Task 1 -- Security Principles and Practices

Question 1

What is it that Managers do?

Answer 1

At its essence, management involves coordinating and overseeing the work activities of others in order for those activities to be completed on time and well—or more simply, facilitating efficiency and effectiveness.

Question 2

What is an Organization?

Answer 2

An organization is a deliberate arrangement of people to achieve a specific purpose. Organizations can include large corporations, medium-sized businesses, hospitals, not-for-profit agencies, museums, schools, political campaigns, sports teams, and music tours.

Question 3

All organizations have three common characteristics:

Answer 3

1
Distinct Purpose – all organizations exist for a specific purpose, typically expressed through their mission statement and goals.
2
People – each organization is composed of people. While the number may vary, the people within the organization perform the work that is essential to the achievement of their mission and goals.
3
Deliberate Structure – all organizations develop a deliberate structure within which all members (management and non-management) do their work. The structure can be bureaucratic, with highly-defined roles and strict adherence to job arrangements (as with very large corporations and federal agencies), or it can be flexible, like a matrix structure, with small focused teams that operate to complete work quickly. We are seeing greater flexibility in the structure of organizations as the nature of work is changing, unbound by either time or location.

Question 4

What is it that Managers do?

Answer 4

At its essence, management involves coordinating and overseeing the work activities of others in order for those activities to be completed on time and well—or more simply, facilitating efficiency and effectiveness.

Question 5

Efficiency

Answer 5

Efficiency is about getting the most output—work results—from the least input—resources including people, time, and money. When something is efficient, it produces a result in a simple or less expensive manner, which saves valuable resources and adheres to a business strategy that focuses on costs.

Question 6

Effectiveness

Answer 6

Effectiveness is the ability to produce an intended or desired outcome, or produces a deep impression of success. Effectiveness is not always achieved at a low cost. Rather, effectiveness is about doing things in ways that ensure the achievement of the stated, planned for, and desired goals.

The concepts of efficiency and effectiveness are not always mutually exclusive.

Balancing the demands for efficiency and effectiveness is about managing the work done to ensure the achievement of goals. Poor management will reflect inefficiencies and ineffectiveness, but good management helps companies achieve their desired goals. As organizations and management change, it is worth exploring how management has developed over time.

Question 7

What are Fayol’s management principles?

Answer 7

Today, Fayol’s management principles have been adapted and are known by their acronym— PODSCORB—Planning, Organizing, Deciding, Staffing, Directing, Coordinating, Reporting, and Budgeting.

Question 8

– Planning

Answer 8

It is the task of managers not only to decide what to do, but to plan the agenda. Planning is about foresight and includes short-term planning (weekly, monthly, and quarterly), medium-term planning (annual) and long-term planning (looking ahead with a multi-year timeline). Planning is essential because it determines the direction of the organization, which is affected by long-term capital projects, medium-term staffing, and short-term day-to-day operations.

Question 9

– Organizing

Answer 9

Managers not only have the task of assigning activities, but also of allocating these tasks to their respective departments and employees. To achieve a desired result, the manager requires the necessary resources that include some form of budgetary funds, materials, and people with the necessary skills, technology, and equipment. The manager will have to organize a range of things to achieve the desired outcome. To be as efficient as possible, it is important that the employees’ division of labor—the breakdown of jobs into narrow tasks—enables the achievement of the desired goal.

Question 10

– Directing

Answer 10

Direction lies in the hands of the manager and is about plotting a course of action. He or she is the person with final responsibility and is held accountable for this direction. This means that the manager must maintain control over all functions, monitor progress, and serve to encourage, motivate, and direct employees in their pursuit of goals.

Question 11

– Staffing

Answer 11

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Staffing is necessary to facilitate organizational functions and all activities within an organization, including hiring, training, and retention of employees. Different staffing needs exist in organizations, depending on the tasks demanded of the jobs. However, skilled, competent people are crucial for an organization to function optimally. The task of the manager is to identify the expertise, skills, and experiences required for the positions that are to be filled to ensure that the right person is in the right place.

Question 12

(CO) Coordinating

Answer 12

This managerial task involves connecting different people and functions to achieve cooperation that enables a stated goal to be achieved. A good manager must have a broader view and understanding of what is happening and what needs to be done. From this perspective, the manager is able to coordinate tasks and manage employees. It is also his or her task to synchronize different departments that are not in his or her control and work to bring them together with the right end goal in mind.

Question 13

(R) Reporting

Answer 13

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Whether in words or numbers, reporting is valuable because it offers visible evidence of management. A clear report keeps communication open throughout the entire organization, identifying progress and linking management with their employees and higher-level management, as it provides insights into the progress being made. It also includes other essential information—such as problems with employees, new processes, performance reviews, and sales figures. Regular reporting can also help to provide leverage to support budgetary or program spending to support a security initiative that has previously been considered cost prohibitive through identifying trends, themes and incidents where that investment would have helped reduce, minimize or otherwise eliminate a loss or other undesired outcome for the organization.

Question 14

(B) Budgeting

Answer 14

Finance is the lifeblood of any business, and it begins with budgeting. The manager is responsible for projecting budget needs, as well as the expenditure and control of the department’s budget. This includes facilitating base budgets; managing incremental increases and decreases; projecting forecasts of short- and long-range plans to maintain operations; developing budgetary contingencies in an attempt to address foreseen and unforeseen problems; forecasting a decrease in expenses; proposing and explaining needs for budgetary increases; identifying contingencies; explaining one-time expenditures; prioritizing capital expenditures based on analysis; articulating budgetary contingencies; and, when necessary, explaining budget sufficiency.

Question 15

Leadership

Answer 15

By contrast, leaders are individuals who, in their own inimitable way, inspire confidence, undermine despair, fight fear, initiate positive and productive actions, define goals, and paint better tomorrows.

Question 16

What is the distinction between managers and leaders?

Answer 16

The distinction between managers and leaders is often marked by the differences in their individual motivation, personal history, and in how they think and act. This difference is apparent in their attitudes toward goals. For managers, goals are impersonal and arise out of necessity, affected by the organization’s history and culture. In this way, managers are reactive.

However, leaders seek to be proactive and try to shape ideas and influence actions instead of responding to them. In taking ownership of their role, leaders adopt a personal attitude toward goals, and the influence they exert seeks to change the way people think about what is desirable, possible, and necessary.

Because the concept of leadership is complex and, while we believe we recognize leadership when we see it, we cannot say exactly what makes someone a good leader. But one thing is clear—leadership is not the province of only a chosen few, which raises the question of the origin of the concept

Question 17

Leadership Styles

Answer 17

We can define leadership style as the behaviors of leaders that focus on what they do and how they act in a variety of contexts—these aspects are affected by the leader’s personal attitudes and philosophy toward leadership.

The primary work on identifying and understanding leadership style goes back almost a century. The styles are not distinct but overlap—a leader can demonstrate more than one style, depending on the situation.

The three leadership styles most identified by researchers are authoritarian, democratic, and laissez-faire.

Question 18

AUTHORITARIAN Leadership Style

Answer 18

This style of leader perceives subordinates as needing direction and control. They determine and direct work and how it is to be done, which means they want all communication to be through them in order to maintain influence and authority.

Depending upon the situation, this style of leadership has both positive and negative outcomes. On the positive side, the outcomes can be efficient and productive. For example, a senior security manager handling a major disaster location, assisted by her subordinate security officers, would be well within reason to be authoritarian when prioritizing the asks to be performed.

On the negative side, an authoritarian style minimizes employee development and growth because it fosters dependence and submissiveness. It has been found that over time, authoritarians create discontent, hostility, and even aggression.

Question 19

DEMOCRATIC Leadership Style

Answer 19

This style of leadership treats subordinates as fully capable of doing work on their own. Democratic leaders work with subordinates to guide rather than command things to be done or outcomes to be pursued.

This style of leadership employs mutual praise that produces friendliness, higher morale, and motivation, resulting in outcomes that are mostly positive and help group members become more satisfied, committed, and cohesive in their efforts.

The negative side of this style is that it requires more time and commitment by the leader. And, while work is accomplished effectively, it is often done less efficiently.

Question 20

LAISSEZ-FAIRE Leadership Style

Answer 20

LAISSEZ-FAIRE
Perhaps merely happy to be collecting the paycheck afforded someone in a leadership position, this style is really “non-leadership” as the individual employing this style ignores workers and is ambivalent of their motivations.

While the manager may be said to be “laid back,” it is at the expense of any effort or attempt to influence the work or workers. Still, if leading a high performing group, letting them do their job may be the most effective form of leadership.

However, experience has shown that the outcomes of this style are largely negative. While certain individuals might succeed because they like the freedom to make their own choices, with a less skilled employee or workforce, directionless people create confusion and chaos that result in failure.

Question 21

Vision, Mission, Values, (and the Strategic Management Process)

The development of the vision, mission, and values is important because they guide the entire company.

Answer 21

The strategic management process is a sequential set of analyses and decisional choices centered around a set of plans and actions designed to create the means (the strategy) by which the firm can achieve a stated goal.

The strategic management process is a linear process that requires:
1
Establishing a strategic vision, a mission statement, and a set of core values.
2
Setting objectives for measuring the firm’s performance and tracking its progress.
3
Crafting a strategy to move the firm along its strategic course and achieve its objectives.
4
Executing the chosen strategy efficiently (measured by time and costs) and effectively (measured by outcomes).
5
Monitoring developments, evaluating performance, and initiating corrective adjustments (adapting as needed)

Question 22

The Vision Statement

Answer 22

The Vision Statement
A strategic vision describes management’s aspirations for the company’s future and the course and direction charted to achieve them.

It is critical that companies communicate the vision throughout their organization in order to foster employee commitment to the chosen strategic direction and ensure understanding of the vision’s importance to motivate, inform, and inspire internal and external stakeholders.

No matter the type of company or organization, it is understood that a sound, well-communicated vision matters because it:

Crystallizes senior executives’ own views about the firm’s long-term direction
Reduces the risk of rudderless decision-making
Wins the support of employees to help make the vision a reality
Provides a beacon for lower-level managers in setting departmental objectives and crafting departmental strategies that are in sync with the firm’s overall strategy
Helps an organization prepare for the future

Question 23

The Mission Statement

Answer 23

The Mission Statement
The mission is a statement of the company’s long-term purpose that explains the overall reason the company exists

The mission statement uses specific language to give the firm its own unique, long-term purpose and establish its identity by answering “who we are, what we do, and why we are here.” The mission statement should focus on describing the firm’s business, which is not about making a profit—earning a profit is an objective, not a mission.

The distinction between a strategic vision and a mission statement should be clear-cut.

A strategic vision portrays a firm’s aspirations for its future (“where we are going”)
A firm’s mission describes the scope and purpose of its present business (“who we are, what we do, and why we are here”)
Although the mission statement will vary between companies, it should do all or most of the following:

Identify the firm’s product or services.
Specify the buyer needs it seeks to satisfy.
Identify the customer groups or markets it is endeavoring to serve.
Specify its approach to pleasing customers.
Set the firm apart from its rivals.
Clarify the firm’s business intentions to its stakeholders.

Question 24

The Values Statement

Answer 24

The Values Statement
Core values are the beliefs, traits, and behavioral norms that the firm’s personnel are expected to display in conducting business and pursuing the strategic vision and mission.

While it is widely held that values should be based on universally accepted beliefs (e.g., fairness, equity, trust, honesty), companies will have their own set of values they promulgate. Values reflect management’s beliefs and the culture of the company. If successful, the values tend to be consistent over time and rarely change.

Specifically, core values:

Are the beliefs, traits, and behavioral norms that employees are expected to display in conducting the firm’s business
Become an integral part of the firm’s culture and operations when strongly supported by top management
Match the firm’s vision, mission, and strategy, contributing to the firm’s business success
Organizational culture includes the company’s expectations, experiences, and philosophy, as well as the values that guide member behavior internally and with the outside world.

Together, the vision, mission, and values provide the expected direction for everything that happens in a company. They are expected to keep everyone focused on where the organization is going and what it is trying to achieve. Most importantly, they define what the organization believes and how people are expected to behave in pursuit of their mission.

Although a firm’s vision and mission should enhance performance, on occasion a company’s values override its vision and mission and can be inconsistent with the economic realities of the competitive marketplace.