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Chennai - 020
FIRST SEMESTER EMBA/ MBA
Subject : Principles and Practices of Management
Attend any 4 questions. Each question carries 25 marks
(Each answer should be of minimum 2 pages / of 300 words)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
25 x 4=100 marks
Planning:
It is the basic function of management. It deals with chalking out a future course of action &
deciding in advance the most appropriate course of actions for achievement of pre-determined
goals. According to KOONTZ, Planning is deciding in advance - what to do, when to do & how
to do. It bridges the gap from where we are & where we want to be. A plan is a future course of
actions. It is an exercise in problem solving & decision making. Planning is determination of
courses of action to achieve desired goals. Thus, planning is a systematic thinking about ways &
means for accomplishment of pre-determined goals. Planning is necessary to ensure proper
utilization of human & non-human resources. It is all pervasive, it is an intellectual activity and it
also helps in avoiding confusion, uncertainties, risks, wastages.
Organizing:
It is the process of bringing together physical, financial and human resources and developing
productive relationship amongst them for achievement of organizational goals. According to
Henry Fayol, To organize a business is to provide it with everything useful or its functioning i.e.
raw material, tools, capital and personnels. To organize a business involves determining &
providing human and non-human resources to the organizational structure. Organizing as a
process involves:
Identification of activities.
Classification of grouping of activities.
Assignment of duties.
Delegation of authority and creation of responsibility.
Coordinating authority and responsibility relationships.
Staffing:
It is the function of manning the organization structure and keeping it manned. Staffing has
assumed greater importance in the recent years due to advancement of technology, increase in
size of business, complexity of human behavior etc. The main purpose o staffing is to put right
man on right job i.e. square pegs in square holes and round pegs in round holes. According to
Kootz & ODonell, Managerial function of staffing involves manning the organization structure
through proper and effective selection, appraisal & development of personnel to fill the roles
designed un the structure. Staffing involves:
Manpower Planning (estimating man power in terms of searching, choose the person and
giving the right place).
Recruitment, Selection & Placement.
Training & Development.
Remuneration.
Performance Appraisal.
Promotions & Transfer.
Directing:
It is that part of managerial function which actuates the organizational methods to work
efficiently for achievement of organizational purposes. It is considered life-spark of the
enterprise which sets it in motion the action of people because planning, organizing and staffing
are the mere preparations for doing the work. Direction is that inert-personnel aspect of
management which deals directly with influencing, guiding, supervising, motivating sub-ordinate
for the achievement of organizational goals. Direction has following elements:
Supervision
Motivation
Leadership
Communication
Supervision- implies overseeing the work of subordinates by their superiors. It is the act of
watching & directing work & workers.
Motivation- means inspiring, stimulating or encouraging the sub-ordinates with zeal to work.
Positive, negative, monetary, non-monetary incentives may be used for this purpose.
Leadership- may be defined as a process by which manager guides and influences the work of
subordinates in desired direction.
Communications- is the process of passing information, experience, opinion etc from one person
to another. It is a bridge of understanding.
Controlling:
It implies measurement of accomplishment against the standards and correction of deviation if
any to ensure achievement of organizational goals. The purpose of controlling is to ensure that
everything occurs in conformities with the standards. An efficient system of control helps to
predict deviations before they actually occur. According to Theo Haimann, Controlling is the
process of checking whether or not proper progress is being made towards the objectives and
goals and acting if necessary, to correct any deviation. According to Koontz & ODonell
Controlling is the measurement & correction of performance activities of subordinates in order
to make sure that the enterprise objectives and plans desired to obtain them as being
accomplished.
Therefore controlling has following steps:
Comparison of actual performance with the standards and finding out deviation if any.
4.
Organizational dynamics
Organizational dynamics refers to the patterns of movement over time in the interactions
between the people who are the organization, the community of practice . Such patters could be
described, for example, as regular patterns of dependence and conformity, or as irregular patterns
of aggression and noncompliance.
Organizational dynamics is defined as the process of continuously strengthening
resources and enhancing employee performances. It can also be described as how an
organization manages and promotes organizational learning, better business practices
and strategic management.
Fourth, resource control refers to how executives and management establish systems that
gather data which is used to determine if goals are met.
communications and progress management. They also create open forums that empower vendors,
employees and shareholders to share information. Project managers directly impact the financial
health through financial monitoring and integrated cost controls.
Unity of Direction:
Teams with the same objective should be working under the direction of one manager, using one
plan. This will ensure that action is properly coordinated.
Subordination of Individual Interests to the General Interest
The interests of one employee should not be allowed to become more important than those of the
group. This includes managers.
Remuneration:
Employee satisfaction depends on fair remuneration for everyone. This includes financial and
non-financial compensation.
Centralization:
This principle refers to how close employees are to the decision-making process. It is important
to aim for an appropriate balance.
Scalar Chain:
Employees should be aware of where they stand in the organization's hierarchy, or chain of
command.
Order
The workplace facilities must be clean, tidy and safe for employees. Everything should have its
place.
Equity
Managers should be fair to staff at all times, both maintaining discipline as necessary and acting
with kindness where appropriate.
Stability of Tenure of Personnel
Managers should strive to minimize employee turnover. Personnel planning should be a priority.
Initiative
Employees should be given the necessary level of freedom to create and carry out plans.
Esprit de Corps
Organizations should strive to promote team spirit and unity.
Formal groups
Formal groups are created to achieve specific organisational objectives and are concerned with
the co-ordination of work activities.
People are brought together on the basis of defined roles within the structure of the organisation.
The nature of the tasks to be undertaken is a predominant feature of the formal groups. Goals are
identified by management, and certain rules, relationships and norms of behaviour established.
Formal groups tend to be relatively permanent although there may be changes in actual
membership. However, temporary formal groups may also be created by management for
example, the use of project teams in a matrix organisation.
Formal work groups can be differentiated into team groups task groups and technological
groups.
Team groups these are fairly autonomous groups with broad terms of reference and limited
supervisions. The team designate the positions to be filled and the allocation of members, and
instigate changes as necessary.
Task groups jobs are defined clearly and individuals assigned to specific positions. The
groups has some flexibility over methods of work and the pace of work, but otherwise limited
discretion. Examples could include many administrative or clerical workers.
Technological groups members have very limited autonomy to determiner change the
operational activities. The pace of work is also likely to be controlled. Content and method of
work are specified and individuals assigned to specific jobs. There is little scope for individual
discretion, and often limited opportunities for interaction among members. A typical example is
people working on assembly line operations.
Informal Groups
Within the formal structure of the organisation there will always be an informal structure. The
formal structure of the organisation and system of role relationship, rule and procedures, will be
augmented by interpretation and development at the informal level. Informal groups are based
more on personal relationships and agreement of groups members than on defined role
relationships. They serve to satisfy psychological and social needs not related necessarily to the
tasks to be undertaken. Groups may devise ways of attempting to satisfy members affiliations
and other social motivations which are lacing in the work situation, especially in industrial
organisations.
The membership of informal groups can cut across the formal structure. They may comprise
individuals form different parts of the organisations and/or from different levels of the
organisation both vertically and diagonally as well as same horizontal level. An informal group
could also be the same as the formal group, or it might comprise part only of the formal group.
The member of informal group may appoint their own leader who exercises authority by the
consent of the members themselves. The informal leader may be chosen as the person who
reflects the attitudes and values of the members helps to resolve conflict leads the groups in
satisfying its goals or liaises with management or other people outside the groups. The informal
leader may often change according to the particular situation facing the groups. Although not
usually the case, it is possible for the informal leader to be the same person as the formal leader
appointed officially by management.
Groups, there fore, help shape the work pattern of organisations and the attitudes and behaviour
of members of their jobs. The formation and operation of work groups, and the behaviour of their
members has an important significance for the manager. Likert, for example, has developed a
theory of organisation based on work groups. In his discussion of group processes and
organisational performance he concludes that: Group forces are important not only in
influencing the behaviour of individual work groups with regard to productivity, waste, absence
and the like, they also affect the behaviour of entire organisations.
Overlapping group membership
Likert suggests that organisations function best when members act not as individuals but as
members of highly effective work groups. He proposes a structure based on overlapping group
membership with a Linking-pin process by which the superior of one group is a subordinate
member of the next group. The superior is therefore the linking-pin between a group of
subordinates and the next authority level group.
A structure of vertical overlapping groups helps to develop a committed team approach and
would improve the flow the communication, co-ordination and decision-making.
Horizontal linking-pin
Likert also recognises the position of subordinates serving as horizontal linking-pins between
different groups, such as functional or line work groups and product based work groups.
Likert recognises that sooner or latter the subordinate is likely to be caught in a conflict between
membership of both groups and the provision of information for decision making. He suggests
that both groups would need to be involved in group decision-making to resolve differences and
that this is more likely to occur with system for management.
Organisation structure
Groups are formed as a consequence of the pattern of organisation structure and arrangements
for the division of work, for example the grouping together of common activities into sections.
Groups may result form the nature of technology employed and the way in which work is carried
out, for example, the bringing together of a number of people to carry out a sequence of
operations on an assembly line. Groups may also develop when a number of people of the same
level or status within the organisation see themselves as a group, for exp, departmental heads of
an industrial organisation, or chief officers of a local authority.
Groups are deliberately planned and created by management as part of the formal organisation
structure. But groups will also arise form social processes and the informal organisation. The
informal organisation arises form the interaction of people working within the organisation and
the development of groups with their own relationships and norms of behaviours, irrespective of
those defined within the formal structure. This leads to a major distinction between groups
formal and informal.
REASONS FOR FORMATION OF GROUPS
Individuals will form into groups, both formal and informal, for number of different reasons
relating to both work performance and social processes.
Certain tasks can be performed only through the combined efforts of number of individuals
working together. The variety of experience and expertise among members of the group provide
a synergetic effect which can be applied to the increasingly complex problems of modern
organisations.
Groups may encourage collusion between members in order to modify formal working
arrangements more to their liking, for example by sharing or rotating unpopular tasks. Group
membership therefore, provides the individual with opportunities for initiative and creativity.
Groups provide companionship and a source of mutual understanding and support form
colleagues. This can help in solving work problems, and also to mitigate against stressful or
demanding working conditions.
Membership of the group provides the individual with a sense of belonging. The groups
provides a feeling of identity and the chance to acquire role recognition and status within the
group.
The group provides guidelines on generally acceptable behaviour. It helps to clarify ambiguous
situations such as for example, the extent to which official rules and regulations are expected to
be adhered to in practice, the rules of the game, and what is seen as the correct actual behaviour.
the informal organisation may put pressure on group members to resist demands from
management on such matters as, for example, higher output or changes in working methods.
Groups allegiance can serve as a means of control over individual behaviour. The group may
discipline individuals who contravene the norms of the group; for example, the process of
binging in the bank wiring room, mentioned above.
The group may provide protection for its membership. Group members collaborate to protect
their interests from outside pressures or threats.