School of Business and Information Technology

AM5107 Management

530 Organisation and Management

Assignment 1

Section A (LO 1) 35 marks

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? (3 marks)
2. Henry Mintzberg’s research (Pages 8-9 in the recommended textbook) 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 their role. 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 (5) Mintzberg roles that this manager plays and justify your choices with appropriate theoretical and factual evidence. (5 x 3 marks = 15 marks)
3. ‘Skill’ may be defined as “the ability coming from one’s knowledge, practice, aptitude, etc., to do something well… excellence in performance…” (Dictionary.com). There are three different skill groups (Page 12 in the recommended textbook) that a manager requires. Demonstrate, using appropriate theoretical and factual evidence, how your selected manager uses all three of the skill groups. Your answer MUST indicate the approximate percentage of time the manager spends using each of the skill groups. (3 x 5 marks = 15 marks)
4. In your view, is their actual ‘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. (2 marks)

IT Ethics

Section B (LO2) 40 marks

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, primarily in the Western world. They reflect theoretical and practical interest in both the task and the person performing the task. Some theorists/practitioners have gone very much in one direction; some very much in the opposite direction. Your task in this section is to use two different models to analyse the performance of your selected manager. One model will have a task focus; the other model will have 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.

5. Use ONE (1) task-focused theory (Chapter 2 in the recommended textbook) to analyse the job performance of your selected manager. Your explanation should clearly identify which theory is being used (1 mark). The key features of the theory should be integrated with actual examples of the manager’s behaviour. (Max. 7 marks for theoretical component of the explanation; Max. 7 marks for actual examples) (15 marks total)
6. Use ONE (1) people-focused theory (Chapter 2 in the recommended textbook) to analyse the job performance of your selected manager. Your explanation should clearly identify which theory is being used (1 mark). The key features of the theory should be integrated with actual examples of the manager’s behaviour. (Max. 7 marks for theoretical component of the explanation; Max. 7 marks for actual examples) (15 marks total)
7. As we have covered in our learning sessions, ‘effectiveness’ and ‘efficiency’ (Page 12 in the recommended textbook) are not interchangeable terms for the same thing. Demonstrate how your selected manager achieves both effectiveness and efficiency in the way they manage their activities of their team. You will need to justify your answer with appropriate theoretical and factual evidence. (2 x 4 marks = 8 marks)
8. Based on what you have discovered by interview, observation, and any other research you have carried out into the organisation’s and the manager’s performance, would you say that they are focused on one of these at the expense of the other, or that they strike a relatively even balance between them? You will need to justify your answer with factual evidence. (2 marks)

Section C (LO 3) 75 marks

From an ‘environmental’ viewpoint, the organisation can be seen as existing in several 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 capable of. This section asks 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.

https://cheapestassignment.com/services/strategic-management-assignment-help/

9. The Mega Environment (Pages 72-76 in the recommended 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 each of the three impact the organisation and influence the decisions your selected manager takes. (3 x 6 marks = 18 marks)
10. The organisation’s Task Environment (Pages 76-79 in the recommended 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. (3 x 6 marks = 18 marks)
11. Of the two external environments, Mega and Task, which would you advise your selected organisation’s management to pay more attention to, and why? Make sure you justify your answer with appropriate evidence. (3 marks)
12. 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 (Page 86 in the recommended textbook), 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. (3 x 4 marks = 12 marks)
13. Based on your answer to the previous question, would you define the organisation’s culture as ‘strong’ or ‘weak’ (Page 86 in the recommended textbook)? What are one potential advantage and one potential disadvantage to the organisation of having this type of culture? (4 marks)
14. Assume that senior management have become convinced that some sort of cultural change is required to enable your organisation to improve its performance. Using the specific model on pages 89-90 in the recommended textbook, as well as any interviews, observations and other evidence you have been able to gather, advise management how they could go about changing the organisation’s culture. Your answer must take account of the reality of the organisation’s present situation, as well as any difficulties in reaching the desired new situation. (5 x 4 marks = 20 marks)

Section D (LO 5) 50 marks

Planning and Control have been described as two of the foundations of modern management. It is often said that you cannot have one of these things in the absence of the other. This section encourages you to examine how the organisation plans its activities and then controls them to make sure that the plans come true.

15. `Establish, in general terms, the reasoning behind the different types of goal planning (Pages 191-192 in the recommended textbook) – Strategic, Tactical and Operational. (3 x 2 marks = 6 marks)
16. Demonstrate, using actual examples, how your organisation uses each of the three planning types – Strategic, Tactical and Operational. Where you are making assumptions about details in the plan you should make the basis of your assumptions clear. (3 x 3 marks = 9 marks)

COMM2632 Popular Cinema

15. The SMART formula (Pages 193-194 in the recommended textbook) is a widely-recognised planning tool. Based on your knowledge of the organisation and its activities, apply this formula to one specific objective the organisation might have. (5 x 2 marks = 10 marks)
16. Using ONE (1) product OR service that your organisation is associated with, show how the specific control process outlined in pages 562-564 in the recommended textbook could be applied. Your answer should also include consideration of the various types of control that could be applied to your given example. (15 marks)
17. Based on your answer to the previous question, what are the three (3) most likely barriers to control (Pages 571-572 in the recommended textbook) within the organisation, and how would you recommend management deals with those? (3 x 3 marks = 9 marks)
18. If you had to choose one (1) of these barriers for management to do something to minimise or eliminate ahead of the others, which one would it be and (briefly) why? (1 mark)