Chapter 1 and Weeks 1 & 2: Role of Managers

Question 1

What are the 7 External Forces?

Answer 1

1. Political and Legal
2. Economic
3. Technological
4. Societal
5. Environmental
6. Labour
7. Global

Question 2

Which of the following is NOT an example of an issue defined within the internal boundaries of a business?
- Global competition
- Organizational design
- Workforce management
- Organization governance

Answer 2

Global Competition

Question 3

What is the Internal Context of Business? Hint: 4S Approach

Answer 3

1. Style of Management
2. Structure
3. Strategy
4. Status of Organization

Question 4

What is a Manager?

Answer 4

individual at any level of an organization
- Ex. Top management can be CEO

Question 5

What do managers do? The process of ___ and ___ resources effectively and efficiently to achieve the organization’s ____

Answer 5

The process of administrating and coordinating resources effectively and efficiently to achieve the organization’s goals

• ‘efficiently’ means using the fewest inputs to produce a given level of output

Question 6

Define and explain the four functions of management Hint: Learned in ADMS 1010

Answer 6

Planning: formulating a strategy to achieve organizational goals
Organizing: designing work activities, assignment of tasks & authority
Leading: guiding & motivating employees, communicating ideas
Controlling: conflict & problem resolution, assessing progress & maintaining standards

Question 7

What roles do Managers play in an organization and explain (Mintzberg)

Answer 7

1. Informational roles (to be informed and give info)
   - Managers as communication sources for the company
2. Interpersonal roles (more personal)
   - Managerial tasks that involve relationships with associates or external parties
3. Decisional roles
   - Managers must process info and make decisions

Question 8

What are the three qualities of an Informational Roles (Mintzberg)

Answer 8

1. Monitors: Managers must monitor the external and internal environments
   - Ex. Marketing manager responsible for assessing consumer demand for a newly proposed product
2. Disseminators: share or distribute what they have gained in their role
   - Ensure that subordinates have all the information required to perform their job effectively
3. Spokesperson: managers must transmit information to areas outside their authority.
   Ex. marketing manager provides the engineering department with the latest report of consumer preferences.

Question 9

What are the three qualities of an Interpersonal Roles (Mintzberg)

Answer 9

1. Figurehead: ceremonial
   - Ex. An employee of the month award at a company banquet
2. Leader: manager is a motivator and communicator of associates’ activities
   - Ex. Performance appraisals
3. Liaison: managerial activities that include developing relationships with associates outside of the manager’s area of authority
   - Ex. Sales manager’s relationship

Question 10

What are the four qualities of a Decisional Roles (Mintzberg)

Answer 10

1. Entrepreneur: manager develops and initiates new projects
2. Disturbance handlers: dealing with and resolving conflicts
3. Resource allocator: deciding how resources (money, equipment, time, etc.) will be allocated
4. Negotiator: bargains with customers, employees, and other departments

Question 11

List the Classical Approaches to Management

Answer 11

Scientific management / Taylorism

Administrative management

Bureaucratic management

Question 12

Define and explain the key concepts of Scientific Management/Taylorism

Answer 12

• Industrial revolution helped form this management
• Guiding managers on lower levels

Frederick Taylor - sought to help the American industry to help improve productivity.
- The philosophy that fuelled the Industrial Revolution was the notion of “laissez-faire”: businesses or manufacturers should be free and sell what they please, and the government should not interfere
- Specializing / compartmentalizing the job into basic parts
- Piece-rate system: workers’ pay was directly connected to their output
Time and motion studies - involved a camera and a stopwatch in scrutinizing the elements of performing a task.

(a) Standardizing the Work - ensure all workers perform the same job in the same manner to maximize effieciency
(b) Compartmentalizing - breaking down job into simple componets
(c) Supervising the workers
(d) Motivating the workers

Question 13

Define and explain the key concepts of Administrative Management

Answer 13

Henri Fayol

(a) Supported division of work - breaking work down into simple components
(b) Unity of command - each employee should report to one boss
(c) Employees should focus their interest on the common good of the organization
(d) Esprit de corps - team spirit

Question 14

Define and explain the key concepts of Bureaucratic Management

Answer 14

Max Weber
(a) Rules and procedures - employees obey rules and procedures
(b) Hierarchy of authority - to ensure accountability, create positions that are ranked of authority
(c) Division of labour
(d) Impersonality - relationships between members are professional
(e ) Selection and promotion

Question 15

What are the Behavioural Approaches to Management?

Answer 15

Human Relations

Mary Parker Follet / Chester Barnard

Modern Behavioural Science & Motivation Based Theories

Question 16

What are the two critical features of Behavioural (and a bit of classical) Approaches?

Answer 16

1. (shared by classical) Organizations are designed to produce a service or service efficiently and affectively
2. Organizations are social systems through which individuals attempt to satisfy their personal, social and economic needs

Question 17

Define and explain the key concepts of the Human Relations Movement

Answer 17

Elton Mayo - a great source of productivity is when employees are receiving special attention (Hawthorne Effect)

Social systems - Managers need to interact socially with associates - “employees are people too.”

Question 18

Define and explain the key concepts of the Mary Parker Follet

Answer 18

• Coordination - close involvement of managers with subordinates rather than being people who make and enforce rules
• Self-management and collaboration - subordinates involved with the decision-making process, employees managing themselves, managers and employees viewing each other as partners

Question 19

Define and explain the key concepts of the Chester Barnard

Answer 19

• Social systems
• managers establish organizational objectives and ensure employees are motivated
• collaborative approach

Question 20

Define and explain the key concepts of the Modern Behavioural Science and Motivation-Based Perspectives

Answer 20

• Motivation - consider factors that influence the motivation of employees

Question 21

Is it possible for an organization to carry both philosophies? (Classical and behavioral)

Answer 21

Yes

Question 22

What makes an effective team? Hint: 4 things

Answer 22

• Shared vision
• Empowerment
• Trust
• Culture of Collaboration

Question 23

How to evaluate which approach is better?

Answer 23

1. Organization size
   ○ Ex. Walmart vs family owned coffee shop
2. Routineness of Task and Technology
   ○ Ex. Bank teller (routine work) vs Nurse (knowledge worker)
   
   • Individual Differences
     ○ Ex. Some people like online classes and some like in-person
     ○ Quiet Quitting (video) - not going above and beyond in the workplace (can prevent burnout)
   • Environmental Uncertainty
     Line paper versus tablet