Management and General Business - Assignment Example

MANAGEMENT AND GENERAL BUSINESS Name Course Title Tutor Institution City and State Date Due MANAGEMENT Question 1 a. Top managers. These are the organisation’s executive component. They handle the direction of the entity. At this level, they long-term institutional directions from the input from mid-level managers. Examples of top level managers are Chief Executive Officers (CEO), and Chief Financial Officers (CFO) b. Middle managers. This level of management is the connection between the lower levels and the top management. Middle-level managers’ involvement is with the daily running of the organisation’s affairs. Examples for this level are general managers and operation managers [Koo86]. c. Lower managers. These lowest tier managers are the link between the middle management and non-management employees. They play a vital role in activities of the organisation undertaking tasks such as human resource management and organisational budgeting. Examples for this level are supervisors and retail managers. Question 2 a. Planning. This role defines the process of setting of long term and short term goals for the organisation and determination of the course of action towards these objectives. Under planning, examples are budgeting and waste monitoring. b. Leading. This function covers directing, guiding and motivating people to work towards the organisation’s goals. It also ensures that the people in the party are willing and able to perform at expected output levels. Examples of leading activities are supervision and motivation. c. Organising. This process defines the structuring of organisation-wide relationships through job placement and group formation to ensure work is done. The duties of this function are hiring and firing within an institution [Koo86]. d. Controlling. This management function ensures that the roles and outputs of the organisation remain in line with set objectives. It also applies correctional measures in case of deviations. Activities here include production setting and budget audits. Question 3 a. Technical skills. These skills define the ability to perform a given job. The skills help managers undertake their duties with different available tools, procedures, and techniques. These level of competencies are essential for low-level managers as they deal hands on with the employees working at the technical level. b. Conceptual skills are critical to the top tier management. This skill set helps the senior managers view the organisation as a whole function and also to understand the relationships between sub-functions and their benefits to the body. With conceptual skills, the executive can plan for the enterprise and make solve any challenges that may arise. c. Human skills also termed as interpersonal skills give the manager an ability to work with people from different cultural, social and professional backgrounds within the organisation. These skills support effective communication and understanding within the entity. This skills set is essential for all levels of management as they have to interact with people at the different levels [Git09]. Question 4 Political forces These forces deal with the prevailing political conditions, stability and attitudes of the political landscape. Political factors may find manifestation in regime decisions on issues such as taxation policies and the level of state involvement in trade and business controls. Economic forces These forces are a depiction of the current economic status and other aspects of the economy like expected growth, costs for raw materials, inflation and exchange rates. All these also combined have an effect on levels of employment and unemployment and vary with the country. Social forces These define the various structural formations of community individuals and groups. These clusters are governed by common beliefs and behaviours that in turn have an impact on their consumption patterns. Demographic factors affect the current and future uptake of a product. Products are developed to fit certain demographic needs. Demography is also important when performing market forecasting. Technological forces Changes have a direct effect on production and quality of products. Businesses adopt technology for easier and more efficient production and service delivery. Since they have no control over technological advances, they are forced to adapt to the changes as they happen. Environmental forces Natural forces refer to the attributes of the physical environment that affect the availability of natural resources such as water that can affect aspects of production. Legal forces Government policies are the rules and regulations stipulated to govern particular goods or service industries. The business must at all times be compliant with the statutory regulations to avoid conflicts with the government [Wor06]. Question 5 Employees The business’ labour is the primary production component. It is important that a company has qualified, satisfied and motivated members of staff. The quality of employees at a business has a direct effect on their profitability. Suppliers This group of partners supplies a company with products for resale or manufacturing. For profitable entity operation, it is fundamental to get value on the product from vendors. The value is then transferred to customer products to perform well in the market. Monitoring of these forces is important as it helps the business in making both long term and short strategies. The business can plan for recruitment or succession activities to cater for its specialised labour needs. For suppliers, the business can plan on alternative or friendlier priced material sources to safeguard its long-term profitability [Sul02]. Question 6 Problem definition Decisions do not occur in a void; they are solutions to problems identified in the organisation. Internal processes are undertaken to define precisely the problem and the decision on the problem. Problem evaluation The second phase is an evaluation of the identified problem. All the available on the issue is analysed. All right decisions are based on a systematic collection and analysis of all the relevant data on the problem at hand. Solution development A pool of alternative solutions within the problem scope is developed. The necessity of many probable solutions is to ensure that the managers settle on the best solution combination. Solution selection From the array of identified solutions, the managers evaluate the pros and cons of each solution scope. The decision makers can also seek additional information on possible solutions to enable them settle on a decision that presents the highest success rate. Decision implementation The final verdict execution is at this stage. At implementation, the manager has to identify and allocate all requisite resources and manpower for successful implementation of the plan. Monitoring and feedback The final stage of decision making is carrying out a continuous assessment of the success of the scheme. Sustained evaluation and feedback from the affected section helps the manager in measuring the decision’s objective attainment as well as making necessary alterations to the plan to ensure success [Ing15]. GENERAL BUSINESS Question 1 I would like to be a manager at Clovely Winery Pty Ltd. Question 2 Clovely Winery Pty Ltd is a private business that deals in the production of beverages such as brandy, wines, and brandy spirits. The company is famed for the production of quality local brands. The company has been given a five-star rating in many reviews of its products and operations [clo15]. Question 3 The target market for Clovely Winery Pty Ltd products is mainly wholesalers and distributors who handle the supply of the products in the market. The final consumers of the wines are persons over the legal drinking age limit, restaurants, bars, and homes. Clovely Winery Pty Ltd are not gender biassed as anyone can consume good wine. However, the target age group is people aged between 28 and beyond who have the capacity to appreciate good wine. Most of the products’ modelling is for the middle-class Australians with good taste and an average income of $200,000 per annum. Question 4 Decline in consumption. Whenever there is an increase in the tax tariffs, consumers respond by saving more rather than spending. The shift to saving in turn means they have to cut down on their consumption levels to ensure they lead sustainable lives with respect to the new tax regime. According to [Par13] an increased cost of borrowing makes it rather expensive for the business to borrow funds from financial institutions to fund its operations or other critical business processes. Clovely Winery will be forced to adopt new modes of business financing or at worst stop some cash intensive exercises that run without debt. The cost of trade receivables. The cost of credit for the enterprise will increase as customers seek to acquire more products on credit terms. This surge in credit demand may force Clovely Winery to review their credit policy. As the manager, my role is to ensure that the company operates at its most efficient levels. This efficiency means the business has to perform at minimal most possible costs. These problems are critical to the success of the enterprise as they have a direct impact on the cost of operation for the business. Further, the reduction of the consumer uptake levels has direct implications on the production and profit levels for the business and its employees. Question 5 The most serious problem for Clovely Winery is a decline in wines sales. Our business solely depends on sales for sustainable survival. Any decrease in our product consumption thus has a negative impact on the performance of the company. This problem can be analysed under De Bono’s PMI model as; Plus i. Decline in the cost of production and general operation costs. ii. Reduced sales return arising from customers returning sold products. iii. The allowances paid to our sales team also will reduce. iv. Drop in government levies v. Decrease in customer returns Minus i. Reduction in business turnover. ii. Decline in the company’s turnover ratios. iii. Loss of market control. iv. Loss of competitive advantage. v. Decline in business growth. vi. Business unsustainability Interesting i. Formulation of new competitive strategies ii. Identification of alternative capital sources. iii. Increase in the company’s liquidity Solutions i. Marketing initiatives apply to increase or sustain our current sales levels (Weight - 2). ii. Cheaper raw materials will bring about a decline in the overall cost of production (Weight - 2). iii. Alternative funding sources that do not have hefty payback interests can sustain the business instead of borrowed capital (Weight - 4). iv. Service outsourcing will eliminate duplication of duties and also reduce employee redundancy at Clovely Winery (Weight - 2). v. Partnerships can be entered with other service providers to supplement our business costs (Weight - 3). vi. A lean production approach means we produce what has a ready market without any surplus quantities (Weight - 2). vii. Production specialisation will enable Clovely Winery focus on the products we view as most profitable and sustainable in the prevailing capital conditions (Weight - 3). viii. JIT inventory system ensure that Clovely Winery only has inventory required for immediate use. Suppliers deliver on demand (Weight - 2). ix. Debt negotiation can be done with the debt financing institutions to reach better borrowing or repayment terms (Weight - 2). x. Controlled growth means we only make the necessary growth investments. These growth initiatives are on the basis of the business’ profitability (Weight - 2). Question 6 The decision matrix is the best approach to take when there is an extensive solution scope to be narrowed down and the decision must be made based on several criteria. i. Problem definition (Weight - 4) This stage involves an in-depth analysis of the problem at hand looking at its cause, short-term and long-term effects and sustainability of the problem. ii. Solution formulation (Weight - 4) At this stage, brainstorming for all applicable solutions is applied to come up with a large pool of solutions. The team selects the criteria they believe has the best solution for the business’ problem at the most efficient cost. iii. Assign weights to each criterion (Weight - 3) At this step, weights are distributed to the formulated solution scopes based on their suitability to the situation at hand. The assignment is on the team or individual level. iv. Solution evaluation (Weight - 2) The criteria and their scores are matched and compared with others. Also, the scores for each criterion are multiplied to get their scores. The criteria with the highest score attain selection in most cases. Question 7 Finding alternative sources of funds present the best solution scope for Clovely Winery. These options give the company freedom to seek other means that they can negotiate the repayment terms or the impact they have on the winery. This process may involve selling company shares that do not affect the value of the business. This approach is the best solution because it presents flexibility and secures the long-term future of Clovely Winery. Question 8 Performance bonuses It is important that the employees have both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Performance bonuses receive awards to the employees in commendation of their effort towards the company’s success. These will ensure the employees are motivated as they seek more gifts for the next period. Performance based rewards These are individual and group recognition for best-performing employees or departments. This approach motivates employees as they search the satisfaction of recognition as good performers. It also encourages active competition at the workplace. Training and development These activities seek to develop the employee as an all-around human being. Provision of these platforms will motivate the employees as the view the organisation as having a place for their external needs. Salary reviews Monetary satisfaction will lead to the workers concentrating more on production as they feel and have the capacity to care for all their needs without much stress. The employees are also challenged to reflect their pay in their work output. Promotions Best performing can attain promotion up the company hierarchy. Promotion motivates the workers to work harder in their new position while challenging others to put more effort for promotion consideration. Mentoring This process means taking individual employees or departments and serving as their role model. This way, you show them how to carry effectively out activities and achieve optimal results. Employee benefits This scheme will involve looking at their workplace needs and providing solutions to these needs. Some of the benefits might be health insurance or free transport to work. Team building activities These are outside of work activities that are meant to strengthen the company’s team. Undertaking such activities motivates employees through the creation of a cohesive unit that works towards attainment of common organisational goals. Improving on working conditions It is prudent to provide an enabling environment for the employees to perform optimally. Improvement of their working environment and provision of better working tools will serve as a motivating factor for the workers as they can work more efficiently. Question 9. i. Praising the employees ii. Creation of a sense of purpose iii. Making everyone a leader iv. Knowing individual team members v. Setting challenging but realistic goals vi. Sharing in their rewards and work vii. Minimally criticising mistakes viii. Walking the talk ix. Celebrating accomplishments x. Empowering the team Question 10 i. Praising the employees satisfies the esteem of the worker. They will see and feel their input is valued at the organisation and thus also have increased confidence. ii. Creation of a sense of purpose. Meets the employees need for self-actualisation as it triggers their creativity and problem-solving ability in a bid to become better humans and employees. iii. Making everyone a leader meets their safety needs. The employees will feel secure in their posts. Further, this also meets their need for self-actualization and also boosts the employees’ esteem. iv. Knowing individual team members. Meets a need for safety as they feel like an important part of the organisation’s family. It also meets the esteem requirements of the employees as there is prestige being close to the leader. v. Setting challenging but realistic goals. Challenges meet one’s need for self-actualisation as it requires one to be more creative in their work and to improve their problem-solving abilities. vi. Sharing in their rewards and work will satisfy the worker’s need for love and safety. The worker can feel as appreciated at their workplace and also develop friendships with fellow employees. vii. Minimally criticising mistakes. Criticism impacts on the esteem and confidence of an employee. Little criticism will also enable employees respect others as well get respect from their counterparts. viii. Walking the talk. The leader should lead in action and show the employees the right way. Having an active leader gives the employees a sense of their employment and morality. ix. Celebrating accomplishments meets the needs for love, safety and esteem. The employees feel loved and safe in their working place and this impacts their esteem positively. x. Empowering the team satisfies their security, safety and self-actualisation needs. Through empowerment, the competence of the employees is built which meets their need for employment security. References Koo86: , (Koontz, et al., 1986), Git09: , (Gitman & McDaniel, 2009), Wor06: , (Worthington & Britton, 2006), Sul02: , (Sullivan & Adcock, 2002), Ing15: , (Ingram, 2015), clo15: , (clovely.com.au, 2015), Par13: , (forbes.com & Parish, 2013), Read More