Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
Page | 2
Contents:
Page:
1.0. Introduction
1.1. Types of Information
1.1.2. Strategic
1.1.3. Tactical
1.1.4. Operational
1.2. Importance of Information for the Workplace
1.2.1. Making better Decisions
1.2.2. Filling Knowledge Gaps
1.2.3. Identifying Opportunities
1.2.4. Understanding Customers better
1.3. Range of Purpose
1.4. Decision-Making
1.4.2. Management Decision-Making
1.4.3. Strategies for Improvement
1.5. Types of Management Information required
1.5.1. Levels of Information
1.5.2. Information in different Sectors
1.6. Knowledge
1.6.1. Tacit and Explicit Knowledge
1.6.2. Difference between Tacit and Explicit Knowledge
1.7. The Source of Data and Information
1.7.1. Internal and External
1.7.2. Primary and Secondary data
1.7.3. Formal and Informal Information
1.7.4. Team Workers
1.7.5. Customers and
Stakeholders______________________________________________________
2.0. Communication
2.1. Communication Process
2.1.1. Barriers of Effective Communication Process
2.1.2. McDonalds Communication Process
2.1.3. McDonalds Background
2.1.4. Intrapersonal and Internal Communication
2.1.5. Employees
2.1.6. Customers
2.1.7. Channels of Communication
2.1.8. External Communication
2.1.9. Findings
2.1.10. Recommendations
2.2. How appropriate is McDonalds Communication System?
2.3. Continuous Improvement Strategies to become a Learning Organisation
2.3.1. Peter Michael Senge
2.3.2. Total Quality Management
2.3.3. Benchmarking
2.3.4. ISO 9001
2.3.5. Kaizen
2.4. Improvements for McDonalds to have a better Communication
System____________________
Page | 3
Page | 4
1.0. Introduction
Organisations collect and allocate information on a daily basis. Information
and communication are the means by which the activities of an
organisation are coordinated. Information is sometimes said to be
processed data. In normal everyday speech, the term data and
information are often used interchangeable, as meaning the same thing.
However, there are stricter definitions of the two terms, which makes an
important distinction between them.
Information can be defined as:
"Facts or information to be used as a basis of discussing or
deciding something."
(Oxford American Dictionary)
However these terms have fundamentally different meanings in the
information processing or management literature. Data are collection of
observations, which may or may not be true. Thus data may not be facts.
Data become information when they are processed.
Information is created from Data. The graph below shows the process of
creating information.
Data are the process of information. It is like building a house, the data
are the bricks and mortar and the information is the finished house.
Information is very important for a manager as it is used for planning,
Source: http://gunston.gmu.edu/healthscience/740/RoleOfInformationInOrganizations.asp?E=0
Page | 5
budgeting and decision making. Information is also required and used for
controlling, recording transaction and to measure performance.
Knowledge
Knowledge is commonly distinguished from data and information. Data
represents observations or facts of context, and therefore not directly
meaningful. Information results from placing data within some meaningful
context, often in the form of a message.
Knowledge can be defined as:
Information within peoples mind.2
The illustration above shows the process of data and information. Data are
plain facts. When data are processed, organized, structured or presented
in a given context (data put into context) so that people can understand
and use it as above mentioned, then the information can be used to make
decision.
2 http://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/mbakir/entry/sharing_knowledge_vs/
3 http://www.infogineering.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/model.jpg
Page | 6
Data is the
seed
Information is
the crop
Knowledg
e is the
harvest
Strategic information
Tactical information
Operation Information
Str
ate
gic
Tactical
Opearional
1.1.2. Strategic
The strategic information is used to plan the objectives of the organisation
and measure whether objectives are being met such as overall probability
and segments as well as for SWOT analysis. It is also used for Marketing
Page | 7
and PESTEL analysis for the organisation. The strategic information is also
used for future plans, availability/cost of new funds and for total peopling.
Strategic information is usually dealt from the owner of the organisation or
a higher management as it is about the whole organisation and its future.
By collecting strategic information, organisation will work towards longterm goals, objectives and plans. Strategic information is conducted from
both, internal and external sources and because it is holistic so that
means it is concerned with the whole organisations future it has to be
summarised at a high level in the organisation. Strategic information is
often prepared on an ad hoc basis. An ad hoc basis means it is
concerned or dealing with a specific purpose. Strategic information can
either be qualitive or quantitive this will depend on the purpose, however
strategic information is uncertain because future cannot be forecasted
with certainty. For example in McDonalds the strategic informations
would be used either from the Franchisee or the Business Manager.
1.1.3. Tactical
Page | 8
1.1.4. Operational
Page | 9
P a g e | 10
It does not matter which type of information is been used from the
organisational management, to make a good information it is important
that the collected information are accurate, concise and relevant. It should
also be fit for purpose and clear. The user/reader should have confidence
in it therefore it should be logical, well researched, well supported and
should contain evidence. The collected information should be timely,
honest and truthful. The cost should also not be more than the value of its
benefits to the organisation.
P a g e | 11
P a g e | 12
cash book, and the planned maintenance calender (PDM) and in order to
use these legal documents correctly, they will need to have the
information supplied as well as the knowledge on how to record/use
it.Operational information can be built up, allowing control action to be
taken. Another reason why organisations require information is that they
will need it for performance measurement. Comparison against budget or
plan can be made and this can be done by collecting information on costs,
revenue, volumes, time scales, and profitability. Information is necessary
to make descisions within the organisation.
1.4. Decision-Making
A decision is a choice whereby a person forms a conclusion about a
situation. Within an organisation it is the point at which plans, policies and
objectives are translated into concrete actions. Planning leads to decisions
guided by company policy and objectives and implies the selection from
alternative objectives, policies, procedures and programmes. The purpose
of decision-making is to direct human behaviour towards a future goal. If
there were no alternatives, there would be no need for a decision. Drucker
distinguishes between tactical and strategic decisions. Other
classifications include a divison between organisational and personal
decisions. Organisational decisions are those made in the role of an official
of the company and reflect company policy. Personal decisions refer to
those made by a manager as an individidual and cannot be delegated.
Another classification is between basic and routine decisions. Basic
decisions are long-range in scope, e.g. the location of factory in a
development are, or deciding that product to make. Wrong decisions on
these matters can be very costly. Routine decisions are made repetitively
and need little thought.
Decisions may be classified as structured, unstructered, or semisructured.
Structured decisions are programmed, such as stock or re-ordering.
Unstructered decisions could be that an organisation introduces a new
product line. Semi-sructured decisions are when some standard
procedures are applied, but also some individual judgement, such as
production scheduling.
P a g e | 13
business as a whole and decisions that affect only one aspect of the
business will be delegated to lower levels of management. Planning and
control decisions are taken at the strategic, tactical, and operational levels
of organisational activity.
Strategic planning is a process of deciding on objectives of the
organisation, on changes in these objectives, on the resources used to
attain these objectives and the policies that are o govern the acquisition,
used and disposition of these resources. Strategic decision-making is
medium to long-term and involves high levels of uncertainity and risk.
Strategic decision-making involves situations that may not recur and deals
with complex issues.
Tactical planning/control, also called management control, means
ensuring that resources are obtained and used effectively and efficiency in
the accomplishment of the organisations objectives.
Efficiency mean that resources input to a process produce the optimum
(maximum) amount of outputs.
Effectiveness means that resources are used to achieve the desired
ends.
Tactical decisions are routine, usually contain few alternatives and relate
to the economic use of resources.
Operational control ensures that specific tasks are carried out
effectively and efficiently. It focuses on individuals task, and is carried out
within the strictly defined guideliness issued by the strategic planning and
tactical control decisions. Managers at this level decide what needs to be
done from day to day and task to task. For example in McDonalds the
operational control is up to the shift managers. They have to make sure
tasks are done and report it to the strategic level, which is either the
business manager or franchisee.
As above mentioned there are structured, unstructered, and semistructured decisions. The table below illustrates the structued,
unstructered, and semi-structured decisions at the different levels of
management.
Decisions Level
Structured
Unstructered
Semi-Structured
Strategic
Major investment
decisions
Reorganisation of
the whole
organisation
Entry of new
market/new product
line
Tactical
Selection of
products to discount
Expanding into a
new design
Allocation of budget
P a g e | 14
Operational
Stock control
procuderes
Hiring supervisor
Selection of new
supplier
According to Poulton (1982) there is a distinguish between decisionmaking and decision-taking. Decision-makers are all those who have an
interest, active or passiv, in a particular decision. Decision-takers are
those charged with reaching decisions and making specific commitments.
Decision-making therefore comprises the whole process e.g. problem
identification, analysis, discussion, and negotiation, that involves decisionmakers up to the point at which the issue is decided. Decision-taking is
the function or activity of the responsible authority, as in the case of a
manager it would be deciding on a course of action.
Identifying the stakeholders and examining their respective interests in
the issue; in other words stakeholder analysis which is essential part of
the overall decision making process. This can be done with the Ansoff
Matrix or Boston Matrix. Satisfying stakeholders is a comlicated task
that begins with including their involvement in the process.
Customers and final consumers will want the product or service to live up
to their expectations and expect a quick response to any complaints and
replacement for any detective items. For example, if an organisation
wishes to follow strategy that increases the quality of a product at the
same time as increasing the price, there may be problems with both
existing and potential new customers. Existing customers may not be
willing to pay more for the product, while new customers are not attracted
to a product that they still view as being a low quality.
Suppliers are generally concerned with being paid promptly for goods
and services delivered and receiving regular repayments of any capital
provider (banks). For example if an organisation wishes to follow a
strategy that improves working capital management by paying suppliers
late, existing suppliers may decide to stop suppliying the organisation,
leading to the increase cost of finding new suppliers.
A robust communications and stakeholder involvement programme
involves communicating with and engaging stakeholder before making
final decisions on significan changes so that they can determine
stakeholder response and incorporate stakeholder considerations into
planning. Stakeholders have a wealth of relevant experience and
P a g e | 15
2.
3.
An output phase which includes planning for implementing the
solution.
4.
P a g e | 16
STEP 1
Identify
STEP 2
Determin
e the
alternativ
es
STEP 3
Evaluate
available
alternativ
es
STEP 4
Implemen
t the
decision
STEP 5
Follow up
on
feedback
In the first step organisations should identify the problem and outline the
objective that a successful decision should address. In the second step
organisations should determine the alternatives. New choices can often
lead to a higher quality solution. The elected alternative choice should be
thought carefully and analysed before the decision is made. The third step
is the most important step. Organisations have to choose the best
alternative and consider the impact and implication the chosen decision
might have. Organisations may even want to write down the pros and
cons of each alternative. They should also consider the cost, time, ethical
issues and goals and whether it is identical with their organisations
values. The fourth step is the step where organisations implement the
decision. This step is very important too as it need to be thought what
they will be doing and most important who will be doing it.
The last step is the follow up step. A good decision-making is good when
organisations give it time to work out. They should therefore give it time
and review the outcomes and reflect upon the success of the decision and
what was learned from the situation. If it does happen and the problem is
still not solved after following the five steps of decision-making,
organisations should make the necessary changes and evaluate the
outcomes again.
P a g e | 17
2.
3.
A manager also needs to know how well the resources are being
used and how well the objectives are being met.
P a g e | 18
time as trends. The strategic level of the public sector will require
information to consider population demopgrahics and expected
government policy. The tactical level will need it in order to examine
average class sizes and per cent of reported crime solved. The operational
level requires information to organize staff timesheets and assess the
student daily attendance.
In the non-profit/charity sector the performance is normally assessed in
terms of economy, efficiency and effectiveness. A key measure for
charities for example is the amount spent on the cause rather than on
administration or advertising. The strategic level will require information
for the purpose of activities of other charities and public attitudes. The
tactical level requires information to examine the percentage of revenue
spent on admin, and average donation. The operational level will require
information for donations, banking, documentation and household
approached and collected from.
1.6. Knowledge
Johnson and Lundvall (2001) differentiate knowdlege between:
HOW
? The
ability to
do
somethi
ng
WHA
T? Knowled
ge about
facts
WHY
? Knowled
ge about
princible
s and
laws
WHO
? Knowled
ge about
who
knows
what
P a g e | 19
Collective
Embrained Knowledge
Encoded Knowledge
EXPLICIT
Embodied Knowledge
EXPLICIT
Embedded Knowledge
TACIT
TACIT
P a g e | 20
Tacit knowledge:
Explicit knowledge
P a g e | 21
P a g e | 22
P a g e | 23
Human Resources
Procedures manual
Management accounts balance sheet
Financial data
Sales reports by region
Sales by customer and product
Market prospects and reports
Customer complaints
Marketing research reports
Operations data
Efficiency and capacity detail
Input prices
Number of employees
Training programmes
Staff turnover details
Details of pay
P a g e | 24
1.7.4. Teamworkers
Information and knowledge is also important for teamwork. When
employees within the organisation are working in a team towards the
same goal, it is essential that everyone in the team knows their targets
and responsibilities therefore it is vital that they understand the
information effectively and that they have the knowledge in order to
achieve their targets.
2.0. Communication
Any organization comprises of employees, suppliers, customer, and other
agencies governing the functioning of the organization. Majority of the
time spent by any organization is on communicating. Communication
involves the delivery of ideas, information, data or facts from one party to
another. Since the majority of activities evolve around communication,
maximum issues are also raised around this only. Thus, it becomes
essential for any organization to ensure that all parties involved in
P a g e | 25
Encode
r
Medium
Decode
Noise
RECEIVE
R
Encoder
SEND
Feedback/Resp
onse
P a g e | 26
P a g e | 27
2. Physical Barrier
P a g e | 28
3. Semantic Barrier
4. Psychosocial Barrier
Psychosocial barriers are related to the
individual's own, external or attitude. Great
communication barriers in psychosocial barrier are
about honour, mainly title to a person by gender,
status and type of titles. For example, for a
married woman use the term 'Madam' is more
accurate than 'miss'. Such barriers cause there is
communication breakdown, the receiver may not
be longer perform communication with senders.
P a g e | 29
2.1.5. Employees
At McDonalds, personal communication is an important element in the
everyday work life. Apart from work related issue employees also discuss
personal matters with their colleagues. Mostly such communication is oral
but it has been observed that many times it is also written, where one
colleague forwards an email to another. Any intrapersonal communication
4
http://academy.clevelandclinic.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=EVxj3eIS6iE%3D&tabid=1800
P a g e | 30
2.1.6. Customers
McDonalds makes sure that their customers get the best service. All
employees should be trained well before they communicate to customers.
However McDonalds does not have a training program dedicated on
improving communication the only training they adopt is a Service
training flyer which includes the below six service steps. To communicate
well, it is necessary to talk politely and use gestures to deliver meaning.
The employees give customer satisfaction through good customer service.
This is the continuous part of the communication in McDonalds and which
is to be used 24 hours to serve the customer and it is used to handle the
problems of customers as well. In McDonalds there is a specific pattern to
deal with the customers.
This part of communication is used to deal with every customer and this
pattern is also written in every order taking register and is called six
service steps which is as follows:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
McDonalds believes that when employees follow the six service steps, the
customer will receive a great experience and will leave the restaurant
P a g e | 31
P a g e | 32
organization. The managers mainly communicate with suppliers via emails, telephone or online. McDonalds UK has one main supplier for all
the restaurants in the UK, which is called Martin Brower. Martin Brower
supplies all the restaurants with all the relevant raw materials (frozen as
well as chilled), dry stock (Happy Meals, cups, lids, bags etc.) and Ops
stock (chemicals, Toilet Paper etc.). McDonalds communication process
with Martin Brower works via online ordering. McDonalds uses their
intranet in is called web log in order to complete their stock ordering.
The Web log is very easy to use and shows each restaurant what they
will need and how much of it. The Web log system predicts the amount of
stock each restaurant needs by using their projected sales for each week.
However it does not include any upcoming events therefore before each
ordering has been placed, the responsible manager will have to check for
any upcoming events and therefore order less/more for each week. Martin
Brower uses the e-mail as communication quite often as above
mentioned. Each restaurant will receive an e-mail a day before the
delivery arrives, and let the restaurant know about the estimated delivery
time.
Customers
Externally McDonalds runs numbers of different advertising campaigns
throughout the year to ensure their customers are aware of the great
products on offer as well as informing them about other areas of the
business such as their training and education opportunities. McDonalds
has also a media team who deals with all press enquiries. There is also a
customer service team who deals with all sorts of customer enquiries, for
example customer complaints. Once the customer has complaint to the
Head Office, the Head office then communicates the complaint to the
relevant restaurant. The restaurant then investigates the complaint and
gets in touch with the customer in order to apologise and mainly offers
the customer a free meal by their next visit.
2.1.9. Findings
McDonalds realizes that intrapersonal communication is an important
element in the everyday work life. It helps in breaking the monotony of
work.
Most communication at McDonalds is oral and online based.
McDonalds has an internal communication team that deals with
communication to all of their employees.
McDonalds does not have any training program dedicated at improving
the communication skills of employee.
McDonalds has crew meetings every three months, and management
meetings once a month.
McDonalds has multiple directional formal channels of communication.
McDonalds has a strong informal communication channel too.
McDonalds has mostly staff from different countries.
McDonalds faces some barriers of communication.
P a g e | 33
2.1.10. Recommendation
1. Managers need to follow up their communication.
2. Managers need to seek, not only to be understood, but to understand
(good listener).
3. McDonalds should focus on and train staff on cross cultural
communication as the majority of staff is from different countries.
4. McDonalds currently does not have any training module in improving
communication for current and new staff; they should invest in such
trainings as these make the system more efficient and error free.
5. Even though McDonalds encourages informal communication, the
process is too unstructured; especially for employees who are not
English it is quite difficult to understand this communication.
McDonalds should promote informal communication among employees
through regular meets and off sites as they develop better working
relationships.
P a g e | 34
P a g e | 35
developed, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are
continually learning to see the whole together. Peter Michael Senge
argues that only those organizations are able to adjust rapidly and
effectively will be able to excel in their field or market. According to Senge
there must be two conditions present at all times in order to be a learning
organisation. The first is the ability to design the organization to match
the intended or desired outcomes and second, the ability to recognize
when the initial direction of the organization is different from the desired
outcome and follow the necessary steps to correct this mismatch.
Organizations that are able to do this are exemplary. Senge also believed
in the theory of Systems Thinking which has sometimes been referred to
as the 'Cornerstone' of the Learning Organization. Systems thinking
focuses on how the individual that is being studied interacts with the other
constituents of the system. Rather than focusing on the individuals within
an organization it prefers to look at a larger number of interactions within
the organization and in between organizations as a whole. 6
2.3.3. Benchmarking
Another approach of quality improvement is benchmarking. This approach
can be used for service as well as products. Benchmarking is a way to
watch other organizations performance in order to improve their own. This
could also be internal by doing this with another department for the same
organization. An example of benchmarking could be for example a
financial services firm might want its call centre staff to answer calls
within six rings, if this is the practice of the best in the industry.7
6 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Senge
P a g e | 36
2.3.5. Kaizen
7 Paul Cooks assignment year 1
8 http://totalqualitymanagement.wordpress.com/2008/09/12/benchmarking/
9 Source: http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_9000
10 Paul Cooks PowerPoint year 1
P a g e | 37
P a g e | 38
this lead for problems. If they would have more often meeting, they would
identify some issues earlier and could find solutions to improve/solve
them. At last I would recommend McDonalds to become a more learning
organization by analyzing and using the above mentioned approaches.
P a g e | 39
Specific
Measurabl
e
Achievabl
e
Realistic
Time
bouned
P a g e | 40
Target/Objective
Actions to achieve
outcome
1. To improve my
Excel skills
2. To improve my
fear of presentations
3. To improve my
English in order to
communicate more
effectively
4. To improve my
self-esteem in order
to communicate
verbally better
5. To improve my
communications skill
on the telephone
Evidence on
how to
achieve it
Excel Course
Target
date
June 2014
To prepare myself more
effectively and practise in
front of friends before the
presentation and to ask
for feedback after
To read more books and
to attend the IELTS
Course
Feedback from
Tutor of the end
of my
Presentation
Books
IELTS certificate
Ongoing
June 2014
To identify my negative
beliefs
Recording
everything in a
diary
Ongoing
June 2014
Ongoing
P a g e | 41
P a g e | 42
P a g e | 43
10%
80%
10%
of people who know you dont like you and will actively hold
you back or try to stop you.
Networking is one of the most beneficial ways for people to help each
other develop their ideas and professional careers. It increases the
opportunity for people to talk with each other and share ideas, information
and resources and can serve to enhance both the personal and
professional aspects of ones life. Building a strong network requires the
effort of everyone involved. Effective networking requires people to:
effectively communicate
Once people begin to make contacts they may find that they will become
part of a group, meeting together to develop mutual interests or
communicating via email and the internet.
P a g e | 44
P a g e | 45
To colleagues
Professional contacts
Information source
Friends
P a g e | 46
Reception staffs are the first point of contact in the organisation. They are
very important to people to network with. You can also network:
In person
By phone
Network via the canteen and the work sociable club. All new staff should
have an induction, ensure staffs know:
Attending social events away from work. They are a good opportunity
to network and enjoy themselves at the same time
P a g e | 47
P a g e | 48
basic theories. The first need is for affection, the desire to give and
receive love and liking. The second need is for inclusion, the desire to be
social and to be included in groups. The third need is for control, which is
a desire to influence to people and events in our lives. Expanding on
Schutzs ideas, Abraham Maslow (1968) proposed that we communicate to
meet a range of human needs.
P a g e | 49
13
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_networking_service
P a g e | 50
P a g e | 51
P a g e | 52
6.0. Conclusion
There are many reasons for the need to implement change. These include
the desire to improve productivity, maximise shareholder value,
globalisation, broken communication system and technological advances
(Soltani, Lai and Mahmoudi, 2007, Ahn, Adamson and Dornbusch, 2004,
Macadam, 1996). With each need to implement changes come several
barriers. The possibility of failure is significantly increased and this can be
caused by not managing change effectively. Managers need to ask directly
and openly for feedback and then react in an encouraging manner rather
than a defensive one. Resistance to change is unavoidable, however
individuals need to express their thoughts throughout the process so as to
minimise the communication barrier (Marshall and Conner, 2000).
In all organisations the managerial decisions ultimately impact
stakeholders and managing change is one of the most difficult tasks
facing managers today. When a drastic change is needed in an
organisation there may be many barriers that could affect the success of
this change. Woolworths need to make sure this change is managed
effectively and the barriers are avoided. They also need to have an open
and honest communication system as this will best manage the barriers.
Change management takes a lot of courage because it can be high-risk for
the organisation as a whole as well as all employees involved (Ahn,
Adamson and Dornbusch, 2004). Managers need to stick with the plan,
refuse to give up and keep communication as open as possible. They
should be willing to listen to every person throughout the change.