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Management Roles, Responsibility and Skills > Business > Flashcards

Business Flashcards

1
Q

What is a manager?

A
  • Someone who sets goals and targets for a business. They use all resources available, particularly people to achieve the goals as efficiently as possible.
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2
Q

What are the four main elements that make up the responsibilities of a manager?

A
  • Planning
  • Reporting
  • Organising
  • Monitoring and evaluating
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3
Q

What is involved in the planning aspect of management?

A
  • Looking ahead with strategic plans about how the business will achieve its goals.
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4
Q

What will department plans need to do?

A
  • Fit with the strategic plan of the business and look at how the departments will work to achieve the overall goal of the business.
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5
Q

Give at least three examples of what planning duties might include.

A

At least three from:

  • Setting goals, targets and objectives.
  • Forecasting sales
  • Creating future production plans
  • Looking at future marketing actions and promotional campaigns.
  • Planning physical resource requirements.
  • Contingency planning.
  • Workplace planning
  • Financial planning
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6
Q

What is contingency planning?

A
  • Planning that forecasts and prepares for potential crises or emergency.
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7
Q

What is the ‘organising’ element of management about?

A
  • Bringing together a range of resources which ultimately allow the business to achieve its goals.
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8
Q

Give at least three examples of what resources the ‘organising’ element of management may bring together.

A

At least three from:

  • Staffing
  • Stock ordering
  • Paying suppliers
  • Day to day finance
  • Record keeping
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9
Q

Why do businesses aim to use the smallest number of resources possible?

A
  • To make the business as profitable and successful as possible.
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10
Q

What is the ‘monitoring and evaluating’ aspect of management about?

A
  • Monitoring the effectiveness of the business and evaluating the impact of business decisions.
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11
Q

What does the ‘monitoring and evaluating’ aspect of management include?

A
  • Reviewing performance e.g. staff absences, sales figures and spending.
  • Avoiding repetition of mistakes.
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12
Q

What does the ‘reporting’ aspect of management do?

A
  • Report about all aspects of the business.
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13
Q

What does the ‘reporting’ aspect of management involve?

Give at least two examples.

A
  • Providing important information such as annual reports and accounts or looking at budgeting.
  • Looking at market trends.
  • Monitoring employee performance in areas such as productivity, absenteeism, wage cost, training costs and health and safety.
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14
Q

What are the four main skills that managers will need?

A
  • Technical skills
  • Communication skills
  • Organisational skills
  • Interpersonal skills
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15
Q

What technical skills will managers need?

A
  • This is specific to the job role but all managers will need basic technical skills.
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16
Q

What technical skills will middle managers need?

Give at least one example.

A

At least one from:

  • Analytical skills
  • Problem solving skills
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17
Q

What technical skills will senior managers need?

A
  • Conceptual and strategic skills
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18
Q

What communication skills will managers need with regards to talking?

A
  • Articulate ideas
  • Convey enthusiasm
  • Being able to give their argument and be persuasive.
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19
Q

What are examples of communication skills that managers will need, additional to that of spoken skills?
Give at least two examples.

A

At least two examples from:

  • Listening
  • The ability to handle meetings - plan, attend (if needed), summarise and control time.
  • A second language
  • Reading skills
  • Written skills
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20
Q

Give at least two examples of organisational skills that managers will need.

A

At least two from:

  • Target setting - SMART and motivational
  • Planning workload
  • Time management
  • Creating effective teams
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21
Q

What interpersonal skills will managers need?

Give at least two examples.

A

At least two from:

  • Need to be able to work with people.
  • Need to motivate employees
  • Need to coordinate the work of employees
  • Need to solve disputes and prevent conflicts.
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22
Q

Who do managers need to be able to communicate with?

Give at least two examples.

A

At least two from:

  • Customers
  • Suppliers
  • Senior managers
  • Unions
  • The local community
  • Government officials
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23
Q

What do leaders do?

A
  • Help themselves and others to do the right things. They set direction and build an inspiring vision.
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24
Q

What do transactional leaders focus on?

A
  • Organisation, supervision and group performance.
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25
Q

What do transformational leaders focus on?

A
  • Change within the organisation.
26
Q

What is future disruptive change?

A
  • Change that is expected and mainly concerned with how technological systems are going to be put in place to make people’s lives easier.
27
Q

Additionally to technological systems, what is future disruptive change concerned with?

A
  • Changes in legislation such as changes in minimum and living wages.
28
Q

What is incremental change?

A
  • Change which takes place step by step and over a long period of time.
29
Q

What is step change?

A
  • Change that takes place rapidly and is often as a result of a dramatic change in the external business environment.
30
Q

Why should businesses have a structure?

A
  • Because all businesses should organise what they do and having a structure makes it easier for them to do this.
  • A clear structure makes it easier to see what each part of the business does.
31
Q

What factors will the organisational structure of a business depend on?
Give at least two examples.

A

At least two from:

  • The size of the business.
  • The type of business.
  • Management and leadership style.
  • The competitive environment.
32
Q

What structure will small businesses tend to take?

A
  • Flat hierarchal structures
33
Q

What structure will larger businesses tend to take?

A
  • More layers of hierarchy with more departments and functions.
34
Q

What happens to decision making in businesses with centralised structures?

A
  • This is kept firmly at the top of the hierarchy among the most senior management.
35
Q

What are the main advantages of centralised structures?

Give at least two examples.

A

At least two from:

  • It is easier to implement common practices and policies for the business as a whole.
  • It prevents other parts of the business from becoming too independent.
  • It is easier to control from the centre e.g with budgets.
  • Economies of scale and overhead savings are easier to achieve.
  • Decision making is usually quicker.
36
Q

What are the main disadvantages of centralised structures?

Give at least two examples.

A

At least two from:

  • More bureaucratic - there are often extra layers in the hierarchy.
  • Local or junior managers are likely to be much closer to customer needs.
  • Lack of authority down the hierarchy may reduce manager motivation.
  • Customer service does not benefit from flexibility and speed in local decision making.
37
Q

What happens to decision-making in businesses with decentralised structures?

A
  • Decision-making is spread out to include more junior managers in the hierarchy.
38
Q

Give at least two advantages of a decentralised business structures.

A

At least two from:

  • Decisions are made closer to the customer.
  • Businesses are better able to respond to local circumstances.
  • Improved level of customer service.
  • Consistent with aiming for flatter hierarchy.
  • This is a good way of training and developing junior management.
  • This should improve staff motivation.
39
Q

Give at least two disadvantages of decentralised business structures.

A

At least two from:

  • Decision-making is not necessarily strategic.
  • It is more difficult to ensure consistent practices and policies - customers might prefer consistency from location to location.
  • It is harder to achieve financial control. There is a higher risk of cost overruns.
40
Q

What does the matrix organisational structure do?

A

Combine traditional department seen in functional structures with project teams.

41
Q

What happens in a matrix structure?

A

Individuals working across teams and projects as well as within their own department or function.

42
Q

Give at least two advantages of a matrix business structure.

A

At least two from:

  • It can help breakdown traditional department barriers and improve communication across the entire organisation.
  • It can allow individuals to use particular skills within a variety of contexts.
  • It avoids the need for several departments to meet regularly therefore reducing costs and improving coordination.
  • It is likely to result in greater motivation amongst the team members.
  • It encourages cross-fertilisation of ideas across departments e.g. helping to share good practice and ideas.
  • It is a good way of sharing resources across departments which can make project more cost-
43
Q

Give at least two disadvantages of matrix business structures.

A

At least two from:

  • Members of the project teams that may have divided loyalties as they report to two line managers.
  • There may not be a clear line of accountability f or project teams given the complex nature of matrix structures.
  • They are difficult to coordinate.
  • It takes time from matrix team members to get used to working in this kind of structure.
  • Team members may neglect their functional responsibilities.
44
Q

What does the levels of hierarchy refer to?

A
  • The number of layers within an organisation.
45
Q

Complete the sentence:

Tall structures have ——- levels of hierarchy

A
  • Many
46
Q

What does a flat structure have in terms of hierarchy?

A
  • Few levels between staff and executives.
47
Q

What is the delayering?

A
  • A popular strategy used to remove one or more layers of hierarchy from organisational structure.
48
Q

What does delayering involve?

A
  • Increasingly average span of control of senior managers within the business.
49
Q

Get at least two advantages of delayering in terms of business structure.

A

At least two from:

  • It offers opportunities for better delegation, empowerment and motivation as the number of managers is reduced and more authority is passed down hierarchy.
  • It can improve communication with in the business as messages have to pass through fewer levels of hierarchy.
  • It can reduce departmental rivalry if department heads are removed and the workforce is organised more in teams.
  • It can reduce costs as fewer expensive managers are required.
  • It can encourage innovation.
50
Q

Give at least two disadvantages of delayering for businesses.

A

At least two from:

  • Not all organisations are suited to flatter organisational structures - mass production industries with low skilled employees may not adapt easily.
  • Delayering can have an negative impact on motivation due to job losses, especially if itIs really just an excuse for redundancies.
  • A period of disruption may occur as people take on new responsibilities and fulfil new roles.
51
Q

What did HERZBERG’S theory of motivation to suggest?

A
  • Workers are motivated to work harder by motivators such as more responsibility, more interesting work, more praise the good work.
  • Workers can become demotivated is hygiene factors are not met e.g. pay, working conditions, relationships with colleagues.
52
Q

What did VROOM’S theory of motivation suggest?

A
  • An employees performance is based on individual factors such as personality, skills, knowledge, experience and abilities.
  • Effort, performance and motivation are linked to a persons motivation.
53
Q

What did LOCKE’s theory of motivation suggest?

A
  • Goals need to be set in order to motivate rather than keeping outcomes general.
  • Goals must be specific and clear
  • An easy goal is demotivating but a good balance of challenge is good.
  • Employees have to you understand and buy into the goal from the outset.
  • Managers should provide regular feedback throughout the whole process and this will keep the goal on track.
  • Realistic timescales should be considered.
54
Q

What did MASLOW’S theory suggest?

A
  • There are five levels in a hierarchy of human needs that employees need to have filled at work.
  • Workers are motivated by having each level of the need met in order as they move up the hierarchy.
  • The levels of needs are physical, security, social, self-esteem, self-fulfilment.
  • Workers must have lower levels of needs met fully by a firm before being motivated by the next level.
55
Q

What is the acrymn for change management?

A

ADKAR

56
Q

Does the ADKAR acrynm ned to be used in order in order for change to take place?

A

Yes

57
Q

What does the A in the ADKAR acrymn stand for?

A

Awareness of the need for change.

58
Q

What does the D in the ADKAR acrymn stand for?

A

Desire to support and participate in the change.

59
Q

What does the K in the ADKAR acrymn stand for?

A

Knowledge of how to change.

60
Q

What does the A in the ADKAR acrymn stand for?

A

Ability to implement change.

61
Q

What does the R in the ADKAR acrymn stand for?

A

Reinforcement to sustain change.

Management Roles, Responsibility and Skills (1 decks)

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