CHAPTER 1

Question 1

What is an organisation?

Answer 1

• An organisation is defined as an arrangement of people in a specific structure to accomplish some specific purpose.

Question 2

VThere are three common characteristics of an organisation

Answer 2

– Firstly, each organisation has a distinct purpose.
– Secondly, each organisation is composed of people.
– Thirdly, all organisations develop some deliberate structure so that the members can do their work.

Question 3

What is management?

Answer 3

vv Management can be described as a process of coordinating work activities through the functions of planning, organising, activating (leading), and control so that these activities are completed efficiently and effectively, and in line with the organisational goals.

Question 4

Effective

Answer 4

Necessary activities need to be done to achieve organizational goals

Question 5

Efficient

Answer 5

Using the minimum inputs to produce maximum output

Question 6

planning

Answer 6

involves the process of defining goals, and establishing strategies and plans for achieving those goals

Question 7

organising

Answer 7

involves the process of determining what tasks are to be done, how the tasks must be done, who must do them, how the tasks are to be grouped, who reports to whom, and where decisions are to be made

Question 8

leading

Answer 8

deals with the way to get employees active to do their work. It involves leadership and how to influence employees to be as productive as possible.

Question 9

control

Answer 9

involves monitoring the actual performance, comparing the actual performance to what was planned, and taking corrective action if necessary.

Question 10

what is a manager

Answer 10

A manager can be defined as a person who coordinates and integrates all work activities of employees in an organisation with the purpose of achieving the vision and goals of the organisation.

Question 11

First-line managers

Answer 11

are managers at the lowest level of the organisation – responsible for the daily supervision of non- managerial employees who are involved with the production or creation of the organisation’s products and services.

Question 12

Middle managers

Answer 12

are the managers between the first-line level and the top level of the organisation – they manage the work of first-line managers.

Question 13

Top managers

Answer 13

are the managers at the top level of the organisation – responsible for making organisation-wide decisions and establishing the goals and plans that affect the entire organisation.

Question 14

nterpersonal roles

Answer 14

involve people and other duties that are ceremonial and symbolic in nature. It includes being a figurehead, leader, and liaison.

Question 15

informational roles

Answer 15

are related to the collecting and transfer of information. The three informational roles include being a monitor, disseminator, and spokesperson.

Question 16

decisional roles

Answer 16

deal with decision-making and choices and
include being an entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource
allocator, and negotiator.

Question 17

skills managers need

Answer 17

technical, human/interpersonal ,conceptual

Question 18

Technical skills

Answer 18

are the knowledge of and proficiency in a specific field – and the ability to apply specialised knowledge and competency in a specific area.

Question 19

Human or interpersonal skills

Answer 19

refer to the ability to work well with other people, individually and in a group – good people skills enable a manager to get the best out of their workers – they know how to motivate, communicate, and delegate.

Question 20

Conceptual skills

Answer 20

refer to the ability to think, conceptualise and analyse abstract and complex situations – most important at the top-management levels, because they must be able to understand how things in the whole organisation fit together.

Question 21

Some management abilities that will help managers to cope with their work

Answer 21

– Communication skills: relates to interpersonal skills.
– Ability to work in a team: relates to interpersonal skills.
– Good time management: conceptual and technical skills.
– Problem-solving abilities: understand the bigger picture – relates to conceptual skills and can also be linked to technical skills if the problem requires technical knowledge.
– Conflict solving abilities: relates to interpersonal skills.

Question 22

In a dynamic environment, managers are confronted with the following challenges

Answer 22

– Building the organisation to experience a competitive advantage.
– Maintaining ethical and social responsibility.
– Managing a diverse workforce.
– Managing in a global environment.