Management Handout 5

Question 1

what is management?

Answer 1

the process of reaching organisational goals by working with and through people and other organisational resources.

Question 2

what is the difference between management and leadership?

Answer 2

the leader’s job is to inspire and motivate, consider long-term strategy, the challenges facing the business and how to overcome them

the manager’s job is to plan, and coordinate and control the workforce

Question 3

give 5 characteristics of effective managers

Answer 3

empathy
self awareness
enthusiasm
hardworking
inspirational

Question 4

give 6 roles of managers

Answer 4

plan
organise
lead
coordinate
control
functional eg HR/sales

Question 5

what is the function of planning for managers?

Answer 5

involves choosing tasks that must be performed to attain organisational goals
outlining how the task must be performed
indicating when they should be performed

Question 6

what is the function of organising for managers?

Answer 6

assigning the tasks developed in the planning stages to various groups/individuals
organising resources to initiate plan

Question 7

what is the function of controlling for managers?

Answer 7

gather information that measures performance
compare present performance to pre-establishes performance norms
determine the next action plan and modifications for meeting the desired performance parameters
must be able to exercise command over employees

Question 8

what is the function of functional areas for managers?

Answer 8

a manager may have specialist skills in one functional are eg HR but they are often aligned with the general management concept which is responsible for various functional areas with different functional tasks within sales, operations and finance

managers need to be focused on the coordination of people within those departmental setups

Question 9

what is the function of coordinating for managers?

Answer 9

management seeks to coordinate through its basic functions like planning, organising, staffing, directing and controlling

achieving harmony between individual’s efforts towards achievement of a groups goals is a key to success to management

Question 10

what is the function of leading for managers?

Answer 10

also referred to as motivating, influencing, directing

can be defined as guiding the activities of organisation members in the direction that helps the organisation move towards the fulfilment of the goals

Question 11

what are three roles of managers?

Answer 11

decision-making roles

information roles

interpersonal roles

Question 12

what is involved in interpersonal roles?

Answer 12

hiring, firing, training, motivating, organising

Question 13

what is involved in decision-making roles?

Answer 13

the access to information that managers have enables them to use their formal authority to make decisions

Question 14

what is involved in information roles?

Answer 14

acting as a channel for information to flow between divisions/departments within an organisation

Question 15

define MBOs (management by objectives)

Answer 15

as the process whereby the employers and the superiors come together to identify common goals

the employees et their goals to be achieved

the standards to be taken as the criteria for measurement of their performance and contribution and deciding the course of action is followed

Question 16

what is the principle behind MBOs?

Answer 16

make sure everybody within the organisation has a clear understanding of the aims/objectives of that organisation as well as awareness of their own roles and responsibilities in achieving those aims

complete MBO system is to get managers and empowered employees acting to implement and achieve their plans, automatically achieving those of the organisation

Question 17

give 5 steps of the MBO process

Answer 17

review objectives for the whole business (corporate objectives)

set objectives for the management of the different functions of the business

set objective for individual department and workers

monitor progress - managers and workers check to see if their objectives are being reached

evaluate performance and give reward of the objectives were reached

Question 18

give 6 advantages of MBO and expand each one

Answer 18

objectives are defined - managers and workers agree to the objectives and understand what they need to do to achieve them
aids communication and more chance of achievement of objective if agreed and explained how to achieve it

involves breaking down and dividing aims/goals - into targets and objectives for divisions, departments, managers and workers
ensures everyone is involved in working towards achieving the aims and objectives of the organisation
can promote teamworking and cooperation

better motivated workers - by including them with the goal setting and course of action
can carry out their responsibilities to the best of their abilities

improve management control of the organisation - managers know who is doing what and what they’re supposed to be achieving
improves efficiency and communication

everyone is aware of their responsibilities - they know that they should be achieving and how their role fits with organisational objectives

motivate the workforce - when managers are involved in setting and agreeing objectives, they will have a commitment to ensure they are achieved
involving all employees will give employee empowerment, increasing job satisfaction and commitment

Question 19

give 5 disadvantages of MBO and expand on them

Answer 19

management time spent on the process of setting objectives - rather than managing organisation
MBO can be time consuming for everyone which can reduce productivity as the time could be spent elsewhere

ever-changing business environment/context in which goals are set may change over time, making objectives unrealistic - may not remain relevant if objectives aren’t reviewed or updated