Unit 3- Management Activities Flashcards
(44 cards)
Management Activities
- planning
- organising
- controlling
Definition of planning (keywords)
- management activity
- setting goals and establishing objectives
- thinking of strategies to achieve objectives
- SWOT analysis
- SMART principles
SMART principles
Specific, Measurable, Agreed, Realistic, Time
SWOT analysis
Strengths e.g. skilled employees (internal)
Weaknesses e.g. low sales volume
Opportunities e.g. exporting to new market (external)
Threats e.g. competitors
5 steps of planning
- SWOT
- Set objectives from SWOT
- Set policies
- Set strategies
- Implement plan
Policies
- written statements that direct management in decision-making when trying to achieve objectives
- describe procedures to be followed and recommended practices
Strategies
-methods to achieve objectives, e.g. niche strategy/low cost leadership strategy
Types of planning
- mission statement
- strategic planning
- tactical planning
- operational planning
- contingency planning
Mission statement
overall purpose/goal, reasons for existence, what firm does now and future aims, e.g. McD’s “to be our customers favourite place and way to eat”
Strategic planning
- long-term, any major plans, 5 years
- by senior managers, based on mission statement, e.g. Irish Mail “to become more profitable within a 5 year time frame”
Tactical planning
- short-term, 1 department, by middle management
- break down of strategic plan, 1 year max., e.g. Irish Mail “ to sell newspaper at 30c a copy to gain market share”
Operational plan
short-term for specific event
Contingency plan
-back up plan for unforeseen events, to prevent closure, e.g. breakdown in production, shortages of raw materials
Cash flow forecast
money the business expects to spend and receive in future, to ensure the firm always has adequate money and to avoid pitfalls
Manpower planning
no. of employees and skills required
Benefits of planning
- anticipate change
- think of future
- essential to raise capital
- motivates employee and managers
Barriers to planning
- lack of staff w/ necessary skills
- resistance to plan by staff
- business operating in unpredictable sector
- managers more concerned w/ running business than future planning
Organising definition (keywords)
- management activity
- refers to structure and co-ordination of activities
- organisational structure
- lines of authority and communication
- delegation of work
- span of control
- arranges resources (f.o.p.) of different departments
Function of an organisational structure
- identifies levels of authority
- sets chain of command
Span of control
no. of employees that report directly to a manager
narrow/wide for different jobs/people
Chain of command
who reports to who, layers
- flow from top of organisation down
- shorter claim= more effective communication
Delegation
giving subordinates authority to carry out task, overall responsibility still lies with manager.
less stress= more efficiency= motivation
Delayering
cutting out middle management
Functional structure
splitting into different departments by functions/jobs
