Chapter 8 Definitions

Question 1

management

Answer 1

the process of coordinating people and other resources to achieve the goals of an organisation

Question 2

planning

Answer 2

establishing organisational goals and deciding how to accomplish them

Question 3

mission

Answer 3

a statement of the basic purpose that makes an organisation different from others

Question 4

strategic planning process

Answer 4

the establishment of an organisation’s major goals and objectives and the allocation of resources to achieve them

Question 5

goal

Answer 5

an end result that an organisation is expected to achieve over a one- to ten-year period

Question 6

objective

Answer 6

a specific statement detailing what an organization inteds to accomplish over a shorter period of time

Question 7

optimization

Answer 7

balancing process to achieve some sort of balance between conflicting goals

Question 8

SWOT analysis

Answer 8

the identification and evaluation of a firm’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats

Question 9

core competencies

Answer 9

approaches and processes that a company performs well that may give it an advantage over its competitors.

Question 10

plan

Answer 10

an outline of the actions of which an organization intends to accomplish its goals and objectives

Question 11

strategic plan

Answer 11

an organisation’s broadest plan, developed as a guide for major policy setting decision making

Question 12

tactical plan

Answer 12

a smaller scale plan developed to implement a strategy

Question 13

operational plan

Answer 13

a type of plan designed to implement tactical plans

Question 14

contingency plan

Answer 14

a plan that outlines alternative courses of action that may be taken if an organizations other plans are disrupted or become ineffective

Question 15

organising

Answer 15

the grouping of resources and activities to accomplish some end result in an efficient and effective manner

Question 16

leading

Answer 16

the process of influencing people to work toward a common goal

Question 17

motivating

Answer 17

the process of providing reasons for people to work in the best interests of an organization

Question 18

directing

Answer 18

the combined processes of leading and motivating

Question 19

controlling

Answer 19

the process of evaluating and regulating ongoing activities to ensure that goals are achieved

Question 20

top manager

Answer 20

an upper-level executive who guides and controls the overall fortunes of an organization

Question 21

middle manager

Answer 21

a manager who implements the strategy and major policies developed by top management

Question 22

first-line manager

Answer 22

a manager who coordinates and supervises the activities of operating employees

Question 23

financial manager

Answer 23

a manager who is primarily responsible for an organisation’s financial resources

Question 24

operations manager

Answer 24

a manager who manages the systems that convert resources into goods and services

Question 25

marketing manager

Answer 25

a manager who is responsible for facilitating an organisation and its customers or clients

Question 26

human resources manager

Answer 26

a person charged with managing an organisation’s human resources programs

Question 27

administrative manager

Answer 27

a manager who is not associated with any specific functional area but who provides overall administrative guidance and leadership

Question 28

conceptual skills

Answer 28

the ability to think in abstract terms

Question 29

analytic skills

Answer 29

the ability to identify problems correctly, generate reasonable alternatives, and select the “best” alternatives to solve problems

Question 30

interpersonal skills

Answer 30

the ability to deal effectively with other people

Question 31

technical skills

Answer 31

specific skills neede to accomplish a specialised activity

Question 32

communication skills

Answer 32

the ability to speak, listen and write effectively

Question 33

leadership

Answer 33

the ability to influence others

Question 34

autocratic leadership

Answer 34

task-orientated leadership style in which workers are told what to do and how to accomplish it
workers have no say in the decision-making process

Question 35

participative leadership

Answer 35

leadership style in which all members of a team are involved in identifying essential goals and developing strategies to reach those goals

Question 36

entrepreneurial leadership

Answer 36

personality-based leadership style in which the manager seeks to inspire workers with a vision of what can be accomplished to benefit all stakeholders

Question 37

decision making

Answer 37

the act of choosing one alternative from a set of alternatives

Question 38

problem

Answer 38

the discrepancy between an actual condition and a desired condition

Question 39

total quality management

Answer 39

the coordination of efforts directed at improving customer satisfaction, increasing employee participation, strengthening supplier partnerships, and facilitating an organisational atmosphere of continuous quality improvement

Question 40

benchmarking

Answer 40

a process used to evaluate the products, processes, or management practices of another organisation that is superior in some way to improve quality.