Management education is mainly aimed at developing managerial skills in students. Amongst the various methods adopted in teaching management and management functions, the case study method developed in 1910 in U.S.A. and is now being propagated during the last decade or so, providing opportunities to both the teacher and the taught to promote managerial I understanding and competence, since it helps in contemplation and discussion of an actual situation. It is a wrong notion that the case studies are confined to management students. Cases may pertain lo any discipline, where skills for solving complex unstructured problems or preparing plans are required. The origin of case study methods itself can be traced to Harward Lawyers. Cases may describe problems facing individuals, groups, institutions or even Nations. Through a case study one learns a broad range of skills and has many alternatives. Case studies encourage the practice and attainment of analytical and Continue reading
Management Concepts
Organizational Behavior – Definition and Concepts
Definitions of Organizational Behavior According to Keith Davis “organizational behavior is the study and application of knowledge about how people act within organizations. It is human tool for the human benefit. It applies broadly to behavior of people in all type of organization such as business, government, schools, etc. it helps people, structure, technology, and the external environment blend together in to an effective operative system”. Stephen Robins defines organizational behavior as a “field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have an organization for the purpose of applying such knowledge improving an organization’s effectiveness“. There are many definitions about organizational behavior; every definition must include three important features, (1) organizational behavior is the study of human behavior, (2) study about behavior in organisations and (3) knowledge about human behavior would be useful in improving an organisation’s effectiveness. organizational behavior is the study of what an Continue reading
Perception in Organizations
Perception in Organizational Behavior Perception is an important mediating cognitive process. Through this complex process, people make interpretations of the stimulus or situation they are faced with. Both selectivity and organization go into perceptual, interpretations. Externally, selectivity is affected by intensity, size, contrast, repetition, motion and novelty and familiarity. Internally, perceptual selectivity is influenced by the individual’s motivation, learning and personality. After the selective process filters the stimulus situation, the incoming information is organized into a meaningful whole. Individual differences and uniqueness are largely the result of the cognitive processes. Although there are a number of cognitive processes, it is generally recognized that the perceptual process is a very important one. It is a process that takes place between the situation and the behavior and is most relevant to the study of organizational behavior. For example, the observation that a department head and a subordinate may react quite differently to Continue reading
Tuckman’s Team-Building Model
Forming – Storming – Norming – Performing is a model of team development, first proposed by Bruce Tuckman in 1965, who maintained that these phases are all necessary and inevitable in order for the team to grow, to face up to challenges, to tackle problems, to find solutions, to plan work, and to deliver results. He added a fifth stage, Adjourning, in the 1970s. The Forming Storming Norming Performing theory is an elegant and helpful explanation of team development and behavior. Tuckman’s team-building model explains that as the team develops maturity and ability, relationships establish, and the leader changes leadership style. Beginning with a directing style, moving through coaching, then participating, finishing delegating and almost detached. According to Tuckman, all of the phases are necessary and inevitable. In order for the team to grow they most face up to challenges, problems, find solutions to problems, planning as a team, and Continue reading
Risk Management in Business
Kaplan and Garrick (1981, p. 12) provide a simple equation for risk, which is “risk = uncertainty + damage”. They believe that it is irrelevant as to what context risk exists in, and that the same equation can always be used to identify and manage risk. However, risk can still be categorized differently depending on what facet of the organization it is affecting. Before a risk management strategy can be decided upon, the risk event must first be identified. An organization should conduct three steps before deciding on the best risk management strategy to use. As risk management can use a substantial amount of resources, clarification and direction should be decided upon before conducting risk management. The three factors are; Identification of the risk: The organization should first review all of the possible risk sources. Furthermore, they could use a risk assessment tool to identify the risk event that may Continue reading
Knowledge – Definition and Types
Knowledge is a very slippery concept with many different variations and definitions, each of which is valid in its own right. The nature of knowledge and what it means to know something are epistemological questions that have perplexed philosophers for centuries and no resolution looms on the horizon. According to Webster’s Dictionary, knowledge is “the fact or condition of knowing something with familiarity gained through experience or association”. In practice, though, there are many possible, equally plausible definitions of knowledge. A frequently used definition of knowledge is “the ideas or understandings which an entity possesses that are used to take effective action to achieve the entity’s goal(s). This knowledge is specific to the entity which created it.” There are two basic kinds of knowledge in an Organization: Explicit and Tacit. Explicit knowledge is knowledge that has been articulated and, more often than not, captured in the form of text, tables, Continue reading