PRINSIP PENGURUSAN ASSIGNMENT 3

CH10 (PG 354)

3.An organizational consultant was heard to say, “some aspect
of functional structure appears in every organization.” Do you
agree? Explain.

ANS: I agree with the consultants saying it can appears in every

organizations because a functional structure groups employees
into departments based on similar skills,experts, work activities,
and resource use. It can be thought of as departmentalization
by organization resources, because each type of functional
activity, accounting, human resource ,engineering ,
manufacturing represents specific resources for performing the
organizations task. People and facilities representing a common
organizational resource are grouped together into a single
department.

Because even if the intense/degree differ with organization the

characteristics of functional structure exist in every
organization. These are:
-Flow of information ups and downs
-Departments communicate with each other
-Compatibility of manager and employee because of similar
training

4.Some people argue that the matrix structure should be

adopted only as a last resort because the dual chains of
command can create more problems than they solve. Discuss.
Do you agree? Why?

ANS:Matrix approach combines aspects of both funtional and

divisional structures simultaneously, in the same part of the
organization. In my opinion I disagree that the matrix structure
should be adopted only as a last resort. We do report to two
managers from different functions and to work for both of
them and had to answer to both of them for the same activity.
Both managers sometimes have different ideas about handling
the task at times.When we have a problem, we get on a call
together and arrive at a final method and this solves the
problem. I have not come across any problems with dual chains
of command. As long as employees understand and respect the
chains of commands, operations can run smoothly in either
environment. The success of matrix structure depends on the
abilities of people in key matrix roles.

5.What is the virtual network approach to structure? Is the use

of authority and responsibility different compared to other
forms of departmentalization? Explain.

ANS: The virtual network structure disaggregates major

functions to separate companies that are brokered by a small
headquarters organization. In the network approach the
organization becomes a small central broker, electronically
connected to other organizations that perform vital functions.
Each department is an independent contracting service to the
broker for a profit and can be located anywhere. The central
broker, or headquarters, has only contractual arrangements
with the departments and, therefore, very little authority. Total
responsibility for the component of the product or service is
given to each department, and each has complete authority
over its own operation. The major difference is that the
headquarters has very little control over the departments and
cannot exercise authority over them very well.Responsibility
and authority in this structure is kind of different to other form
of departmentalization because it uses network to
communicate

CH11 (PG 388)

2.A manager of an international chemical company says that
few new products in her company have been successful. What
would you advise the manager to do to help increase the
company’s success rate?

ANS: The first thing I would advise this manager to do is to

gather more information. It is not enough for him to know that
the products are not succeeding. He needs to know why they
are not succeeding.The first thing she needs to do is to
determine whether the products are nonfunctional. If they are,
he needs to determine where is the problems of production
process. In other words, he needs to conduct quality control
experiments. If the product are coming out the way they are
supposed to but are not selling, then the manager need to find
out from the customers why they chose not to buy the product
of his company. By doing this kind of market investigate, he can
find out whether his company’s product does not meet the
need of the customers or whether the product is good but his
marketing and sales people are doing a bad job. Overall, he
simply needs more information so that he can determine what
changes need to be made.

3.As a manager, how would you deal with resistance to change

when you suspect that employees’ fears of job loss are well
founded?

ANS: Resistance to change often occurs for various reasons

such as: they think the change will conflict with their
self-interests, lack of understanding or trust, uncertainty and
different assessments and goals. In this case, the resistance to
change is definitely dealing with self-interest, and a lack of
understanding or trust. The employees have well founded fears
that they will lose their jobs due to the change. As a manager,
my job would be to clearly communicate the reason behind the
change. If the change was a result to poor performance, letting
the employees know this might energize them to work harder
that they might preserve their jobs. Losing your job can be a
very traumatizing experience, especially if you have been a
faithful employee for many years. Those of whom in the
position I was once in need to be appealed to on an emotional
level as well. Managers need to clearly communicate the
reasons for changes, and also support their workers on an
emotional level as best they can when the employees' fears of
job loss are well founded.

10. What do you see as the major advantages and

disadvantages of a company moving to open innovation?
ANS:
Advantages:
-Speedup time to market
-Reduce the risk of innovation
-Less risk guessing what the market wants
-Let the market / community tell you what they want
-Integrated community innovation
-Innovation can come from anywhere and anyone
-Some of the best ideas are outside of your organization
-Some of the best solutions reside outside of your organization

Disadvantages:
-Possibility of revealing information not intended for sharing
-Potential for the hosting organization to lose their competitive
advantage as a consequence of revealing intellectual property
-Increased complexity of controlling innovation and regulating
how contributors affect a project
-Devising a means to properly identify and incorporate external
innovation

CH12 (PG 428)

3. Is it wise for managers to evaluate a promising candidate’s
tweets or postings on social networking sites as grounds for
rejection before even interviewing him or her? What might to
be some ethical and legal issues that managers should consider?
Discuss.
ANS: One of the most crucial issues in using informal way to
screen candidates is privacy and discrimination. For example,
employers may not hire a candidates based on age, marital
status or sexuality, factor which are not revealed by candidates
when applying for jobs. Such information is available from
facebook or other networks. This way employer does not look
at the broader picture and miss out some great staff by taking
snapshot decisions.
People generally use messaging language and abbreviation on
networking sites to communicate which may involve poor
grammar and spelling error. Such mistake can be noted by
employers while streaming candidates and can impact their
short listing success. Again, employers can lose potential
candidates by only relying on these aspects.
Finding the right employee through networking sites is never
easy especially when position requires specific skill sets. For
example, an employer may misjudge a potential employee on
his inability to adjust with peers by seeing an argumentative
conversation with his acquaintances on a networking site.

4. What does it mean to say that HRM plays a strategic role in

driving organizational performance? Consider recruiting,
training, performance appraisal, and compensation strategies
as part of your answer.
ANS：
The key objectives and goals of the recruitment training are:
-Role of the corporate culture in the recruitment process
-How to identify the need for the additional workforce
-Defining a new job position
-Recruitment Interviewing Skills
-Recruitment Process Overview
Performance Appraisal can be done with following objectives
in mind:
-To maintain records in order to determine compensation
packages, wage structure, salaries raises, etc.
-To identify the strengths and weaknesses of employees to
place right men on right job.
-To maintain and assess the potential present in a person for
further growth and development.
-To provide a feedback to employees regarding their
performance and related status.

The compensation is a part of the complex HR processes,

policies and procedures. The top management and Human
Resources have to decide, what will be the primary role of
compensation in the organization. Some organizations prefer
the supplementary role of the compensation and other
organizations prefer the dominant role of the
compensation.This compensation decision is extremely
important as it sets the general framework for the
compensation components, if they will exist in the organization
or they will be the part of the other HR policy.
The compensation strategy has definitely include the
description of the role of the compensation in the organization.

10.How would you go about deciding whether to use a

job-based, skills-based, or pay-for-performance compensation
plan for employees in a textile manufacturing
plant? For waitstaff in a restaurant? For salespeople in
an insurance company?

ANS: The solutions that provide the best inducement should

always be the ones chosen. For a waitstaff, it would have to be
a very high end restaurant, the kind that employs a professional,
full-time waitstaff in order for skill-based compensation to be
even considered. There would be no reason to pay people at a
shirt factory anything other than hourly wages, though you
should certainly consider bonuses for safety or other criteria.
Some salespeople, especially those who keep office hours.
Work on a salary plus commission, but certainly
pay-for-performance would be the way to go there. Another
factor that would definitely have to be taken into consideration
would be differences in rates of pay as well as the cost of fringe
benefits. More and more companies seem to be decided to
keep pay as low as possible and to offer fewer fringe benefits
than were offered in the past. By keeping costs as low as
possible they hope to make as great a profit as possible, but
they run the risk of employing sub-standard workers who have
no loyalty to the company.

CH15 (PG 540)

1.Suggest some personal traits that you believe would be
useful to a business leader today. Are these traits more
valuable in some situations than in others? How do you
think traits differ from strengths?

ANS:

-Honesty

Honest leaders inspire not just through words but through

actions. They're the kind of leaders who build their teams from
the ground up. They understand that effective leadership is
built on trust, and that honesty in leadership generates a
stronger team dynamic. Honest interactions with employees
build the kind of relationships that make success in the
workplace attainable for the entire team -- not just the boss.

-Decisiveness

Leaders make decisions. Without fail, leaders are regularly

called on to make choices that impact both the organization
and the people they lead. People want to follow a person who
weighs all the options and, as Zenger and Folkman discovered
in their research, “Display fearless loyalty to doing what’s right
for the organization.” In other words, good leaders make
important decisions based on what’s best for the organization
and they make them confidently.

-Conscientiousness

Conscientiousness is a measure of how organized, thoughtful

and forward-thinking an individual is. Good leaders are highly
organized, both individually and when it pertains to their teams;
they sympathize with their employees and provide thoughtful
feedback and support; and they have both short-term and
long-term goals for the team that drive the team’s everyday
projects.

6.What is transformational leadership? Give examples of

organizational situations that would call for transformational,
transactional, or charismatic leadership.

ANS: Transformational leaders are sometimes call quiet leaders.

They are the ones that lead by example. Their style tends to use
rapport, inspiration, or empathy to engage followers. They are
known to possess courage, confidence, and the willingness to
make sacrifices for the greater good.They possess a
single-minded need to streamline or change things that no
longer work. The transformational leader motivates workers
and understands how to form them into integral units that
work well with others.Transformational leadership calls for
changing the leadership style and mode as per the changing
needs of the company and hence creating a vision for the
different scenarios with the help of inspiration. There is a rise in
morality and sense of motivation. Organizations need
charismatic leadership when there is a need for inspirational
figurehead. The company requires transactional leadership
when different project requires different project manager to
have different views and different styles to handle things.
Transformational leadership is required to encourage the
employees to have a breakthrough ideology and an inspiring
approach.

9.Do you think leadership is more important or less

important in today’s flatter, team-based organizations?
Are some leadership styles better suited to such organizations
as opposed to traditional hierarchical organizations?
Explain.

ANS: I think having a good leader is just as important as it ever

was. Whether a company is structured around a "team" based
concept or not, that team needs to be led. That's why sports
teams still have coaches and aren't run by the players deciding
who is going to play when and where .the coach has the big
vision in place, and a good coach know how to get the most out
of each player for the benefits of the entire team. Businesses
and companies are the same way. From a realistic perspective,
to get the job done, you still need a leader. Someone has to
cast the vision make the goals and make sure that the work is
progressing. Also a leader is central when it comes to conflict.

CH16 (PG 578)

6. If an experienced executive assistant discovered that she
made the same amount of money as a newly hired janitor,
how do you think she would react? What inputs and
outcomes might she evaluate to make this comparison?

ANS: This comparison is based on equity theory, in which

people compare the experience of a job and their own inputs
they mostly bring to a job and the outcomes they receive from
it with those of others. The outcomes of the job are mostly
incentives or the benefits they earn from offering their service
to the company. Chances are the secretary will react negatively
to the comparison as she views this as a case of inequity in the
job market. The janitor is newly hired and may have less
experience than the secretary. The secretary may have more
education and bring greater training and ability to the job and
normally she would expect to have a higher pay than the newly
hired janitor. The secretary may have certain outcomes
unavailable to the janitor, such as a pleasant office, more
satisfying work, and a more prestigious position. However,
these outcomes probably will not offset a lower salary, which
will create a perceived inequity. If the perceived inequity is
great, the secretary might be expected to change her inputs by
expending less effort, attempting to change outcomes by
seeking a salary increase, or by perhaps even leaving the job.
She may feel less motivated to perform her duties and thus she
may request to have a pay rise from the manager citing
inequity in the job market.

7. A survey of teachers found that two of the most important

rewards were the belief that their work was
important and a feeling of accomplishment. According
to Maslow’s theory, what needs do these rewards meet?

ANS: -Esteem needs- Esteem needs are of two types: internal

esteem needs (self- respect, confidence, competence,
achievement and freedom) and external esteem needs
(recognition, power, status, attention and admiration).

-Self-actualization need- This include the urge to become what

you are capable of becoming / what you have the potential to
become. It includes the need for growth and self-contentment.
It also includes desire for gaining more knowledge, social-
service, creativity and being aesthetic. The self- actualization
needs are never fully satiable. As an individual grows
psychologically, opportunities keep cropping up to continue
growing.

10. A recent Gallup survey shows that highly educated

workers are significantly less likely to be engaged than
are those with a high school diploma or less. What
might be some reasons for this lower level of engagement
among more-educated employees?

ANS: A college degree can do a lot of things -- such as

improving job prospects and increasing lifetime earnings -- but
it doesn't guarantee engagement at work. In fact, people with a
high school diploma or less are slightly more likely to be
engaged in their work than those with a college degree,
according to Gallup Daily tracking. People who invested time
and money in a degree may have higher expectations for their
managers and workplaces -- expectations that often go
unmet.Brandon Busteed, executive director of Gallup
Education, blames colleges for not encouraging students to
develop their strengths. "The key driver of college graduates
being less engaged is that they are much less likely than
everyone else to say they have an opportunity to 'do what they
do best every day,'" Busteed says. "Something about college
isn't working -- it appears it doesn't do a good enough job of
bringing students closer to figuring out what they are best at."

CH19 (PG 686)

8. What types of analysis can managers perform to help

them diagnose a company’s financial condition? How
might a review of financial statements help managers
diagnose other kinds of performance problems as well?

ANS: Types of analysis managers can perform to help them

diagnose a company’s financial condition. · The financial
statements of the organization help the manager to evaluate
the general performances of the financial position of the
organization. · The balance sheet- helps to report the balance
of asset, liability and capital of the organization. · The financial
Statement- helps to diagnose the balance of revenue and
expenses to report the income of the organization. The type of
analysis are as follows; · Financial Ratio Analysis A. Activity
Ratio Analysis B. Liquidity ratio analysis C. Debt/Financial
average analysis D. Profitability ratio E. Market value ratio
There are another types of analysis that manager perform to
evaluate the performance of the organization. These analysis
come from the financial statements of the organization. A.
Activity Ratio Analysis 1. Inventory turnover (ITO) = Cost of
goods sold (CGS) Average inventory (AV.I) · Measures the ability
of inventory to change to cash 2. Accounts receivable ration
(A/R TOR) = Credit Sales / Av. Inv · Measures ability of Mgt to
collect credit sales 3. Accounts payable TOR (A/P – TOR) =
Credit Purchase / Av. A/P · Measure the performance to pay
credit 4. Fixed Asset TOR = Net Sales Not fixed asset · Measures
the ability to utilize invested capitals on fixed asset.

9. Why is benchmarking an important component of

TQM programs? Do you believe a company could
have a successful TQM program without using
benchmarking?

ANS: Benchmarking is becoming ever more important

component of TQM programs by establishing corporate
performance. Achieving a competitive advantage through
benchmarking requires careful attention to improvement
strategies and tactics, including workforce strategies and
investments in production automation and information
technology. “To find out whether your company uses
leading-edge advanced manufacturing methods and
technologies, you need to look outside your plant windows —
and maybe even outside your country. Manufacturers who
pursue continuous improvement often recruit outside experts
to assess their strengths and weaknesses.”Benchmarking can
be lucrative for certain business practices, but not all
organizations can incorporate benchmarks into their practices.
A company can have a successful TQM program without using
benchmarking because benchmarking has limits. The method of
benchmarking is effective when the process being
benchmarked is in essence the same. For instance, when an
organization compares the cost of producing a duplicate
‘widget’, taking a client’s identical order, or dispensing a
benefit claim across multiple enterprises. Benchmarking can
actually hurt the TQM program when a company compares
vitally diverse processes or products. For example, the two
clothing retailers, Armani and Wal-Mart are consequently
dissimilar, “the cost of serving a customer who is purchasing
clothing from a Wal-Mart store is likely far below the same cost
for an Armani store, Armani would probably not benefit from
studying Wal-Mart’s selling process”. Therefore, “one cannot
learn much from comparing the aggregate cost of servicing
customers at the two companies.” I believe a company can
have a thriving TQM program without implementing
benchmarking.

10. What is ISO certification? Why would a global company

like GE want ISO certification?

ANS: ISO is a series of standards, developed and published by

the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), that
define, establish, and maintain an effective quality
assurance system for manufacturing and service industries. The
ISO standard is the most widely known and has perhaps had
the most impact of the 13,000 standards published by the ISO.
It serves many different industries and organizations as a guide
to quality products, service, and management.
Global companay like GE want ISO certification because of

-Get More Revenue and Business from New Customers

Once you earn your ISO 9001 certification, you can advertise
your quality certification and respond to requests for quotes
(RFQ) from companies that make ISO 9001 certification a
“must-have”. ISO 9001 certification can open up new markets
you were virtually unable to do business with before your
certification.
-Achieve International Quality Recognition
ISO 9001 is a worldwide standard administered by
the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), based
in Switzerland. ISO 9001 is currently in use by over one
million organizations around the world! It is truly a world wide
standard for quality! Obtaining ISO 9001 certification puts your
company in a very select group.