Evaluating Business Information Flashcards
Force field diagram
The force field analysis is a principle developed by Kurt Lewin, a German-American social psychologist.
He used this concept for his work in social psychology, primarily for determining the external and internal factors that affect one’s decision.
He states that:“To bring about any change, the balance between the forces which maintain the social self-regulation at a given level has to be upset”.
This method supports the principle that in order to implement a proposed change,driving forcesshould be stronger thanrestraining forces.
Businesses can now use this concept to weigh such factors before modifying their processes with the goal of improving operations.
Drivers and resistors
A force field analysis summarises the factors that will help or hinder the introduction of a particular change.
The forces that will help the change are calleddrivers.
The forces that will hinder the change are calledresistors.
Drivers and resistors are sometimes referred to as driving forces and restraining forces respectively. Drivers and resistors push against each other.
Equilibrium is the current position - usually equilibrium is shown as a vertical line dividing drivers and resistors as in the example that follows.
For change to happen drivers must be greater than resistors.
Assets for change
assets for changeare organisational strengths that will help a firm when it tries to change but do not cause it to change, e.g. a strong corporate culture or an experienced management team
arrows of different lengths are used to show the strength of the different forces
arrows point inwards
to get to the desired situation you need to strengthen the driving forces or weaken the restraining ones.
Critical path analysis
Critical path analysis (CPA) is a way of planning and monitoring the implementation of a strategy.
CPA starts by:
identifying each of the activities needed to complete a project
calculating the time that will be taken by each activity
working out which activities can be done simultaneously
identifying which activities cannot start until others have been completed
putting the activities in order
Carrying out a critical path analysis helps keep a project to time. It also allows all members of the team to complete in the planning of the project, and can help identify where time, and therefore financial, savings can be met.
The critical path is the sequence of activities which, when added together, give the total length the project is expected to take. This determines how long a project will last.
If there is any delay on the critical path (called “slippage”), the whole project will be delayed.
What does a critical path look like?
The critical path is shown in diagrammatic form.
Extra time that is available for particular activities not on the critical path is calledfloat time.
Advantages of Critical Path Analysis
helps reduce the risk and costs of complex projects
encourages careful assessment of the requirements of each activity in a project
helps spot which activities have some slack (“float”) and could lead to reallocation / better allocation of resources
provides managers with a useful overview of a complex project
Disadvantages of Critical Path Analysis
the reliability of CPA largely based on accurate estimates and assumptions made
CPA does not guarantee the success of a project - that still needs to be managed properly
Gantt Chart
Gantt charts were invented by Henry Gantt, a writer in the classical school of management. They are still widely used to schedule projects in modern businesses.
Gantt charts are bar charts displaying the different activities involved in a project along with how long they will take. The bars are coloured in as each activity is completed so that progress can easily be checked at any time.
What are the steps to create a Gantt Chart?
Identify each different activity that needs to be done to implement the strategy
Decide how much time each activity will take
Decide the order in which the activities must be done
Create a table or a spreadsheet
Key in days, weeks or months as appropriate across the top
Write each activity that will need to be done
down the left hand side
For each activity, draw a rectangular box from the start time to the end time
Check that every activity appears on the chart
