Unit 2: Leadership and Decision Making Flashcards
(38 cards)
What is Leadership?
Leadership includes the functions of ruling, guiding and inspiring other people within an organization in pursuit of agreed objectives.
What is management?
Management is planning, organizing, directing and controlling all or part of a business enterprise.
Why do the functions of Management occur?
The functions of management occur because businesses operate in different ways which may require managers to undertake varying tasks and duties.
What are the functions of management?
The functions of management are Planning, organizing, directing and controlling. Each of these functions involves managers in making decisions, which is a constant and central element of any manager’s work.
what does planning mean for a manager?
Planning involves the manager looking into the future. Planning requires management to evaluate where the company is currently, and where it would like to be in the future. Allowing managers to take decisions so that the company moves forward in an organized and coherent manner.
What does the role of planning include?
Planning includes setting objectives, conducting analysis, drawing up plans in function areas, such as finance or human resources and estimating the likely resource needs for any proposed plans.
What is the special thing about the planning process?
The planning process is continual, as external factors change all the time. These changes may cause a company to adjust its course of action to ensure that it achieves its objects.
Why is planning beneficial?
Planning is beneficial because it helps reduce the chance of a project failing in the future. This is because it highlights problems and encourages managers to develop solutions. It helps make sure that managers have the resources they need.
How can planning help benefit a business during an emergency?
The planning process helps managers overcome emergencies with plans for those specific situations, these are known as contingency plans.
What does organizing involve?
Organizing involves management assembling the resources that they need to carry out actions set out in the planning process. This allows the business to determine the internal organizational structure and establish and maintain relationships, as well as allocating necessary resources.
Why is organizing so important?
Because acquiring resources is an essential element of effective management, as a well managed business will plan carefully and will seek to use the minimum amount of resources to achieve its objectives.
What is directing?
Directing is a process which allows management to influence and oversee the behaviour of staff in achieving the business’s goals, as well as assisting them by providing necessary resources. Directing employees entails leading employees through motivation and communication.
What is motivation?
Motivation is the willingness to achieve a target or goal.
Why are highly motivated employees important to a business?
Highly motivated employees will perform better and will assist more so in achieving business objectives. For this reason, managers tend to put a lot of focus into motivating employees as they provide financial incentives.
How might a business motivate employees financially?
Managers may grant financial incentives to employees to encourage them leading to them becoming more motivated and working at a better performance.
What is communication?
Communication is the exchange of information between one or more people.
What is effective communication and why is it important?
Effective communication takes many forms but it may be praise or clear guidance. It helps to achieve higher levels of productivity and encourages employees to use their initiative as well as solve problems.
What is control and what does it involve?
Control involves setting standards using the company’s objectives and reviewing and reporting performance.
What should a business do after reviewing and reporting on their performance?
They should compare the objectives and performance to determine any necessary corrective or preventative action.
Why is reviewing important for a business?
Its important because it allows reflection and judgement on what has been achieved and encourages further decisions to ensure the business meets its objectives.
Describe how a business may use financial reports to report on business performance.
A business can publish details of their financial performance each year, giving information on their sales, revenues, and profits. Reporting financially is a legal requirement in many countries for companies, to assist governments in assessing that the correct amount of tax has been paid.
Describe how a business may report through employee performance.
A business will report on employee productivity, absenteeism or training costs. For many businesses supplying services these can be a vital measure of business performance.
Describe how a business can report through social performance.
Managers can measure a business’s performance in terms of behaving ethically, minimising pollution and creating jobs.
List the 3 main ways a business will report on its performance.
- Financial reports
- Employee performance
- Social performance
