Core Management, Leadership, and Operations Review

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering management vs. leadership, motivation theories, quality management, workforce skills strategies, appraisal formats, and communication channels.

Management

The 'head' of an organization involving planning, organising, budgeting, controlling, and delegating.

Leadership

The 'heart' of an organization focused on inspiring, motivating, setting a vision, and aligning people.

Autocratic Leadership

A top-down decision-making style best suited for crises or unskilled workers, often resulting in high turnover.

Democratic Leadership

A consultative leadership style that creates high motivation but slows down decision-making.

Laissez-faire Leadership

A hands-off leadership style best for highly skilled or creative teams, carrying a risk of chaos.

Transformational Leadership

A leadership style characterized by being visionary and inspiring change.

Transactional Leadership

A routine-focused leadership approach based on a reward and punish system.

Scientific Management (Taylor)

A motivation theory asserting that workers want money, recommending piece-rate pay and close supervision.

Human Relations (Mayo)

A motivation theory asserting that workers want social contact, teamwork, and management attention.

Hierarchy of Needs (Maslow)

A motivation model progressing through Biological, Safety, Social, Esteem, and Self-Actualisation, where steps cannot be skipped.

Hygiene Factors (Herzberg)

Workplace elements such as pay and working conditions that only prevent employee anger rather than actively driving hard work.

Motivators (Herzberg)

Workplace factors such as achievement and responsibility that actively drive hard work.

TQM (Total Quality Management)

A quality management approach based on the principle that quality is everyone's job, targeting zero defects.

Kaizen

A quality management philosophy centered on continuous, daily small improvements.

Lean Production

A production methodology aimed at eliminating waste in the forms of time, materials, and motion.

Recruitment

A strategy to bring in fresh talent that injects new skills immediately, though it is expensive due to advertising and agencies.

Upskilling / Training

Training existing staff to build loyalty at a lower cost, which requires time and causes short-term downtime.

Outsourcing

Paying external firms to handle specific operations (such as IT or payroll), which reduces fixed wage costs but causes a loss of direct quality control.

On-the-job Training

Instruction via shadowing, mentoring, or coaching at the workstation; it is cheaper and highly job-relevant, but bad habits can pass down and trainer output slows.

Off-the-job Training

Instruction through college courses, external seminars, or online modules away from work; taught by experts with fresh ideas, but involves high fees and worker absence.

Formative Appraisal

Ongoing performance feedback (such as monthly 1-on-1s) designed to improve an employee's work as they go.

Summative Appraisal

A major annual review comparing employee performance against set KPIs to determine pay or promotions.

360-Degree Feedback

A performance review method gathering evaluations from peers, subordinates, and managers to give a complete picture, though it risks turning personal.

Vertical Communication

Information flow travelling up and down the chain of command, such as from a director down to a worker.

Horizontal Communication

Information exchange between employees at the same organizational level, such as between a Marketing Manager and a Finance Manager.

Delegation

Passing tasks down to subordinates, freeing management time and motivating workers, but carrying a risk of task failure if the employee is poorly trained.

Tactical Decision-Making

Short-term, day-to-day fixes applied to immediate operational needs, such as finding a temporary supplier.

Strategic Decision-Making

Long-term, high-risk choices that alter an organization's direction, such as moving to automated production.