MGMT 3361 Exam #1

what are the four functions on management?

planning, organizing, controlling, leading

what are the levels of management?

top managers, middle managers, first-line managers, team leaders, non-managerial employees

what are the areas of management?

functional and general

functional management

focus on one activity (i.e, Vice President of Production, Director of Finance, Administrator for Human Resources)

general management

focus on all areas (i.e. Executive Vice President)

what are the three types of organizations

for-profit, nonprofit, and mutual benefit

for-profit organization

for making money, make money by offering products or services

non-profit organization

for offering services, offer services to some client, not to make a profit

mutual benefit organization

for aiding members, purpose is to advance members’ interests

planning (functions of management)

setting goals and deciding how to achieve them

organizing (functions of management)

arranging tasks, people, and other resources to accomplish work

leading (functions of management)

motivating, directing, and otherwise influencing people to work hard to achieve the organization’s goals

controlling (functions of management)

monitoring performance, comparing it with goals, and taking corrective action as needed

top managers

managers who determine what the organization’s long-term goals should be for the next 1-5 years with the resources they expect to have available

middle managers

implement policies and plans of the top managers above them and supervise and coordinate the activities of the first-line managers below them

first-line managers

make short-term operating decisions, directing daily tasks of nonmanagerial personnel

team leaders

facilitate team members’ activities to help teams achieve their goals

nonmanagerial employee

those who either work alone on tasks or with others on a variety of teams

management skills

technical, conceptual, and human

technical skills

skills that consist of the job-specific knowledge needed to perform well in a specialized field

conceptual skills

skills that consist of the ability to think analytically, to visualize an organization as a whole and understand how the parts work together

human skills

skills that consist of the ability to work well in cooperation with other people to get things done

soft skills

ability to motivate, to inspire trust, and to communicate with others

internal stakeholders

employees, owners, board of directors

• have an important interest in how the organization runs

• influence the organization within

• reinforce the organizational culture throughout

external stakeholders

task environment and general environment

task environment

• many groups present an organization with daily tasks to handle

• they include:

  • customers

  • competitors

  • suppliers

  • distributors

  • financial institutions

  • local communities

  • government regulators

• present both challenges & opportunities directly to the organization through influence

• organizations in the industry or market space frequently interact with the same task environment elements

general environment

• the macro environment of the organization

• the forces include:

  • economic

  • technological

  • sociocultural

  • demographic

  • political-legal

  • International

• can severely impact the task environment

four ethical approaches

utilitarian, individual, moral-rights, and justice

utilitarian approach

• guided by:

  • result in the greatest good for the greatest number

  • understanding all will not win

• often associated with financial performance

individual approach

• guided by:

  • result in the individual’s best long-term interest

  • ultimately is in everyone’s self interest

• assumes:

  • people will act ethically in the short run to avoid harm in the long run

the moral-rights approach

• guided by:

  • respect for the fundamental rights of human beings

  • right to life, liberty, privacy, health, safety, and due process

• ex. US Constitution’s Bill of Rights

justice approach

• guided by…respect for impartial standards of:

  • fairness

  • equity (equity ≠ equality)

• policies administered impartially & fairly, regardless of gender, age, sexual orientation, etc.

managerial perspectives

ethnocentric, polycentric, geocentric

ethnocentric managers

believe their native country, culture, language, and behaviors are superior to all others

• not always bad (i.e. sending someone from home country to start up foreign subsidiary)

polycentric managers

native managers in the foreign offices best understand native personnel and practice, and so the home offices should leave the, alone (i.e. leaving leadership to native in host country)

geocentric managers

accept that there are differences & similarities between home and foreign personnel & practices & that they should use whatever techniques are most effective (i.e. right person to run subsidiary)

why companies expand internationally

• availability of supplies (resources)

• new markets available (economics)

• lower labor costs

• higher skilled labor available

• access to financial capital

investments from lowest risk to highest risk

1. global outsourcing

2. importing, exporting, & countertrading

3. licensing & franchising

4. joint ventures

5. wholly owner subsidiaries

low-context culture

culture in which shared meanings are primarily derived from written and spoken words

high-context culture

culture in which people rely heavily on situational cues for meaning when communicating with others

monochronic time

• one at a time

• undivided attention, focus

• time is limited, schedule driven, segmented

polychronic time

• more than one at a time

• time is flexible, multidimensional

• can lead to work stress

Hofstede’s Dimensions

1. individualism/collectivism

2. power distance

3. uncertainty avoidance

4. masculinity/femininity

individualism/collectivism

how much people prefer a loosely knit social framework in which people are expected to take care of themselves (Canada & US) or in which people and organizations are expected to look after each other (Mexico & China)

power distance

the degree to which people accept inequality in social situations

uncertainty avoidance

people’s intolerance for uncertainty and risk

masculinity/femininity

how much people value performance-oriented traits (masculinity) or how much they embrace relationship-oriented traits (femininity)

the GLOBE project

Global

Leadership

&

Organizational

Behavior

Effectiveness

• a massive and ongoing cross-cultural investigation of nine cultural dimensions involved in leadership and organizational processes