Envirnoment and Change

Question 1

List some main principles of scientific management

Answer 1

• match workers to jobs based on their capabilities and train them to max. Efficiency
• managers plan and workers follow these paths
• monitor performance and ensure supervision

Question 2

What are some limitations of scientific management

Answer 2

• efficiency / productivity not the only key organisational gol (e.g. innovation)
• rigid organisation of work, not adapting to change ‘brittle’ (not resilient)
• needs a stable environment
• ethical issues (depersonalisation of work)

Question 3

Lost some Top management skills 6

Answer 3

Leadership duh
Communication
Collaboration
Critical thinking
Finance
Project management

Question 4

What is management(short quote) and what are the 3 purposes of management and what they require

Answer 4

‘Management is the purposeful control of change’ ‘managing is a process’
1. To maintain the current state- requires the ability to change in order to compensate for external (or internal) influences
2. To approach a new and desirable state- requires the ability to change, in order to move from the current position to a new one in an orderly manner
3. To avoid or evade an unwanted state- requires ability to change I. Order to steer clear of a temporary or permenant risk

Question 5

Talk about ‘tractable’ systems

Answer 5

Some problems/ processes may be difficult but ‘tractable’
Many parts but the elements of the system known (people, technology)
Functioning known
System is stable ( doesn’t change while being examined)
Knowing ‘current state’ through measurements/data
Means to gather data selected on the basis of the goal (targets)

Question 6

Talk about complex systems 

Answer 6

Uncertainty on the elements of the system
Uncertainty on the functioning of the system, only partly known (unexpected consequences of change et cetera )
The system changes while being examined (building on shifting sand),
Knowledge and data insufficient on their own - decisions are also about negotiations, trade-offs, choices
Flexibly and resilience essential

Question 7

What is the organisation

Answer 7

The organisation is an open system… It is affected by the environment.
The business environment is not controllable by the organisation/management.

Question 8

Talk about unstable environments 

Answer 8

Unstable environments disrupt ‘where we are now’ which makes knowing ‘where we are going‘ more difficult… Management is difficult
Unpredictability of conditions
The environment must be included in the management of internal processes, assess risks, preparing for different/uncertain risks/scenarios