Chapter 1 Notes:

Organization: An organization is a collection of people working together to achieve a common purpose All organizations share a broad purpose - providing useful goods and/or services that return value to society and satisfy

customer needs Organizations interact with their environments to transform resources into products and services

Six Challenges of the New Economy:1. Intellectual Capital:

People: what they know, what they learn, and what they do with it, are the ultimate foundations of the organization and how it performs

Intellectual Capital is the collective brainpower or shared knowledge of a workforce A knowledge worker is someone whose mind is a critical asset to employers and who adds to the intellectual

capital of an organization2. Globalization

National boundaries of world business have largely disappeared People and countries are increasingly interconnected through the news, travel, labour markets and in

business dealings Globalization is the worldwide interdependence of resources, markets, and business competition that

characterize the new economy3. Technology

Continuing transformation of the modern workplace through:i. The Internetii. Computersiii. Information technologyiv. Automation

Increasing demand for knowledge workers with the skills to fully utilize technology Computer literacy must be mastered and continually updated

4. Workforce Diversity describes differences in gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and able-bodiedness among

workers A diverse and multicultural workforce both challenges and offers opportunities to employers By valuing diversity, organizations can tap a rich talent pool and help everyone work to their full potential Businesses are improving in valuing diversity but inequalities still exist Prejudice is a preconceived opinion or attitude not based on reason or experience Prejudice turns to discrimination when minority members are unfairly treated and denied the full benefits of

organizational membership A subtle form of discrimination is the “glass ceiling effect”, an invisible barrier or “ceiling” that prevents women

and minorities from rising above a certain level of organizational responsibility5. Ethics

moral principles that determine “good / right” behaviour as opposed to “bad / wrong” behaviour of a person or group

Society requires businesses to operate according to high moral standards

Corporations, by law, are required to have an elected Board of Directors to represent the best interests of the shareholders

One issue raised by recent business ethics failures is the role of Corporate Governance -- the active oversight of management decisions and company actions by the Board of Directors

Emphasis today on restoring the strength of corporate governance – the expectation is that boards will hold management accountable for ethical and socially responsible behaviour

6. Careers Won’t all be full-time or with one large employer in the 21st century More likely to involve changing jobs and employers over time Skills must be portable and of current value Skills are not gained once and then forgotten; they must be carefully maintained and upgraded

Critical Survival Skills for the New Economy Mastery – you need to be good at something; you need to be able to contribute something of value Contacts/Network – you need to know people; links with peers and others are essential Entrepreneurship – act as if running your own business; spot opportunities and ideas and embrace them Embrace Technology – understand and use technology effectively Marketing – communicate your successes and progress – not just yours but your work group’s too Passion for Renewal – continuous learning and updating; need to stay current

Organizational Performance For an organization to perform well, resources must be well utilized and customers well served Value is created when an organization’s operations add value to the original cost of resource inputs When value creation occurs:

Businesses earn a profit Nonprofit organizations add wealth to society

• Provide a public service that is worth more than its cost (E.g. fire protection in a community) The best organizations measure their performance in a variety of ways and on a constant basis A common measure of overall performance is Productivity - the quantity and quality of work performance, relative

to the resources used Performance Effectiveness is an output measure of task or goal accomplishment

E.g. if you work in the manufacturing area of Dell Computers, performance effectiveness may mean that you meet a daily production target in terms of quantity and quality of keyboards assembled

Performance Efficiency is an input measure of the resource costs associated with goal accomplishment The most efficient production is accomplished at a minimum cost in materials and labour

Organizations that fail to listen to their customers and fail to deliver quality goods and services at reasonable prices will be left struggling in a highly competitive environment

Total Quality Management : an organization-wide commitment to continuous improvement and meeting customer needs completely

Organizations perform better when they treat their members better “Toxic Workplaces” treat employees as costs to be reduced High performing organizations treat people as valuable strategic assets It is a manager’s role to ensure that their employees are treated as strategic assets

What is a Manager?

A Manager is a person in an organization who supports and is responsible for the work of others

A manager is responsible for the overall performance and accomplishments of a team, work group, department or even organization as a whole

The people who managers help (subordinates) are the ones whose tasks represent the real work of the organization

Every manager’s job entails a key responsibility - to help other people achieve high performance

Levels of Managers

1. Top Managers responsible for performance of an organization as a whole or for one of its larger parts.

Have job titles such as CEOs, Presidents, VPs, etc.

They pay special attention to the world outside the business, they are alert to potential long run problems and develop strategies for dealing with them

2. Middle Managers are in charge of relatively large departments or divisions Work with top management and coordinate with peers to develop and implement action plans to

accomplish organizational objectives

3. Team Leaders / Supervisors in charge of a small work group of non-managerial workers Often called first line managers Team leaders or supervisors make sure that their work teams meet goals that are consistent with the

plans of middle and top management.

Responsibilities of Team Leaders Plan meetings and work schedules Clarify goals and tasks, and gather ideas for improvement Appraise performance and counsel team members Recommend pay raises and new assignments Recruit, develop, and train team members Encourage high performance and teamwork Inform team members about organizational goals and expectations Inform higher levels of team needs and accomplishments Coordinate with others teams and support the rest of the organization

Types of Managers

(Administrators, Functional, General, Line, Staff)

Line Managers directly contribute to the production of the organization’s goods or services

Staff Managers use technical expertise to advise and support the efforts of line workers

Functional Managers are responsible for a single area of activity, such as marketing, accounting,

sales, etc

General Managers are responsible for more complex units that include many functional areas

Administrators work in public and nonprofit organizations

Managerial Performance

Accountability is the requirement of a person to answer to someone of higher authority for performance results

The team leader is accountable to the middle managers,

Middle managers are accountable to top managers and

__top_______ managers are accountable to the board of directors

Effective managers fulfill performance accountability by helping others to achieve high performance outcomes and experience satisfaction in their work

High performing managers … Build __relationships________ with others

Help others develop their _skills_____ and performance competencies

Foster _teamwork______

Create a work environment that is performance-driven and provides __satisfaction_____ for workers

Levels and Types of Managers – Example

Consider the following managers within a school board. Beside each, write their level and type.

Level Type Position (role)

Director of Education - ultimately responsible for all operations within the school board

Superintendents – oversee a group of schools or other departments within the board

Principals – responsible for all operations within the school

Head Custodians – responsible for the overall maintenance of a school

Head Secretaries – responsible for overseeing the overall performance of a school office

Cafeteria Manager – responsible for the smooth operation of the cafeteria

Computer Technician – responsible for operation and maintenance of computer systems within a school

The Management Process It is the job of managers to create environments that enable and encourage people to work hard and to perform to

the best of their abilities in order for the organization to achieve high productivity and high efficiency There are four functions of management:

o Planning – involves setting objectives and determining what should be done to accomplish them

o Organizing – assigning tasks, organizing resources (human and other resources), and coordinating

activities to meet organizational goals (plans)o Leading – arousing enthusiasm and inspiring efforts to achieve goals

o Controlling – measuring performance and taking action to ensure desired results

Nature of Managerial Work Henry Mintzberg identified 10 roles of managers which can be broadly classified into 3 groups: Interpersonal

roles, Informational roles and Decisional roleso Interpersonal Roles – involve interactions with persons inside and outside the organization

o Informational Roles – involve getting, giving and analyzing information

o Decisional Roles – using information to make decisions, solve problems and take advantage of

opportunities Katz identified three essential types of managerial skills

o Technical skills – ability to use expertise to perform a task with proficiency

o Human skills – ability to work well with people

o Conceptual skills – ability to think analytically and solve problems

Katz believes that while all managers need each type of skill, the need for each type of skill changes with the level of management