Management 2

Organization

a group of people working together in a structured and coordinated fashion to achieve a set of goals

What is a megatrend?

The transformative forces that define the future world with their long-term impacts on macroenvironments.

What are the four resources in management?

Human resources; Financial resources; Physical resources; Information resources.

Which of the four functions of management is the most important and why?

Controlling is the most important because it provides information that keeps corporate goals on track. Managers stay informed about what is happening, what is or is not working, and what needs to be continued, improved, or changed.

First-line managers

Supervise and coordinate operating employees; manage a specific location or brand; focus on short-term goals, often month to month or less than a year; and rely on technical skills. Example: a Starbucks store manager.

Who defined the five competitive forces?

Michael Porter.

What are Porter's five competitive forces?

Threat of new entrants: ease of entering the market. Competitive rivalry: rivalry between firms in the same industry. Threat of substitutes: whether alternative products can work just as well. Power of buyers: the extent of buyers' influence over suppliers. Power of suppliers: the extent of suppliers' influence over buyers.

What is ethics?

Ethics refers to what is socially accepted within a particular society or environment.

What is ethical behavior?

Behavior that conforms to generally accepted social norms in a particular country, place, or environment.

What is unethical behavior?

Behavior that does not conform to generally accepted social norms. Example: taking bribes.

What are some factors that influence our values?

Family; personal values, morals, and faith; life experiences; peers; trauma; leaders; events; and media.

What is a code of conduct or code of ethics?

A formal written statement outlining the values and standards that guide a firm's actions and establish what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior.

What is the difference between a shareholder and a stakeholder?

Stakeholder: anyone with an interest in an organization. Shareholder: a type of stakeholder who owns shares and has a financial stake in the company.

What are the four levels of international business activity, from lowest to highest?

Domestic business: In-N-Out and Chick-fil-A. International business: Lowe's. Multinational business: Coca-Cola and McDonald's. Global business: FIFA and international criminal networks, as discussed in class.

What is a domestic business?

A business operating in one country, obtaining resources from that country and serving customers there. Examples: In-N-Out and Chick-fil-A.

What is an international business?

A business that obtains most resources and customers from one country but also engages in some international trade or activity. Example from class: Lowe's.

What is a multinational business?

A business headquartered in one country that establishes corporate offices or a significant business presence in other countries. Examples: Coca-Cola and McDonald's.

What is a global business?

A business that operates and obtains resources across the world and serves customers internationally, without being limited to one national market. Example from class: FIFA.

What is a market system? Give an example.

A cluster of countries that engage in high levels of trade with one another. Example: the United States, Mexico, and Canada are connected through international trade.

What is GATT?

The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade: an international trade agreement designed to promote trade by reducing barriers and helping countries compete in international markets.

What is the WTO?

The World Trade Organization, established in 1995, which replaced the GATT framework and oversees international trade rules and negotiations among member countries.

What are the six cultural dimensions?

Power distance; long-term orientation; uncertainty avoidance; motivation toward achievement and success; individualism; indulgence.

What is power distance?

The degree to which a culture accepts unequal distributions of power among people.

What does the World Trade Organization do?

It administers international trade agreements, provides a forum for trade negotiations, helps resolve trade disputes, and oversees the rules governing trade among member countries.

What is the general environment?

The broad dimensions and forces surrounding an organization that create its overall context. These include economic, technological, sociocultural, political-legal, and international dimensions.

What is the task environment?

The specific organizations or groups that influence an organization, including competitors, customers, suppliers, strategic partners, and regulators.

What is a strategy?

A comprehensive plan for accomplishing an organization's goals.

What are the three components of a strategy?

Distinctive competence: an organizational strength that provides a competitive advantage. Scope: the range of markets in which an organization competes. Resource deployment: how a firm distributes resources across the areas in which it competes.

What is a SWOT analysis?

A method of scanning an organization's internal environment (strengths and weaknesses) and external environment (opportunities and threats).

What are the four components of a SWOT analysis?

Strengths: characteristics that distinguish an organization from competitors. Weaknesses: areas for improvement or practices to avoid. Opportunities: environmental conditions that may improve performance if exploited. Threats: environmental conditions that make high performance more difficult.

What are Porter's three generic strategies?

Differentiation: distinguishing products or services through unique features or quality; examples include Mercedes, Rolex, and Ghirardelli. Overall cost leadership: gaining an advantage by lowering costs below competitors; examples include Toyota, Nissan, and Honda. Focus: concentrating on a specific market, product line, or buyer group; example from class: Tesla's Cybertruck.

What is the Miles and Snow typology?

A framework describing four strategic approaches: Prospector, Defender, Analyzer, and Reactor.

What is the Prospector strategy?

Encourages creativity, innovation, and flexibility and is often decentralized. Example from class: Johnson & Johnson.

What is the Defender strategy?

Focuses on protecting existing markets, lowering costs, and improving the performance of current products. Examples from class: Coca-Cola and See's Candies.

What is the Analyzer strategy?

Maintains established businesses while pursuing some innovation in new products or markets. Example from class: Starbucks.

What is the Reactor strategy?

A strategy characterized by an inconsistent approach, with responses to changes in the environment rather than a clear, stable strategy. Example from class: Toys "R" Us.

What are the axes and stages of the product life cycle?

Y-axis: sales volume, from low to high. X-axis: time. Stages: Introduction, Growth, Maturity, and Decline.