Management Principles: Ethics, Decision Making, Planning, Structure, and Design

Flashcards covering Ethical Theories, the Decision-Making Process (Chapter 4), Organizational Planning (Chapter 5), Organizational Structure (Chapter 6), and Organizational Design (Chapter 7).

What is the primary focus of normative ethical theories?

Focuses on what people ought to do and determining moral standards for right and wrong behavior.

How are descriptive ethical theories defined?

Theories focusing on what people do or the ethical quandaries people face.

What are traditional ethical theories grounded in?

They are grounded in modernism and the Enlightenment, representing a normative and absolutist approach.

What are contemporary ethical theories grounded in?

They are grounded in postmodernism and tend to use a descriptive situational approach where what is true can vary depending on the situation.

What is the fundamental difference between consequentialist and non-consequentialist ethical theories?

Consequentialist theories base moral judgment on the outcome or consequences of an action, while non-consequentialist theories base moral judgments on actions or ethical agents' choices.

How does utilitarianism determine whether an action is morally right?

An action is morally right if it results in the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people affected by the action.

What is the core principle of egoism?

An action is morally right if it is in the self-interest of the ethical agent.

How does hedonism define moral rightness?

It states pleasure or happiness is the sole good, and an action is morally right if it produces the greatest amount of pleasure or happiness.

How does deontological ethics determine if an action is morally right?

An action is morally right if it conforms with the ethical agent's duties.

What constitutes a morally right action under agent's virtue ethics?

An action is morally right if it conforms with the development of the ethical agent's moral character.

What determines moral rightness according to ethical relativism?

An action is morally right if it conforms with society's standards.

According to postmodern ethics, when is an action considered morally right?

An action is morally right if the ethical agent believes it is right.

What occurs during Step 1 (Define the problem) of the decision-making process?

The manager identifies the issue that needs to be addressed.

What occurs during Step 2 (Identify limiting factors) of the decision-making process?

The manager determines what constraints confine or limit their options.

What occurs during Step 3 (Develop potential alternatives) of the decision-making process?

The manager asks what options should be considered given the constraints.

What are the three criteria managers use to analyze alternatives in Step 4 of decision making?

Feasibility (can it be done), effectiveness (to what extent will this option solve the problem), and consequences (what are the financial and non-financial costs to the organization).

What takes place during Step 5, Step 6, and Step 7 of the decision-making process?

Step 5: Select the best alternative (managers choose the option to implement); Step 6: Implement the decision (organization executes the decision); Step 7: Establish a control and evaluation system (managers determine how the plan will be monitored and assessed).

What is a plan according to Chapter 5?

A blueprint for goal achievement that specifies the necessary resource allocations, schedules, tasks, and other actions.

How is planning defined, and what primary opportunity does it provide to managers?

Determining the organization's goals and defining the means for achieving them, allowing managers the opportunity to adjust to the environment instead of merely reacting to it.

What are the characteristics, time horizon, and target management level of strategic planning?

It is the overall game plan for the organization without many details (painting the picture), spans $5\text{--}10\text{ years}$, and is handled by the C-Suite (CEOs and higher-ups).

What are the characteristics, time horizon, and target management level of tactical planning?

Identifying the specific steps needed to pursue the organization's strategy, covering $1\text{--}3\text{ years}$, and managed by department, division, or functional managers.

What are the characteristics, time horizon, and target management level of operational planning?

The process of determining what a manager needs to do to accomplish job responsibilities, spanning less than $1\text{ year}$, and performed by front-line or project managers.

What is contingency planning?

Identifying alternative courses of action that can be implemented if and when the original plan proves inadequate because of changed circumstances.

What are the three barriers to planning listed in the lecture?

1. Lack of commitment to planning process, 2. Incomplete/Inferior information, and 3. Concentrating on controllable variables.

What are the five steps to organizing the organization outlined in Chapter 6?

1. Trevor plans and objectives (clear understanding of what to achieve and how), 2. Determine work activities necessary to accomplish objectives, 3. Classify and group work activities into manageable units, 4. Assign activities and delegate authority, and 5. Design a hierarchy of relationships.

What are the four models of departmentalization used to classify and group work activities?

Functional, geographical, product, and customer.

What is work specialization?

The degree to which organizational tasks are divided into separate jobs.

How is the chain of command defined?

An unbroken line of authority that links every individual in the organization and defines who reports to who.

What is authority within an organization?

The formal and legitimate right of a manager to make a decision on behalf of the organization.

What is delegation?

The downward transfer of authority from manager to subordinate.

What does span of control refer to?

The number of employees that report to one manager.

What is the difference between decentralization and centralization?

Decentralization spreads authority to the lowest level possible, while centralization concentrates authority to the highest level possible.

What is an organizational chart?

The visual representation of the organization's reporting structure.

What distinguishes formal organization from informal organization?

Formal organization refers to relationships represented by the organizational chart, whereas informal organization refers to relationships that exist outside of the chart.

What is the definition of organizational design?

The process of changing the organizational structure.

What are the key characteristics of a mechanistic structure (bureaucracy)?

A formal framework of authority carefully outlined and precisely followed, featuring clearly specified tasks, precise definitions of rights and obligations, clearly defined line and staff positions with formal relationships, and formal communication throughout.

What are the key characteristics of an organic management system?

Founded on cooperation and knowledge-based authority, featuring roles that are not highly defined, continually redefined tasks, decentralized control, fast decision making, and informal patterns of delegation and communication.

What four factors affect organizational design?

1. Organizational size (number of employees), 2. Organizational life cycle (stage of progress), 3. Environment (stable vs. dynamic external forces), and 4. Technology (changes in how things get done).

What is a functional organizational design?

An organizational design in which employees are grouped based on a shared area of specialization.

What is a divisional organizational design, and what are its three forms?

A design where employees are grouped based on common characteristics other than function, including Product (product or product lines), Customer (type of customer served), and Geography (region or country served).

What is a matrix organizational structure?

A hybrid structure where an employee is assigned a permanent, usually functional manager and another temporary manager outside of their normal reporting relationship.

What is a team structure in organizational design?

A structure in which an employee is assigned to a manager for the purpose of accomplishing an objective, and when finished, assigned to a new manager.

What is a network structure in organizational design?

A structure in which a company concentrates on an area of poor confidence and partners with other companies to achieve other business functions.