Final Exam Study Guide MGT 300 Chapter 1 7 Challenges to being exceptional managers Competitive advantage the ability of an organization to produce goods or services more effectively then competitors To gain competitive advantage you must be ahead in 4 areas being responsive to the customer innovation quality efficiency Diversity managers must be able to manage diversity and maximize the contributions of employees diverse in age race and ethnicity Globalization managers must be able to manage globalization and be able to recognize that gestures and symbols don t have the same meaning to everyone throughout the world Information Technology The challenge of managing for information technology is important for managers Most importantly managing the internet which is the global network of independently operating but interconnected computers linking hundreds of thousands of smaller networks worldwide o E commerce the buying and selling of goods or services over computer networks which is reshaping entire industries o E business using the internet to facilitate every aspect of running a business o Implications of e business Far ranging e management and e communication using e mail and project management software programs for planning and scheduling the people costs and resources to complete a project on time Accelerated decision making conflict stress using databases Changes in organizational structure jobs goal setting and knowledge management Telecommuting working from home or remote locations using a variety of information technologies Videoconferencing using video and audio links along with computers to let people in different locations see hear and talk with one another Collaborative computing using state of the art computer software and hardware to help people work together Knowledge management the implementing of systems and practices to increase the sharing of knowledge and information throughout an organization Ethics managers must know how to handle ethical dilemmas Sustainability defined as economic development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs Your happiness and career advancement you must meet the challenge of realizing your own happiness while meeting the organization s challenges Leading organizing controlling and planning The Four Management Functions Planning defined as setting goals and deciding how to achieve them Organizing defined as arranging tasks people and other resources to accomplish the work Leading defined as motivating directing and otherwise influencing people to work hard and achieve the organizations goals Controlling defined as monitoring performance comparing it with goals and taking corrective action as needed Chapter 2 Historical vs contemporary management perspectives Historical the historical perspective includes three viewpoints classical behavioral and quantitative Contemporary the contemporary perspective also includes three viewpoints systems contingency and quality management Classical Management Scientific management pioneered by Frederick Taylor and the gilbreths scientific management emphasized the scientific study of work methods to improve the productivity of individual workers o Frederick W Taylor part of the scientific management movement believed managers could eliminate soldiering by applying four principals 1 evaluate a task by scientifically studying each part of the task 2 carefully select workers with the right ability for the task 3 give workers the training and incentives to do the task with the proper work methods 4 use scientific principles to plan the work methods and ease the way for workers to do their jobs Administrative management concerned with managing the total organization rather than individual workers pioneered by Henri Fayol and Max Weber Behavior viewpoint Behavioral viewpoint emphasized the importance of understanding human behavior and of motivating employees toward achievement The Hawthorne Effect employees work harder if they receive added attention if they thought managers cared about their welfare and if supervisors paid special attention to them The Human Relations Movement proposed that better human relations could increase worker productivity Behavior Science approach relies on scientific research for developing theories about human behavior that can be used to provide practical tools for managers Theory X and Theory Y Theory X represents a pessimistic negative view of workers while Theory Y represents the outlook of human relations proponents an optimistic positive view of workers Quantitative Viewpoint Management Science focuses on using mathematics to aid in problem solving and decision making Contemporary Perspectives Operations Management focuses on managing the production and delivery of an organization s products or services more effectively System viewpoint regards the organization as a system of interrelated parts You can look at your organization both as a collection of subsystems parts making up the whole system and part of a larger environment Four parts of a system inputs transformation processes outputs and feedback Contingency viewpoint emphasizes that a manager s approach should vary according to the individual and the environmental situation Quality management viewpoint includes quality control quality assurance and total quality management stage of production strive for zero defects o Quality control defined as the strategy for minimizing errors by managing each o Quality assurance focuses on the performance of workers urging employees to Chapter 3 Organization s environment Internal stakeholders consist of employees owners and the board of directors External stakeholders people or groups in the organization s external environment that are affected by it The Task Environment consists of 11 groups that present you with daily tasks to handle customers competitors suppliers distributors strategic allies employee organizations local communities financial institutions government regulators special interest groups and mass media The general environment includes forces that you cant control such as economic forces technological forces sociocultural forces demographic forces political legal forces and international forces Ethical dilemma a situation in which you have to decide whether to purchase a course of action that may benefit you or your organization but that is unethical or even illegal Ethical dilemma