Business Management Exam Notes Term 2 Flashcards
Management
the process of co-ordinating all resources (physical, human, financial, information) to achieve business goals
Effectiveness
“good” decision making - achievement of business goals and objectives
Efficiency
maximising output and minimising inputs -relationship between inputs & outputs OR how well resources are used in production
Stakeholder
Any person who has interest in business or affected by the business’s activities eg. employees, customers, competitors, the environment
A goal
desired outcome (target) individual or business intends to achieve within a certain time frame
Mentoring
process of developing another individual by offering coaching and modelling acceptable behaviour (being a role model)
Chain of command
how instructions are passed from one person to another
Division of labour
each worker is to specialise and become an expert/professional in ONE area of the business
Span of control
the number of subordinates who report directly to a manager or leader, the more employees assigned to a manager, the wider their span of control
Autocratic Leadership
a style of management using instructions and commands, jobs/tasks dictated by managers, little freedom of staff, expected obedience and close supervision of all work activities
Bureaucratic System
rules and regulations are established that all employees must comply with/follow
Pyramidal and Hierarchical Management Structure
a formal organisation of jobs into functional areas with clearly defined top-to-bottom management levels/ranks
Democratic and Participative Leadership
style of management where employees take part, discuss and share the decision-making role with management. Staff input and knowledge are encouraged.
An autonomous workplace
staff are given more responsibility, flexibility, freedom and opportunity to complete jobs/tasks as they see best. This means less monitoring by managers.
Job rotation
management encourages multi-skilling to avoid staff becoming bored of repetitive jobs/tasks
Flatter Management Structure
not as hierarchical, as there are fewer management levels due to closer relations and communication systems between managers and workers.
Contingency
is something that can happen but is not anticipated -> Business environment is dynamic (i.e. constantly changing)
Functional structure
operations are organised according to the business functions and employees are grouped according to their specialist skills e.g. marketing, production, human resources, accounting and finance. Often used by larger businesses and manufacturers.
Product structure
large businesses may have several product lines with specific skills needed for each product line e.g. Car manufacture with multiple models built different ways
Process structure
the functions of the business support operations in producing the product by informing them on customer needs, labour available and finance
Geographic structure
each division performs its own business functions in different geographic locations. It is often used by transnational corporations e.g. Coca-Cola Amatil is separate to Coca-Cola USA
Matrix structure
for businesses working on several projects where specialists work on one area of the firm before moving onto the next e.g. research and development work on cars, then aeroplanes, then boats and once they have finished each, operations commences its tasks.
Interdependence
mutual dependence that exists between the key business functions of a business
Outsourcing
is when a business pays another business to perform or carry out a particular function. Eg. Production, marketing, recruiting staff, cleaning, catering
++++++ for: Insufficient labour and capital resources to carry out a task, The b. may not have the skill level to do the task.
———– against: Job losses within the b. = poor public image, Quality may be inferior resulting in a loss of brand image
Operations
production process - business processes that involves transforming inputs
(raw materials, labour, financial, capital and information resources) into outputs (goods/services for sale)
Inputs
resources used in the production process and include raw materials, capital equipment (machinery), labour, information, time and money
Transformation process
the conversion (changing) of inputs into outputs - this is the activity/procedure/process that raw materials go through
Outputs
the finished goods or services
Quality control
inspections at various points in the production process to check for problems and defects. Employee performance is measured in relation to set standards or benchmarks
Quality assurance
assures customers that the products of a business are fit for purpose by achieving set standards throughout the production process, thereby preventing defects or problems before they occur. Proactive measure taken by the business (precautionary)
Total Quality Management (TQM)
ongoing, business-wide commitment to excellence that is applied to every aspect of the business’s operation. E.g. empowering employee to be involved in ideas to improve business performance; continuous improvement; improving customer focus
Marketing
all activities that plan, price, promote and distribute (place) products to existing and potential customers. Marketing identifies customer wants and aims to satisfy these wants in order to achieve the business goals
