Entries Tagged 'Questions' ↓

Want to test your knowledge of the Change Management acrostics we set up in class? Then go to this link http://quizlet.com/set/124403/ and work through the familiarise, learn and test sections.

In the HSC paper the very last section (Section IV) has 2 questions. Both questions assess your knowledge from multiple topic areas but, most importantly, they require you to “use your knowledge and relevant business case study/studies“.

What this means is that in this section you must refer to the Qantas case study. However you may also refer to additional material on businesses that you have read about or that you recall from our class discussions.

In this year’s paper the 2 questions you had a choice between were as follows;

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Question 27 (20 marks)Outline the external sources of change for a business to expand internationally, and critically analyse the strategies a business may use to ensure ethical practices in a global environment.

OR

Question 28 (20 marks)

Outline the external sources of change for a business to expand internationally, and critically analyse the strategies a business may use to manage employment relations in a global environment.

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By this stage of the course you should be able to answer the first part of the question (which is the same for both Q27 and Q28). To give you a guideline about length you should be able to produce about 5-6, exam booklet, pages of material to “outline the external sources of change for a business to expand internationally”. Some of you have already been working on this as part of the in class extension work so could you post (in the comments) the plans you drew up in response to the first half of Q27 & Q28.

Leading Edge is a supplier of student resources such as HSC lectures, textbooks and study guides. You can sign up at their website for free Business Studies (and Economics) resources.

The following questions come from their website. The answers to each question can be found here. It is worth taking your time to answer each of these questions and then see the suggested answers given by Leading Edge.

1. Briefly discuss how management theory evolved.

2. Identify the key function of classical-scientific management theory.

3. Using the classical-scientific management theory, justify the use of rigid hierarchies in a business.

4. Lianne is thinking of starting up her own fashion business for women. It would employaround ten full-time designers and retail workers. Discuss two functions of management that the classical-scientific school suggests Lianne will need to perform.

5. Compare and contrast the views of the worker in both the classical-scientific and behavioural schools of management.

6. Examine how Lianne’s management functions would differ from those identified in Question 4, if you used the behavioural approach to management.

7. Briefly examine the role of flat organisational structures and teams in behavioural management.

8. Summarise the role of politics and coalitions in a business as seen by political management theory.

9. Consider a large corporation such as Coles. Explain how the systems approach to management would assist in the management of this company.

10. Explain the link between the contingency theory of management and the othertheories you have studied.

Here are some questions on Behavioural Management taken from the 2004 paper. Try answering these and put your answers in the comments of this post so that other people can add to your answer or provide alternative suggestions.

Question 22 (10 marks)

(a) Identify TWO distinctive features of behavioural management theory.

(b) Describe ONE strength and ONE weakness of the behavioural approach to management.

(c) Identify TWO changing work patterns and explain how business responses to management theories have catered for these changes.

The Classical Scientific Approach to Management can be summarised as follows;

Approach
The overall approach of companies who utilise this management theory is to create specialised efficiency-oriented systems of management. The point being that tasks are specialised (think of Adam Smith’s “division of labour”) and that management is focused on efficiency. Remembering that efficiency is concerned with the relationship between achieving the businesses goals with the minimum amount of resources necessary.

Timing
This system of management dates from the late 1800’s well into the 1930s. It is considered a legacy of the Industrial Revolution and the social structure of the times. That is to say that at this point in time there was a large workforce of relatively uneducated, dis-empowered people. That is not to say that Classical/Scientific Management theory is not used by today’s businesses. It certainly is, but most businesses have also adopted ideas from theories developed later on such as Behavioural, Contingency and Political Management Theories.

Management principles

• Hierarchical systems based on principles of specialisation, centralisation and formality.
• Specialised tasks exist in specialised departments, with responsibility formally designated.
• Span of control is narrow and a unitary line of command is in place (i.e.each person has one clear”boss” rather than several)

Relevance
Great benefits from a consumer viewpoint, with the availability of a wide range of consumer goods. Henry Ford (of Ford Motor cars) was a strong proponent of the theory and his success in using production lines and specialisation of labour have been copied by many since he first introduced them.

Criticisms of the theory include the dehumanising, autocratic nature of the efficiency-driven system and the assumption that the needs of workers matched those of management.

See the following article from the Triangle Business Journal from 1997 that presents a solid argument against the hierarchical nature of management that many business still use. Even though this article is 10 years old this does not distract from the arguments being made, if anything the increasing prevalence of IT throughout our society makes a demanding case for businesses to develop alternatives to the traditional hierarchical structures.

Henry Ford Video

Production Line Video

The following video (see below) is interesting as it shows how the production line method of manufacturing perfected by Henry Ford (which he based on the Scientific Management theories of Frederick Taylor) is still being used today. In this particular case it’s a factory manufacturing hairdryers in Shenzen in China.

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Questions
Use the comments section below this post to provide your answers and to suggest additions to the answer of others.

1. Outline ONE strength and ONE weakness of classical/scientific management theory.
2. Explain why classical/scientific management theory is less widely used by businesses now than in the first half of the 20th century.

The original material that this post has been based on can be found at http://hsc.csu.edu.au/business_studies/mgt_change/mgt_theories/Managementtheories.html