4. Managing People Performance Flashcards
What is the psychological contract?
The unwritten agreement between an employee and their employer that describes the informal commitments, expectations and understanding that make up their relationship.
What are the commitments on the part of the employee in regards to the psychological contract?
To be honest, work hard, be loyal and develop their skills.
What are the commitments on the part of the employer in regards to the psychological contract?
To treat employees with respect, to provide job security, to give opportunity for development and promotion
What is power?
The ability to get something done
What are the 5 categories of power?
- Legitimate (position)
- Referent (charisma)
- Expert (skill)
- Reward
- Coercive (penalise)
What is authority?
The right to do something
What are the 3 categories of authority?
- Traditional
- Rational-Legal
- Charismatic
What is delegation?
The passing of authority to another party but NOT the responsibility
What are the 4 types of delegation?
- Consultation
- Explanation
- Abdication
- Custom and practise
What are Koontz and O’Donnell’s 3 conditions for effective delegation?
- Clear definition of subordinates authority
- Evidence of sufficient competence
- Not constantly checking on the subordinate
What is responsibility?
The obligation an individual has to fulfil a task that they have been given
What is accountability?
The holding of an individual to account for the completion of tasks allocated to them
What is empowerment?
Transferring power to those actually involved in completing a task and giving the freedom to make decisions
What are 5 interlinking initiatives that often happen alongside empowerment?
- Flexibility
- Reduced Hierarchy
- Fewer middle managers
- Reduced Bureaucracy
- Willingness to embrace trust and less control
What is bureaucracy?
Where power is defined precisely by the rules that governs actions, with formal processes and hierarchies
What did Weber state about Bureaucracy?
It is inevitable as companies grow
What is Fayol’s theory of management? (5 functions)
- Planning
- Organising
- Commanding
- Co-ordinating
- Controlling
What was Taylor’s theory of management?
Scientific - every task had a scientific, best way to do it and a best person for the job
What was Trist and Bamforth’s contribution to management theory?
Findings that showed that Taylorism lead to individuals being ignored, poor communication and bad feelings towards management
What was Mayo’s contribution to management theory?
The ‘Hawkthorne’ effect where people have a change in behaviour or performance with increased attention
What is the contingent theory classification of management theories?
There is no best way, and the effectiveness of management practices will be determined by the circumstances in which they operate in
What was Burns and Stalkers contribution to management theory?
Drew a distinction between mechanistic and organic organisation
What are the 3 roles Mintzberg defined for a manager?
- Interpersonal (Figurehead, Leader, Liaison)
- Informational (Monitoring environment, spokesperson, disseminator)
- Decisional (Entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator, negotiator)
What is the original, but now relatively defunct, theory of leadership?
Trait Theories
What was Adair’s theory of leadership?
The most important task of a manager will depend on the situation the manager faces. Effective leadership depends on identifying the priority at a particular time and taking action to deal with the priority
What was Fiedler’s theory of leadership?
A leaders effectiveness is based on situational contingency that is a result of two factors, known as ‘leadership style’ and ‘situational control’
When is a leader with a human relations (high LPC score) orientation useful?
When:
1. Leader-member relations are good
2. The task is unstructured
3. Position power is weak
When is a leader with a task orientation useful?
In a crisis/uncertain situation, where the leader-member relation is poor, the task is unstructured and the position power is weak
What was Hershey and Blanchard’s contribution to leadership theory?
The manager-subordinate relationship is based on three main issues:
- Task behaviour
- Relationship behaviour
- Level of maturity
What are Hershey and Blanchard’s 4 levels of maturity?
- M1 (lack the skills for the job and unwilling to take responsibility)
- M2 (lack the skills but willing to try)
- M3 (have the skills, but not confident to take responsibility)
- M4 (willing and able to do the task and have confidence to take on responsibility)
What are Hershey and Blanchard’s 4 leadership styles?
- Telling (for M1 maturity)
- Selling (for M2 maturity)
- Participating (for M3 maturity)
- Delegating (for M4 maturity)
What was Bennis’ contribution to leadership theory?
The key to competitive advantage is the organisation’s capacity to create an environment capable of generating intellectual capital
What are Bennis’ 7 qualities of a good leader?
- Technical Competence
- Conceptual Skill
- Track Record
- People Skills
- Taste
- Judgement
- Character
What does Bennis’ state are the 4 things followers need from a leader?
- Meaning or direction
- Trust in and from the leader
- A sense of hope and optimism
- Results
What are the two elements in Blake and Moulton’s managerial grid?
- Concern for people
- Concern for task
What are the 5 points in Blake and Moulton’s managerial grid?
- Country Club
- Impoverished
- Middle of the Road
- Team
- Task Manager
What are the 4 criticisms of Blake and Moulton’s managerial grid?
- High concern for staff is not necessarily ideal
- Difficult to place managers accurately on the grid due to perception
- Behaviour may be difficult to change
- May be useful to assign managers with different and complementary strengths to a team
What is the Transactional leadership view? (Burns)
Manager-Subordinate relationships are transactions
What is the Transformational leadership view? (Boyd)
Managers should inspire and motivate subordinates to provide more than basic service and compliance. Useful when there is significant change
What is distributed leadership?
Distributed leadership advocates leadership at all levels in the organisation, not just at the top
What were Skryme’s two principles in relation to leading in virtual companies?
- Culture Issues (need for mutual support and high trust)
- Practical Matters
What are the 5 fundamental principles of the IFAC code that leaders should follow?
- Confidentiality
- Integrity
- Professional Behaviour
- Objectivity
- Professional Competence and Due Care
What are the 5 personal qualities required of an accountant?
- Courtesy
- Timeliness
- Reliability
- Responsibility
- Respect
What are the 4 professional qualities required of an accountant?
- Scepticism
- Accountability
- Social Responsibility
- Independence
