Organizational Management Basics

Organization

• Organization: a deliberate arrangement of people brought together to achieve a specific purpose.
• Characteristics of an organization: goals, people, structure
• Diagram of an organization: CEO, senior manager, manager, supervisor, employee
• Non-managerial employees: workers who perform tasks without overseeing others
• Managers: individuals who direct the activities of others in an organization
• Management hierarchy: top managers, middle managers, first-line managers, non-managerial employees

Management

• Management: the process of efficiently and effectively getting things done through people.
• Efficiency: completing a task correctly and using minimal resources.
• Effectiveness: completing the right tasks that contribute to organizational goals.
• Uncertainty: the process of individuals creating meaning and understanding in unpredictable situations.
• Planning: defining an organization's purpose and how to achieve it.
• Organizing: arranging and structuring work for organizational goals
• Leading: directing work activities of others.
• Controlling: monitoring, comparing, and correcting work performance.

Managerial Roles

• Interpersonal roles: figurehead, leader, liaison
• Informational roles: monitor, disseminator, spokesperson
• Decisional roles: entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator, negotiator

Global Sourcing

• Multinational corporation (MNC): international company operating in multiple countries.
• Multidomestic corporation: an MNC that decentralizes management and decision-making to local countries.
• Global sourcing: purchasing materials or labor from cheapest global sources
• Exporting: producing domestically and selling abroad
• Importing: acquiring products from abroad
• Licensing: granting rights to make or sell products
• Franchising: granting rights to use a name or operating methods
• Global Strategic Alliance: sharing resources to develop new goods.
• Joint venture: partnerships creating a separate organization for business purposes.
• Foreign Subsidiary: direct investment in a foreign country forming a separate entity.

Ethics

• Social responsibility: acting in ways beneficial to society.
• Social obligation: complying with legal requirements.
• Social responsiveness: responding to societal needs.
• Ethical code: formal document outlining values and rules for the organization

Decision-Making Process

• Identifying a problem
• Identifying decision criteria
• Assigning weights to criteria
• Developing alternatives
• Analyzing alternatives
• Selecting an alternative
• Implementing the alternative
• Evaluating decision effectiveness

Strategic Management Process

• Identifying the organization's mission, goals, and strategies
• Conducting internal and external analyses
• Formulating strategies
• Implementing strategies
• Evaluating results

Human Resources Management

• Human resources management: acquiring, training, and retaining competent employees.
• Selection Processes: screening job applicants.
  • Written tests
  • Performance-simulation tests
  • Interviews
• Realistic Job Preview (RJP): providing prospective employees with realistic information about job expectations.
• Job Orientation: introducing new employees to their jobs and the organization.
• Control: monitoring progress, comparing results, correcting deviations.
  • Feedforward
  • Concurrent
  • Feedback

Competitive Strategies

• Competitive strategies: how an organization will compete in its primary market.
• Strategic Business Units (SBUs): independent business units within an organization.
• Cost leadership strategy: competing based on lowest cost.
• Differentiation strategy: competing on unique features.
• Focus strategy: competing in a niche market.

Organizational Structure

• Departmentalization: grouping employees into units based on their work
  • Functional: grouping by work performed
  • Product: grouping by product lines
  • Customer: grouping by customer types
  • Process: grouping by workflow
  • Cross-functional teams: teams made of individuals from various departments.
• Organizational Structures:
  • Simple: low departmentalization, centralized authority, focused on a single person.
  • Functional: grouping similar jobs together.
  • Divisional: separate business units based on divisions.
  • Mechanistic: highly specialized, formalized, centralized.
  • Organic: adaptable, few rules, decentralized.

Recruitment Methods

• Employee referrals: recruiting through recommendations, which can be effective in attracting qualified candidates.
• Private employment agencies: may have wide contacts and guarantee short term placements but costly.
• Public agencies: free or low-cost but lower-quality candidates.
• Schools and colleges: recruitment of entry-level employees, with centralized access.
• Temporary help services: provide temporary workers, but costly.
• Employee leasing and independent contractors: fill temporary or longer-term needs, but limited commitment.

This quiz covers essential concepts of organization and management, including the characteristics of an organization, management hierarchy, and the roles of different types of employees. Test your understanding of key management principles such as efficiency, effectiveness, and planning.