In today’s business world, the main task of any manager is to take decision; these decisions are impacting the firm, the employees and the environment. As the world is developing and transitioning into a globalized unit, decision making is becoming a complicated task. Manager takes thunders of decisions every day, some decisions are done consciously and other are done subconsciously. More the manager has experiences, more often he will take subconscious decision for recurrent problem, due to it knowledge of the firm, the environments and it past experiences. Other decisions that are not as usual, need to be analyzed on every angle, before being able to build solutions for it, this would be a conscious decision. Decision making is defined as the process of deciding about something important, especially in a group of people or in organization. Decision-making is a six steps processes, no matter if the decision is taken Continue reading
Principles of Management
Problems with Management Control Systems
Despite of the benefits, there are some issues with the implementation of management control system in an organization.They are: Magnitude of Change. Management control system is designed to cope with changes of a limited magnitude. While designing the control system certain as assumptions are made concerning the variables expected to change and the degree of change. Corrective actions are decided on the basis of-these-assumptions. For example, overtime may be decided on the assumption that five per cent of the employees will on an average be absent. When the magnitude of change is too high, the corrective action cannot work. For example, if 90 per cent of the employees remain absent, on a particular day due to a strike, management can do little to correct the change. Thus, the control system fails when the variables go outside the range, which the system was designed to handle. Time Rate of Change. Control Continue reading
Management Levels in an Organization
The term level of management refers to a line of demarcation between various managerial positions. The number of levels of management depends upon the size, technology, degree, of diversity and nature of product. There are mainly three levels of management in most of the organization. Top level management Middle level management Lower level management The extent to which managers perform the functions of management – planning, organizing, directing, and controlling – varies by level in the management hierarchy. Each person in the hierarchy is provided with just enough amount of authority and responsibility. Definitely, as we move up the hierarchy the authority and responsibility seems to increase. This hierarchy gives rise to an authority-responsibility relationship between individuals which gives rise to various levels of management, which further introduces superiors and subordinates (due to the difference in authority and responsibility) into the management system. 1. Top Level Management Top level consists of the board Continue reading
Organizational Design and Structure – Meaning and Importance
Organizational Design and Structure Organizational design is defined as a process of reshaping organization structure and roles, or it can be more effectively defined as the alignment of the structure, process, rewards and talent with the strategy of the business. Amy Kates and Jay Galbraith have found (building on years of work by Galbraith) that attention to all of these organizational elements is necessary to create new capabilities to compete in the given market. This systemic view is referred to as the “star model” approach and is more likely to lead to better performance . Organization design may involve strategic decisions, but is properly viewed as the path to execute strategies effectively . Many companies fall into the trap of making repeated changes in the organizational structure, with a little benefit to the business. This often occurs because the changes in the structure are relatively easy to execute while creating Continue reading
Organisation Structure – Meaning and Types
An organisation structure is a set of planned relationships between groups of related functions and between physical factors and personnel required for the performance of the functions. The organisation structure is generally shown on the organisation chart. It shows authority and responsibility between various positions in the enterprises by showing who reports to whom. Organisation structure lays down the pattern of communication and coordination in the enterprises. Though organisation structure is very important, it is not an end in itself. According to Peter F. Drucker, “Organisation is not an end itself, but a means to end of business performances and business results. Organisation structure is an indispensable means; and the wrong structure will seriously impair business performance and may even destroy it. Organisation structure must be designed so as to make possible the attainment of the objectives of the business for five, ten, fifteen years hence.” Process of Organizing Organisation Continue reading
Understanding the Significance of Hawthorne Studies to Management
The Hawthorne experiments were conducted at Western Electric’s Hawthorne plant in Illinois, running from 1924 through 1932. These experiments were intended to examine how people would react to certain conditions such as light, heat, and humidity. These variables were altered and produced both expected and unexpected results. Further trials embarked as Professor George Elton Mayo brought an academic research team into the factory, which were among the most extensive social science studies ever conducted. These investigations have been heavily criticized for merely serving the interest of management. However, these accusations can be argued. The Hawthorne investigations did not only have enormous influence on the ‘human factors’ to management but also on the development of industrial psychology and sociology. Some maintain their opinion that the human relations approach is misinterpreted, leading to major failures. The Hawthorne studies were initially undertaken to investigate the relationship between physical work conditions and employers productivity. Continue reading