B1

Question 1

What is management?

Answer 1

Management is the process of accomplishing organizational goals through planning, organizing, leading and controlling

Question 2

What is planning?

Answer 2

Planning is the process of establishing goals and objectives for an organization and determination the best ways to achieve them.

Question 3

Importance of planning? (Hint: 3 points)

Answer 3

1. Help managers seek opportunities and deal with challenges
2. Provide direction to employees
3. Provide standards for monitoring work progress

Question 4

What are the 5 steps of the planning process?

Answer 4

Step 1: Establish objectives and goals
-Deciding what the firm wants to achieve. E.g: boost sales by 20%

Step 2: Gather useful and relevant information
-Analyze the firm’s resources and search info that’s vital for achieving objectives & goals. E.g: trends

Step 3: Evaluate alternative plans and choose the best option
-evaluating possible plans and choose the one that can achieve goals & objectives effectively. E.g: most cost-effective option

Step 4: formulate the plan

Step 5: Implement the plan

Question 5

What does S stand for in SMART? What does it mean?

Answer 5

-Specific.

-Goals should be clear and explicit regarding what is to be achieved. Using general terms can cause misunderstandings

Question 6

What does M stand for in SMART? What does it mean?

Answer 6

-measurable

-Goals should be quantifiable and expressed in numbers so that the actual performance can be measured

Question 7

What does A stand for in SMART? What does it mean?

Answer 7

-Attainable

-Goals should be challenging and attainable with extra effort. Employees will not be motivated if the goal is too easy or impossible to achieve

Question 8

What does R stand for in SMART? What does it mean?

Answer 8

-relevant

-goals should focus on key results which can affect company performance such as quality of goods and services provided, market shares, sales revenues, costs and profitability

Question 9

What does T stand for in SMART? What does it mean?

Answer 9

-time-based/time-bound

-There should be a time frame for achieving the goals. The period given should be reasonable and employees should have enough time to achieve the goals

Question 10

What is organizing?

Answer 10

Organizing refers to the process of determining what tasks are to be done and how the tasks are to be grouped

Question 11

What’s the top management’s role? Name 2 tasks performed.

Answer 11

-Determining the company’s overall goals and direction

-Decide the company’s vision and mission
-Formulate company policies and regulations
-Make company-wide decisions

Question 12

What’s the middle management’s role? Name 2 tasks performed.

Answer 12

-act as a bridge between top management and front-line management

-Carry out plans and decisions made by the top management
-Resolve operational problems to improve company’s performance

Question 13

What’s the front-line management’s role? Name 2 tasks performed.

Answer 13

-Responsible for the daily operations of the business/company

-Deal with customer complaints
-Supervise workers and handle conflicts in the workplace
-Handle problems in daily operations (problems with production lines)

Question 14

What is line authority?

Answer 14

Line authority refers to the authority given to a job position at a higher level (superior) for giving instructions to those directly below him (subordinates)

(note): this creates a superior-subordinate relationship

Question 15

What is staff authority?

Answer 15

Staff authority is the authority given to a job position that is created to support, assist and give advice to other departments

(note): this creates an advisory relationship

Question 16

What is By function/ functional departmentalization’s definition?

Answer 16

Departmentalization by function refers to forming departments by grouping jobs that perform similar functions

(Commonly used by small companies with few products)

Question 17

What is By product/ product departmentalization’s definition?

Answer 17

Departmentalization by product refers to forming departments by grouping jobs according to the types of products produced or sold

(Often used by companies that produce or dell many types of products)

Question 18

What is By location/ geographical departmentalization’s definition?

Answer 18

Departmentalization by location means forming departments by grouping jobs according to the geographical location

(commonly used by multinational corporations which produce and/or sell goods around the world)

Question 19

What are the 4 risk management strategies?

Answer 19

-risk avoidance
-risk assumption
-risk reduction
-risk transfer

Question 20

How can Human Resources Management (HRM) support other business functions?

Answer 20

By recruiting employees for other departments according to the requirements of the departments

Question 21

How can Financial management support other business functions?

Answer 21

-by preparing financial budgets for other departments

-obtain and funds for other departments’ operations

Question 22

How can Operations management support other business functions?

Answer 22

Ensure that the company’s products and production process meet the requirements of other departments

Question 23

How can Marketing management support other business functions?

Answer 23

-by conducting marketing research to obtain useful market information for other departments

Question 24

How can Risk management support other business functions?

Answer 24

-By buying insurance for other departments to obtain health protection against risks

-Identify and assess risks involved in other departments’ operations and suggest suitable measures to deal with the risks

Question 25

What is leading?

Answer 25

Leading is the process of guiding, directing and motivating people to work towards achieving organizational goals

Question 26

What are all the types of leadership?

Answer 26

-autocratic -democratic -laissez-faire

Question 27

What is autocratic leadership?

Answer 27

managers do not involve subordinates in decision-making. They keep all the power to themselves and make all the decisions

Question 28

What is democratic leadership?

Answer 28

Managers share their power with their subordinates and involve them in decision-making. They are willing to accept ideas and suggestions from others.

Question 29

What is Laissez-faire leadership?

Answer 29

managers delegate their authority to their subordinates and allow them to make their own decisions

Question 30

Give 2 advantages of using autocratic leadership (point form/ point form w explanation)

Answer 30

1.) Quick decisions: Reasons: - the manager is solely responsible for making decisions - no other people are involved, thus quick decisions can be made 2.) More efficient operation: -Reasons: -Autocratic leaders practice strict control over their subordinates, -this reduces delays and enhance the company’s operational efficiency

Question 31

Give 2 disadvantages of using autocratic leadership

Answer 31

-Lower employee motivation -Heavy reliance on manager (make all decisions > heavy workload > may become busy > affect company operations) -Narrow scope of view (make all decisions alone < narrow scope of view > decisions may be subject to bias > may result in poor decisions

Question 32

Give 2 advantages of using participative leadership

Answer 32

-Widen the manager’s exposure ( manager cannot gain access to all information alone > get ideas and suggestions from employees > widen the scope of the managers view > result in better decisions) **opposite of autocratic disadvantage** -Strengthen employees’ support for business decisions: (employees are involved in decision-making > more willing to carry out decisions made > result in mutual understanding between management and employees) -Enhance employees’ commitment and motivation: (Involving employees in decision-making > make them feel that management values their opinions > become more committed and motivated to work for company)

Question 33

Give 2 disadvantages of using participative/democratic leadership

Answer 33

-lower operational efficiency (Involvement of more people i.e employees may slow down decision-making process > adversely affect company’s operational efficiency) -Increase risk of information leaks: (When making decisions with employees > sensitive information may need to be shared > increases risk of sensitive information being leaked to outsiders > harms the company)

Question 34

Give 2 advantages of using laissez-faire leadership

Answer 34

-Greater employee motivation: (Employees enjoy autonomy at work > gain greater sense of challenge, commitment and satisfaction of their job) -Encourage innovation: (Employees allowed to decide what they want to do and how to complete their tasks > encourages creativity and innovation)

Question 35

Give 2 disadvantages of using laissez-faire leadership

Answer 35

-Chaos in the workplace: (Manager does not coordinate employees’ work or specify what employees should do > employees may just focus on their own tasks and fail to cooperate with others > may act in their own self-interest and fight over resources > resulting in chaos in the workplace) -Lack of directions for passive and inexperienced employees: (These employees may feel frustrated and helpless as they do not receive any instructions or guidance from the manager > lowers job satisfaction and work efficiency)

Question 36

What is controlling?

Answer 36

Controlling is the process of monitoring activities to ensure that they are being done as planned

Question 37

What are the steps of the control process?

Answer 37

Step 1: set performance standards Step 2: measure actual performance Step 3: compare actual performance with the performance standards Step 4: analyze deviations and take corrective actions

Question 38

What are the importance of management? (Rarely asked, just have basic understanding ig 😭)

Answer 38

-help achieve organizational goals effectively -ensure efficient use of resources

Question 39

What are the 5 principles of effective management?

Answer 39

-Division of work -Unity of command -Unity of direction -Balancing authority and responsibility -Management by objectives

Question 40

What is division of work?

Answer 40

The production process is broken down into many different tasks with each worker concentrating on one or a few tasks

Question 41

Give 3 advantages of division of work (point form/ point form w explanation)

Answer 41

1.) Increase efficiency: (practice makes perfect > by specializing in certain tasks and repeating a task many times > workers can learn faster and improve their skills) 2.) Save time: (Time is saved since workers do not need to switch from one position to another > can also save on training time as each worker only needs to learn one or a few tasks) 3.) Facilitate automation: (As production process is divided into small tasks > easier for managers make use of specialized machines or equipment to replace labour > increase productivity and save on labour costs)

Question 42

Give 2 disadvantages of division of work

Answer 42

1.) poor job satisfaction: (Workers repeat the same task over and over again > find the work boring > poor job satisfaction) 2.) High cost of mistakes: (As production process is broken down into different tasks which are dependent on each other > a mistake made in any task will greatly affect the entire production process > production may come to a halt in worst cases)

Question 43

What is unity of command?

Answer 43

It means that each employee takes orders from and reports to only one superior. In other words, each subordinate has only one direct superior

Question 44

Give 2 problems for violating unity of command

Answer 44

1.) Confusion to subordinates: (Subordinates may get confused when receiving conflicting instructions from two or more managers > result in difficulty of carrying out their jobs) 2.) Conflicts among managers: (As the chain of command or line of authority isn’t clearly defined, two or more managers are allowed to give instructions > managers may come into conflicts easily > adversely affecting company’s operations

Question 45

What us unity of direction?

Answer 45

Unity of direction means that each plan is led by only one manager and that there should be only one plan for a group of activities with the same objective(s). Ensuring that employees working on the same plan have the same goal(s)

Question 46

What are the advantages of applying unity of direction?

Answer 46

1.) Achieve organizational goals effectively (as the efforts of all employees are directed and achieving the same goals) 2.) Avoid conflicts among departments: (Applying unity of directions ensures the company has no conflicting goals that may act against each other > facilitates management and avoid conflicts from different departments) 3.) Enhance team spirit: (All employees are working towards the same goals > have better team spirit > morale may be enhanced)

Question 47

What is Authority and Responsibility respectively?

Answer 47

-Authority id the formal and legitimate power given by an organization to a person in a certain position to complete his assigned tasks -Responsibility is the obligation of a person to perform his assigned tasks

Question 48

What is the parity of authority and responsibility / what is the relationship between authority and responsibility

Answer 48

According to the parity of authority and responsibility, authority and responsibility go hand-in-hand and should be in balance

Question 49

What is delegation?

Answer 49

Delegation is the assignment of work and the transfer of formal authority and responsibility to complete that work from a superior to a subordinate (note): altho managers can delegate tasks to their subordinates, they are still accountable for the final results!

Question 50

What is Management by objectives (MBO)?

Answer 50

Management by objectives (MBO) means that the overall objectives of an organization are translated into objectives for each succeeding level, such as divisions, departments and individual employees