midterm Flashcards
In a post pandemic/more isolated work environment describe the factors requiring managements’ special attention
company culture, trust, motivation and productivity
Ex: trust –> Starbucks offered “catastrophe” pay to employees, allowing them to self-isolate at home to discourage workers with COVID-19 from coming to work.
motivation: Google provided its workers with a $1000 credit to purchase office equipment, helping them create designated work areas at home and improve productivity
culture: data shows that many companies that had traditionally emphasized a strong culture found that their culture got even stronger in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. MIT Sloan found that the reason for this
Describe the functions of a manager
Planning: Stratagizing to reach goals, gather information develop ideas
Organizing: accuratly assinging tasks, doing goals
Leading: communicating and apllying ideas, guiding others
Controlling: conflic resoulation, disecting progress and improving
Describe the roles of managers
Informational roles: gathers and communicates information
Monitor: monitors working environment to gather information
Disseminators: communicate information gained at monitors
Spokesperson: As a representive they communicate information gained to areas of unauthority or business place to push the company to further success
Interpersonal roles: emphasizes authority and the relational aspects of a manager, includes people inside and outside funtion
Figurehead: ceremonial or symbolic role that improves moral and relathionships bewen employees
Leader: focuses on dissecting, changing and motivating employee activities and tasks
Liaison: outsourcing relationships and communications to people outside areas of authority
Decisional roles: make decisions
Entrepenure: developing new projects Disturbance handiler: conflic resolitions through decision making Resourse allocator: distibution of resources Negotiator: conflict management, negotiating with all relathionships (employees, employers, distrubyters, buyers etc.)
Describe classical approaches to management
Scientific: optimizin tasks. Founded by Fredric taylor
Standarizing the work: observed the most effcient way of owrking, put into simple terms, forced upon emploees to do the same job in the same way. No individualism
Supervising workers: a mnmagaers job is only to guide and observe, creating a canyon between workers and labourers. A mangers job is mental work, labours is phsical
Motivationg the workers: use of price-rate system, you are paid based on proformace
Aministarative management: founded by Fayol, organization and coordination
Division of work: break work into simple blocks to have more productivity
Unity of command: one boss, authority focused on upper levels
Esprit De Corpse: teamwork and unity
Burocratic management: formal structure and rules max webber
Reles and prosedures: Strick rules on how to manage
Hiarchy of authority: fixed postions that are ranked bassed on power of authority
Divison of labour: splify jobs into simple terms (standardization)
Impersonality: only profecconal relationships allowed, no personal angendas
Selection and promotion: people will be hired and promoted based on skill and proformance
Describe behavoral approaches to management
Human relations movement:
Elton Mayo founded the Hawthron effect; in which gibing special attention or observing emplyees incresed theor motivation. This was throu doigna test on the lighting to see if productivity increased, it had but in btoh the test and stabel party, they found it was nothe lighting changes but the observation of the employees
Was the transition between scientific and behavioral managment, caused managers to change there ways and treat business as social systems.
The assertions of Mary Parker Follet and Chester Barnard: more collaboration
Mary was a societal pilosopher she advocates for
Coordination: instead of forcing emplyees to do work, to up productivity managers coordinate group connections within the buiness and are more involved in employees activityes
Self management: employees have a say in how things are managed and have responsibility to mange themselves as they are more espertise in the field. Most pefer leading themselves ratehr then a boss
Collaboration: refering to collaboration with higher management, being present and having a voice when it comes to decisions about the work place. Be concidered partners
Chester bernard worked for bell telephine company
Constant communication between manager and employees
Mnagers must communicate the goals of the company and make sure employees understand and are motivated through
Understand what is to be done
How they relate to these goals
They will benefit from reaching the goals
Modern beaviorla science and motivation-based prospective:
Gained from behavioal scientists who studyed motivation and apply it to management
They found that instead of just forcing employees to work they inpire them to be motivated in the workforce
The problem with it is that companies are constantly stuggle to find ways to keep employees motivated
Describe how you would slect management approach
the choice of a management approach should align with your organization’s
culture,
goals,
the nature of the work,
and the needs and preferences of your employees.
It may involve a mix of different approaches to best address the various facets of your organization’s operations.
Why do you think google is rated as best employer
- on going convo with employees on their goals, observinving employees, having bi-weekly convos
- involving employees in decsions
- 70/20/10 rule (70% of the day on assigned tasts, 20% on new odeas, 10% on own ideas, having a lofe outside of work)
Describe the advantages and disadvantages of each form of sole proprotor ship:
Advantages
In charge of the whole buiness in terms of money, legal responsibiliities as well as over sees how the business is done.
Simple in its desgin as everything is controlled by one person (ex: tax perspecive)
Low start up cost
Quick descion making and calling to action
Personal disionmaking
Negatives:
Unlimited liability
Hard to start up and keep going because all of the money to produce the business comes from one person
Limited skill set to be in charge because it is only one person
Less stabel over time, if the owner dies it will go under
Owner is responsible for all debts and liabilities
Works for small buinesses that need little investment to start and do not have any risks
Describe the advantages and disadvantages of each form of partnership:
General parternship: all owners have a say in the business
Advantages:
If the skills of each pertern are complientary buiness responsibilities are less heavy
Less individual risk with both parties contributing financally
Easier to fund (low start up fees as well as two incomes)
Receive tax benefits
Not overly regulated by the government
Disadvantages
Unlimited liability is equal for each parter (if one person screws up, the other is also liable)
Each partner is individually taxed
Less stable over time, if one of the owners die it will go under
Limited partnership:
One person runs the business and has unlimited liability, the other just invests in the business and has limited liability (they are only liable for what they invested)
Avantaged
Same are general
Greater capital investmnets the general
The main owner has control over the busines while also being paid by investor partner
Disadvantages
Same as general
Describe the advantages and disadvantages of each form of corporation:
Corporation: owned by a number of people
The company is independaent from its owners, its own entity, meanin it has its own rights to sell, be sued etc
Owners are shareholders/investors
TYPES: Note, they can change between types
Public: stocks and ownership is available to the public (stock exchange)
Private: few individual stockholders, not available to public
Advantage:
Limited liability
Permanence and transition ability of ownership, if an owner gets incapacitated we can easily transfer theor funds, sell or buy shares
Access to capital (money to start and keep up the business): more people invest (banks etc.) because of its coorportae stuckture and liquidity (ability to turn shares into money easily)
Disadvange:
More people and sectors make it hard to organize and communicate
High start up cost
Many legal and governmental requirements, included thoes to disclose finacal status and operations to th epublic in order to share stocks
Getting doccuments to support legally the company exbanding to the publuc (government regulations)
Difficuly in Governance
Describe the advantages and disadvantages of each form of co-op:
Coopoerative: owned and controlled by workers
The workers own the shares (are the owners) and split the profits
participatory governance (they are controlled by the employees who use the services)
Every employee has a say in how the company is run (democratic), This increases the motivation because the employees are a part of it
Ex: reatil co – ops and credit unions (to shop there you must buy a share), housing co-ops (residental affordable housing)
Advantage:
Limited liability
A vote for each member, democratic
Profit sharing
Disadvantage:
- free riding
- limited potentail gorwth and innovation
Describe the principal-agent problem
Principle: investors
Agent: managers and enployees
the principal-agent problem reflects a conflict of interests between the owners and the hired management.
This misalignment can occur due to miscommunication, misunderstanding, or outright conflict between the two parties.
What are the roles of the major groups involved in corporate governance
Shareholders are the owners, they elect the board of directors
board of directors who make sure the managers act in the intrest of the shareholders, who hire the managers
managers carry out polocy and day to day supervision, who hire the employees
employess act
Describe the feature of good governance
Accountability: leaders take it
Fairness: every owener is equal
Transparicy: honest management
Reliable leadership
Stakeholder engagement
What is an organization
Organizations are social entities
Made up of people
Organizations interact with the environment
Inputs from its environment, such as people, raw materials, technology, or financial capital
Turns into output, goods, services, or knowledge
Organizations are created to achieve goals
Profit-making or not, they are created with the purpose
Organizations possess some sort of structure
Ensures work is allocated properly and is completed daily
Describe the elements of organizationak structure
Work specialization
Division of jobs into simple, repetitive tasks, everyone can do (functional) (specialized)
Social specialization refers to the specialization of individuals, in relation to their skill sets (accountants, pediatrician etc.)
Decision-making source
The authority at each level is given in relation to the decision-making process
(de-centralized is decision making spread across the organization.
Centralized is decision making in focus on the top (hiarchy)
Levels of administration
How many levels of admin is there? And how can we consider the hierarchy that is then formed? ------>
Tall or flat
Formalization
The degree to which rules, regulations, procedures and the like govern how work is performed
Informal is something done unoffically, or socially, unsaid rules
Formal or informal
Departmentation
Dividing or grouping major functions or work activities into separate units
Divisional departmentation
Grouping employees based on the products or services produced by the organization
Customer departmentation
Grouping activities on the basis of specific needs so it can better service its customers
Geographic departmentation
Involves the grouping of work activities and resources in a way that serves customers in different geographical areas
Organic and mechanic organizations
Polar extremities in structure (organic is social based, )
Describe the contingencies that determine organizational structure
Strategy
Intended to help achieve its objectives or goals
- innovation or costa and efficacy (mechanic organic)
- What main stratgegies is your compnay advocating for, innovation or cost and efficiency, based on these strategies you must choose what element combination works (always a combination of mechanoc and organic.
Organizational size
Technology
- What inputs are used to produce the product or service (routine: automated standarized opperation, non- routine: non-standardized)
Environment
Dynamic: Much uncertainty and much change
Static: Little if any change
No new competitors, technology, regulations, etc.
Describe the key features of virtual organizations
Outsourcing
Hiring external organizations to conduct work in certain functions of the company
networking/alliances
Can engage in cooperative relationships with suppliers, distributors, or competitors
The aim is to improve their efficiency and flexibility in meeting consumer needs
Shedding non-core functions
A virtual organization must be composed only of a small group of business executives who form the core
Their responsibility is to oversee and coordinate the activities, as well as maintain relationships with other organizations
Describe the benfits and risks and challenges of virtual organizations
Benefits
Significant cost savings
Great alternative for entrepreneurs
Fast way to develop and market new products
Fast and flexible
Risks and Challenges
Notion of control
Lack of employee loyalty (the employees and customers have a lot of freedom as the actions are very independent from higher ups
Sacrifice competitive learning opportunities
What is strategy and strategic management
Idenify the problem
-> search for relevent info
–>develop alternative solutions
—>evealuate solutions
—-> choose best solution
—–> impliemt
——> monitor and evaluate chosen soluion
factors that effect decsion making
- bounded rationality (limited rationallaty, humans are not all knowing)
- satisficing ( the focus is on finding only the first solution that meets the minimum criteria or standards set for a particular situation.)
- expected value (probiblityof sucess)
- innution
- framing
- emotion
- mood
Describe SWOT analysis
Strategically use their internal strengths and external opportunities to neutralize threats and weaknesses
Application of VIRO and 5 forces
Strengths (internal) VIRO
Weaknesses (internal) VIRO
Opportunities (external) 5 forces
Threats (external) 5 forces
Describe VRIO model to identify unique capabiliies or resources of a business (how do you do the table)
Value
Managers need to ask if their firms’ resources and capabilities add any value that will increase their ability to capture market share or enhance profitability
Explotinign emerging opportunities or neutralizing threats
Rareness
Managers need to assess whether their valuable resources and capabilities are unique among their competitors
Less known or mainstream, not available easily
Imitability- abiloty to immitate
When imitability occurs, it diminishes rareness and erodes the value
Managers must determine how they can limit imitability
Based pn uniquness but also competitive advantage (check for words like unique, as well as how they present the product that makes it unique even if it has been done)
Can be mainstream and not mainstream
Organization
Managers have to consider whether their firms can be organized in effective and efficient ways to exploit their valuable, rare, and difficult-to-imitate resources and capabilities to maximize their potential
Describe in detail 5 forces model to identify external
Threats of new entrants
Five major barriers to entry – what stops people to make entry so the prices don’t go down
Economies of scale;
- If you produce more, the spread of production cost gets spread across the units, brings down cost of production by produicing more
- New entrants can not produce as much as old companies to keep up
- How large os the market
Capital requirements
Capital is costly
Switching costs
The cost of the buyer that comes with switching suppliers
Access to distribution channels
Difficult for potential entrants to gain access to loyal distribution channels
Cost disadvantages independent of scale
Governmental policies
Bargaining power of suppliers
Can exert bargaining power over incumbents (big companies/suppliers) in an industry by demanding better prices or threatening to reduce the quality of purchased goods
Incumbents compete for suppliers, worse the more specialized an industry is
Bargaining power of customers
Switching costs
Buyers can easily switch incumbents with little cost
Undifferentiated products
Incumbents offer buyers similar products or services, they will not be in a good position to negotiate with them (because there is so mnay options it is up to the buyer)
Importance of incumbents’ products to buyers
Goods and services must be important to buyers, if they are the buyers have less power
Loyalty
Number of incumbents relative to the number of buyers
More companies with fewer buyers offer more competition and less bargaining power
Vice versa offers higher bargaining power and less competition
Threats of substitute products or services (usless as new products have arrose, what will make the product useless)
Rivalry among existing firms
Lack of differentiation or switching costs
More focus on price and loyoalty to keep customers
The attraction of customers is typically either based on lowest cost or excellent service
Numerous or equally balanced competitors
High exit barriers: hard to close down as it is expensive or community
describe business level strategies
Cost leadership
- To gain competitive advanatges by reducing economic cocts (over all costs) below those of all competitors
- comes from three decsions, econmics of scale, (increase volume to reduce marginal cost, learning curve economics (improving efficencty), low cost acces to factors of production. (ex: walamrt)
Diffrentiation
- A company tries to stand out from other companies buy making their product or service more unique or have more value (apple)
Focus (custom made furnature in niagra falls)
- A company focuses on one imited oart of the market or demogroghic
- Focused low cost strategy
- Focused diffrienation strategy
(think box)
