3.2 managers & leadership

Question 1

roles of a manager

Answer 1

• set objectives
• analyse + review performances
• make decisions
• inspire + lead others

Question 2

leaders Vs managers

Answer 2

leaders:
~ look to the future
~ willing to break tradition + innovate
~ have a vision

managers:
- focus on present
- maintain things the way they are
implement the vision

Question 3

laissez faire leadership

Answer 3

• leaders are not part of the decision making process
• works best w highly motivated & able staff
• could lead to conflicts between members of staff over certain roles, leader also has no control over final product, decisions may take too long to be made

Question 4

authoritarian/ autocratic

Answer 4

• leader has full power/ control & makes all the decisions
• effective when there is a need for quick decisions to be made & staff need to be guided in right direction
• may be a problem w creative employees e.g. good ideas may be disregarded = leads to demotivation

Question 5

democratic leadership

Answer 5

• balance of leadership between group and leader
• increased employee engagement & motivation as they feel valued
• may demotivate employees if all opinions are not valued, longer time spent making decisions - not ideal for when you need to make quick decisions

Question 6

decentralisation

Answer 6

decision-making is spread out to include more managers in hierarchy

Question 7

factors used to make decisions

Answer 7

• experience & intuition
• scientific data
• hunch

Question 8

decision making using scientific data

Answer 8

pros
- decisions based on science and logical thinking
- more people involved in decision making process
- clear direction based on objectives and getting people involved in decision making

types of data:
real time data from loyalty schemes & card/mobile payment apps - based on transactions and preferences
real time changes in the market e.g. competitor price comparison

Question 9

using intitution & experience

Answer 9

• used by smaller businesses & those who have lots of experience

Question 10

using hunches

Answer 10

• used bcs of problems with scientific data e.g.
• too much data to be collected & time consuming
• data is flawed, unreliable

Question 11

potential risks of making the wrong decision

Answer 11

• could loose money or not make as much as expected
• negative impact on reputation
• could lose good staff if not successful or demotivate them
• could influence future decisions
• resources not used effectively

Question 12

potential rewards of making the right decision

Answer 12

• make more money than anticipated
• improve reputation
• attract good staff & motivate them in the future
• future business from potential customers

Question 13

key influences on decisions

Answer 13

1. business objectives
2. organisational structure - who makes these decisions
3. attitude to risk - business culture
4. availability + reliability of data
5. external environment - changes fast

Question 14

opportunity cost

Answer 14

giving up an option at the expense of the other, measures the cost in terms of the next best forgone

Question 15

decision tree calculations + symbols

Answer 15

expected value = ( prob x estimated value 1) + ( prob x estimated value 2)
net gain = expected value - initial cost
squares - decisions
circles - uncertain outcomes

Question 16

what is a stakeholder

Answer 16

person or group who have an interest in the business and its performance e.g. employees, owners, community, customers, govn, suppliers, shareholders, creditors

Question 17

stakeholder mapping

Answer 17

high power + interest = manage closely e.g. owners, managers
-high power, low interest - keep satisfied e.g. shareholders have high power but little interest in day 2 day running of business
- high interest low power = keep informed - employees
- low interest + low power = monitor - competitors

Question 18

how do you manage the relationship between internal & external stakeholders

Answer 18

using a combo of communication + consultation
communication = transfer of information between people
consultation = talking to interested parties to explain developments + issues to gather views and ideas which can contribute to communication process

Question 19

pros + cons of stakeholder mapping

Answer 19

+ can be used to see who is influenced by business + the relationships between them
+ can be used to help improve relationships w stakeholders + prevent potential problems from arising btwn stakeholders & the business
+ can help to make major decisions + publish information

• not useful when there are only a few stakeholders or too many as there may be conflicting interests
• it is only a suggestion not a solution to long term problem