Managers, Leadership and decision making

Question 1

leadership

Answer 1

deciding on the direction of the business or department or functional area, setting objectives that reflect this, and inspiring and motivatating staff to achieve these objectives

Question 2

management

Answer 2

getting things done by planning, organising and coordinating people and resources

Question 3

scientific decision making

Answer 3

a logical and research based approach to decision making

Question 4

intuition

Answer 4

the ability to understand something without the need for conscious reasoning; similar to ‘hunch’; a gut feeling based on personal views

Question 5

opportunity costs

Answer 5

the ‘real-cost’ of taking a particular course of action. the costs in terms of next best alternative foregone

Question 6

decision trees

Answer 6

a tree-like model of the various options available in a decision, including the probability of different outcomes and their estimated financial costs and returns

Question 7

expected value

Answer 7

the monetary value of an outcome of a decision

Question 8

net gain

Answer 8

the value to be gained from making a particular decision or selecting a particular option

Question 9

ethics

Answer 9

the set of moral values held by an individual or group or organisation

Question 10

stakeholder

Answer 10

an individual or group or other institution with a direct interest in the activities and performance of an organisation or in a project to be undertaken

Question 11

pressure groups

Answer 11

organisations formed by people with a common interest or shared goal, who join together to further their interest or achieve their goals by putting pressure on the general public

Question 12

externalities

Answer 12

costs and benefits that occur as a result of a firm’s activities, but which are not recorded in its accounts.