Reference no: EM132847

QUESTION 1

What difficulties might confront a manager today if he tries to implement Taylor's view of management as they were originally stated?

• Explain scientific management and the different principles associated with scientific management

• Explain the limitations of each principle like specialization can imply that the job is boring, training can be costly and if the employee leaves the organization the organization can lose the investment made, he also proposed that money is the only motivator for higher performance which is questionable

• Other limitations in comparison to other movements in history

o It did not recognized the importance of the informal group on the performance of the individual as proposed by Elton Mayo

o The theory of Scientific management is mostly for the operational level and not the management level

o The principle of only one best way of doing work will not be applicable in dynamic environment whereby the contingency approach is more appropriate and decisions have to be made according to the context and the situation at hand.

o Information management is also very important today for decision making and scientific management did not considered it at the time it originated.

• Some of the principles are still being used in different sectors in terms of time and motion study, training of workers, performance related pay but it cannot be applied as it was proposed by Taylor as the context has changed

QUESTION 2

What are the benefits and pitfalls of planning?

• Definition of planning

• The benefits of planning are

o It gives a sense of direction

o It minimizes waste and redundancy

o It is the basis for control

o It minimizes the impact of change

• The pitfalls of planning are

o Planning may create rigidity

o Plans can't be developed for a dynamic environment

o Formal plans can not replace intuition and creativity

o Planning focuses managers attention on today's competition not on tomorrow's survival

o Formal planning reinforces success which may lead to failure

• Managers must still plan as it has benefits but they must try to make it flexible so as to counteract the change in the external environment.

QUESTION 3

Using Maslow's theory of needs, explain whether money is the only motivating factor

• Definition of motivation

• Explain the theory of motivation of Maslow

• Explain the different types of needs: Physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs and self actualization needs

• Explain that according to Maslow, money is only one of the factors that can motivate people. Once a level of need is satisfied, this need will no longer motivate the employee. Thus once physiological needs are satisfied by money, money will no longer motivate the employees. The other needs that will motivate the employees

• Money is only one of the factors that motivate people. There are other factors as depicted by the hierarchy of needs put forward by Maslow

QUESTION 4

(a) Outline the decision-making process.

(b) Distinguish between short run and long run decisions.

(c) Describe two internal and two external constraints that can affect the decision-making process. (20 marks)

(a) The decision-making process is an attempt to eliminate guesswork and bias by following a scientific approach based on

• setting objectives

• gathering data

• forming hypotheses

• testing alternatives

• implementing a chosen alternative

• controlling and reviewing the situation.

(b) Long run decisions are made by senior management and tend to be in force for a considerable length of time i.e. several years. An example might be the credit policy of the company.
Short run decisions are the day-to-day decisions taken by middle management and supervisors and might apply to one-off situations. An example might be the resolution of a customer query. (c)Internal constraints that affect the decision-making process include

• Inadequate or incorrect information about the problem

• Failure to identify the problem

• Resistance of employees to change

• Poor quality management

• Lack of resources both financial and physical

• Poor communication systems

• Lack of team work

• The ‘culture' of the organisation

External constraints that affect the decision-making process include-

• The time available to react

• Speed of competitor reaction

• Macro-economic forces such as interest rate changes and government taxation

• Changes in consumer preferences

• Changes in technology

• New safety or consumer legislation

• Availability and cost of information