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BTF > Chapters 1 & 2 > Flashcards

Chapters 1 & 2 Flashcards

1
Q

What is an organisation?

A

An organisation is a social arrangement, which pursues collective goals, controls its own performance and has a boundary separating it from its environment.

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2
Q

What are the main elements of an organisation?

A

Social arrangement
Collective goals
Controlled performance
Boundaries

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3
Q

What are some differences between organisations?

A 
Size
Ownership
Legal status
Activities
Access to finance 
Technology
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4
Q

What is a business?

A

A business is an organisation that is oriented towards making a profit for its owners.

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5
Q

What is a mission?

A

A mission is the most generalised type of objective which can be thought of as an expression of its raison d’etre

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6
Q

What is a mission statement?

A

A mission statement is the written communication of the mission to internal and external stakeholders

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7
Q

What should a successful mission statement contain?

A

Purpose
Strategy
Policies
Values

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8
Q

What are objectives?

A

Objectives are quantitative operational goals

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9
Q

Objectives should be SMART, what does SMART stand for?

A 
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Relevant 
Timed
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10
Q

What is the definition of a plan?

A

Plans state what should be done to achieve he operational objectives

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11
Q

What is the definition of standards and targets?

A

Standards and targets specify the desired level of performance

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12
Q

What is a stakeholder?

A

A stakeholder is a person or group of persons who has a stake in the organisation

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13
Q

What is sustainability?

A

Sustainability is the ability to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs

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14
Q

What is natural capital?

A

Natural capital is the world’s stocks of natural assets which include geology soil, air, water and all living things. This is everything the world provides humans and organisations to use in order to live

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15
Q

What are the global goals for sustainable development?

A

Decent work and economic growth.
Industry, innovation and infrastructure
Responsible consumption and production

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16
Q

List 4 ways in which organisations may differ from each other

A 
Who owns them
Who controls their operations
What they do
Profit oriented/ not for profit
How big they are
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17
Q

What three things are normally expected of a business by its suppliers as stakeholders?

A

Fair terms of trade
Prompt payment
Continuity of custom

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18
Q

State two possible primary business objectives other than profit/wealth maximisation

A

Profit satisficing

Revenue maximisation

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19
Q

What is the definition of management?

A

Getting things done through other people

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20
Q

What is the definition of power?

A

The ability to get things done

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21
Q

What is the definition of coercive power?

A

The power of physical force or punishment

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22
Q

What is the definition of reward power?

A

Based on control over valued resources

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23
Q

What is the definition of legitimate (position) power?

A

Associated with a particular position in the organisation (authorise certain expenses, issue instructions)

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24
Q

What is the definition of expert power?

A

Based on the experience, quality or expertise

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25
Q

What is the definition of referent power?

A

Based on force of personality or charisma

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26
Q

What is the definition of negative power?

A

The power to disrupt operations

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27
Q

What is the definition of authority?

A

The right to do something, or to ask someone else to do it and expect it to be done. Authority is thus another word for position or legitimate power.

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28
Q

What is the definition of responsibility?

A

The obligation a person has to fulfil a task which they have been given

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29
Q

What is the definition of accountability?

A

A person’s liability to be called to account for the fulfilment of tasks they have been given by persons with a legitimate interest in the matter

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30
Q

What is delegation?

A

Delegation is whenever a manager makes a subordinate responsible for work, but remains accountable for ensuring the work is done.

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31
Q

What’s a line manager?

A

A line manager has authority over a subordinate

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32
Q

What’s a staff manager?

A

A staff manager has authority in giving specialist advice to another manager or department over which they have no line authority.

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33
Q

What’s a functional manager?

A

A functional manager has functional authority, a hybrid of line and staff authority, whereby the manager has the authority, in certain circumstances, to direct, design or control activities or procedures in another department.

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34
Q

What’s a project manager?

A

A project manager has authority over project team members in respect of the project in progress, this authority is likely to be temporary.

35
Q

What are the 3 key roles of management according to Henry Mintzberg?

A

The informational role
The interpersonal role
The decisional role

36
Q

What is the definition of culture?

A

The common assumptions, values and beliefs that people share: ‘the way we do things round here’

37
Q

What are the 4 different culture types?

A

Internal process culture
Rational goal culture
Open systems culture
Human relations culture

38
Q

What is an internal process culture?

A

This is when a business looks inward, aiming to make its internal environment stable and controlled. Goals are known and unchanging, and there are defined methods, rules and procedures. Security, stability and order motivate staff.

39
Q

What is a rational goal culture?

A

Effectiveness is defined as achieving goals that satisfy external requirements. The business is structured and controlled so as to deal effectively with the outside world. Competition and the achievement of goals motivate staff.

40
Q

What is an open systems culture?

A

The external environment is a source of energy and opportunity, but it is ever-changing and unpredictable. The business must be highly flexible and open to new ideas, so it is very adaptable in structure. Staff are motivated by growth, creativity and variety.

41
Q

What is a human relations culture?

A

The business looks inward, aiming to maintain its existence and the well-being of staff. Staff are motivated by a sense of belonging.

42
Q

What is a model?

A

Models are used in management theory to represent a complex reality, such as a client’s business, which is then analysed and broken down into its constituent parts.

43
Q

What does a model help to do?

A 
Management models:
Help to explain the past
Helps us to understand the present
Help to predict the future
Which leads to having more influence over future events and less disturbance from the unexpected
44
Q

What are the principles of the rational goal model of management?

A

A business with a rational goal culture uses the reason why the business does something to make sure it is done as well as possible.

Systematic work methods
Detailed division of labour
Centralised planning and control
‘Low involvement’ employment relations (contractors)

45
Q

What is the internal process model of management?

A

The internal process model looks at how the organisation is doing things. When looking at businesses like this we tend to find:

Rationality
Hierarchical lines of authority
Details rules and procedures
Division of labour
Impersonality
Centralisation
46
Q

What are the key functions of a business?

A 
Marketing
Operations or production 
Human resources
Finance
Information technology
47
Q

What is marketing?

A

Marketing is the set of human activities directed at facilitating and consummating exchanges. It therefore covers the whole range of a business’s activities

48
Q

What is marketing mix?

A

Marketing mix is the set of controllable marketing variables that a firm blends to produce the response

49
Q

What are the 4 ps of presenting the marketing mix for a tangible product?

A

Product - quality of the product
Price - prices to the customer, sales promotions etc
Promotion - advertisement
Place - Location of outlets, online etc

50
Q

What are the 3 ps of presenting the marketing mix for an intangible product?

A

People - Need to be friendly because of customer interaction
Processes
Physical evidence - logos, staff uniforms. Giving the customer something to show for it

51
Q

What is market segmentation?

A

Market segmentation is the division of the market into homogeneous groups of potential customers who may be treated similarly for marketing purposes.

52
Q

What is market orientation?

A

A marketing-oriented business is one which accepts the needs of potential customers as the basis for its operations. Its success is seen as being dependent on developing and marketing products that satisfy those needs.

53
Q

What is sales orientation?

A

Sell as much as possible, no identifying customer needs etc

54
Q

What is product orientation?

A

Business is preoccupied with producing as many units as possible

55
Q

What is product orientation?

A

Company falls in love with the product and can’t see its beyond the needs of the customer

56
Q

What is a product?

A

A product is anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use or consumption that might satisfy a want or need.

57
Q

What are the 3 main elements of a product?

A

Basic product - e.g. a carThis looks at the perceived or real benefits to be gained from the product
Actual product - ford focus
Augmented product - An augmented product can be thought of as having more features per £

58
Q

What are the influences on a business’s pricing policy?

A

Costs - need to make money
Competitors - Must be a competitive price
Customers - Consider price elasticity
Corporate objectives - maximise profit or sales etc

59
Q

What are the 5 main types of promotion?

A 
Advertising
Sales promotion 
Public relations
Digital marketing
Direct marketing
Personal selling
60
Q

What is operations (or production) management?

A

Creating as required the goods or services that the business is engaged in supplying to customers by being concerned with the design, implementation and control of the business’s processes so that inputs are transformed into output products and services.

61
Q

What are the 4 vs of operations?

A

Volume
Variety
Variation in demand
Visibility

62
Q

What is pure research?

A

Pure research is original research to obtain new scientific or technical knowledge or understanding. There is no obvious commercial or practical end in view.

63
Q

What is applied research?

A

Applied research is research which has no obvious commercial or practical end in view.

May also be intended to improve products or processes.

64
Q

What is development?

A

Development is the use of existing scientific and technical knowledge to produce new (or improved) technology, products or systems, before starting commercial production or operations.

65
Q

What is the internet?

A

The internet is a worldwide network that connects computers and other digital devices allowing data and information to be shared.

66
Q

What is the internet of things?

A

The internet of things is interrelated computing devices, objects and mechanical and digital machines which are each uniquely identifiable through their embedded information technology, and which can transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction.

67
Q

What is procurement?

A

Procurement is the acquisition of goods and/or services at the best possible total cost of ownership, in the right quantity and quality, at the right time, in the right place and from the right source for the direct benefit or use of the business.

68
Q

Name the 4 elements in the procurement mix?

A

Quantity - the size and timing of purchase orders will be dictated by the balance between time and the cost of holding inventories
Quality - The quality of input resources affects the quality of outputs and the efficiency
Price
‘Lead time’ - the time between placing and receiving an order

69
Q

What is human resource management?

A

Human resource management is ‘the creation, development and maintenance of an effective workforce, matching the requirements of the business and responding to the environment’

70
Q

What is the difference between hard and soft human resource management?

A

The hard approach emphasises the resources element of HRM. HR are planned and developed to meet the wider objectives of the business.

The soft approach emphasises the human element of HRM. It’s concerned with employee relations, the development of individual skills and staff welfare.

71
Q

What are the 4 Harvard Cs of HRM?

A

Commitment - Assesses employee’s motivation, loyalty and job satisfaction
Competence - Relates to employees’ skills, abilities and potential
Congruence - A measure of the extent to which management and employees share a common vision for the business
Cost-effectiveness - Concerns operational efficiency and productivity

72
Q

What is organisational behaviour?

A

Organisational behaviour is the study and understanding of individual and group behaviour in an organisational setting in order to help improve organisational performance and effectiveness.

73
Q

What are Taylor’s 3 basic assumptions about human behaviour at work?

A

People are rational economic animals concerned with maximising their economic gain
People respond as individuals rather than groups
People can be treated in a standardised fashion, like machines

74
Q

What is McGregor’s theory X?

A

Individuals dislike work and avoid it where possible
Individuals lack ambition, dislike responsibility and prefer to be led
A system of coercion, control and punishment is needed to achieve business objectives
Above all, the individual desires security

75
Q

What is McGregor’s theory Y?

A

Physical and mental effort in work is as natural as rest or play
Commitment to objectives is driven by rewards - self-actualisation is the most important reward
External control and threats are not the only way to achieve objectives - self-control and direction are very important
People learn to like responsibility
The intellectual potential of the average human is only partially used - it needs to develop further

76
Q

What is motivation?

A

Motivation is the degree to which a person wants certain behaviours and chooses to engage in them

77
Q

What is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?

A 
Self-actualisation need
Status/ego needs
Social needs
Safety/security needs
Basic/physiological needs
78
Q

According to Herzberg, what are hygiene factors?

A 
Hygiene factors are concerned with the context of the job rather than its content:
Company policy
Supervision
Salary 
Relationship with other staff
79
Q

According to Herzberg, what are motivating factors?

A 
Motivating factors are concerned with the content of people's jobs and need to be addressed to ensure motivation:
A sense of achievement 
Recognition
Challenging work
Responsibility
Advancement
80
Q

What is a group?

A 
A group is a collection of people with the following characteristics:
Common sense of identity 
Common aim or purpose
Existence of group norms
Communication within the group 
The presence of a leader
81
Q

What are Tuckman’s 4 stages through which groups proceed?

A

Forming
Storming - members compete for chosen roles in the team, preconceptions challenged
Norming - This stage establishes the norms under which the group will operate
Performing - The group should be capable of operating to full potential

82
Q

What are Likert’s 4 leadership styles?

A

Exploitative - authoritative - subordinates are motivated by threats
Benevolent - authoritative - subordinates are motivated by rewards
Consultative - Motivation is by rewards and some involvement in objective-setting
Participative - Motivation is by rewards and participation in objective-setting

83
Q

What are Likert’s 4 characteristics of effective managers?

A

Employee-centred rather than work-oriented
Set high standards but are flexible in terms of methods to achieve those standards
Natural delegators with high levels of trust
Encourage participative management

84
Q

What is delegation?

A

Delegation involves giving a subordinate responsibility and authority to carry out a given task, while the manager retains overall responsibility

BTF (2 decks)

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