Unit 3 A.O.S 2:internal Environment Of LSO: SAC 2A and 2B

Question 0

Why is Corporate Culture important?

Answer 0

Corporate culture is important because is decides how employees interact and represents the organisations policies.

Question 1

What is the Internal Environment?

Answer 1

The internal environment is made up of a range of factors that affect the performance of an organisation from directly inside of it. These factors are those that the organisation has complete control over

Question 2

When does Corporate Culture change?

Answer 2

Corporate Culture can change for a variety of reasons including new managers and employees, government and economic factors, mergers with other businesses and change over time.

Question 3

What is Policy?

Answer 3

Policy is a set of guidelines in a specific area. These guidelines are to be followed by all organisational members or consequences such as fines can occur.

Question 4

Why is Policy Development Important?

Answer 4

Having policies and procedures will help the organisation reach its objectives.

Question 5

What are the Seven Steps of Policy Development?

Answer 5

PACDRAM
PROBLEM is identified.
ANALYSIS and research of business environment.
CONSULT stakeholders.
Create a DRAFT.
REVIEW the policy.
policy is APPROVED and communicated to stakeholders.
policy is MONITORED and if necessary revised.

Question 6

Define management structure.

Answer 6

Management structure is the way in which the organisation is formally arranged to achieve objectives. It outlines a way a LSO is organised in terms of management hierarchy.

Question 7

Why is it important to have a management structure?

Answer 7

It is important to have a management structure for a variety of reasons including:

• They show the lines of communication.
• Shows the possibility of a career path.
• Shows how jobs and activities are arranged.
• They show who is responsible for who within the organisation.

Question 8

What is the difference between centralised and decentralised.

Answer 8

Centralised involves decisions being made solely by senior management whereas decentralised involves employees being involved in the decision making process.

Question 9

Define the functional management structure and list 1 advantage and disadvantage of such.

Answer 9

Functional management structure involves employees being grouped together based on area of task (function) One advantage of a functional management structure would be that resources are used efficiently. One disadvantage would be that lack of horizontal communication.

Question 10

Define the divisional management structure and list 1 advantage and disadvantage of such.

Answer 10

Divisional management structure is where labour is divided intosections based upon product, service, customer or geographical location. An advantage of a divisional management structure is the improving in horizontal communication compared to a functional structure. A disadvantage of a divisional structure is the increased duplication of resources.

Question 11

Define the matrix management structure and list 1 advantage and disadvantage of of such.

Answer 11

Matrix structure brings together specialists to work in teams on particular projects or problems. An advantage of a matrix structure is excellent flexibility. One disadvantage would be the large duplication of resources.

Question 12

Define Procedure.

Answer 12

Procedure is the steps that follow to implement policy. These steps, that follow the creation of a policy ( through the seven steps of policy development ) enable the policy to be put into practice.

Question 13

What is corporate culture?

Answer 13

Culture is the shared values and beliefs by everyone in the organisation. It is the organisations idea of how things work and what is important and falls into the categories of official and real corporate culture.

Question 14

What are the different indicators of corporate culture?

Answer 14

Indicators of corporate culture are broken up into two different categories, real and official. The indicators of corporate culture that fall under the real category are values, symbols, rituals and heroes. The indicators of corporate culture that fall under the official category are policies, mission statement and objectives.

Question 15

How do you develop corporate culture?

Answer 15

Culture can be developed by management in a variety of ways including management leading and provide examples of proper culture, management communicating this desired culture to all members of the organisation and management recognising and rewarding organisational members for displays proper culture.

Question 16

Define ethics and social responsibility.

Answer 16

Ethics involve abiding by morale standards and doing the right thing by all stakeholders. Social responsibility involves going above and beyond legal obligations to support the wellbeing of all stakeholders.

Question 17

Name issues surrounding ethics and social responsibility that could occur in the internal environment.

Answer 17

Examples of issues that could arise surrounding ethics and social responsibility in the internal environment are fairness and honesty, being fair and honest with all employees and stakeholders. Financial management, making sure all financial documents are honest and upfront, and diversity, ensuring there are a diverse range of backgrounds in terms of male and female employees as well as a range of different culture back rounds in management roles.

Question 18

Name an LSO that is socially responsible and give examples of such.

Answer 18

An example of an organisation that is socially responsible is Cotton On. Cotton On display ethics and social responsibility in the way that they have created a vendor code of conduct, meaning they will not except products from suppliers that do not meet they specific guidelines in their code of conduct.

Question 19

Define performance indicators.

Answer 19

Performance indicators are methods of measuring how effective the organisation is in achieving its objectives. As well as how efficient the organisation has been in achieving those objectives.

Question 20

Give examples of 2 financial performance indicators.

Answer 20

Examples of two financial performance indicators are net profit and rate of productivity growth. Net profit measures the amount of money after expenses have been paid and rate of productivity measures the amount of products produced in relation to how many resources are used. Productivity increases when more products are produced with less resources used, thus becoming more efficient.

Question 21

Give examples of two non-financial performance indicators.

Answer 21

Examples of two non-financial performance indicators are customer satisfaction and staff satisfaction.

Question 22

Name the 5 management styles.

Answer 22

The five management styles are autocratic, persuasive, consultative, participative and laissez-faire.

Question 23

What are the main features, strengths and weaknesses of the five management styles?

Answer 23

Autocratic:
Involves manager telling staff what decisions have been made. The characteristics of an autocratic management style include
- Decision making is centralised.
- One way, top down communication.
Strengths:
- Fast.
- Clear communication.
Weaknesses:
- Employees can have low morale through lack of input.
- Poor relationships between management and staff.

Persuasive:
Involves centralised decision making with the manager also selling the decision to staff.
Characteristics:
- Decision making is centralised.
- One way, top down communication.
Strengths:
- Fast.
- Clear communication.
Weaknesses:
- Employees can have low morale through lack of input.
- Poor relationships between management and staff.

Consultative:
Involves the manager consulting with employees before making decisions.
Characteristics:
- Two way communication.
- Decision making is still centralised with the addition of the manager taking input from staff before making the decision.
Strengths:
- Greater variety of ideas.
- Higher staff morale.
Weaknesses:
- Time consuming.

Participative:
Involves management joining in with staff to make decisions.
Characteristics:
- Two way communication.
- Decision making is decentralised.
Strengths:
- High level of trust.
- Strong relationships between management and staff.
Weaknesses:
- Time consuming.
- Managers role can be undermined.

Laissez-faire:
Involves full responsibility being given to employees.
Characteristics:
- Decision making is decentralised.
- Manager is only involved if asked.
Strengths:
- Employees feel sense of ownership.
Weaknesses:
- Complete loss of control by management.

Question 24

Define planning in management roles.

Answer 24

Planning is the process of setting objectives and finding ways to to achieve those objectives. Planning is carried out by all levels of management.

Question 25

What are three levels of planning?

Answer 25

The three levels of planning are:
Strategic Planning:
- Long term planning spanning 3-5 years, conducted by senior management.

Tactical Planning:
- Medium term planning spanning 1-2 years, conducted by middle management.

Operational Planning:
- Short term, day to day planning, conducted by lower management.

Question 26

Explain the planning process.

Answer 26

SADIM
SET the objective.
ANALYSE the current situation and future opportunities, SWOT analysis
DEVELOP alternatives, the management develops set alternatives that the could help achieve the set objective.
IMPLEMENT the plan, once the the best alternative is chosen it is implemented.
MONITOR results.

Question 27

Define organising in the management roles.

Answer 27

Organising is the process of coordinating an organisations resources to achieve objectives. Managers may need to coordinate things such as:

• Employees.
• Meetings.
• Finances.
• Machinery.
• Timelines.

Question 28

Explain the organising process.

Answer 28

There are 3 steps in the organising process:

1. Determine the work that needs to be done.
2. Group the activities to ensure efficient use of resources.
3. Allocate the tasks.

Some different ways that tasks can be allocated include:

• All authority and decision making given to an experienced team member.
• Authority and decision making spread throughout a team.
• Authority is given to a less experienced team member with a mentor.

Question 29

Define leading in the management roles.

Answer 29

Leading is the process of influencing and motivating employees to achieve the organisations objectives.

Question 30

Name some leadership qualities.

Answer 30

Interpersonal:
Interpersonal qualities of a successful leader include the abilities to actively listen and communicate with a wide range of people from varying backgrounds and abilities.

Informational:
A manager that deals with the gathering and sharing of information about the company with staff and other stakeholders.

Decision making:
A successful leader can look at a range of alternatives and select the most appropriate alternative that reflects the organisations objectives and values.

Question 31

Define controlling in the management roles.

Answer 31

Controlling is where a manger evaluates actual performance against preferred performance. Performance indicators are used to monitor performance.
Controlling involves:
- Establishing benchmark.
- Determining the best method of measuring performance.
- Measuring performance.
- compare results against benchmark.
- Take corrective action where necessary.

Question 32

Name the different management skills.

Answer 32

Communication involves the ability to transfer information from the sender to the receiver, and to listen for feedback. Communication can be nonverbal (body language, visual) or through the use of words.

Team Building is the interaction of individuals within the team. Team building has the potential to empower employees to be apart of the decision making process.

Decision Making is the ability to select the best alternative from a range of alternatives. There are six steps in a typical decision making/problem solving process. These steps are to:
Identify the problem and causes
Gather information
Develop alternatives
Analyse alternatives
Choose the alternative and implement it
Evaluate and make adjustments where necessary.

Time Management:
Involves the ability to prioritise tasks, set deadlines, review and delegate. Time management heavily revolves around and is a direct result of the management role of organising.