Law and Management, the Pros and Cons of Scientific Management to the Worker - Assignment Example

Law and Management Name Course Tutor Date Law and Management Question No 1: i. terms of a contract 8 marks i. frustration of a contract 8 marks The term contract in the concept of law refers to the binding agreement between two parties. The terms of a contract thus refer to the various provisions included in the contract. Each of the implicated terms in a contact is geared at giving a certain obligation (Murdoch 120). The obligation carried by each of the terms in a contract may differ. This implies that certain terms may bear more significance or obligation than others. With regard to the concept of law, a number of terms have been coined to depict the significance of various terms of contract. The classification of terms of a contract as implicated in the concept of law. Warranty or condition. This refers to the type of terms that are rooted in the contract it self. A violation of any of such terms disputes the intention of the entire contract. The status of a term of contract With regard to the concept of law, the status of a term is vital since it represents the legal action to be taken in the event that the contract is violated (Murdoch 120) .The courts have the right to decide on a number of aspects in the event that a contract has been violated. A contract can bear terms that reflect on its type with regard that there are several types of contracts. Terms of any type of a contract can take the form of expressed or implied terms. Expressed terms are the type of terms that are documented within the contract while expressed terms are not necessarily documented but are provided for by the contract. Frustration of a contract. This refers to the concept of terminating a contract in line with the legal procedures as a result of unforeseen situations (Murdoch 123). Such situations under which a contract may be frustrated include: situations that may hinder the attainance of the laid out objectives of the contract, situations that are bound to render the performance of the contract unlawful and a number of situations that seem to make the contract impossible to uphold. The reasons behind the frustration of a contract include: occurrences of accidents, amendment of the law, and illness of any of the parties covered by the contract alongside fire, and interference from third parties. When a contract is frustrated, its non performance is excused and it is discharged automatically (Murdoch 123). This does not imply that frustration of a contract is still excused in the event of foreseen circumstances. Frustration is also not applicable in certain types of negotiations especially in the insurance policy. 1, b advising Harry using Case In this case, Harry offered the bike and Ian was to accept the offer as per the requirements of any contract. The letter of acceptance is viewed as an implication that the other party in this regard Ian is willing and able to purchase the bike. However with regard to the other terms of a contract, the owner of the bike reserves the right to control the price until when the bike would be delivered. Harry is thus justified to have pledged a different price. Ian can not blame Harry for selling the bike to some body else. This is because his willingness to accept the offer was not implicated. Though such an agreement needs not to be necessarily documented, it is still a vital aspect of the contract. In this case Ian may not be justified to sue Harry even with the belated letter of acceptance as Harry is not any where involved in the acceptance. He did not receive the letter and can thus not be victimized on an aspect that can be termed as unforeseen. This is type of a frustration. The contract between Harry and his friend is terminated as a result of an accidental posting of the letter of acceptance. Question No. 3 The principle of an economic loss as a consequence of a claimant acquiring a defective item of property With reference to the concept of common law, it is indicated that whenever a property is destroyed, the owner is under not justification to claim the recovery of the damaged property. This implies that no recovery can be claimed on either the replacement or repair of the implicated property. This also applies to a number of other losses incurred as a result of the fact that the particular property is no longer available (Murdoch 123). This is applicable only if the claims to be made are not excessively remote. However it is justified for anyone else to make claims. Such claims in reference to the same case are usually very circumscribed. The loss assessor alongside the plaintiff is not allowed to receive any thing in return until he or she provides herself as per the requirements of the economic loss rule. This rule of generalized negligence came in to full swing in 1990. According to this law, in line with the fact that any form of damage may be predictable, the vital aspects contributing to the duty of care are challenged. This implies that with such items duty of care exists among the person to owe and the other person to be owed. The court will only accord such a situation if at all it is considered to be fair. The justification and the meaningful impact of the situation should be such that the courts can acknowledge. In line with this aspect, a number of items are considered essential. These aspects include the fact that: the damage must be foreseeable, there exists a relationship that can be acknowledged as proximate between both the owed and the one to owe alongside the fact that the situation should be fair. Fair in this regard implies reasonable and thus justifiable. . Question No. 4 i) 15marks The development of team spirit in the building industry and how its constrained by the team members alongside the factors to be considered in choosing the right team. Team spirit is such an essential aspect of any type of performance. The basics of any team spirit lie in the strategies adopted to the fulfillment of the set goals. The strategies are futile if they do not involve the emotional responsibility and commitment of the team players. A number of such strategies will do not good to the team if at all the individual team players are not committed towards attaining the same goal. Building the spirit of team work is such an essential aspect of a building industry. It is a spirit that defines togetherness towards the attaining of the laid out goals. The emotional attachment among the team workers is an aspect that fosters a very deep sense in making the difference through any form of meaningful working. With regard to team spirit, the concept of together we are one and strong emerges. This is the concept that is being enhanced in the building industry in order to achieve success. All the team members are to commit themselves towards working for the same common goal. The ultimate challenge lies within providing the very best outcome (Murdoch 285). In the building industry, it is equally difficult to effectively foster this spirit. There are a number of aspects that are vital at binding the team players towards the achievement of the same goal. They include: i. Encouraging uniform cooperation in all the team players. This can further be enhanced by dividing the entire team in to small units where individuals will still encourage each other to constantly work together. ii. Identifying any constraints that may spoil the spirit of commitment within the team. Such constrains include: Graft, inefficiency and reworking. iii. Building a strengthened relationship in the team and the related clients. This is an aspect that seeks to involve the prospective clients in the program. It is an aspect that will make it possible to promote the quality and efficiency of the team work to the public. iv. An aspect that will greatly constrain the team work is the lack of autonomy. When a number of aspects seem complicated, it becomes almost impossible to accomplish the laid out goals. v. Lack of motivation among the team players is yet another aspect that will greatly constrain the team spirit. It is advisable for the team leader to effectively share the common goal with the rest of the team members in an effort to develop the spirit if togetherness towards achieving the same goal. vi. Miscommunication and disagreements in the team is another constrain that may hinder the achievement of the common goal. vii. It s equally important to celebrate the success accrued as an aspect to prepare the team for any other major challenges ahead. The lack of preparedness is equally a constrain in team work. Factors involved in choosing the right team to work with. The skills and competence exhibited by the team players. In order to effectively design a team to work with, one needs to break down the entire task to be done (Murdoch 300). The various tasks can then be assigned to individuals in an effort to gauge their abilities. In an effort to best evaluate each individual’s effort, one needs to have an outline on how the skills and abilities are to be tested.Intergrating the entire process of selection in to a mind map gives an overall view of what is expected on a team. 4 ii. Features common to a project and the role of a project manager The following are a number of features that are common to any type of project. Interpersonal skills, this lies within the ability to effectively manage people. While on any kind f project, it is demanding and calling upon the project manager to effectively direct and lead the rest of the team towards the attaining of the set goals. Any project should have the skills needed to handle challenges that are bound to emerge along the way. Other than the need to have great interpersonal skills that may lie within good communication and listening. There is need to exhibit excellent organizational skills in any project. The best project is such that manages to keep and maintain the entire progress on the laid out schedule and budget. A project should always have a schedule and a budget (Murdoch 50).The schedule outlines when and how a number of things common to the project are to be done. The budget on the other hand reflects on the financial figures implicated in meeting a number of goals that should be laid out. This also implicates on the allocation of resources and time. The budget and the schedule in any project are meant to heavily impact on the success of the entire project. With reference to interpersonal skills in a project is the need to enhance good communication skills on a project. The mode of communication implicated in any project defines how relevant information is shared among the team players. Team players are to constantly communicate and exchange views within the spirit of togetherness. Enhancing good communication is a vital feature of any kind of project. Any project is expected to have a number of problem solving tactics. These tactics should be common to all the team players involved. Every project has to face a number of challenges and thus there is need to identify good problem solving skills in advance. These skills can be resolved to in the event of any problem along the course of the project. The role of a project manager The project manager of any project is held with a number of responsibilities. These responsibilities are geared towards the control and coordination of the entire project. The project manager is held with the responsibility of watching over each and every item of the entire project. He or she is the person that is to define the entire structure of the project in line with the functioning of the organizing or the team on the project. With regard to this responsibility, the project manager thus controls all the duties performed and has the authority to mould the team on a number of matters regarding the expected performance (Murdoch 15). The role of defining the entire team structures lies with interfacing with the team’s functionality. A number of teams operate under what is termed as a functional type of organizational framework where the project manager is held with the responsibility of offering directions in written to all the variables within the team or organization. Question No 5. The pros and cons of scientific management to the worker ii. The employer Scientific management also referred Taylorism is the type of management characterized by a constant analysis of the flow of work that is geared at enhancing the productivity of labour. This theory was coined by Frederick Taylor in the year 1880. Scientific management is thus based on ensuring the utmost prosperity of the employer and his or her employees. It is evident if at all there seems to be maximum productivity. The theory identifies training and development of every person in an effort to foster his or her best abilities. There a number of benefits associated with this type of management that the worker stands to get. These benefits include: the removal of the burden of decision making from employees to their employers (Murdoch 150). With this aspect, the employee is under no obligation to decide on what to do in any case as the responsibility of deciding is held upon his employer. The employees have to adhere to the rules set. This type of management is equally ideal as it identifies workers with the necessary skills and abilities for the job hence enhancing specialization. With this type of management, an employee is able to develop and nurture enough skills in his or her line of specialization hence enhancing competency. Workers while under this type of management are able to get training on a number of methods that are bound to be used in their respective field of operation. This is yet another aspect tat increases competency in the employee and thus enhances future employability. This type of management is equally beneficial to workers since it offers them support by planning for them in an effort to do away with any disruptions. It is equally beneficial to the worker in the sense that it offers wage incentives for all forms of exemplary out put (Murdoch 150). Unfortunately with the fact that this type of management fosters employee specialization, it ties the craftsmanship of the employee to a particular field. Such employees have skills that are only limited to one particular area of operation. This is a very dangerous aspect in the event that there happens to be a low demand for the same specialization (Murdoch 150). The worker is at a higher risk of being rendered jobless. With this type of management, the decisions are made by the manager and the employee’s views on the same may not be acknowledged. This subjects the worker to some kind of dictatorship. Workers are also subjected to a specific standard of doing the work. This implies that the same standards are used whenever the work is being done which is feared for creating a monotony that amounts in to boredom. This type of management also fails to impact on the fact that workers may bear different abilities and thus exhibit different levels of competency. It is very demoralizing to the workers that may be more competent than others since the ranking and remuneration is equal. This type of management also pushes the worker to the toughest working conditions with the quest to make more money. To the employer Scientific management fosters mass production which is thought to amount it enormous profits and at the same time reduce on production costs. This is of an advantage to the employer. The cost of labour is equally cheap as the employer only pays for a ratio that is proportional to the output in line with the time of working. The employer is thus in a position to dictate to the worker the amount of work he or she expects to be done (Murdoch 150). This aspect is in line with the fact that the employer is the boss his or her business. This puts him in the right position to make decisions and greatly influence and mould the way forward of the work. However this type of management requires the full involvement of the employer in the project. Since the decisions are to be made by the employer, it is demanding that the employer avails him or herself at all times for decision making. 5. ii. Disadvantages and advantages of tall and flat organization structures Advantages of tall organizational structures Such structures exhibit a very narrow control span. This implies that each manager is limited to a very small number of workers under his or her control. This aspect thus makes it possible for the manager to effectively monitor and supervise the conduct of each of the few employees under his watch. This is also a type of management that is marked with a very clear structure (Murdoch 166). In line to the former, it becomes relatively ease to establish the function of each of the implicated structures. This aspect makes it possible to develop very clear forms of responsibility and coordination. It also emerges that with this type of structure in management, it becomes relatively ease to define the lines of progress and the ladder to be climbed towards promotion. Disadvantages of the tall structure type of management. With this type of structure. It is demanding that manager’s get a relatively high compared to their juniors. This implies that with the many layers of management, every manager at the top gets more than his or her junior below. With the many layers of management, it is expensive to effectively communicate. This is in regard to the fact that information has to be passed or conveyed to all the implicated layers of the management. With this type of management structure, it becomes relatively hard to make decisions (Murdoch 166). This is because the involvement of a number of individuals at various layers is required. With the close supervision of employees, there is the fear or limiting the employee’s freedom. This is an aspect that forces a number of employees to submit themselves to restrictions that may be killing their freedom of expression. Advantages of flat structures This type of management fosters more effective communication among the employees and their respective bosses. It is considered to be an ideal structure of enhancing team spirit. The process of making decisions with this type of structure is enhanced (Murdoch 167). This is based on the fact that the structure reduces cases of bureaucracy that are common to tall structures. Since there are only handful levels of management, this type of structure offers benefits related to minimal costs. This is in relation to the fact that managers unlike their juniors are meant to earn more. Disadvantages of flat structures With this type of management structure, employees are bound to have several bosses. This is considered to be a problem as it creates a lot of confusion on the employees reporting. A number of employees may have problems choosing whom to report back to. It is also feared that with this type of structure, the many bosses implicated may end up in the struggle to earn maximum control and influence over the workers under their supervision (Murdoch 167). With this type of management, the growth of the organization goes hand in hand with the hierarchy of leadership. This hierarchical form of leadership down grades the potential of an organization to grow. This is an aspect that is bound to push the management in to exercising opportunity costs. This implies that one aspect is considered at the expense of the other. With the many bosses implicated, this type of structure may not be appropriate for large firms unless divisions are done to cut them into relatively small divisions. This type of management is also feared for promoting a number of generalists. The structure calls for very little specialization. With regard to this problem, a number of employees are bound to battle over available responsibilities. Work cited Murdoch John. Construction contracts: law and management. Washington: Taylor & Francis, 2008 Read More