Management Skills Quiz

Introduction to Management: Controlling and Managing Change

Controlling Function:

• Controlling is the process of monitoring and acting to correct any significant variations in planned activities.
• All managers exercise control to add value by transforming resources into outputs of greater value.
• Frequent checks ensure that corrective action is taken quickly to avoid wasting effort and resources.
• The control process involves four basic steps: defining objectives and setting standards, measuring performance, comparing performance with standards, and taking appropriate managerial action to correct variations or inadequate standards.
• There are two main types of control: concurrent control and feedback control.
• The degree of decentralization and position level affects the number of controls needed.

Managing Change:

• Organizational change is a deliberate attempt to improve organizational performance by changing one or more aspects of the organization.
• Organizational change normally begins when a gap between desired and actual performance is discovered.
• Changes in the external environment can trigger change in an organization.
• A change agent is a person who initiates and assumes the responsibility for managing a change in an organization.
• People frequently resist change due to fear of loss, uncertainty, and a sense of loss of what they have invested in the current system.
• Management can use techniques such as communication, participation, negotiation, manipulation, and coercion to reduce change resistance.
• Age can affect resistance to change.

Introduction to Management: Controlling and Managing Change

Controlling Function:

• Controlling is the process of monitoring and acting to correct any significant variations in planned activities.
• All managers exercise control to add value by transforming resources into outputs of greater value.
• Frequent checks ensure that corrective action is taken quickly to avoid wasting effort and resources.
• The control process involves four basic steps: defining objectives and setting standards, measuring performance, comparing performance with standards, and taking appropriate managerial action to correct variations or inadequate standards.
• There are two main types of control: concurrent control and feedback control.
• The degree of decentralization and position level affects the number of controls needed.

Managing Change:

• Organizational change is a deliberate attempt to improve organizational performance by changing one or more aspects of the organization.
• Organizational change normally begins when a gap between desired and actual performance is discovered.
• Changes in the external environment can trigger change in an organization.
• A change agent is a person who initiates and assumes the responsibility for managing a change in an organization.
• People frequently resist change due to fear of loss, uncertainty, and a sense of loss of what they have invested in the current system.
• Management can use techniques such as communication, participation, negotiation, manipulation, and coercion to reduce change resistance.
• Age can affect resistance to change.

Introduction to Organisation Structure

• Ryanair is Europe's largest airline and has achieved remarkable success in a highly competitive industry.
• Organisation structure describes how work is divided, supervised, and coordinated.
• Organisation charts are often used to represent the main departments and work positions in an organisation and their reporting relationships.
• Formal structure is the official structure of the organisation, while informal structure refers to the unofficial working relationships between organisational members.
• The basic elements of structure are work specialisation, chain of command, span of control, centralisation vs decentralisation, and departmentalisation.
• Work specialisation involves breaking down a job into steps completed by different individuals with different skills.
• Negative results of work specialisation include difficulty in replacing employees, boredom leading to low productivity, poor quality, and high employee turnover, and lack of motivation.
• Chain of command refers to the continuous chain of authority clarifying who reports to whom, with concepts related to it including authority, responsibility, accountability, and delegation.
• Span of control is the number of subordinates directly reporting to a manager, and the right number must be found for effective and efficient management.
• Centralised organisations make decisions at the centre, while decentralised organisations push decisions down to the level closest to the problem.
• Departmentalisation refers to grouping the organisation's activities into units with a manager in charge of each unit.
• Mechanistic structures are rigid, stable, high in specialisation, centralisation, and formalisation, while organic structures are flexible, adaptive, encourage cross-functional teamwork and horizontal communication, and are best for complex and unique tasks.

Introduction to Organisation Structure

• Ryanair is Europe's largest airline and has achieved remarkable success in a highly competitive industry.
• Organisation structure describes how work is divided, supervised, and coordinated.
• Organisation charts are often used to represent the main departments and work positions in an organisation and their reporting relationships.
• Formal structure is the official structure of the organisation, while informal structure refers to the unofficial working relationships between organisational members.
• The basic elements of structure are work specialisation, chain of command, span of control, centralisation vs decentralisation, and departmentalisation.
• Work specialisation involves breaking down a job into steps completed by different individuals with different skills.
• Negative results of work specialisation include difficulty in replacing employees, boredom leading to low productivity, poor quality, and high employee turnover, and lack of motivation.
• Chain of command refers to the continuous chain of authority clarifying who reports to whom, with concepts related to it including authority, responsibility, accountability, and delegation.
• Span of control is the number of subordinates directly reporting to a manager, and the right number must be found for effective and efficient management.
• Centralised organisations make decisions at the centre, while decentralised organisations push decisions down to the level closest to the problem.
• Departmentalisation refers to grouping the organisation's activities into units with a manager in charge of each unit.
• Mechanistic structures are rigid, stable, high in specialisation, centralisation, and formalisation, while organic structures are flexible, adaptive, encourage cross-functional teamwork and horizontal communication, and are best for complex and unique tasks.

Introduction to Organisation Structure

• Ryanair is Europe's largest airline and has achieved remarkable success in a highly competitive industry.
• Organisation structure describes how work is divided, supervised, and coordinated.
• Organisation charts are often used to represent the main departments and work positions in an organisation and their reporting relationships.
• Formal structure is the official structure of the organisation, while informal structure refers to the unofficial working relationships between organisational members.
• The basic elements of structure are work specialisation, chain of command, span of control, centralisation vs decentralisation, and departmentalisation.
• Work specialisation involves breaking down a job into steps completed by different individuals with different skills.
• Negative results of work specialisation include difficulty in replacing employees, boredom leading to low productivity, poor quality, and high employee turnover, and lack of motivation.
• Chain of command refers to the continuous chain of authority clarifying who reports to whom, with concepts related to it including authority, responsibility, accountability, and delegation.
• Span of control is the number of subordinates directly reporting to a manager, and the right number must be found for effective and efficient management.
• Centralised organisations make decisions at the centre, while decentralised organisations push decisions down to the level closest to the problem.
• Departmentalisation refers to grouping the organisation's activities into units with a manager in charge of each unit.
• Mechanistic structures are rigid, stable, high in specialisation, centralisation, and formalisation, while organic structures are flexible, adaptive, encourage cross-functional teamwork and horizontal communication, and are best for complex and unique tasks.

Test your knowledge on the important topics of controlling and managing change in the field of management with this quiz. Learn about the different types of control, the steps involved in the control process, and the factors that affect the need for control. Explore the concept of managing change in an organization, the role of a change agent, and the reasons for resistance to change. Discover effective techniques to reduce resistance to change and understand how age can affect this resistance. Sharpen your management skills and take this quiz today!