Section A
To begin your assessment of organisational and managerial performance, this first section looks broadly at why managers are necessary to the organisation and some of the more significant activities they are involved in as part of their work.
1. Why does your selected manager's organisation exist? Who are the customers it serves, and what products/services does it provide them with?
2. Henry Mintzberg's research showed that managers performed 10 distinct roles in the course of their work. The research did not establish ideal percentages of time that should be spent in each role - this will depend on the nature of the organisation, the manager's position in the hierarchy and factors that may be unique to a particular set of circumstances. Having interviewed one specific manager within the organisation, and perhaps spent some time observing them in action, establish which you consider to be the most important five Mintzberg roles the manager plays and justify your choices with appropriate theoretical and factual evidence.
3. 'Skill' may be defined as "the ability coming from one's knowledge, practice, aptitude, etc., to do something well...competent excellence in performance..." (Dictionary.com, 30.3.14). Pages 11-12 and 15 in your textbook identify the three different skill groups that a manager requires. Where Mintzberg focused on what managers do, this question focuses on the personal qualities they need, regardless of which one of Mintzberg's roles they are performing. Compare the level to which your selected manager uses all three of the skill groups from the textbook - you will need to justify your answer with appropriate theoretical and factual evidence.
4. In your view, is their 'balance' between the three skill groups appropriate for their position, and what evidence do you have to support this? Regardless of what your answer is, you must justify it - a simple "yes" or "no" is not sufficient.
5. Problem solving is an important part of any manager's job. As you have discovered from any of the practical exercises in our training sessions, the 'obvious' problem is not necessarily the 'real' problem. When they are faced with what other people in the organisation, or even their customers are telling them is a problem, how does your selected manager decide whether, in fact, a real problem does exist?
6. Using the decision-making process outlined on page 156 of your textbook, demonstrate how your manager would go about solving one specific problem in their organisation.
7. You will need to clearly specify which of the three problem types explained on pages 150-151 of your textbook) the manager is dealing with in your example. Make sure you justify your answer.
8. You will also need to clearly indicate if it is a programmed or non-programmed decision. Make sure you justify your answer.
9. A very real problem in many organisations is 'groupthink'. Classic examples of this include the maiden (and only) voyage of the Titanic in 1912, the space shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986, and the sinking of the Costa Concordia in 2012. What steps does your selected manager take to limit or eliminate groupthink in their organisation, and why are these likely to be effective? If they do not currently take any steps to prevent groupthink, what steps would you advise them to take, and why do you believe these would be likely to be effective in dealing with the problem?
Section B
The management theories that you were introduced to in the early stages of the course are those which have been developed over the last approximately 200 years. They reflect theoretical and practical interest in both the task and the person. Some theorists/practitioners have gone very much in one direction; some very much in the opposite direction. Your task in this section is not to come up with the all-time definitive model that could cover every manager in every organisation. Instead, you will be using two different models to analyse the performance of the same manager. One model will have a task focus; the other a people focus. This approach is taken because neither model on its own is likely to produce a 'complete' explanation of why your selected manager behaves the way s/he does.
10. Use ONE (1) of the task-focused theories covered in Chapter 2 of your textbook to analyse the job performance of your selected manager. Your explanation should clearly identify whose theory is being used. The key features of the theory should be integrated with actual examples of the manager's behaviour.
11. Use ONE (1) of the people-focused theories covered in Chapter 2 of your textbook, to analyse the job performance of your selected manager. Your explanation should clearly identify whose theory is being used. The key features of the theory should be integrated with actual examples of the manager's behaviour.
12. As we have covered in our training sessions, 'effectiveness' and 'efficiency' are not interchangeable terms for the same thing (despite the way many people use them in practice). In relation to your selected organisation and the manager whose job and performance you are studying, assess its level of success at achieving both effectiveness and efficiency.You will need to justify your answer with appropriate theoretical and factual evidence.
13. Based on what you have discovered by interview, observation, and any other research into the organisation's and the manager's performance, would you say that they focus on one of these at the expense of the other, or that they strike a more level balance between them? You will need to justify your answer with factual evidence.
Section C
From an 'environmental' viewpoint, the organisation can be seen as existing in two different environments at the same time. Each of these environments comes with its own unique challenges in terms of the organisation being able to achieve all that it should be theoretically capable of. This final section allows you to consider in detail the different environments and how your selected manager plays their role in guiding the organisation and its people through those challenges.
14. The external environment is, perhaps, the one that more people spend more time thinking about because it is the larger and more complex of the two environments. The Mega Environment (pages 72-76) in your textbook refers to those external environmental factors that reflect broad social conditions and trends that affect how the organisation operates. Which, in your view are the THREE (3) most significant Mega Environment factors for your particular organisation? Demonstrate, using an appropriate mix of theory and actual examples, how those three impact the organisation and influence the decisions your selected manager takes.
15. The organisation's Task Environment (pages 76-79 in your textbook) refers to those external environmental factors which are specific to your organisation and its activities. Which, in your view are the THREE (3) most significant Task Environment factors for your particular organisation? Demonstrate, using an appropriate mix of theory and actual examples, how those three impact the organisation and influence the decisions your selected manager takes.
16. Of the two external environments, Mega and Task, which would you advise management to pay more attention to, and why? Make sure you justify your answer in relation to this specific organisation.
17. Based on what you have learned from interviews, observation, and any other research that you have carried out into the organisation, what do you think are the three most important manifestations of its culture, and why do you believe they are so important for this organisation? You will need to justify your answer with appropriate theoretical and factual evidence.
18. Based on your answer to the previous question, would you define the organisation's culture as 'strong' or 'weak'? What are one potential advantage and one potential disadvantage to the organisation of having this type of culture?
19. Assume that, having looked at the performance of your organisation's major competitor, senior management have become convinced that some sort of cultural change is required to enable your organisation to improve its performance. Using interview, observation and other evidence, advise management how they could go about changing the organisation's culture. Use the model on pages 89-90 of your textbook. Your answer must take account of the reality of the organisation's present situation, as well as the difficulties in reaching the desired new situation.