Introduction to Management

BUS102 Introduction to Management

Work Environment Lecture 1

COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA Copyright Regulations 1969

WARNING

This material has been reproduced and communicated to you by or on behalf of Kaplan Business School pursuant to Part VB of the Copyright Act 1968 (the

Act).

The material in this communication may be subject to copyright under the Act. Any further reproduction or communication of this material by you may be the

subject of copyright protection under the Act.

The lecture material contains content owned by Kaplan Business School

Do not remove this notice.

Welcome • Welcome to BUS102: Introduction to

Management.

• In this subject, you will learn about the complex world of work from the perspective of management.

• In this first lecture, we will specifically be discussing the work environment.

But first, an activity… • Using your smartphone device, find a news article that

reveals information about a workplace in serious trouble.

• For example, it could be a story in relation to fraud, harassment, poor profits – anything at all.

• In your opinion, what’s the underlying cause of the problems in that workplace? In what way is management responsible?

• Share your findings with the class.

• Our aim with this subject over the next 12 weeks is to teach you how to prevent those troubles from occurring.

What do managers do?

Schermerhorn, J.R, Davidson, P, Poole, D, Woods, P, Simon, A, & McBarron, E 2014, ‘The contemporary workplace’, Management Foundations and Applications, 2nd edn., John Wiley and Sons Australia Ltd., Milton, QLD, pp. 20.

Management based on level

Robbins, S, DeCenzo, D.A, Coulter, M, & Woods, M 2014, ‘Introduction’, Management: the essentials, 2nd edn., Pearson Australia, Frenches Forest, NSW, pp. 13

Is managing different today? • Mintzberg has identified that management

is more than planning, organising, leading & controlling

• Management is a practice – Read….

• Discuss in groups…. • What is the fashionable / traditional view? • Your personal experience as an employee? • What is the right thing?

Mintzberg on managing: http://www.mintzberg.org/blog/to-lead

The work environment • Every work environment is characterised by

organisational structure.

• Organisational structure consists of six elements:

– Work specialisation – Departmentalisation – Chain of command – Span of control – Centralisation and decentralisation – Formalisation

• The rest of this lecture will focus on these six elements.

Work specialisation • Work specialisation represents the way that

big jobs are divided into smaller tasks.

• Employees are then given just one of those tasks to repeatedly perform.

• Working at Subway is a prime example of work specialisation:

– There is usually just one person preparing the bread, just one person adding salads, just one person adding meat, and just one person taking the customers’ cash.

Work specialisation

ACTIVITY:

• In groups, come up with your own example of work specialisation.

• When you share it with the class, make sure you also identify three advantages of work specialisation but also three disadvantages.

Departmentalisation • Departmentalisation is when organisations

are divided into separate departments.

• This enables people in these departments to perform common tasks together.

• There are five types of departmentalisation:

– Functional – Product – Geographical – Process – Customer

Departmentalisation Functional Each department is a separate function, such as Finance, Human Resources, Marketing and Payroll.

Product Each department is a separate product line, such as Domestic Travel, International Travel, and Travel Insurance.

Geographical Each department is a separate region, such as Australia, Asia, North America and Southern Hemisphere.

Process Each department is a separate process, such as Designing, Branding, Advertising, and Copywriting.

Customer Each department is a separate customer segment, such as Government, Wholesale, Retail, and Direct.

Departmentalisation ACTIVITY:

• Each group will be allocated one of the following companies:

– McDonald’s – Apple – Qantas – Commonwealth Bank – Ernst & Young – Toyota

• For each type of departmentalisation, provide at least three examples of how your allocated organisation could be subdivided.

Chain of command • The chain of command is the line of authority that

determines who reports to whom in an organisational hierarchy.

• It helps to clarify who’s responsible for what, and from whom employees can seek help.

• There are five core components in a chain of command:

– Authority – Responsibility – Accountability – Unity of command – Delegation

Chain of command Authority

This is the right that someone has to tell another what to do.

Responsibility

This is the obligation that employees are expected to deliver.

Accountability

This is the need to own and justify your actions and decisions.

Unity of command

This means employees receive orders from just one manager.

Delegation

This is when managers pass on duties and decisions to employees.

Chain of command ACTIVITY:

• Let’s apply the chain of command to an accounting practice.

• In groups, determine the following in regards to a trainee accountant who works in a mid-sized firm:

– Who has authority over him/her? – What are the trainee accountant’s responsibilities? – Who is accountable for his/her performance? – How would unity of command exist? – Which tasks might be delegated to him/her?

Span of control • Span of control encompasses the number of levels

within an organisation, as well as the number of employees a manager has in his or her team.

• Spans of control can be narrow, which means there are more levels in the organisation.

• Alternatively, spans of control can be wide, which means there are fewer levels in the organisation.

• The diagram on the next slide will help to articulate the difference between the two.

Span of control Both organisations have 64 employees.

The one on the left has a narrow span of control, which means there are more levels.

The one on the right has a wide span of control, which means there are fewer levels.

(Robbins et al, 2008)

ACTIVITY: In groups, answer these questions:

• Which span of control do you think is better? • Which one is more popular these days? • Why is that the case?

Centralisation and decentralisation

• Centralised organisations are those where senior managers make most of the decisions.

• Decentralised organisations are those where decisions and power are pushed down so that employees and line managers have greater influence.

• Small businesses tend to be quite centralised whereas large companies are usually quite decentralised.

Centralisation and decentralisation ACTIVITY:

• Imagine you’re working for a centralised organisation with an ambition to become decentralised.

• This process is known as employee empowerment because your aim is to provide employees with more power to make their own decisions.

• In groups, write a list of five rules you think will be critical for this transition to decentralisation to be successful.

• For example, one rule might be: “Trust employees to do the right thing.”

• Another might be: “Employees will be provided with the resources they need to make sound decisions.”

Formalisation • Formalisation refers to how much

employees are governed by explicit rules and procedures.

• If a job is highly formalised, the employee has little choice but to complete it in exactly the way it is prescribed.

• If a job is only mildly formalised, the employee has more freedom to complete tasks in their own manner.

Formalisation

ACTIVITY:

• In groups, identify five jobs you think are highly formalised and five jobs you think are only mildly formalised.

• Which kind of job would you prefer?

TUTORIAL

How do you learn best?

• We all learn different things in different ways: – Note taking – Listening – Participating – In groups – Research

How do you learn best?

• Howard Gardner developed a Theory of Multiple Intelligence

• Do the quiz and discover yours…

Multiple Intelligence Quiz: http://psychology.about.com/library/quiz/bl-mi-quiz.htm

Assessments • Review assessment 1

– We will discuss more on weeks 2 and 3 • Briefly review assessment 2

– Closer review of task in week 4 • Briefly review assessment 3

– Closer review in week 8 Watch the announcements for assessment

updates and ideas

Skills to be developed • Study Skills • Academic writing skills • Business writing skills • Locate information • Analyse information • Describe key theories • Apply theories • Teamwork

How to best pass

• Attend class each week

• Submit each piece of assessment

• Seek assistance from your Academic Support Centre

• Follow advice from you lecturer

• ASK for help if you feel overwhelmed

Academic Development • Each week in tutorials – an academic activity • Week 1:

– ASC: Introduction & Tour – Introduce library data base

Academic Development • Responsible for your own success

• Planning

• Learning goals

• Time commitments

Academic Development

• Plan your time…. • How many subjects are you doing? • How many assessments do they have? • When are assessments due? • How can you get the best value from study

week? • What can you start working on now?