Week 2

Question 1

Classical approach to management

Answer 1

There are three major branches within the classical approach to management: scientific management, administrative management and bureaucratic management. The figure shows that the branches all share a common assumption: people at work act in a rational manner that is driven mainly by economic concerns. Workers are expected to rationally consider opportunities made available to them and do whatever is necessary to achieve the greatest personal and monetary gain.

Question 2

Scientific management

Answer 2

Scientific management emphasises careful selection and training of workers and supervisory support. The four guiding action principles are develop, select, train, support

Question 3

Develop

Answer 3

Develop for every job a ‘science’ that includes standardised work processes and proper working conditions

Question 4

Select

Answer 4

Carefully select workers with the right abilities for the job

Question 5

Train

Answer 5

Carefully train and incentivise workers

Question 6

Support

Answer 6

Support workers with carefully planned work

Question 7

Behavioural approaches to management

Answer 7

The behavioural approaches maintain that people are social and self-actualising. People at work are assumed to seek satisfying social relationships, respond to group pressures and search for personal fulfilment.

Question 8

The Hawthorne studies

Answer 8

In 1924, the ‘Hawthorne Studies’ had a scientific management perspective and sought to determine how economic incentives and the physical conditions of the workplace affected the output of workers. It seemed reasonable to expect that better lighting would improve performance. After failing to find this relationship, however, the researchers concluded that unforeseen ‘psychological factors’ somehow interfered with their illumination experiments.

Question 9

Elton Mayo

Answer 9

In 1927, Harvard’s Elton Mayo (an Australian psychologist) began more research to examine the effect of worker fatigue on output. Researchers failed to find any direct relationship between changes in physical working conditions and output. Productivity increased regardless of the changes made which is now known to be due to the strengthening of social support networks.

Question 10

The Hawthorne studies and human relations

Answer 10

The Hawthorne studies showed that people’s feelings, attitudes and relationships with co-workers should be important to management, and they recognised the importance of the work group. They also identified the Hawthorne effect

Question 11

The Hawthorne effect

Answer 11

the tendency of people who are singled out for special attention to perform as anticipated merely because of expectations created by the situation.

Question 12

What did the Hawthorne studies contribute to

Answer 12

The Hawthorne Studies contributed to the emergence of the human relations movement. This movement was largely based on the viewpoint that managers who used good human relations in the workplace would achieve productivity. Furthermore, the insights of the human relations movement set the stage for what has now evolved as the field of organisational behaviour, the study of individuals and groups in organisations

Question 13

The quantitative approach to management

Answer 13

The foundation of the quantitative approach to management is the assumption that mathematical techniques can be used to improve managerial decision-making and problem-solving. Today these applications are increasingly driven by computer technology and software programs

Question 14

3 aspects of the quantitative approach

Answer 14

Management science
Mathematical forecasting
Inventory modelling

Question 15

Management science

Answer 15

Describes the application of mathematical techniques to analyse and solve management problems.

Question 16

Mathematical forecasting

Answer 16

Makes future projections that are useful in the planning process.

Question 17

Inventory modelling

Answer 17

Helps control inventories by mathematically establishing how much to order and
when.

Question 18

Systems thinking 4 parts

Answer 18

System
Cooperative system
Subsystem
Open system

Question 19

System

Answer 19

A system is a collection of interrelated parts working together for a purpose.

Question 20

Cooperative system

Answer 20

Chester Barnard defined organisations as cooperative systems in which
individual contributions are integrated for a common purpose.

Question 21

Subsystem

Answer 21

A subsystem is a smaller component of a larger system.

Question 22

Open system

Answer 22

Open systems transform resource inputs from the environment into product
outputs.

Question 23

Continuing management themes

Answer 23

Quality and performance excellence (TQM)

Global awareness

Learning organisations

Question 24

Quality excellence

Answer 24

Managers and workers in truly progressive organisations are quality conscious. They understand the basic link between competitive advantage and the ability to always deliver quality goods and services to their customers. The best organisational cultures include quality as a core value and reinforce the quality commitment in all aspects of the work environment.

Question 25

TQM

Answer 25

Every effort is made in total quality management (TQM) to build quality into all aspects of operations from initial acquisition of resources, through the transformation processes and work systems, all the way to ultimate product delivery to customers or clients.

Question 26

8 attributes of performance excellence

Answer 26

Bias
Closeness
Autonomy
Productivity 
Hands on
Knitting
Simple 
Loose-tight

Question 27

Bias

Answer 27

Bias towards action — making decisions and making sure that things get done.

Question 28

Closeness

Answer 28

Closeness to the customers — knowing their needs and valuing customer satisfaction.

Question 29

Autonomy

Answer 29

Autonomy and entrepreneurship — supporting innovation, change and risk-taking.

Question 30

Productivity

Answer 30

Productivity through people — valuing human resources as keys to quality and performance.

Question 31

Hands on

Answer 31

Hands-on and value-driven — having a clear sense of organisational purpose.

Question 32

Knitting

Answer 32

Sticking to the knitting — focusing resources and attention on what the organisation does best.

Question 33

Simple

Answer 33

Simple form and lean staff — minimising management levels and staff personnel.

Question 34

Loose-tight

Answer 34

Simultaneous loose–tight properties — allowing flexibility while staying in control.

Question 35

Global awareness

Answer 35

While the best formulas for success continue to be tested and debated, an important fact remains — much of the pressure for quality and performance excellence is created by a highly competitive global economy. Includes theory Z

Question 36

Theory Z

Answer 36

The term ‘Theory Z’ describes a management framework that incorporates into Australasian and North American practices a variety of insights found in the Japanese models. Prominent in the Theory Z management approach are things such as long-term employment, slower promotions and more lateral job movements, attention to career planning and development, use of consensus decision-making, and emphasis on use of teamwork and employee involvement.

Question 37

Learning organisations

Answer 37

This remains the age of the learning organisation, an organisation that operates with values and systems that result in ‘continuous change and improvement based on the lessons of experience’.
Learning organisations require for their success a value-driven organisational culture that emphasises information, teamwork, empowerment, participation and leadership.
We must all recognise that new managerial outlooks and new managerial competencies appropriate to the new workplace are requirements for future leadership success.

Question 38

Learning organisations - 21st century manager must be:

Answer 38

A global strategist
A master of technology
An effective politician
An inspiring leader

Question 39

A global strategist

Answer 39

understands interconnections among nations, cultures and economies; plans and acts with due consideration of them

Question 40

A master of technology

Answer 40

comfortable with information technology; understands technological trends and their implications; able to use technology to best advantage

Question 41

An effective politician

Answer 41

understands growing complexity of government regulations and the legal environment; able to relate them with the interests of the organisation

Question 42

An inspring leader

Answer 42

attracts highly motivated workers and inspires them with a high performance culture where individuals and teams can do their best work.

Question 43

Do managers lead (4 critical skills of an effective manager)/leader

Answer 43

Listen to people
Play the politics
Know the organisation
Have the ability to persevere

Question 44

What can be learned from classical management thinking

Answer 44

Frederick Taylor’s four principles of scientific management focused on the need to carefully select, train and support workers for individual task performance. Henri Fayol suggested that managers should learn what are now known as the management functions of planning, organising, leading and controlling. Max Weber described bureaucracy with its clear hierarchy, formal rules and well-defined jobs as an ideal form of organisation.

Question 45

What ideas were introduced by the human resource approaches?

Answer 45

The human resource approaches shifted attention towards the human factor as a key element in organisational performance. The historic Hawthorne Studies suggested that work behaviour is influenced by social and psychological forces and that work performance may be improved by better ‘human relations’. Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs introduced the concept of self-actualisation and the potential for people to experience self-fulfilment in their work. Douglas McGregor urged managers to shift away from Theory X and towards Theory Y thinking, which views people as independent, responsible and capable of self-direction in their work.

Question 46

What is the role of quantitative analysis in management?

Answer 46

The availability of high-powered desktop computing provides new opportunities for mathematical methods to be used for problem-solving.Many organisations employ staff specialists in quantitative management science and operations research to solve problems. Quantitative techniques in common use include various approaches to forecasting, linear programming and simulation, among others.

Question 47

What is unique about the systems view and contingency thinking?

Answer 47

Organisations are composed of many internal subsystems that must work together in a coordinated way to support the organisation’s overall success. Contingency thinking avoids ‘one best way’ arguments, and recognises the need to understand situational differences and respond appropriately to them.