Firm or Company: Includes all types of business organisations and noncommercial
organisations and institutions such as universities, hospitals, libraries,
etc. Our discussion in this Unit is in the context of a business firm but all that we
discussed is valid for non-business organisations too.
Environment: The universe in which the firm operates is known as its
environment and includes all those economic, political, socio-cultural, legal,
demographic factors, etc. which have a critical bearing on its operations.
Levels of Business Activity: All business activities can be classified into a
hierarchy of three levels.
Corporate Level: This refers to the top management level of an industrial or
business group which has under its management more than one firm, each with a
different product/market scope. These may be engaged in the same or different
industries and may be located in different cities or countries. The concern of the
top management is to manage the complex and diverse sets of business activities
best to serve the interests of the group as a whole.
Business Level: The business level is concerned with the management of one or
more firms which have a common product/ market scope and from the viewpoint
of management is treated as a single unit. The concern of the management is how
best to compete in the specific product/ market scope.
Functional Level: At the functional level the concern of the management is to
maximise productivity of resources deployed in the various functional areas such
as marketing, finance, personnel, production etc.
Adaptive Decision: An adaptive decision involves a. problem with a large number of
decision variables where outcomes are not predictable.
Mechanistic Decision: A routine and repetitive decision.
Heuristics: Heuristic is a rule which guides the search for alternatives into areas that
have a high probability for yielding satisfactory solutions.
Brainstorming: A group process, where the members are presented with a problem
and are asked to develop as many solutions as possible in a free environment.
Operations Research: Use of scientific methods of analysis to process complex
information and arrive at decisions achieving an optimum balance of probabilities as
well as identifiable facts.
Synectics: A method of generating alternatives by combining diverse and apparently
irrelevant ideas.
Action Planning: Drawing up of detailed plans which spell out the various
sequential activities to be performed in order to achieve the specified objectives.
Corporate Planning: Planning undertaken by the top management to define
objectives for the entire organisation as well as the means of achieving these
objectives.
Effectiveness: The extent to which the output requirements are actually achieved.
Emphasis on doing the right things.
Efficiency: Ratio of output to input, doing things in the right manner.
Joint Objective Setting: A process by which a boss and his immediate subordinate
arrive at mutually agreeable objectives for the latter.
Key Result Areas: Those results or outputs whose achievement is critical to the
survival of the specific managerial position. These can also be defined at the level of
a division, a unit and the entire organisation.
Objectives: Expected results.
Performance Review: A system for evaluating the results achieved as against the
specified objectives in order to initiate corrective action and improve future
performance.
Action-Goal Orientation: Tendency to think about one's goals in activity terms.
Atypical Behaviour: Actions which are not usually displayed by the majority of
people in any group.
Conflict: The extent to which people oppose and block each other.
Consideration: The extent to which stimulation and help is received by an individual
from others.
Control: The degree to which a check is kept on the behaviour of an individual.
Encounter: A stage of socialisation when a person explores the difference between
his expectations and reality.
Equity: A value of maintaining fairness in receiving a reward in proportion to one's'
contribution.
Ethos: Character and values of an individual or of a group.
Individual Autonomy: The extent of freedom from accountability to others.
Internal Resources: Awareness of one's intellectual and moral strength.
Metamorphosis: A stage of socialisation where adaptation and changes take place.
Normative Behaviour; Actions which are usually displayed by majority people in
any group.
OC: A coined term which refers to perceived characteristics of organisational climate
and organisational culture.
Opportunity: A value which stands for providing enough scope to people to develop
their capacities.
Organisational Climate: Enduring qualities of the internal environment of an
organisation.
Organisational Culture: A relatively uniform perception about a number of features
of an organisation which allows distinction of one organisation from others.
Position Structure: The extent of direct supervision and formalisation.
Prearrival: A stage of socialisation which screens the values, attitudes and
expectations of people before joining an organisation.
Pro-action: An orientation to take initiative and to do things without being told to
do.
Problem-solving Attitude: A propensity to face problems rather than avoiding them.
Progressiveness & Development: The scope for growth of oneself and others.
Reward Orientation: The tendency to provide incentives for higher effort and
performance.
Risk-taking: The extent of freedom given in an organisation to experiment with new
untried ideas.
Security: A value which stands for providing economically, physically and
emotionally safe environment to employees.
Social Forces: The forces in the environment outside an organisation.
Socialisation: A process of adaptation through which the people come to understand
the values, norms and customs of an organisation.
System 4: A type of organisation structure which allows participation and
involvement of all groups in all important processes.
Value: An enduring belief that a specific mode of conduct is personally and socially
preferable to other alternative modes of conduct.
Work Values: Degree of worth a person ascribes to the opportunity of work.
Source: IGNOU Booklet
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