Efficiency and Effectiveness of Managers - Assignment Example

Essays Question Managers are trained or train themselves to handle whatever comes their way. However challenging things may get, a manager should always rise above issues and restore sanity whenever necessary. Managers everywhere know that that is the essence of management. If management entailed running away from responsibilities and turning to others during crises, then there would be no difference, for example, between a manager and a cleaner in an office setting. Uncertainty, ambiguity, and sudden changes or threats from the environment would equally breed anxiety and tension among other people, but a manager will adapt his/her skills to fit those situations, while still maintaining focus on the wellbeing of the enterprise/company. I think that for a career manager, uncertainty, ambiguity, and changes in the environment present a welcome challenge and are not insurmountable obstacles that present impossible dilemmas. There are certain skills that can be very useful to all managers working in such conditions. These include adaptability, organization, communication skills, people skills, motivation, leadership, awareness, and trustworthiness. These skills will ensure that any manager can rise to the challenges discussed and steer his/company out of the storm and into calm waters. When applied as required, the abovementioned skills can be a devastatingly effective tool for surmounting any obstacle, regardless of its nature or timing. Question 2 Managers can certainly improve both efficiency and effectiveness. Both are important ingredients in the successful running of any organization and must therefore be well-managed for good positive results. Managers have the advantage of being in a position to view their organizations from an aerial view, and can therefore see which areas are underperforming or doing well and what needs to be done to improve them. From their position, managers can also see who is underperforming or doing well, and whether they can improve or leave the organization. Efficiency and effectiveness are two very different aspects of management and all managers understand this well. They understand that churning out a product at the least possible cost does not guarantee that it will be of the required quality. For any manager, the goal is always to produce quality at the least possible cost. When all factors have been considered and returns accrued from producing quality still do not outweigh production cost (regardless of the amount) then all managers know that they changes need to be made. Toyota’s leaders should make quality their utmost priority. It is not like we are talking about some random company somewhere, this is the largest automaker in the world. If it posts record sells but has to recall all of the vehicles because of poor safety then that is just careless and bad business. In the end nobody will buy their cars even if they are efficient. Toyota’s leaders should be guided by two common business phrases: quality over quantity and the customer is king/always right. Question 3 Management practices must always be compliant with government regulations. Regardless of the organization or the industry it’s in, brilliant managers know that government dictates how they conduct their operations. It is best to come up with operating frameworks that satisfy both managers and governments, but companies should always have the freedom to operate fairly and freely. In the banking and healthcare industry, government regulation is needed more than other sectors because of their relative importance in comparison to other industries. In case of increased government regulation in those sectors, managers have to adapt their operations in order to ensure their organizations remain profitable without necessarily hurting consumers. The recent government shutdown in the United States is an example of a political and economic force that might affect a manager’s job. New policies concerning pay and working hours, new trade policies, and new trading pacts/zones are examples of social or economic forces that may affect a manager’s job. The global financial crisis of 2007-2008 is a perfect example of an economic problem that may present huge challenges to managers everywhere. Such changes require a manager to adapt in order to not only operate within the law, but to ensure the organization remains profitable. Question 4     With regards to retailers, using labor-waste elimination systems based on scientific management principles comes with a number of drawbacks. First, scientific management principles as spelt out in lean manufacturing are based on a few best methods and are more suited for simple retailing enterprises than larger, complex and more dynamic ones. For instance, those techniques would be better suited for large retailers like Wal-Mart than their smaller counterparts because the impact is easier to see and monitor. In addition, scientific management principles as applied in lean manufacturing lean heavily towards productivity as opposed to innovation, creativity, and human resource development. Workers are viewed in the context of machines that are supposed to be as efficient as possible and meet all set targets, and not as a creative force. We all know that success in the retail industry requires people skills as well as efficiency, but scientific management principles heavily focus on efficiency at the expense of professional development. For instance, if a clerk puts in a 110% effort and remains in the same position for 10 years, there is no problem because scientific management principles are being adhered to. This leads to monotony and rigidity, aspects which are not desired in the retail industry. Dynamism and flexibility are the cornerstones of success in the retail business, not having employees who are painted into a box and cannot adjust to anything outside their job description. In summary, scientific management principles stunt flexibility, creativity, and innovation in the retail business, all in the name of efficiency. Scientific management characteristic will never cease to be a part of organizational life. This is because despite the drawbacks discussed, its benefits are of huge significance to business and organizations. It helps them achieve their targets, and in institutions where goals are paramount, that is a very crucial contribution. Question 5 Automobile Public Value This is the publicly recognized social and economic benefits created by the automobile company for the societies/communities in which they are based. Essentially, it doesn’t even have to be surrounding communities, but the company has to be able to develop and nurture a good relationship with the community, not just selling vehicles. Social Media Infrastructure and Technology Infrastructure and technology are at the core of social media. A social media enterprise has to strategize on how to use available infrastructure and technology to its advantage. The social media industry is awash with creativity and innovation, and this is based on the novel use of infrastructure and technology more effectively than competitors. Newspaper Knowledge Management This is pretty straightforward because newspapers create, store, and disseminate knowledge every day. They must therefore find a way to employ all the knowledge assets they have, and which are essential to the delivery of their services, to make their services better. Systems, behaviors, and processes for more effectively storing and sharing knowledge and knowledge assets are essential in newspapers achieving their goals. Medical Services Relationships with Stakeholders Medical services flourish when there is trust, honesty, and genuine care. Patients, who are the biggest stakeholders, never mind paying for services so long as they are justified and effective. Entities in the medical service sector view the development and cultivation of genuine and benevolent relationships with their clients as a major strategic issue. Question 6 It is important to understand that in East Asia (where China is located) business is not just about money. The cultures and societies found there place heavy emphasis on the cultural and societal aspect of trade more than just financial prosperity. Traditional values and old norms are extolled in a quest to make business a culturally and financially fulfilling venture. My approach to doing business in China would be based on cultivating and nurturing trust, honesty, and reliability with every potential client, regardless of the field in which they are in. Once people are able to trust you, doing business with you will be very easy and smooth. Unlike Chinese society, India is very much capitalist; meaning business is all about profit. There is no room for cultural beliefs, preferences, and practices to interfere in business. I can sell anything to anyone in India, so long as it makes business sense, and I do not have to build relationships as a precursor to succeeding in business there. Only thing I would be keen on in India’s case is competition, because Indians love a bargain and they believe they can always pay less somewhere. I would expect to encounter more rules and bureaucracy in China simply because it is communist, nothing else. Communist regimes are well-known for their unnecessarily bureaucratic, “omnipresent”, and hegemonic structures. Question 7 The experience of living and working in another country would inject dynamism, flexibility, adaptability, awareness, tolerance, and experience to my skills and effectiveness. Working in another country would expose me to different cultures, attitudes, different and better management techniques, and different challenges. This would toughen me as a manager, transforming me from a United Arab Emirates manager to a global manager. Already at UAE I would be interacting with different cultures, but working in another country would expose me to even more diverse cultures and people, improving my people skills immensely. Exposure to new and better management techniques would allow me to apply what I have learned in another country to my organization in the UAE and introduce more effective and efficient ways of doing things. Living and working in another country would also impact on my skills and effectiveness as a leader. As a manager, there is usually no set limit to what one can achieve in terms of leadership. People skills, risk-taking, communication skills, organization, and leadership styles would all be influenced by my stint in another country. Better leadership qualities would make me more effective as a manager, and improve my standing in my organization. The benefits are priceless. Question 8 Licensing Exporting Wholly owned Subsidiary Low risks and costs associated with setting up locally Increased sales and profits Offers the opportunity to take control of supply chains It is possible to share the market Enhanced domestic competitiveness Diversification Instant market access Gaining global market shares Better risk management Allows local supply of goods manufactured outside a locality Diversification Ideal for conducting business abroad Allows cooperation between a licensor and a licensee, especially in foreign markets Lower per unit costs Name/brand recognition I would need to collect information on the objectives of the strategy, the type of companies involved, operating mechanisms, and the economics of the whole strategy. I would need to consider a lot of factors; these can be better summarized as PESTEL Question 9 BP had to respond to the government, the public and various non-governmental environmental agencies. The oil spill affected a lot of parties because it touched a nerve in so many aspects. First, the environmental damage caused significantly interfered with the ecosystem and as result, the livelihoods of those who depended on it. The spill had a huge negative impact on fishing and tourism industries, small local businesses, and even caused human health problems. In this regard, local citizens were one of the most important stakeholders BP had to respond to. The environmental damage caused by the oil spill meant the government would be automatically involved, especially seeing as there appeared to be some laxity on the company’s part that led to the oil spill. Non-governmental environmental agencies had to be responded to because as environmental watchdogs founded on legal bases, BP had violated principles which they stood for and protected. BP, led by its CEO, initially downplayed the incident. The CEO, Tony Hayward, referred to the quantity of oil and dispersant as "relatively tiny" vis-à-vis the "very big ocean." He also added that the incident was a disruption to the residents of the Gulf Coast and himself by saying, "You know, Id like my life back." To add more insult to injury, Doug Suttles, the chief operating officer, opposed the underwater plume discussion saying, "It may be down to how you define what a plume is here… The oil that has been found is in very minute quantities." In summary, this was a very dire and poor show by BP in terms of CSR. Question 10 It is appropriate for management to define some stakeholders because priorities exist in every line of work. Even in management there are priorities. By defining some stakeholders, managers can identify and come to terms with the dynamics of the organization. This occurs through the manager knowing and acknowledging the demands of the job and learning what to do and when to do it. In retrospect, it would not be right for a manager at a multinational company to run it like a small business because he/she is trying to be “fair” to everyone. That is wrong. The manager must realize that the nature of the company determines its stakeholders, and the biggest stakeholders generally determine the direction the company will take. As the manager, he/she implements what the biggest stakeholders agree on. A manager who does not understand who the stakeholders are in his/her organization is unlikely to grasp the reality, demands and gravity of the job. As such, there is nothing wrong with stakeholder mapping, because that is where the Holy Grail is. A smart manager will know who calls the shots and who makes the big decisions. His/her tenure as a manager will be determined by the people who make the big decisions, and his/her job security depends on how well he/she understands what those people want. Read More