Sunday, September 6, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Distinguish between "Formal" and 'Informal" communication. Describe the various directions in which formal communication can flow
- Formal communication flows through offical channels and goes through hierarchy. Any written communication falls under this category. e.g a work-order, a promotion letter etc
- Informal communication occurs within informal groups- social groups generated due to affinity, similar interests etc. Informal communication is a word-of-mouth communication in which information passed through people. Rumour is one kind of informal communication. It is also called "grapevine"
Directions of Formal communication Flow
Based on the direction of flow, communication can be classified into following four categories.
- Downward communication- in which a higher up communicates to his/her subordinates. e.g Principal to HOD
- Upward communication - in which a subordinate communicates with a higher up e.g. HOD sends a report to Dean/Principal
- Horizontal communication- in which employees of equal standing and grade communicate with each other. e.g. Academic dean communicates with Dean- Student welfare
- External Communication - in which enterprise or organization communicates with an outside agency e.g. college communicates with university,
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
What is the importance of Communication?
Define Communication. Describe the important steps involved in a communication Process
Communication is a process of exchanging information.
The information exchanged can be data, opinion, emotion, suggestion , order or feedback etc.
In the context of an organization communication is required to support directing and controlling
Steps involved in Communication process
- Sending (sender)
- message creation ( ideation)
- Encoding ( of message using language)
- transmitting ( using a medium)
- Receiver
- decoding
- Feedback
Friday, March 13, 2009
Define motivation. Describe its characteristcs
Nature or characteristics of Motivation
- Individual differ in their motivation
- Often Individuals may not be aware of their own motivations
- Motivation Changes
- Motivation are expressed differently
- motivation is complex
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Organizing: Define the term, “organisation”. Give its characteristics.
Organizing can be defined as a process of
- identifying and grouping the work the to be performed,
- defining and delegating responsibility and authority and
- establishing relationships for the purpose of enabling people to work most effectively together in accomplishing their objectives
Characteristics of an organization
Each organization has
- a purpose ( derived from mission)
- a clear concept of major duties or activities ( manufactring or marketing..)
- classification of activities ( marketing, accounting)
- establishing of relationship between these jobs ( hierarchy, ie superior-subordinate)
Monday, March 2, 2009
What are different roles of a Manager?
Role is an activity conducted by a manager or in which he or she takes participation. It is a set of behavioral expectations of related individuals or groups from a manager
Interpersonal
Figurehead
Leader
Liaison
Informational
Monitor
Disseminator
Spokesman
Decisional
Entrepreneur
Disturbance Handler
Resource allocator
Negotiator
Why are strategies important? Can an organisation be successful without effective strategies? How do policies differ from strategies?
Strategy is determining competitive course of action that provide some advantage over business rivals
In practice business can not survive without effective strategy. Sooner or later it must craft crucial strategies
Planning is essentially forward looking” Explain.
- what to do
- when to do
- How to do
- Who has to do
What do you understand by the term “ policy”? Explain the different types of policies and describe how policies are formulated.
A policy is a general guide line for decision-making. It sets up the limiting conditions for a decision-making process. It also provides directions
Types of Policies
- Originated policies
- Appealed policies
- Implied policies
- Externally imposed policy
Formulation of policy is done by top management by way of discussions considering the purpose and environments
Define objectives. Discuss the characteristics of business objectives. Why should objectives be verifiable ?
Objectives:
Objectives are concrete goals. They are time bound targets.
Characteristics of business objects
- Objectives are multiple in number
- objectives may be tangible or intangible
- objectives have priority
- objectives have hierarchy
- objectives often clash with each other
Why should objectives be verifiable ?
Objective should be verifiable because they help controlling and co-ordinating function management
Explain the advantages and limitations of planning. What should be done to overcome its limitations?
Limitations of Planning
- Planning is expensive and time consuming process
- Planning restricts the organization to only rational and risk-freee opportunties
- In a dynamic business enviroment planning process has limited scope
- Getting accurate planning premises is difficult
Overcoming limitations of planning process
- Build flexibilty into business planning to overcome rigidity by way of periodic reviews
- Use small teams and simple planning process to reduce cost of planning
Sunday, March 1, 2009
What are planning premises? Explain the classifications of planning premise.
The planning premise is a set of assumptions made about the environment during a planning process. There are mainly three category of planning premises
- Internal and external premises
- Tangible and intangible premises
- Controllable and n0n-controllable premises
Internal and external premises : Internal premise include assumptions made on factors that are pertinent to internal of the company such as policy, capital investment, competence of managers etc. External premise include assumptions about market, competition, technological changes government policy etc
- Tangible and intangible premises : Premises that can be verifiable are called tangible premises such as market demand, demographics . On the other hand factors such as political stability, economic environment are intangible premises
- Controllable and n0n-controllable premises : Factors that can be controlled by a company such as production capacity are said to be controllable premise. Factors such as tax policy or import policy are non-controllable premises
Discuss the importance of planning. If two football teams of equal ability are going to meet two weeks hence, which do you think will have the best ch
Importance of Planning
- It avoids risks and uncertainty- thinking carried out during planning anticipates risks and and finds round about measures to minimize them
- it leads to success- a planned venture is always better than one that is based on intuition
- it helps to focus on organizational goals- planning is all about determining business goals
- it facilitates controlling- provides basis for control measures
If two football teams of equal ability are going to meet two weeks hence, which do you think will have the best chance of winning: Team 1, which has scouted the other team and trained its players on Team 2’ s strengths and weaknesses, or Team 2 which has ignored its opponents?
In theory team 1 has more chance to win since it has planned for it
What is the nature and purpose of planning? Briefly explain the components of planning.
The Nature of planning
Planning is
- an intellectual process i.e the planner uses his/her experience, intellect, education in planning
- a decision-making process- generating choices, evaluating them, choosing one and committing
- a continuous process- planning has to be carried out in real-world- any change in real-world causes changes in planing process
- adopts principle of navigational changes- planning process accommodates changes in various forms such as modification, complete changes
Why planning is necessary?
Planning has the following benefits
- It avoids risks and uncertainty- thinking carried out during planning anticipates risks and and finds round about measures to minimize them
- it leads to success- a planned venture is always better than one that is based on intuition
- it helps to focus on organizational goals- planning is all about determining business goals
it facilitates controlling- provides basis for control measures
What is planning? What are the steps involved in it?
Planning is primary function in the management process. It is the first and foremost functions because it planning that leads to other functions of management. In simple term planning is about deciding
- what to do (determining action(s))
- when to do ( determines timing for those actions)
- how to to ( determining a method or approach)
- who has to do ( assigning the job)
What are the steps involved in it?
The following steps are generally involved in planning process
- Establishing set of goals to be achieved
- Establishing Planning premise
- Deciding the planning period or horizon
- Finding alternative course of actions
- Evaluating and selecting a course of action
- Measuring and controlling the implementation
What are the important features of a bureaucratic administration? Describe its dysfunction consequences.
What are the important features of a bureaucratic administration? Describe its dysfunction consequences.
The bureacratic school of management thought is based on the following 14 administrative principles.- Division of work
- Authority and responsibility
- Discipline
- Unity of Direction
- Unity of Command
- Centralization
- Order
- Remuneration
- Subordinating individual interest to group interest
- Scalar chain
- Equity
- Stability of tenure of personnel
- Initiative
- Esprit de corps (team spirit)
Dysfunctional consequences.
- Over conforming to rules
- Buck-passing
- Categorisation of queries
- Displacement of goals
- Neglect of informal groups
- Rigid structure
- Inability to meet the needs of mature individuals
What is the major task of management according to the contingency approach? How is this approach an effort to integrate all previous approaches?
Describe the system approach to management.
- Systems is combination of interlinked units
- Units work towards common goal - principle of holism
- systems can be either open or closed
- Systems have a boundary
Contribution of System Approach:
In traditional approach a part of the system is studied in isolation ignoring other components. In contrast a systems approach studies the subsystem and whole systems at the same time and understands system dynamics more comprehensively
Point out the distinctive contribution of Taylor to the theory of management. Why is he regarded as the father of Scientific Management?
Taylor was a mechanist and as such knew details about working conditions of employees and their attitude towards work. He was the first person to insist "systematic approach" towards organizing production work. He came out with following principles which is famously known as "Scientific Management"
- Time and Motion study
- Differential Payment
- Drastic reorganization of supervision
- Scientific recruitment of employees
- Intimate relation between employees and owners
Give a brief account of the contribution to management through made by Elton Mayo.
Contributions of Elton Mayo
- A Business system is a social system in addition to being a technical system
- Improved working conditions and productivity are correlated
- Worker output is determined by peer group
- Money has a limit as a motivating factor
- The informal groups is dominant unit in any organization
Briefly describe the general principles of management as laid down by Henri Fayol. Is this list exhaustive?
- Division of work
- Authority and responsibility
- Discipline
- Unity of Direction
- Unity of Command
- Centralization
- Order
- Remuneration
- Subordinating individual interest to group interest
- Scalar chain
- Equity
- Stability of tenure of personnel
- Initiative
- Esprit de corps (team spirit)
Mention the different schools of management. Discuss the contributions of the human behaviors schools.
- Classical consisting of Taylor, Foyal and Weber
- Human Relationship Movements consists of Elton Mayo, McGregor, Maslow
- Modern Approches consisting of Quantative Approach or Operation Research, System Approach and Contigency Approach
Contributions of Elton Mayo
- A Business system is a social system in addition to being a technical system
- Improved working conditions and productivity are correlated
- Worker output is determined by peer group
- Money has a limit as a motivating factor
- The informal groups is dominant unit in any organization
Are there any differences in planning, organizing, leading, controlling, and coordinating between a restaurant and a food-processing firm? Between a g
Are there any differences in planning, organizing, leading, controlling, and coordinating between a restaurant and a food-processing firm? Between a general hospital and a steel plant? And between a college and a recreation club?
Yes. since a restaurant and food-processing unit differ in their objectives , there is a difference in carrying out the basic functions of management.
For instance, hospitals, restaurant and college have to deal with people where as a steel plant and food-processing units mainly deal with machinery and production process
What do you understand by the universality concept of management ? critically examine the pros and cons of this concept.
By universality of management we mean that the principles of management are applicable in any human endeavour irrespective of its size, location etc
In other words, the challenge of chandrayana needs same set of management principles as the job of conducting general elections.
However, the exact implementation may be subject of local cultural aspects. For instance American decision making process insists of fast, top-down approach where as Japanese adopt bottom-up and consensus decision making approach
“Managers at all levels require some competence in each of the technical, human and conceptual skills, albeit with difference in emphasis.” Analyse t
“Managers at all levels require some competence in each of the technical, human and conceptual skills, albeit with difference in emphasis.” Analyse this statement with suitable examples from your work experience.
Management function pervades across the enterprise and works at all levels. However the position of an individual within the organization's hierarchy determines the nature and content of his or her managerial position
Management work demands skills in people. Skill is an ability to translate knowledge into action. The nature of skills needed depends on the work on hand and this itself depends on the level of management. In general three are three categories of skills expected.
Conceptual skills are expected from TOP management. Conceptual skills are those that understand business environments, opportunities that are emerging and conceptualise "business realities" into a business plan
Human Resources skills are those skills that help managers to get best out of their work force. These include among other things ability to understand people's motives, desires, expectations, tendencies, working styles and to get best performance from them. These skills are required by middle management.
Technical skills are those that help business produce products or services. These skills gained through professional education such as engineering or medicine.
Explain the principle functions of management. Would you attach different levels of importance to these functions at various levels of management?
Functions of management - General List
Planning - deciding what to do, when to do, how to do, and who has to do it
Organizing- giving Structure and staffing
Directing- motvating and leading
Controlling - setting goals and deadlines and monitoring progress
Functions of Management - an extended list by Luther Gulick
Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing, Co-ordinating, Reporting and Budgeting - POSDCORB
In addition above function, Ernest Dale has added the following functions
Innovation- converting an invention into economic value or business model
Representation - representing in various outside agencies
Management function pervades across the enterprise and works at all levels. However the position of an individual within the organization's hierarchy determines the nature and content of his or her managerial position. The lowest level of management is called first-line of management which consists of people such as foreman, sales executives etc. The next level of management is called middle-level management which consists of people such as production managers, process engineers etc. Middle management consists of a great bulk of any organization. The next level of management is called Top-Management which the highest powered group in a given organization. In case of a business top management consists of Board of directors, CEO, President etc.
What are the attributes of a profession? Is management a profession? Is it necessary for every business to have a professional management?
What are the attributes of a profession? Is management a profession? Is it necessary for every business to have a professional management?
Attributes of a Profession
- Existence of an organized and systematic knowledge
- Formalized methods of acquiring training and experience
- Existence of an professional association
- Existence of ethical code for professional conduct
- Charging of fees based on services
Management is also not a profession in the true sense of the word since entry into professional management does not require any formal qualification in management. This is in contrast to medical or law profession where basic qualification is a must.
Discuss the importance of Management in the present day world.
Management is a tool for achieving results. It is a disciplene concerned for enhancing human performance. Management implies skilful marshalling of the resources available to achieve goals set, within the constraints of all the resources available.
Human beings are capable of using language to communicate their desires or wants. Any such expressed wants can be met by others. Market is the place where one expresses a want or comes to know about existing or an emerging wants. Economics is the system concerned with production, demand, supply and consumption of human wants. A general term given for things that meet needs of humans is goods, services.
Business is a process of identifying new needs and building a system for developing products and services to satisfy those needs. Identifying new needs for the first time and converting that into a business is called entrepreneurship. Management is the process of supplying those goods and services on regular basis.
Management is getting things done through others.” Elaborate.
"Management is getting things done through others.” Elaborate.
The above definition of management in essence includes the purpose of management i.e. getting people do the work. It emphasizes the need and importance of joint-performance and common goals
However above definition is limited in its because it does not spell out what is the work and what does it consists of
Comment on the true nature of management. Is it a science or an art?
Management is a behavioural science and as such is not exact in its predictions. It is more like political science or psychology than physics. Management is also not a profession in the true sense of the word since entry into professional management does not require any formal qualification in management. This is in contrast to medical or law profession where basic qualification is a must.
Distinguish between management and administration. How far is this distinction justified in your opinion?
What is meant by the “management process”?
List the Functions of Management
Functions of management - General List
- Planning - deciding what to do, when to do, how to do, and who has to do it
- Organizing- giving Structure and staffing
- Directing- motvating and leading
- Controlling - setting goals and deadlines and monitoring progress
Functions of Management - an extended list by Luther Gulick
Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing, Co-ordinating, Reporting and Budgeting - POSDCORB
In addition above function, Ernest Dale has added the following functions
Innovation- converting an invention into economic value or business model
Representation - representing in various outside agencies
Define Management
Management is a tool for achieving results. It is a disciplene concerned for enhancing human performance. Management implies skilful marshalling of the resources available to achieve goals set, within the constraints of all the resources available.
Definitions of Management
- Management is the art of getting work done through people- Mary Follet
- Management is a process consisting of planning, organizing, actuating and controlling, performed to determine and accomplish the objectives by the use of people and resources- Terry
