2.3: Management

Question 1

Def. manager

Answer 1

Responsible for setting objectives, organising resources and motivating staff so that the organisation’s aims are met.

Question 2

What do managers do?

Answer 2

CPLOC
Coordinating - ensuring consistency between different parts of each firm
Planning - Setting objectives and preparations
Leading - directing and motivating staff
Organising - resources to meet the objectives
Controlling - managements by objectives to establish targets and measure performance.

Question 2

Def. Leadership

Answer 2

The art of motivating a group of people towards achieving a common objectives

Question 3

What are the four important leadership positions in business?

Answer 3

Directors
Managers
Supervisors
Worker’s representatives

Question 3

Autocratic- main features? drawbacks? possible applications?

3 1 1

Answer 3

Main features:
*Leaders make all decisions
*Gives little information to staff
*Supervises workers closely
*Only one way communication
Drawbacks:
*Demotivates staff who want to contribute and accept responsibility
Possible applications:
*Defence forces and police

Question 4

Democratic- main features? drawbacks? possible applications? (3 2 2)

Answer 4

Main features:
*Participation encouraged
*Two way communication
*Workers are informed about the business
Drawback:
*Time consuming
*The level of involvement with sensitive issues for eg. having put staff on redundancy.
Possible application:
*With an experienced and flexible workforce
*In situations that demand a new way of thinking or a new solution

Question 4

What are the four types of leadership styles?

Answer 4

Autocratic
Democratic
Paternalistic
Laissez-faire

Question 5

Paternalistic- main features? drawbacks? possible applications? ( 3 1 1)

Answer 5

Main features:
*Managers do what they think is the best for the workers
*There is no true participation in decision making, they always end up making the decision
*Managers want workers to be happy
Drawbacks:
*Some workers will be dissatisfied with not having any power or influence
Possible applications:
*When workers are young or inexperienced

Question 6

What are the Mintzberg’s 3 roles of management from interpersonal roles?

Answer 6

1) Interpersonal roles
*Figurehead: Symbolic leader of the organisation undertaking duties of social or legal nature eg. opening factories, giving important presentation.
*Leader: motivation subordinates; selection and training other managers/staff
*Liaison: Linking with managers and leaders of different divisions of organisations

Question 6

Laissez-faire- main features? drawbacks? possible application? (2 2 2)

Answer 6

Main features:
*Managers delegate nearly all authority and decision making powers.
*Very broad limits established for staff.
Drawbacks:
*Lack of structure may lead to loss of job security of employees
*The lack of feedback may be demotivating
Possible applications:
*When managers are too busy or lazy
*In research institutions for experts.

Question 7

What are Henry Mintzberg’s 3 groups of management roles?

Answer 7

Interpersonal roles - dealing with and motivating staff at all levels of organisation
Informational roles - acting as a source, receiver and transmitter of information
Decisional roles- taking decisions and allocating resources to meet the organisation’s objectives.

Question 8

What are the Mintzberg’s 3 roles of management from informational roles?

Answer 8

2) Informational roles
*Monitor (receiver): collecting data relevant to the business’s operations e.g attending seminars
*Disseminator: Sending information collected from external and internal sources e.g communicating with staff
*Spokesperson: Communicating information about the organisation to external stakeholders. e.g presenting reports to shareholders.

Question 9

What are the Mintzberg’s 4 roles of management from decisional roles?

Answer 9

3) Decisional roles
*Entrepreneur: looking for new opportunities to develop the business e.g encouraging new ideas
*Disturbance handler: responding to stimuli that may put the business at risk, and assuming responsibility for threatening factors develop e.g responding to new competitors.
*Resource allocator: Allocating financial, physical and human resources e.g drawing up budgets.
* Negotiator: representing the organisation in negotiations e.g with government

Question 10

What is McGregor’s Theory X?

Answer 10

Theory X: managers believe that workers dislike work, will avoid responsibility and are not creative. Leaders with this point of view tend to adopt autocratic style of management: have control, close supervision and no delegation of authority.

Question 11

What is McGregor’s Theory Y?

Answer 11

Theory Y: Managers believe that workers can derive as much enjoyment from work as from rest and play, will accept any responsibility and are creative to contribute ideas. Leader with this point of view tend to adopt democratic or laissez faire style of management and give power and authority.

Question 12

What does the best leadership style depend on?

Answer 12

Training and experience of the workforce and the degree of responsibility they are prepared to take on
the amount of time available for consultation and participation
The attitude of managers or management culture e.g have they always worked as autocratic managers.
The importance of issues when under consideration - how quickly decisions have to be made.

Question 13

Style of managements in A Level questions?

Answer 13

There is no RIGHT or WRONG style of managements, there is only an APPROPRIATE one.

Question 14

Def. Informal Leader

Answer 14

A person who has no formal authority but has the respect of colleagues and some power over them. They are people who can lead without formal power, perhaps because of their experiences, personality or knowledge.

Question 15

Def. Emotional intelligence (EI)

Answer 15

The ability of managers to understand their own emotions, and those of the people they work with, to achieve better business performance.

Question 16

What are the four main EI factors?

Answer 16

Self awareness- knowing what you feel is important and using that to guide decision making, having a realistic view of your abilities and having self confidence.
Self management- being able to recover quickly from stress, being trustworthy, having self control and showing initiative.
Social awareness- sensing what other people are feeling, being able to take their views into account and being able to get on with wide range of people.
Social skills- Understanding different social situations, being persuasive, being able to negotiate and lead.