activity without delaying the whole project

30
Q

network analysis adv + disadvantage

A

+ identifies the critical activities, helps firm forecast their cash flow, finds the shortest possible time, can give CA
- relies on estimates, constructing + amending the network will require planning + time, quality could suffer due to strict deadlines

31
Q

contingency planning

A

outline what to do if something unexpected happens

  • > can help a business respond to lots of different crises
  • > businesses can’t plan for every unforeseen event
  • > very expensive, managers have to decide how likely the event is going to happen
32
Q

crisis management

A

when an unexpected situation occurs + a business has to respond
-> managers need to act quickly + decisively - autocratic leadership

33
Q

strategic planning

A

gives clear direction, communicate exactly what the business is trying to achieve, work towards same goals

  • > helps managers to think about SWOT but can restrict business’s flexibility
  • > more useful in stable markets
34
Q

evaluating strategy

A
  • > see whether targets met, check departments sticking to time scale + budgeted resources
  • > actual performance should be measured against objectives
  • > comp. environment monitored so external factors are spotting, avoiding strategic drift
35
Q

monitoring strategy

A

market analysis - shows if assumptions about market are correct
management info systems - collect + process routine departmental data to give current state of business

36
Q

reasons for strategic drift to happen?

A
  • overambition
  • failing to adapt to external environment
  • what worked before doesn’t work anymore
  • senior managers may deny there is a problem -> complacency
37
Q

strategic drift

A

when strategy becomes less suited to the businesses environment -> doesn’t adapt to changes eg new tech, consumer tastes etc

  • > a business should respond to these changes esp if competitors are benefitting
  • > small changes might work in ST but as external change increase, strategic drift increase + managers will have to introduce transformational change for business to survive
38
Q

risks involved with strategic decision making

A
  • unknowns you can’t account for, need to consider risk
  • managers need to have info about resource, skills + time available
  • external environment is continually changing
  • stakeholders want different things eg Richard Bransons. had to buy back company
39
Q

what difficulties might a business need to overcome?

A
  • a lack of resources, heavy investment = less working capital
  • miscommunication
  • if managers don’t provide strong leadership
  • inaccuracies in forecasting
40
Q

organisational culture

A

The shared values of a business + The beliefs and norms that affect every aspect of work life

41
Q

what does organisational culture affect?

A

planning, objective setting + strategy

42
Q

how is organisational culture reinforced?

A

with company rules, recruitment policies, training workshops

43
Q

what is a strong culture?

A

Staff understand and respond to culture, little need for policies and procedures, consistent behaviour, culture is embedded, staff = loyal, turnover = low

44
Q

what is a weak culture?

A

Little alignment with business values, Inconsistent behaviour, A need for extensive bureaucracy & procedures

45
Q

how does organisational culture affect stakeholders?

A

staff - affects motivation, power or role culture affects creative staff
customers - decentralised know needs + wants better
shareholders - low risk culture may have low returns

46
Q

reasons for changing organisational culture?

A
  • new manager may want to make it similar where they worked before
  • to be more competitive eg power culture slow to spot ways to more comp
47
Q

influences on organisational culture?

A
  • business grows, new employees, new ambitions + exceptions

- multinational may be influenced by culture of country

48
Q

problems for changing organisational culture?

A
  • employees usually resist change esp if they’ve worked there a long time (prefer the status quo)
  • more complicated as have to change attitudes + behaviour
  • expensive, changing office layout, extra training etc
  • HR may need to change recruitment + induction processes, payment + reward systems
49
Q

hofstedes international cultures?

A

individualism = focus on personal achievement vs collectivism = team, supporting each other
power distance - Low PD = flatter structures, more autonomy, High PD = encourages bureaucracy + rank
masc = competitive, aggressive vs fem = decisioning making consultative
uncertainty avoidance - low = open to change, high = resistant
LT orientation - low = short termism, high = encourage LT thinking, future
indulgence = allows ppl to satisfy desires vs restraint = regulating desires

50
Q

what is hofstede for?

A

used to plan for communication problems when trading with international suppliers etc
multinationals deciding how best to reward management + employees in different countries

Business (14 decks)

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