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Key points
- Achieving business goals
- Management approaches
- Management process
- Management and change
- The nature of management
Management requires:
- Working with and through others,
- Achieving the goals of the business
- Getting the most from the limited resources
- Balancing efficiency and effectiveness
- Coping with a rapidly changing environment
Efficiency compares the resources needed to achieve a goal (costs) against what
was actually achieved (benefits).
Effectiveness measures the degree to which a goal has been achieved
Skills of Management
Importance of Goals
1. Serving as targets: Managers must understand what the business is trying to
achieve
2. Measuring sticks: Actual goal is compared with the planned goal
3. Motivation: Something to aim for; provide managers with a basis for rewarding
performance, acts as a motivator
4. Commitment: Having employee involved in goal-setting process gives
employee a personal stake in the success of the business
Setting Goals
To influence employee behaviour and increase their commitment, goals need to be
specific and challenging. This will provide a target to aim for.
S.M.A.R.T. Goals
Specific. Goals should be straightforward and emphasise what the business wants
to happen
Achievable. Goals need to be challenging but not be too far out of the businesss
reach, otherwise the business owner and employees will become unmotivated due to
lack of success.
Realistic. The goals must represent something that the business owner and
employees are both willing and able to work towards.
Time bound. The goals must have deadlines and sub-deadlines attached to them
otherwise the commitment is too vague.
Business Goals Financial
Financial goals
Maximise profits Increase market share maximise growth Improve share price
All businesses have financial goals and financial record which are used to determine
the businesses level of success.
Maximise Profits
Profit maximisation occurs when there is a maximum difference between the total
revenue coming into the business and total costs being paid out.
Maximise Growth
Businesses can achieve growth internally (organically) or externally
- Internal growth could involve employing more people, increasing sales,
introducing innovative products, purchasing new equipment or establishing
more outlets
- E.g. McDonalds has pursued an ambitious growth program by selecting a
large number of sites for future expansion
- External growth is achieved by merging with or acquiring other businesses. A
merger occurs when two businesses join together to become one.
- Expansion can also take place through acquisition. This means that a
business purchases another business
Maximising growth is not a goal that only large businesses can achieve. Many
successful SMEs have followed similar strategies and in the process expanded to
become large businesses. However, some small business owners are content to
maintain the existing size of their business to:
- Avoid the added pressure of expansion in a desire for a quiet life or a
particular lifestyle
- Keep control over the businesss operations
- Maintain personal contact with customers
Improved Share Price
- A share is a part ownership of a public company
- Shareholders therefore are the real owners of companies
- There are two reasons why a person will buy shares:
1. They may purchase shares in the hope of selling them for a higher price
2. Owning shares in a company entitles an investor to a part of the
companys profits, which is distributed in the form of dividends
- Successful companies maximise returns of their share holders
- Achieved by keeping share price rising and paying healthy dividends
Social Goals
All businesses operate within a community and have certain social responsibilities.
Many businesses develop social goals and adopt strategies that will benefit the
community, while achieving financial goals. Some main social goals are:
- Community service. Business sponsorship of community events promotions
and programs rapidly increased during the past decade. Many businesses
financially support education, cultural, sporting and welfare activities.
- Provision of employment. Most large businesses do not regard employment of
people as a main goal. Many small business owners, however look at the
continuity of their business, sometimes employing family members who
otherwise might be unemployed.
- Social justice. Everyone has the right to be treated fairly. A business may be
concerned for social justice that is, it adopts a set of policies to ensure
employees and/or other community members are treated equally and fairly
Environmental Goals
Enlightened businesses are adopting practices of recycle, renew and regenerate,
as well as adopting a green attitude, and developing products and creating ideas
that are environmentally friendly. These business practices reduce the impact on the
planets health so that future generations are not disadvantaged.
Environmental Goals Sustainable Development
- Economic growth must be achieved sustainably
- Many in society argue that economic growth should not occur at the expense
of polluting and degrading the air, water and forests that are essential to
support life on this planet
- There needs to be a balance between economic and environmental concerns
in other words, sustainable development
- Sustainable development: occurs when the needs of the present population
are met without endangering the ability of future generations to meet their own
needs.
Pressure to change has come from societys increasing awareness of
environmental issues. As well, governments are imposing stricter environmental
regulations on business practices. This will provide many new business
opportunities for environmental services and products.
- E.g. a business owner may face the dilemma of having to choose whether to
maximise profits or increase market share. An increase in market share may
only be achieved at the expense of maximising profit in the short term; it may
require extensive advertising, which increases expenses and thus lowers
profits until more products are sold. Such a strategy is based on the belief that
profits will be maximised in the long term
- Maximising profits
- Maximising growth
Market share refers to the businesss share of the total industry sales for a particular
product.
A small change in a businesss market share can result in a large change to its profit.
Companies need to satisfy their shareholders by improving the share price and
paying healthy dividends.
Many businesses develop social and environmental goals and adopt strategies that
will benefit the community.
- Community service
- Provision of employment
- Social justice
Maximising profits is often considered the businesss main goal. However, this goal
may not be achievable, or it may be an inappropriate goal due to the following
reasons:
- If profits are maximised due to higher prices rather than lower costs,
managers may prefer lower profits to discourage potential competitors from
entering the industry. In this case, a long-term price policy that is similar to the
rest of the competitors will be more beneficial for the business than one that
exploits current market conditions for instant profit
- Managers may decide to limit profits by keeping prices down to maintain good
customer relations. Consumers will often resent prices they consider to be
unfair, which encourages them to buy their products from other businesses
- Businesses should be careful regarding how they go about achieving the goal
of profit maximisation. Maximising profits should never involve short-term
exploitation. Consumers, employees and the community who feel they have
been taken advantage of may quickly lose their loyalty to a business. The
result could well be a fall in profits in the long-term
Staff Involvement
Involving employees in the decision making process and giving them the necessary
skills and rewards.
Motivation Training
Staff Innovation
Innovative activities of staff are often referred to as the entrepreneurship within the
business (intrapreneur)
Motivation
- Motivation refers to the individual, internal process that directs, energises and
sustains a persons behaviour
- Encourage suggestions
- Delegate responsibility
- Lead by example
Mentoring
Mentoring programs, especially for new employees, aim to provide advice, guidance
and to help with transition and socialisation.
- Assists with the training and development of all employees and passes on the
skills and abilities of the more experienced staff members
Training
Employees must be trained and retrained due to the unlimited changes in the
workforce mainly due to technology.
May involve teaching them specific skills, and allows existing employees to
continually upgrade their skills with the aim of developing multi-skilled employees
Summary
- Motivation refers to the individual, internal process that directs, energises and
sustains a persons behaviour
- Teaching new employees what the business expects of them helps strengthen
their dedication and commitment to the business
Management Approaches
Knowledge about management today is the result of a long and continuing
innovative process as ideas evolved over time.
Introduction
- Levels of management
- Management styles
2. Select suitable workers and train them to use the scientifically developed work
methods.
According the Weber, a bureaucracy is the most efficient form of organisation and
should have:
Management as Planning
Strategic planning is planning for the following three to five years. This level of
planning will assist in determining where in the market the business wants to be, and
what the business wants to achieve in relation to its competitors.
Tactical planning is flexible, adaptable planning, usually over one to two years, that
assists in implementing the strategic plan.
Operational planning provides specific detail about the way in which the business will
operate in the short term.
Management as Organising
- Organising = next part of the process management puts into practice the
goals that were planned
2. Classifying and grouping activities. Once the activities have been broken
down into smaller steps, similar activities can be grouped together. This
improves efficiency by enabling the most appropriate allocation of
resources. E.g.it is common practice to group activities into departments or
sections and allocate employees and supervisors to each section or
department
Management as Controlling
- Controlling compares what was intended to happen with what has actually
occurred. If there is a discrepancy between performance and goals, changes
and improvements can be made
1. Establish standards in line with the firms goals and influences from
employees, management, industry and government
Control Methods
2. Quality assurance. Because quality assurance occurs both during and after
production, and seeks to stop faults occurring in the first place, it is less
wasteful than quality control. Quality assurance aims to make sure that
products are produced to pre-set standards. It is the responsibility of the
employees working in teams, rather than of the inspectors.
Summary
- Controlling: compares what was intended to happen with what has actually
occurred
Hierarchical Organisations
Limitations
- Following the rules for their own sake limited flexibility in providing customer
service
Leadership Styles
Autocratic managers:
- Make decisions and announce them
- Manager orientated
Participative managers
Democratic managers
Management Approaches
- Leading: having a vision of where the business should be in the long and
short term
3. Manage your own emotions and help others in the business to maintain an
emotional balance
7. Learn how to access and use appropriate information and manage this
knowledge effectively