Principles of Management

Flashcards about Principles of Management

What is the purpose of organizing in management?

To create structures, divide up the work, arrange resources, and coordinate activities.

What are the other management functions that relate to organizing?

Planning, leading, and controlling.

Define an organization, as related to organizing.

A cooperative social system involving the coordinated efforts of two or more people pursuing a shared purpose.

What does organizing as a management function involve?

Arranging people and resources to work together to accomplish a goal.

What is meant by organization structure?

The system of tasks, reporting relationships, and communication linkages.

List the importance of organizing.

Specialization, well-defined jobs, clarity of authority, coordination, attainment of goals, authority and responsibility, facilitates staffing, establishment of communication channels, effective administration, growth and diversification, sense of security, scope for new changes.

What are the characteristics of formal organizations?

Has its own rules and regulations, a system of coordination, a system of authority-structure, a clear superior-subordinate relationship, members are given specific duties and responsibilities.

Give examples of formal organizations.

A company, a university, a college, a bank, etc.

Define informal structures.

The set of unofficial relationships between organization members.

What is social network analysis?

Identifies informal structures and social relationships in the organization.

Where do informal organizations exist?

Within the formal organization.

Describe informal organizations.

A network of personal and social relationships where people meet, interact regularly, work, travel, and eat together, forming friendships and companionship.

List potential disadvantages of informal structures.

May work against the best interests of the entire organization, susceptibility to rumor, may carry inaccurate information, may breed resistance to change, diversion of work efforts from important objectives, feeling of alienation by outsiders.

How is organizational structure (OS) defined?

The set of formal tasks assigned to individuals and departments, the formal reporting relationships, and the design of systems to ensure effective coordination of employees across departments.

According to Mintzberg, what is an organization structure?

The sum total of the ways in which the enterprise divides its labour into distinct tasks and achieves coordination among them.

What purpose should an organisation structure be designed for?

Determine relationship between functions and positions, subdivides and delegate roles, responsibilities and authority to perform defined tasks, clarifying the work environment, removing obstacles to performance, furnishing a decision-making communications network.

List organizing objectives.

Specialization, Coordination and Control.

Define specialisation.

The division of organisational activities into tasks, jobs and functions.

What three criteria satisfies core competencies?

Potential access to a wide variety of matters, significant contribution to the perceived benefit of the end product(s), ideally, a core competence should be difficult for a competitor to imitate.

What does coordination ensure?

That people and resources grouped into discreet functions work together to accomplish organisational goals.

What is coordination synonymous with today?

Integration.

What is essentially integration?

Conflict resolution- harmonisation of interests and goals.

What two essential elements does a control system require?

A power base and a control mechanism.

Define centralisation.

Decision-making is either carried out by a centralised authority before it is implemented.

What does formalisation relate to?

Regulations, policies, rules and procedures that provide guidelines, objectives and goes.

What are cultural controls?

The shared values and norms that guide decision-making.

According to Mintzberg, what are the contingency factors?

Age and size, technical systems, power, the environment, human resources.

Which factors affect Organizational Structure?

Strategy, Environment, Organizational Technology, Age and Size, Human Resources.

List the stages of Organisation life cycle

Birth stage, Growth stage, Maturity and Decline Stage.

What are the elements of the Birth Stage within the Organisation life cycle?

Size small, Bureaucratic nonbureaucratic, Division of Labour overlapping tasks, Centralization one-person rule, Formalization no written rules, Administrative intensity no professional staff and Internal Systems nonexistent.

What are the elements of the Growth stage within the Organisation life cycle?

Size large, Bureaucratic bureaucratic, Division of Labor many departments, Centralization two department heads, Formalization policy & procedures, Administrative intensity increasing professional & staff support and Internal Systems control systems in place budget, performance reports.

What are the elements of the Maturity Stage within the Organisation life cycle?

Size very large, Bureaucratic very bureaucratic, Division of Labour extensive, with small jobs and many descriptions, Centralization top management heavy, Formalization extensive.Administrative intensity large-multiple departments and Internal Systems extensive planning, financial and personnel added.

Why are changes difficult to implement in older, larger organisations?

The older and larger an organisation the more standardised will be its behaviour, policies and procedures.

How does technical system affect the organisational structure?

The more a technical system controls the work force, the more standardised will be the operating system and, bureaucratic is the organisational structure.

Define Power.

The capacity of an individual or group to influence decisions or effect organisational outcomes.

What are the five sources of power?

Reward power, Legitimate power, Coercive power, Expert power and Referent power.

How is environment defined?

All factors external to an organisation’-STEEPLE factors.

Mechanistic Designs

Predictable goals, Centralized authority, Many rules and procedures, Narrow spans of control, Specialized tasks, Few teams and task forces and Formal and impersonal means of coordination

Organic Designs

Adaptable goals, Decentralized authority, Few rules and procedures, Wide spans of control, Shared tasks, Many teams and task forces and Informal and personal means of coordination

When is there need of a flexible structure?

A differentiation strategy or Increased vertical integration or diversification.

What does the final factor affecting organisational structure pertains to?

Human resources. Higher skilled workers who need to work in teams usually need a more flexible structure.

List the five building blocks of organising that managers can use in constructing an organisation:

Designing jobs; Grouping jobs (Departmentisation); Establishing authority relationships; Establishing reporting relationships; Coordinating activities.

Define Job Design

The determination of an employee’s work-related responsibilities.

Define Specialisation

The degree to which the task is broken down into small units to take advantage of specialised knowledge.

State the methods of Optimising Job Design

Job simplification: reduction of the tasks each worker performs; Job enlargement: increase tasks for a given job to reduce boredom; Job rotation-broadens one’s view of different tasks and Job enrichment: increases the degree of responsibility a worker has over a job.

List the five characteristics of the job characteristics model

Skill variety, Task identity, Task significance, Autonomy and Feedback.

List the functions that exists in a functional structure

Marketing, production, human resource and finance departments.

State the three major types of traditional organizational structures

Functional, Divisional and Matrix.

State the types of departmentation

Departmentation by function, Departmentation by product-service, Departmentation by geography/territory, Departmentation by customer, Departmentation by process and Matrix structure.

In departmentation by function, how are job positions combined?

Into units based on the similarity of expertise, skill and work activities.

What culture related issues are seen in disadvantages by departmentation by function?

May suffer from monoculture and group think.

Define Divisional structures

Group together people who work on the same product or process, serve similar customers, and/or are located in the same area or geographical region

State Potential Advantages by divisional structure

More flexibility in responding to environmental changes, Improved coordination, Clear points of responsibility, Expertise focused on specific customers, products, and regions and Greater ease in restructuring

State Potential Disadvantages by divisional structure

Duplication of resources and efforts across divisions; Competition and poor coordination across divisions and Emphasis on divisional goals at expense of organizational goals

When is the structure departmentation by product-service used?

Used in relatively large organisations where there are significant differences among products or services.

When is the structure departmentation by product-service used?

Used for organisations with nationwide or worldwide markets.

What is matrix structure

Combines functional and divisional structures to gain advantages and minimize disadvantages of each

State matrix structures Potential advantages.

Better cooperation across functions, Improved decision making, Increased flexibility in restructuring, Better customer service, Better performance accountability and Improved strategic management

State matrix structures Potential disadvantages.

Two-boss system is susceptible to power struggles; Two-boss system can create task confusion and conflict in work priorities; Team meetings are time consuming; Team may develop “groupitis ” and Increased costs due to adding team leaders to structure

Define Team structures

Extensively use permanent and temporary teams to solve problems, complete special projects, and accomplish day-to-day tasks

State Possible advantages of team structures

Eliminates difficulties with communication and decision making; Eliminates barriers between operating departments; Improved morale; Greater sense of involvement and identification and Increased enthusiasm for work

State Possible disadvantages of team structures

Conflicting loyalties among members; Excessive time spent in meetings; Effective use of time depends on quality of interpersonal relations, group dynamics, and team management.

Define Organisation chart

Visual display of an organisation’s positions and lines of authority.

What do organisation chart shows?

Division of labour; Show relative authority in the organisations; Departmentisation; Span of control; Levels of management; Coordination centre and Communication channel

State establishments found in establishing reporting relationships

A chain of command that is clear and with distinct line of authority enhances organisation performance.

State establishments found in establishing authority relationships

This entails the creation of organisational relations, that is, stipulating the persons from whom subordinates receive instructions.
• To whom they report,
• To whom and for what they are responsible

Define Responsibility

The duty to perform the task or activity as assigned.

Define Authority

The right to command or to give orders.

Define Span of Control (SC)

A SC is the number of people who report to one manager in a hierarchy.

Advantages of a Narrow Span

A narrow span of control allows a manager to communicate quickly with the employees, Feedback of ideas from the workers will be more effective and Less management skill required.

Advantages of the Wider Span

There are less layers of management to pass a message through, so the message reaches more employees faster and It costs less money to run a wider span of control because a business does not need to employ as many managers

Wide determination of the Span of Control

The type of product being made and Skills of managers and workers.

Define Chain of Command

Chain of command is the line on which orders and decisions are passed down from top to bottom of the hierarchy.

What happens if overly narrow spans?

Creates unnecessarily tall organisations with Over supervision, long lines of communication, slow, multilevel decision making, limited initiative due to minimal delegation of authority, restricted development among managers

What happens if overly wide spans?

Can erode efficiency and Inflate costs due to workers’ lack of training and Behavioural problems among inadequately supervised workers.

What factors depends in the number of subordinates a superior can manage?

Qualification, skills, expertise, experience, motivation and competence of both the manager and the employee, Similarity of work performed by subordinates, Complexity of work performed by subordinates and Direction and control required by subordinates

Coordination activities

Integration, Harmonization and goal congruence

Define Coordination

The process of integrating the activities of separate departments

State Approaches to achieving effective coordination

Communication, Using basic management techniques, Boundary spanning Reducing the need for coordination and Providing additional resources gives units a leeway to meet each other’s units

How is Power defined by Weber

The probability of one actor within a social relationship to be in a position to carry out his/her own will without resistance

The bases of Sources of Power

Reward power, Legitimate power, Referent power, Expert power, Information power and Coercive power.

Define Authority

Therefore revolves around obtaining the right to perform certain actions within the specified guidelines, to decide who does what, to demand the completion of tasks and discipline those who fail to do what the organisation expects of them.

Define Delegation

Is the process of assigning task activities and corresponding authority to specific individual (s) within an organisation.

State Three Steps in Delegation: Steps in the Delegation Process

Assign responsibility – explain task and expectations; Grant authority – allow others to make decisions and act and Create accountability – require others to report back on results

State Advantages of Delegation

Delegation leads to a quicker action; Delegation is an important facet of training and developing personnel and Delegation may lead to higher levels of motivation.

State factors associated to Barriers of Delegation in Superiors

Lack of confidence in subordinates and subordinates, If supervisors are insecure in their job and Lack of experience in delegating.

State factors associated to Barriers of Delegation in Subordinates

Preferring to be dependent on the boss and Lack of trust in the superior and Aversion to risk taking.

State points for Eliminating Barriers to Delegation

Establishment of clear objectives for subordinates and A balance of trust and the need for control.

Define Centralization

Is the concentration of authority for making most decisions at the top levels of the organization

Define Decentralization

Is the dispersion of authority to make decisions throughout all levels of the organization

State Advantages of Centralisation

Easier to coordinate the activities and Decisions and policies are consistent with the organisation’s goals.

State Advantages of Decentralisation

Relieves top managers to concentrate on more strategic issues and Provides a major source of motivation.