What is professional management? Does the management of your organisation or an organisation you are familiar with.

What is professional management? Does the management of your organisation or an organisation you are familiar with fit into the criteria of professional management? Discuss how would you promote professionalism in you organisation. Briefly describe the organisation you are referring to.

Ans. Yes, in our organisation professional management concepts are applied because we have various Responsibilities towards society and consumers. I am refereeing the organisation kwon ICICI bank ltd. Which is a good example professional management.
• Business & managers operating than should consider the social implications of their decision.
• The business decision must be beneficial to both the company & the society.
• Business has received its charter from society and hence it must respond to it. It must understand the changing needs of business and public as well.
• Improvement in social environment benefits both the society and the businesses. Society is benefited by the better neighborhood and employment, business is benefited work force and consumer of product and services.
• Social involvement in business has negative impact on regulations and intervention. It imparts more freedom and flexibility in business decision making.
• Businesses have the required infrastructure so they must contribute towards society by helping, conducting healthcare, development and awareness camps.
• Social involvement in the business in terms of investment is backed by the interest of the profits. Business must ensure that the society gets ample return on their investments in businesses.
• Business must ensure that society does not become spoiled by the garbages and industrial waster. Means of recycling should be implemented for better production. This is beneficial for businesses as well because they get their ample production at reduced costs.
• Social involvement creates a favorable image for business and it attracts more customers. Business is responsible to create a favorable image in society.
• Business is responsible for solving the problems and seeks the society help in eliminating and creating awareness for the dreadful problems.
• Since business has resources it can utilise them for the benefit of society that is the main cause of its existence and profit.
• Surveys must be conducted to identify the requirements, expectations of the society from them and adequate measures must be taken up so that they involve the societal development.

Responsibilities towards customers:
• To ensure that the customer gets a good return for the amount they spend.
• To ensure that the quality and quantity of the goods is maintained.
• Upgradation of the articles to meet the arising demands and keep the product as per the national and international standards.
• Satisfy the needs of customer by offering products of the ultimate values.
• To ensure that sales and services are of quality value for the customers.
• To hear the grievances of the customer and take suitable steps of recovery.
• To offer reliable and durable goods at competitive prices.
• Affiliation to international quality standards ensure the quality and quantity measures.
• To check that customers are not cheated by look-a-like brands.
• To take steps towards offering complete discounted efforts of maintaining standards.
• Promotion of products on basis of real benefits.
• To maintain the level of stocks such that the shortages do not occur.
• To respond to the grievances and upgrade the products as desired according to the requirements.
• To provide adequate profits to the dealers so that they do not indulge in the wrong practices.

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Give a list of the motivational techniques. Critically evaluate the motivational techniques of your organisation.

Give a list of the motivational techniques. Critically evaluate the motivational techniques of your organisation or an organisation you are familiar with. Do you think they are conducive for a productivity oriented work culture? Justify your answer.

Ans. Theory X vs. Theory Y.
Theory X and Theory Y have been proposed to understand the behavioural working under them. These assumptions influence then behaviours. Megregors proposed his classic view of people. Their view is expressed in two sets of assumptions developed by Douglas McGregor & is known as Theory X & Theory Y. According to McGregor the Managing activity must start with how managers are themselves in relation to others. This viewpoint requires some thought of perception of human nature. Theory X and theory Y are two sets of assumptions about nature of people. McGregor chose these terms to provide neutral terminology without any connection of good or bad..
Theory X Assumptions: According to the McGregor the people nature is as follows:
1. Average human has a dislike of work and will avoid it if they can.
2. Because human don’t like work, people must be coerced, controlled, directed and threatened with punishment to get them to put forth adequate efforts towards achievement of organisation objectives.
3. Average Human beings prefer to be directed with to avoid responsibility, have relatively little ambition and want security above all.

Theory Y assumptions: The assumptions under theory Y are seen as :
1. The expenditure of physical effort and mental effort in work is as natural as play or rest.
2. External control and the threat of punishment are not the only means for producing effort toward organisation objectives. People will exercise self direction and self control in service of objectives to which they are committed.
3. The degree of commitment to objectives is in proportion to the size of the reward associated with their achievement.
4. Average human beings learn, under proper conditions, not only to accept responsibility but also to seek it.
5. The capacity to exercise a high degree of imagination, ingenuity and creativity in the solution of organisation problem is widely, not continuously.
6. Under the conditions of modern industrial life, the intellectual potentialities of the average human beings are only potentially utilised.

The two assumptions are fundamentally different. Theory X is pessimistic, static and rigid. The control is external that is imposed on the subordinate by the superior. In contrast Theory Y is optimistic, dynamic, & flexible with an emphasis on self-direction and the integration of individual needs with organisational demands. There is little doubt that each set of assumptions will affect the managers’ way of carrying out their functions.

McGregor was concerned that Theory X &Y might be misinterpreted theory X & Y are only assumptions and not the prescriptions or suggestions for managerial strategies. They are such assumptions, which must be tested against reality, and is intuitive deduction having no research base.

These are also not the had or self-management hard approach may provide resistance & antagonism. Soft management may result in laissez-faire management incongruent with Theory Y. Effective manager recognizes dignity and capabilities along with limitation of people & adjusts the behaviours as demanded by situation.

Theory X & Theory Y are not viewed as being on a continuous scale, with theory X & Y opposite streams. They are not matters of degree, rather they are different view of people.

A discussion of theory Y is not a case for consensus management nor is it an argument against the use of authority. Under the theory Y, authority is seen as only one of the ways manages exert relationship.

Different tasks and situations require a variety of approaches to management. At times authority are structure may be effective for certain tasks as found in research. They found that different approach is effective in different situations. Productive enterprise is one that fits task requirement to people and the particular situation. Yes, these theories are good for productivity and result oriented. Hence, these theories should applied in real life.

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What are the general sources of conflict in an organization also explain the ways how conflict can be managed.

What are the general sources of conflict in an organization also explain the ways how conflict can be managed. Which way of managing conflict you feel better and why particularly in the organizational situation where you are working or familiar with. Briefly describe the organization you are referring to.

Conflict is a part of organizational life and may occur within the individual between individuals group and between groups. While conflict is generally perceived as dysfunctional. Life is a never-ending process of one conflict after another. Remember the time when you were a small child and had to choose between a tricycle and a cricket set or say, a set of dolls and a new frock for a birthday present. That was probably your first exposure to a conflict situation. Of course, this is a simplistic example of a conflict, but has life been the same since? Probably not. Think bank and recall how each succeeding conflict in your life over the years has been increasingly complex.
Conflict is a theme that has occupied the thinking of man more than any other with the exception of God and love. Conflict has always been widespread in society but it is only recently that it has generated a lot of interest and has been the focus of research and study. We are living in the age of conflict. Everyday the choices available to us regarding any decision are increasing in number. You may have wanted to become a manager, an entrepreneur or a computer scientist. On the other hand, you father might have wanted you to become a doctor, a lawyer or a chartered accountant. Thus you faced a conflict not only at an interpersonal level, in terms of the various choices confronting you, but also at an interpersonal level-your choice vs. your father's choice of a career for you.
Conflict is not confined at the individual level alone but is manifesting itself more and more in organisations. Employees have become more vociferous in their demands for a better deal. Various departments in an organisation face a situation full of conflicts due to a number of reasons like goal diversity, scarcity of resources or task interdependence etc. Management today is faced with the awesome responsibility of ensuring optimum levels of growth and productivity in an environment that is full of conflicting situations. A survey suggests that the modern manager spends over 20% of his time. SOURCES OF CONFLICT:
A large number of potential sources .of conflict exist in organizational life as- antecedent conditions and realistic basis for some conflicts. Following are some such sources. Competition for Limited Resources : Any group exists for the purpose of attaining some goals with the help of available resources. These resources may be tangible like men, materials, and money or intangible like power, status or the manager's time. No organisation is capable of providing all the resources demanded by various units. Resources are limited and different groups have to compete for these scarce resources and many conflicts arise from this source.
Diversity of Goals UD Groups in organisation have different functions to perform and as such they develop their own norms and goals. Theoretically the achievement of these goals should achieve overall organizational goals but, often, in real life the reverse is true. Goals of one group are incompatible to the goals of another group. Take, for example, a company which manufactures electric fans that has a seasonal demand. Three departments marketing,

production and finance-are involved. Since the demand for the product is seasonal, the marketing manager would like to have sufficient stock during the season. The production department has to gear up its capacity during the season but because of a tight labour market finds it difficult to hire labour temporarily and resorts to employ people on a permanent basis. This creates another problem. The finance manager says that as the storage costs are high it is expensive to keep stock build up in the slack season, and maintaining the
production line during slack season imposes an additional burden.
1
This example shows that each department develops its own goals, which may conflict with
another department's goals and one department may try to achieve its goals at the expense of
another. This happens quite often when the reward system is linked to group performance
rather than to overall organisational performance.
Task Interdependence: ( Groups in an organisation do not function independent of one
another. They have to interact with one another in order to accomplish their tasks. The sales
department will have nothing to sell unless the production people produce goods and goods
cannot be produced unless the financial department comes up with the money to buy raw
materials.
Thus smooth interaction between various groups is essential for the efficient functioning of
the organisation. Three types of interdependence can cause intergroup conflict-pooled,
sequential and reciprocal. Pooled interdependence exists when two work groups may not
directly interact with each other but are affected by each other's actions. For example, when
one independent product group performs poorly, all other groups may suffer financially. This
can happen when rewards are contingent upon collective performance.
Sequential interdependence occurs when one group's performance depends on another
group's prior performance. In a construction project, for example, the excavating team must
prepare the foundation before the masons can work on the building structure. Since the
masons depend on the excavators, conflict between the groups can occur when the
excavator's work is delayed.
Reciprocal interdependence occurs when two or more groups are mutually interdependent
in accomplishing their tasks. For example, in developing and marketing a new product, three
major departments (marketing, production and research) depend on each other to perform
their tasks. Information possessed by one department is needed by another department. For
example, the research department needs market information from the marketing department,
and marketing needs research to provide customer services. When one group unable to meet
the expectations of another group, intergroup conflict usually results.
Conflict can be managed in different ways, some focusing on interpersortal relationships and
others on structural changes. Avoidance of the situation that causes the conflict is an
example of an interpersonal approach.
Stimulating Productive Conflict
Most of us since childhood have been taught to avoid conflict and even disagreement how
many times have you heard the statements "Pon't Argue". "Stop fighting" or "It is better to
turn the other cheek"? However, this tendency to avoid conflict is not always productive and
there are times when there is a need to stimulate conflict. It is interesting experiment, series
of groups were formed to tackle a problem. Some groups contained a planted member to

challenge the majority opinion. Some groups didn't have. Without fail, all groups that had a planted member came up with a main perceptive solution than the other groups. However when the groups were asked to drop a member. All groups that had a planted member chose to drop the dissenting member despite clear evidence that the conflict was beneficial. Such resistance to conflict is what mangers have to overcome in stimulating productive conflict. Robbins (1978) suggested the following as signs where conflict stimulation is needed:
The organization is filled with "yes men".
Employees are afraid to admit ignorance. ! Compromise is stressed in decision making. u Managers put too much emphasis on harmony and peace. i • People are afraid to hurting the feelings of others.
Popularity is given more importance than technical competence.
People show great resistance to change.
New ideas are not forthcoming.
The presence of one or more of these signs is usually an indication of the need for conflict
stimulation. Once the need has been identified you may adopt one or more of the following
techniques:
(1) Manipulate Communication Channels
I Deviate messages from traditional channels
i Repress information
; Transmit too much information
i Transmit ambiguous or threatening information (2) Alter the Organization's Structure (redefine jobs, alter tasks, reform units or activities).
U Increase a unit's size
.
i Increase specialization or standardization
i Add, delete or transfer organizational members ; Increase interdependence between units (3) Alter Personnel Behaviour Factors
J Change personality characteristics of leader.
i Create role conflict >
Develop role incongruence
These are only a few of the suggestions possible. Depending upon your values and the organisation's value-system, some of the suggestions may even sound undethical as you may feel that a desirable end-state does not always justify the questionable means (like transmitting threatening information). If stimulating your value-conflict, we become successful in helping you to understand the important option of conflict stimulation. Resolving Interparty Conflict: How and when
You have seen that stimulating conflict is a required mode of conflict management when groups are characterized by apathy, complacency, non-responsiveness to needed ohange, lack of enthusiasm for generating alternatives, etc. Though these symptoms are very much present in a number of work-units in Indian organizations (and hence calls for appropriate conflict stimulation interventions), the more commonplace are heightened manifest conflicts. So, for
most practical purposes, you should not only possess the knowledge of different strategies of conflict-resolution but should also know when to use which strategy.
There is no dearth of literature in this area and different authors have given different taxonomies in reviewing possible conflict resolution strategies. Here we consider Feldman's (1985) strategies of intergroup conflict-resolution.
The primary dimension along which intergroup conflict-resolution strategies vary is how openly you as a manager should address the. conflict. The chief characteristic of conflict-avoidance strategies is that they attempt to keep the conflict from coming into the open. The goal of conflict-delusion strategies is to keep the conflict in abeyance and to "cool" the emotions of the parties involved. Conflict-containment strategies allow some conflict to surface, but tightly control which issues are discussed and the manner in which they are discussed. Conflict-confrontation strategies are designed to uncover all the issues of the conflict and try to find a mutually satisfactory solution. Conflict-avoidance Strategies are used in service organization
(i) Ignoring the Conflict: This strategy is represented by the absence of action. You, as a manager, have often avoided dealing with dysfunctional aspects of conflict. Unfortunately, when you avoid searching for the causes of the conflict, the situation usually continues or becomes worse over time. Although ignoring the conflict generally is ineffective for resolving important policy issues, there are some circumstances in which it is at least a reasonable way of dealing with problems. One such circumstance in which ignoring the conflict is a reasonable strategy is when the issue seems to be symptomatic of other, more basic conflicts. For example, two groups may experience conflict over the amount and quality of office space. Such conflicts often reflect more important issues about relative power and status. Resolving the office space problem would not address the key issues, and attention could be directed more fruitfully to the more basic concerns.
(ii) Imposing a Solution :This strategy consists of forcing the conflicting parties to accept a solution devised by higher-level manager. Imposing a solution does not allow much conflict to surface, nor does it leave room for the participants to air their grievances, so it also generally an ineffective conflict-resolution strategy. Any peace that it does achieve is likely to be short¬lived. Because the underlying issues are not addressed, the conflict reappears in other guises
and in other situations.
t ' i' *'
Forcing a solution can, however, be appropriate when quick, decisive action is needed. For
instance, when there is conflict over investment decisions, and delays can be very costly, forcing a solution may be the best strategy available to top management. Likewise, it may be necessary when unpopular decisions must be made and there is very little chance that the parties involved could ever reach agreement (Thomas, 1977). An example of this is when an organization must cut back on the funding of programs. It is unreasonable to expect that any department would agree to cut its staff and expenses for the greater good, yet some hard unpleasant decisions ultimately must be made. Conflict-defusion Strategies
(i) Smoothing : One way you can deal with conflict is to try to "smooth it over" by playing down its extent or importance. You may try to persuade the groups that they are not so far apart in their viewpoints as they think they are, point out the similarities in their positions, try to "pat" group members whose feelings have been hurt, or play down the importance of the
issue. By smoothing the conflict, you can hope to decrease its intensity and avoid escalation
or open hostility. Like forcing a solution, smoothing generally is ineffective because it does not
address the key points of conflict.
However, smoothing sometimes can serve as a stopgap measure to let people cool down and
regain perspective. In the heat of the battle, people may make statements that are likely to
escalate the conflict, and smoothing often can bring the disagreement back to a manageable
level. Smoothing also may be appropriate when the conflict concerns network issues. For
instance, intergroup conflict frequently occurs between older and younger employees because
of their different political beliefs and moral values. Smoothing can help to defuse the tension
so that the conflict does not spill over into central work issues.
(ii) Appealing to Super ordinate Goals: DYou can defuse conflicts by focusing attention on
the higher goals that the groups share or the long-range aims that they have in 9ommon. This
tends to make the current problem seem insignificant beside the more important mutual
goals.
Finding super ordinate goals the are important to both groups is not easy. Achieving these
goals needs cooperation between the groups, so the rewards for achieving that super ordinate
goal is organizational survival, i.e., if the subunits do not cooperate sufficiently, the continued
existence of the larger organization itself will be severely jeopardized.
Conflict-containment Strategies
Using Representatives: One of the strategies you can use to contain conflict is the use of
representatives. In order to decide an issue, you can meet with representatives of the
opposing groups rather than deal with the groups in their entirety. The rationale is that the
representatives know the problems and can argue the groups' points of view accurately and
forcefully.
Although this seems to be a logical way of proceeding, the research on the use of
representatives as a means of solving intergroup conflict is fairly negative. Representatives are
not entirely free to engage in compromise.

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Explain the tasks of a professional manager. Identify the mangers whose prime task is to plan and steer the future of the organization you are working

Explain the tasks of a professional manager. Identify the mangers whose prime task is to plan and steer the future of the organization you are working in or familiar with. What are the various survival and growth options which your organization has adopted in the recent past. Briefly describe the organization you are referring to.
There is a lot of confusion over the much widely used terms-professional management and professional managers.
Management is a discipline. There are practitioners of this discipline who practice management as a profession and
thus are professional managers. Just as there are doctors and lawyers by professional managers. As doctors
practice medicine, managers practice management. The only difference between professional managers and other
professional is that, while the latter must possess a formal degree in their discipline, a professional manager need
not have a formal degree or education in management.
The second characteristic of a professional manager is that his primary concern is the organization or the
company with which he works. This is true whether the manager works for a private or public sector or a
multinational company; whether he is the executive director or the personnel manager reporting to the executive
director. The professional manager always has his company's overall perspective in his mind and all his actions are
guided by the company's objectives.
The third and the most important characteristic of a professional manager is that he is responsible for
performance. Managing involves collecting and utilizing resources (money, men, materials and machines) in the
most optimal manner for achievement of some pre-determined objectives or results. Responsibility and
performance are really the key words in defining a manager's role. Performance implies action, and action
necessitates taking specific steps and doing certain tasks. Let us first take up the various tasks which a manager is
expected to do to produce results.
Manager has to, first of all, set objectives which the firm must achieve. Objectives provide the direction in which
the firm must move. Having decided upon the objectives, the manager must constantly monitor the progress and
activities of the firm to ensure that it is moving in the desired direction. This is the first and foremost task of every
manager.
If you are a part of the top management team then you will be very actively involved in this task through the
process of defining the mission and objectives for the entire organization. If you are a manager reporting to the top
manager, it is your task to see that the actions of the people who work for you in your department or division are in
the desired direction. It is your task as a manager to prevent ail such action's which take your company away from
the direction set by the top management.
A large Australian MNC Company has its subsidiary In India which manufacturers and markets a popular line of
toys and medication it maintains are large shop in Mumbai for production of a medicinal plant which is an active
ingredient in all its medication.
To derive further cost advantage it was proposed that the company set up its own toy raw materials and own
packaging labels. However raw materials was not such a critical activity that it required the company to have full
control over it. The key point is that all movements and actions must be consistent with achievement of the
objectives. To ensure consistency it is important that the manager carefully thinks through each alternative course
of action, to evaluate its potential to contribute towards attainment of objectives.

Ensuring survival of the firm is a critical task of the manager. But that alone is not enough. The manager has also to actively seek growth. No matter how big or powerful a firm may be today, it is sure to be left behind in the race by newer, healthier and more efficient firms if it does not pursue growth. Two sets of factors impinge upon the firm's survival and growth.
The first is the set of factors, which are internal to the firm and are largely controllable. These internal factors are choice of technology, efficiency of labour, competence of managerial staff, company image, financial resources, etc.
The second set of factors influencing the firm's ability to ensure survival and growth are those which are external to the firm and over which it has little or no control. These external, environmental factors refer to government policy, laws and regulations, changing customer tastes, attitudes and values, increasing competitioiv etc. Protector &Gamble (p&g) is a subsidiary of a multinational company which, till some years ago, was manufacturing and marketing soaps (Hammam,marvel) and refined oils and agro products. Most of these are low technology lines being a foreign exchange regulation act (FERA) unless P&g diluted its foreign equity to 50 percent. P&G sold off its line of refined oils to Tata India and diversified into the production of into the production of basic chemical of high technology area where foreign are allowed to invest'and grow as per FERA. Thus by changeover from low-tech to hi-tech area P&G has ensured its future in India..
Efficiency is the ratio of output to the input. To produce results a manager requires inputs in the form of money, men, materials and machines. The more output that the manager can produce with the same input, the greater will be the profit generated. Profit is the surplus of difference the manager can generate between the value of inputs and outputs.
Profit is essential for the survival and growth of a business. A manager may decide to forego some profit today for
the profits, which he is seeking tomorrow but in the long run he must understand that no business can survive if it
does not make profits. Business activity is undertaken to satisfy a need of the society in a manner, which yields
profits. A business is not a philanthropic or charitable activity, which is run merely to provide some goods and
services irrespective of whether it is making a profit. '"'
Profit generated can be used for expansion, upgrading the technology, growth or paying dividends. Profits are one
of the cheapest sources of financing growth, as they involve no interest liability not putting the freedom at stake by
having representatives of financial institutions sit on your board of directors.
A profitable firm can turn unprofitable because of obsolete technology, inability to meet high fixed cost structures, high levels of wastage, or simply because the product is no longer in demand by customers. We have e.g. traditional garments mils became un profitable and the fate they eventually met. A similar fate awaits all nonprofitable businesses. The consistent failure of engineering products India, a public sector company, to generate profits and execute international projects within the time limits has threatened the very existence of this company.
In contrast companies such as pepsodents -marvel, Polaris software engineering and Ambrose limited etc. have been showing sufficiently good profits.
Competition is increasing in terms of more competitors, more products, wider variety of products, and better quality of products. The manager today has more potential customers to sell to and easy access to these customers yet the market is crowded with many competitors wooing the same customers.
Till a date ago, the Statesmen group of newspapers and magazines reigned supreme in the magazine market with its 'specimen weekly of India' being the only Indian family magazine and 'Manikchand' the only notable film magazine for people interested in films.
The introduction of 'Grahalaxmi today' and 'zee dust' brought about a redical change. Starting in a modest fashion. 'Grahalaxmi today' is probably the most widely read general interest magazine while 'Zeedust' has blazed its own unique trend-setting trail of popularity. In the wake of the success of these two magazines, many other magazines followed, such as general interest magazines, Art magazines, Men magazines children's magazines, special interest magazines, etc. All these new magazines have better reading content, more colour, better layout and are very glossy and attractive to look at. Unable to match these new magazines the circulation of the 'Illustrated Weekly of India' and "Manikchand' slumped. However, in the last years these two magazines have been attempting to regain the lost ground and have succeeded to some measure. But they can certainly never again enjoy the leading position, which they once did. In developed countries the concept of competition is very closely linked to that of obsolescence. Companies keep introducing successively new models of cars, washing machines, refrigerators, etc., with minor variations, and persuading the customers to discard their older models for the newer ones.

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Design a control system for controlling the performance of your own subordinates, keeping in view the characteristics of effective controls.

Design a control system for controlling the performance of your own subordinates, keeping in view the characteristics of effective controls. Examine the control methods and strategies used in your organization or any organization you are familiar with. Briefly describe the organization you are referring to.

The control process is a continuous flow, between measuring, comparing and action. '.Controlling is directly related to planning. The controlling process ensures that plans are being implemented properly. In the functions of management cycle - planning, organizing, directing, and controlling - planning moves forward into all the other functions, and controlling reaches back. Controlling is the final link in the functional chain of management activities and brings the functions of management cycle full circle. Control is the process through which standards for performance of people and processes are set, communicated, and applied. Effective control systems use mechanisms to monitor activities and take corrective action, if necessary. The supervisor observes what happens and compares that with what was supposed to happen. He or she must correct below-standard conditions and bring results up to expectations. Effective control systems allow supervisors to know how well implementation is going. Control facilitates delegating activities to employees. Since supervisors are ultimately held accountable for their employees' performance, timely feedback on employee activity is necessary.
Answer to the posed question i.e., "Whether we need any control system when every thing is going as
planned?", can be well illustrated with an example and another question - Can we leave the steering,
brakes, accelerator (Controls) while driving a car given that we are driving in right side, tight direction,
right speed (as per our plan)? The answer would certainly be a big NO. Because, we do not know the
road conditions ahead, the level of incoming traffic, speed and driving style of our co-traffickers and so
on.
How over structured/mechanized may be the operation and even though everything is going as per plan,
we need to exercise control. Because control is 'a continuous process. Control aims at achieving
"everything should be as per plan till the achievement of final object!ve(s)."
Of course, degree of control depends on nature of job, risk associated with deviation from standard,
control design, etc. For instance, in the example that we cited (car driver), the frequency of control is
continuous, because the risk associated with deviation of speed, side, etc., the control design, such as
accelerator is such that a little deviation may lead to an accident.
On the other hand, if a salesman is assigned with a target number of sales per month and the control
mechanism is dispatch of all invoices at the end of the day, the manager in charge can afford to wait till
evening when he receives the report about the day's sales. In other words, relative to the car driver, who
has to constantly apply the control mechanism, manager in question can relax 6rj the weekend and can
wait till the next working day to see the reports concerning each day's sale.
Secondly, since control is a feedforward mechanism, even though everything is going as per plan, we
need control mechanism.
In the following control system designed to control the performance of my subordinates, an attempt has
been made to incorporate all the characteristics of effective control such as plan, structure,
appropriateness, strategic purpose, acceptability by the two salesmen, objectivity and cost
effectiveness.
(a). Plan : Assuming myself to be the Marketing Manager of a readymade garment manufacturing
company which manufactures only two products - T-shirts for gents and suits for ladies. We have

information that last five years average sale in each of the two products have been, say 18,000 units
each.
(i). Target Setting : I would call my two salesmen (subordinates) for target/objectives setting and
facilitate in an MBO framework to set annual sales in each category. Supposing if they set a target of
18,000 + 10% = 19,800 units in each category. Now this can be broken down into monthly target of
19,800/12 = 1,650 units, Weekly target of 380 units (approx) and Each day's target of 66 units
(assuming 25 working days in a month).
In order to motivate and make their work rewarding I would also prefer to introduce incentives into this
control mechanism so that they voluntarily submit it in time and strive to achieve the set target.
Hence, the incentive will be calculated as follows :
If monthly sales > 1,650 units then incentive = (Actual sales -1,650) x 5% = XYZ
Hence, for our control mechanism :
Standard: The Daily, Weekly and Monthly sales target is set at 66, 380 and 1,650 units.
Measurement: The Weekly/Monthly sales will be measured.
Corrective Action: If the Monthly sales are > 1,650 units, Print a congratulation or appreciation letter,
calculate monthly incentive as per the plan and send it to the concerned salesman. If the Monthly sales
are < 1,650 units, calculate the shortage target, set current months' target = 1,650 units + Last months'
shortage target. Print an encouragement letter and the current months' target and send it to the
concerned salesman.
In order to facilitate encouragement, motivation and reduce indirect control the two salesmen may be asked to meet with me before cease work.
Assumption : Manufacturing is not a constraint and the organisation aims to maximise profit and thus,
on the line of organisational objective the Marketing Division's objective is to maximise the sales. To
keep things simple, we keep price constant.
(b). Structure : Having the set annual target, and broken down it into monthly, weekly and daily targets
(which are also communicated to salesmen, understood by them and obtained their consent), I would
ask the two salesmen to send their Daily, Weekly and Monthly invoices. This will work as control tool.
The two salesmen will be directly reporting to me.
As regards control methods used in LKG India Ltd., following are the partial control system used.
General Data Processing Controls : General data processing controls apply to the entire data
processing function.
They cover such topics as:
• Data Center Operations: data entry, processing, distribution and protection
• Access Security Controls: data security

• Systems Software Controls: controls over the scope and procedure for systems
development, acquisition, implementation and maintenance
General data processing controls do NOT include the internal controls that affect only the application within which they are found.

1. Data Center Operations
(a). Data Entry Controls
Data entry controls ensure that as few errors and omissions as possible contaminate data entering the
system. Data entry controls include:
• Source Data Controls
• Input Validation Controls (Edit Controls)
(i) Source Data Control -- check accuracy and completeness at data 'entry
• self-checking digit - numerical function of other digits in the number
• well designed documents - all needed information is included and organized in a
logical way
• sequentially prenumbered forms - e.g. prenumbered checks
• turnaround documents - e.g. the form you send in with your phone bill payment
(ii). Input Validation - also called "edit controls"
• Sequence check - numerical or alphabetical order
• Field or form check - Proper type or class of data (numeric vs. alphabetic), category, or length (social security number must have 9 digits)
• Validity check - already authorized account number e.g. customer number exists in customer master file
o select from a list - e.g. list box or combo box in Access
o self-check digit check - check to see if item entered is consistent
• Limit or range check - does not exceed limit
o Statistical - range set by using a measure of standard deviation
o Sign check - appropriate arithmetic sign
• Logical reasonableness - debit vs. credit accounts
• Relational or valid-combinations test - entry in one field limits the acceptable entries in a related field
o Redundant data cross-check — enter account number and name, look up account number and cross-check name for match
o Closed-loop-verification - send validated data back to terminal in presumed format, e.g. when account number is entered customer name is shown on the screen.
• Completeness test - check to see if all needed data is there
o Preformat input form - helps to assure all information entered. A well designed form
that mimics the source document can reduce entry errors.
o Prompts - asks questions

• Batch totals - Total amount from small batch (approx. 50) and compare to totals of amount entered - provides quick indication of coding or reading error
o financial totals - checks entered must equal deposit total

o hash totals - sum of account numbers
o record counts - correct number of items entered
o cross-footing balance test - invoice total must match sum of quantity times price each for individual items
(b).Processing Controls These controls minimize processing mishaps.
• correct-file test - makes sure that the right file and the right version of file are used
• unprocessable-transactions procedure - handles incorrect data (e.g. data includes non¬existent customer number)
• transaction log - used to reconstruct destroyed files (i).Online Access Controls
• User number - user authorised to have access only to certain information' (compatibility test)
• Passwords
o Need to shut off terminal if user cannot provide password and/or user number with three attempts
o If highly sensitive system, notify security of possible breech
o Passwords randomly assigned vs. selected by user
o Restrict to authorized commands and data access from the specified user
o Do not display or print passwords
o Modify passwords frequently but not on a regular schedule
• Firewalls- separation of network accessible data and private data
• Check usage patterns for irregularity - hard to do (Expert systems now being used for this)
• Intrusion prevention and detection - fix known operating system weaknesses
• Virus prevention and detection procedures - check files regularly & upgrade software frequently
(ii). Output Controls : These controls ensure that reports reach all those, and only those, intended to receive them.
Verification tests - Tests to see whether accounting controls are being applied during processing - e.g. prints check number on each check that MUST match the prenumbered document
Distribution tests -
• Do not leave reports on desks — must come and pick up, must be on access list Make user sign for completeness of output - should know what report was requested.

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Distinguish between task and activities in your organization or any organization you are familiar with.

Distinguish between task and activities in your organization or any organization you are familiar with. Suggest measures to improve the organization structure, which would enhance its effectiveness. Briefly describe the organization you are referring to.

The various multifaceted tasks and roles of an organisation have to be divided into smaller, manageable components to facilitate efficient achievement of objectives. The most common basis of differentiation and division are function, product, location and customer.
The functional structure is most suited when an organisation is dealing with single product or service. The activities can easily be segmented into similar, complementary activities such as production, marketing, finance, purchasing, etc. Depending on the nature of the organisation and its scope of activities, the functions it has to perform may differ vastly from those of other organisation.
At L.K. Global (India) (or LKG), the company with which I have been associated is a multi-product, multinational company operating in 13 countries with its head office in U.K. It has an average annual turnover of £ 400 million. It has two branches in India, one at Software Technology Park, Noida and other at IT Paradise, Bangalore. LKG's core business has been development and marketing of Software, Software and Networking Solutions. LKG has started its business in 1981 in U.K. as a software development company only with 25 programmers. But in this short span of time, it has grown and transformed into a multi-business, multinational company by successfully diversifying into, Construction, Finance and Internet Service Provider (ISP) businesses.
Before diversification, LKG has organised itself into a functional structure with Development,'Marketing, Finance, After Sales Service and Administration functions. At that time the tasks and activities were differentiated on the basis of functions.
In any organisation which is organised into functional structure, certain function(s) are very crucial for the organisation and upon success of which depends the success or failure of any organisation. These are generally called key functions or key activities. At LKG, before diversification the key function had been Software Development. And thus higher weightage used to be assigned to this function and most of the activities were organised around this key activity. Hence, the tasks and activities were differentiated on the basis of functions such as for Product Development department it was number of software developed per month. For marketing department it used to be number of software marketed, etc.
But with growth and diversification the contemporary structure started hindering the smooth operation at LKG India Ltd. Very soon the need was felt to organize LKG into Strategic Business Units (SBUs) with operations in each country representing one SBU. Till the time LKG was confined to software and software related business, the SBU structure worked well. But after the latest unrelated diversifications into Construction, Finance and Internet Service Provider (ISP) business, the structure has again started
exerting pressure on the strategies adopted by LKG. Another phenomenon at LKG is that the SBUs are imbalanced because the company is not Jn all the businesses in all the countries of operation. For instance, in U.K., the company is in all the businesses of Software development and marketing, Networking and Networking Solutions, Internet Service Provider, Finance and Construction. Whereas in India LKG is only in the business of Software development and Marketing, Networking and Networking Solutions. Similarly, in Cyprus, the company is in Software development and Marketing, Networking and Networking Solutions and in addition to this in Construction. In Bangladesh, LKG is only in the business of construction and finance. Hence, LKG does not have a balanced portfolio. But still in each SBU, tasks and activities are differentiated on functional basis.
As regards improvements in the current organisational structure in LKG India Ltd., I would suggest the following changes in it:
(a). Use of Matrix Structure : With a matrix organization in LKG, teams can be formed and team members should report to two or more managers. Matrix structures utilize functional and divisional chains of command simultaneously in the.same part of the organization, commonly for-one-of-a-kind projects. At LKG, this structure can be used to develop a new product, to ensure the continuing success of a product to which several departments directly contribute, and to solve a difficult problem. By superimposing a project structure upon the functional structure, a matrix organization can be formed that allows the organization to take advantage of new opportunities. This structure assigns specialists from different functional departments to work on one or more projects being led by project managers. The matrix concept facilitates working on concurrent projects by creating a dual chain of 'command, the project (program, systems, or product) manager and the functional manager. Project managers have authority over activities geared toward achieving organizational goals while functional managers have authority over promotion decisions and performance reviews. This structure in my belief would be a definite improvement over the existing structure.
(b). LKG should take care of its portfolio while assigning resources and while organizing. In no case Software development business should be subordinated to a country manager who is not from the field. Similarly, if in a particular country, the main business is Construction and Finance, the country manager should be expert from the same field and it should not be subordinated to Software development.
(c). Project managers should have authority over activities geared toward achieving organizational goals while functional managers should have authority over promotion decisions and performance reviews.
These changes in organisational set may bring about certain desired results such as to develop a new product, to ensure the continuing success of a product and to solve a difficult problem.

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Explain the concept of Management by objectives (MBO). Describe some of the-, success and failures associated with MBO.

Explain the concept of Management by objectives (MBO). Describe some of the-, success and failures associated with MBO. How does MBO work in your organization or any organization you are familiar with. Discuss its advantages and limitations. Briefly describe the organization you are referring to.
An effective planning tool to help the supervisor set objectives is Management by Objectives (MBO). MBO gained recognition in 1954 with the publication of Peter Drucker's book The Practice of Management. MBO is a collaborative process whereby the manager and each subordinate jointly determine objectives for that subordinate. To be successful MBO programs should include commitment and participation in the MBO process at all levels, from top management to the lowest position in the organization.
MBO begins when the supervisor explains the goals for the department in a meeting. The subordinate takes the goals and proposes objectives for his or her particular job. The supervisor rneeJs with the subordinate to approve and, if necessary, modify the individual objectives. Modification of the individual's objectives is accomplished through negotiation since the supervisor has resources to help the subordinate commit to the achievement of the objective. Thus, a set of verifiable objectives for each individual are jointly determined, prioritized, and formalized.
The supervisor and the subordinate meet periodically to review the letter's progress. Communication is the key factor in determining MBO's success or failure. The supervisor gives feedback and may authorize modifications to the objectives or their timetables as circumstances dictate. Finally, the employee's performance is measured against his or her objectives, and he or she is rewarded accordingly.
Hence, some of the key features of MBO are :
> Emphasis on results rather than activities
> Objectives for specific managerial positions.
> Participatory or joint objective setting.
> Identification of key result areas.
> Establishment of Periodic Review System.
Steps in MBO Process

When top management is committed and personally involved in implementing MBO programs, they
significantly improve performance. This finding is not surprising when one considers that during the
MBO process employees determine what they will accomplish. After all, who knows what a person is
capable of doing better than the person doe's him or herself? . ''"
L.K. Global (India) (or LKG), the company with which I have been associated is a multi-product, multinational company operating in 13 countries with its head office in U.K. It has an average annual turnover of £ 400 million. It has two branches in India, one at Software Technology Park, Noida and other at IT Paradise, Bangalore. LKG's core business has been development and marketing of Software, Software and Networking Solutions.
LKG has started its business in 1981 in U.K. as a software development company only with 25 programmers. But in this short span of time, it has grown and transformed into a multi-business, multinational company by successfully diversifying into, Construction, Finance and Internet Service Provider (ISP) businesses.
One of the failure stories in LKG that follows can not be strictly said to be associated with MBO, but can certainly be said to be originated because of misconception about MBO.
LKG was in its initial years of inception and was in the process of implementing professional management techniques such as MBO. In one of the meetings of the Departmental Executives, the then Managing Director Mr. Jack Bryan briefed about importance, benefits and the process of MBO. Mr. Jack Bryan, an MBA from Manchester, had been taking lot of initiatives to imbibe most of the practical lessons learned during his degree with a motive impart attitudinal professional training and fine tune his executives who were mostly fresh programmers and lacked managerial experience/qualification. In one such briefing, Mr. Bryan had narrated his executives importance, benefits and the process of Decentralization and Delegation.

The incidence is connected with one of the very .young executive from India who happened to be the Team Leader of 12 Programmers, all from India. The said executive, Mr. Rane enjoyed good rapport among his team of 12 programmers and also with senior non-Indian executives at LKG headquarters U.K. At that time Mr. Rane did not had any professional management qualification but he had in-depth technical knowledge in electronics and programming. And hence, he was designated as Manager Quality Assurance with all the 12 Indian programmers under his supervision. Obviously, Mr. Rane had been an important part of all the executive level meetings with Mr. Bryan.
Mr. Rane unaware of the technicalities involved and half grasped concept of MBO once attempted to misadventure with the concept by confining the concept within his department and withiri his team. On one fine weekend he took his team to a holiday resort and assuming the position of Mr. Bryan he introduced his teammates to the concept of MBO, Decentralisation, Delegation, etc. and endorsed his idea to practice it within his team. As the whole team constituted of Indian programmers, he enjoyed a natural support and good rapport with his teammates. Consequently, his idea was overwhelmingly supported and accepted by the team. Very soon the team started meeting frequently inside closed rooms and outside office. Finally, the team came up with its own (department's) objectives which were in some way contrary to the organisational objectives. For instance, at the organisational level objectives set for each department was to develop target levels of programmes per period of time. However, the Quality Assurance team set its objectives as certain levels of rejection of programmes per time period.
The organisational setup was such that all programmes were to pass through the Quality Assurance Department. The number of rejections kept piling up even with minor and small technical mistakes which QA Department was expected to rectify (earlier the QA Department had been rectifying such mistakes)
pass the programmes with earmarked changes.

Since the set objective of the team was not official and was the objective of an offshoot of the organisation which also unfortunately enjoyed the full support from its members, everybody in the team was tight lipped and it never came to the forefront until several meetings were held and a committee was setup to enquire into the reasons. Although, the problem was overcome with intervention of top management and by reshuffling employees from various departments, the problem certainly reminds us about the consequences when a good tool like MBO is misconceived and even a single ingredient like top managements support or segregating any part of the organisation ( no matter how big or small it is) from the organisation or setting objectives in isolation.
At LKG, there have been good experiences with MBO as well. The present success associated with MBO refers to the period when Networking and Networking Solutions business was at boom in UK during 1999-2000. Each day LKG kept receiving lots of offers related to networking solutions from mid¬sized organisations, hotels, hostels, etc. Virtually all the departments were working at their full capacity and unlike production or manufacturing organisation it wasn't possible to increase capacity in a service organisation.
For LKG, lost offer meant lost revenues. Time and man-hours were the main constraints. Competitors
were very agile and wee prepared to leave no single opportunity in tapping the possibility of stealing
away clients. Servicing a client also meant future flow of income in terms of AMC (Annual Maintenance
Contract), monthly fees expectedly for years.

The positive options which LKG had included (i) Subletting or subcontracting (ii) Hiring or recruiting additional programmers.
Right in the spirit of the MBO framework and with his invincible faith in the MBO technique, Mr. Bryan called an emergency meeting of all the managers and employees of the organisation and kept his point and asked for positive ideas and options. The seven hours meeting was very hot and the general consensus was that LKG must trap this opportunity.
Many ideas emerged with one which was nodded with almost everybody's aspiration was that employees were prepared and capable to take up additional assignments if it benefited the organisation. To induce motivation, Mr. Bryan proposed some very lucrative performance based incentives to this and finally it was decided that LKG should go for the contract with two programmers attached to each client.
Employees worked very hard even after working hours, they were provided with flexi-hours-and laptops to work from home. The usual five days week of working arrangement was voluntarily changed to six days a week and Sunday was set for review and feedback and for group meetings to solve each others problems.
The first month saw 14 satisfied customers and marry appreciation letters from clients. This was again a moral booster. The efforts continued and LKG could satisfy almost all clients who needed the solution and offered contract to LKG. There have been tremendous team feeling and team efforts through out this contract period and it brought to the forefront the value of a management tool such as MBO.

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Explain the importance of decision-making. Describe few models of decision making.

Explain the importance of decision-making. Describe few models of decision making. Illustrate the process of decision making in your organization or any organization you are familiar with. Suggest measures to improve the same. Briefly describe the organization you are referring to.
We are referring to LKG India Pvt.Ltd. as a point of view of manager.
Managers/Supervisors constantly make decisions that affect the work of others'. Day-to-day situations involving supervisory decisions include employee morale, the allocation of effort, the materials used on the job, and the coordination of schedules and work areas. The supervisor must recognize problems, make a decision, initiate an action, and evaluate the results. In order to make decisions that are consistent with the overall goals of the organization, supervisors use guidelines set by top management. Thus, it is difficult for supervisors to make good decisions without good planning.
An objective becomes a criterion by which decisions are made. A decision is a solution chosen from among alternatives. Decisions must be made when the supervisor is faced with a problem. Decision-making is the process of selecting an alternative course of action that will solve a problem. The first decision is whether or not to take corrective action. A simple solution might be to change the objective. Yet, the job of the supervisor is to achieve objectives. Thus, supervisors will attempt to solve most problems.
A problem exists whenever there is a difference between what actually happens and what the supervisor wants to have happen. Some of the problems faced by the supervisor may occur frequently. The solutions to these problems may be systematized by establishing policies that will provide a ready solution to them. In these repetitive situations, the problem solving process is used once and then the solution (decision) can be used again in similar situations.
Exceptions to established routines or policies become the more difficult decisions that supervisors must make. When no previous policy exists, the supervisor must invent a solution. Problem solving is the process of taking corrective action in order to meet objectives. Some of the more effective decisions involve creativity. To get better ideas, the supervisor follows the steps in the problem solving process. The steps are built on a logical analysis.
Making decisions has been identified as one of the primary responsibilities of any manager/supervisor. Decision may involve allocating resources, appointing people, investing capital or introducing new products. If resources like men, money, materials, machines, time and space were abundant, clearly any planning would be unnecessary. But, typically, resources are scarce and so there is a need for planning. Decision making is at the core of all planned activities. We can ill afford to waste scarce resources by making too many wrong decisions or by remaining indecisive for to long a time.

Decision making to an extent depends on individual to individual, information and time available, nature of decision (structured, unstructured, routine, repetitive, etc.), degree of risk involved, etc. Among these, individual factors such as bias, knowledge of individual making decision, analytical ability', intuition, etc. are crucial factors which need to be given attention to. This is so because given the other factors, these are the factors which can influence the quality of decision in similar circumstances.
Generally, the supervisor can think through all aspects of the problem by answering the following questions. What seems to be the trouble? Why is it causing the trouble? What are the causal factors? What can be done in all possibilities? Are all these possibilities workable? What are the probabilities of success for each of the solutions? What are the appropriate alternatives? What is the correct choice? Have I logically eliminated the other choices? When and how can the solution be implemented? What is the best way to implement the solution? Has the solution solved the original problem? Have I planned, organized, and provided for the control of actions leading to solutions?
Ideally, the steps in the problem solving process are (1) define the problem, (2) identify decision criteria, (3) develop alternatives, (4) decide, (5) implement the decision, and (6) evaluate the decision.
Step 1: Define the problem. The decisionHmaking process begins when the supervisor recognizes the problem, experiences pressure to act on it, and has the resources to do something about it. This means that the supervisor must correctly define the problem. Problem identification is not easy. The problem statement can be too broad or too narrow. Supervisors are easily swayed by a solution orientation that allows them to gloss over this first and most important step. Or, what is perceived, as the cause of a problem may actually be a symptom.
The supervisor must solve the right problem. In order to define the problem, the supervisor must describe the factors that are causing the problem. These are the symptoms, visible as circumstances or conditions that indicate the existence of the problem — the difference between what is desired and what exists. By not clearly defining the problem, ineffective action will be taken.
Step 2: Identify decision criteria. The supervisor determines what is relevant in making a decision by isolating the facts pertinent to the problem. Since there is no single best criterion for decision making where a perfect knowledge of all the facts is present, a set of criteria must be used for the problem at hand. These decision criteria identify what will guide the decision-making process. They are the important facts relevant to the problem as defined. It is important that decision criteria be established early in the problem solving process because if the criteria are developed as analysis of data is taking place, the chances are good that the data will determine the criteria. Thus, setting the criteria early introduces objectivity. These facts can be tangible as well as intangible. Tangible facts might include the work assignments, the work schedules, or work orders. Intangible facts could include morale, motivation, and personal feelings and perceptions..
This process is somewhat subjective, because what serves as important criteria for one supervisor may be less important for another. For instance, the decision-making criteria used to hire employees differs across departments; the sales department uses the number of new store openings in different geographic areas, while the manufacturing department uses how many units of the product needs to be produced and how quickly.
Key uncertainties, the variables that result from simple chance, must be identified. Regardless of the solution chosen, key uncertainties are important because they can be plusses or minuses. What are the chance variables? Which way would these variables fall, relative to each of the workable solutions?
Not all criteria have the same importance. (Criteria weights can vary among different supervisors as
well.) Assigning weights indicates the importance a supervisor places on each criterion for resolving the
problem and helps establish priorities. Criteria that are extremely important can .be given more weight,
while those that are least important can be given less weight.
Step 3: Develop alternatives. The supervisor must identify all workable alternative solutions for resolving the problem. The term workable prevents alternative solutions that are too expensive, too time-consuming, or too elaborate. The best approach in determining workable solutions is to state all possible alternatives, without evaluating any of the options. This helps to ensure that a thorough list of possibilities is created.
Generating alternative solutions requires divergent thinking (deviating from traditional.) Groups can be used to generate alternative solutions. Brainstorming is the process of suggesting as many alternatives as possible without evaluation.
The supervisor must judge what would happen with each alternative and its effect on the problem. The
strengths and weaknesses of each alternative are critically analyzed by comparing the weights assigned
and then eliminating the alternatives that are not workable. Probability factors — such as risk,
uncertainty, and ignorance - must be considered.
Step 4: Decide. The supervisor must make a choice among the alternatives. The alternative that rates the highest score should be the preferred solution. The decision can be assisted by the supervisor's experience, past judgment, advice from others, or even a hunch.
Timing impacts the decision. The probable outcome and its advantages versus its disadvantages are affected at any given time. Which alternative is most appropriate at a given time?
Decisions are made by consensus when solutions are acceptable to everyone in the group, not just a majority. Everyone is included, and the decision is a win-win situation. Consensus does not include voting, averaging, compromising, negotiating, or trading (win-lose situations). Every member accepts the solution, even though some members may not be convinced that it is the best solution. The "right" decision is the best collective judgment of the group as a whole.
Step 5: Implement the decision. Once the solution is chosen, the decision is shared with those whose work will be affected. Ultimately, human beings will determine whether or not a decision is effectively implemented. If this fact is neglected, the solution will fail. Thus, implementation is a crucial part of the decision-making process. Including employees who are directly involved in the implementation of a decision, or who are indirectly affected by that decision, will help foster their commitment. Without their commitment, gaining support and achieving outcomes becomes increasingly difficult. With this commitment, the supervisor has a reasonable degree of assurance that the decision will be accepted and has the necessary support.
Step 6: Evaluate the decision. The supervisor must follow up and appraise the outcomes from the decision to determine if desired results were achieved. If not, then the process needs to be reviewed from the beginning to determine where errors may have been made. Evaluation can take many forms, depending on the type of decision, the environment, working conditions, needs of managers and employees, and technical problems. Generally, feedback and reports are necessary to learn of the decision's outcome. Sometimes, corrections can be introduced for different steps. Other times, the entire decision-making process needs to start over.
Having gone through the study materials and understood the decision making models, if I am asked to, I would rather honestly categories the decision making process at LKG India Ltd. into Bounded Rationality Model or Administrative Man Model wherein sequential attention to alternative solutions are given. Various alternatives are identified and evaluated one at a time. When an acceptable-solution is found, the search is discontinued. At LKG India Ltd., many times heuristics are also used for sorting out large number of alternatives.
Having understood the difference between the Econological model and Bounded Rationality model and the drawbacks of the later, I would now suggest my organisation to adopt the former one. Because in Bounded Rationality model, all possible solutions are not identified at a time and thus the outcome may be 'good enough' but not necessarily 'the best'. Secondly, use of heuristics introduces bias in the decision making process. What have been good may not be good in future as well or even if it will be good, we must always attempt to seek better one and ultimately the best one. Thirdly, while the Bounded Rationality attempts to 'satisfy', Econological model attempts to optimise. There is big difference between the two. And as a manager we must attempt to optimise. Last but not the least, LKG is in involved in business and certain economic activities and hence, economic rationality should be preferred which is assured by the Econological model.

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What are the reasons for lack of co-ordination. Discuss the Importance of Co-ordination give an example of each of three types...

What are the reasons for lack of co-ordination. Discuss the Importance of Co-ordination give an example of each of three types of Inter difference among work units from your organization or any other organization you are familiar with. Briefly Describe the organization you are referring to?
Ans. Reasons

The concept of essence Relates to Intrinsic value of an object. Co ordination, being synchronization of efforts of human beings in an organization, is intrinsic to management as management also tries to synchronize group efforts for achieving organizational objectives. For realizing, organizational goals, it is necessary that each effort is purposeful, constructive and contributes to the predetermined results. try to achieve this synchronization so that each effort contributes positively to another effort.

Importance of Co-ordination:

(1) Co ordination is relevant for group efforts and not Individual efforts. It involves the orderly Each such effort should tend to help others of the group in achieving the composite effort deemed essential for goals accomplishment. Therefore, manages through other various functions pattern of group[ efforts because an Individual who is working in isolation does not effect functioning of others and need for coordination arises.
2. Coordination is a continuous and dynamic process. It is a continuous phenomenon because it is achieved through the of functions. It is dynamic because functions themselves are dynamic and may change over the period if time. In every organization, some sort of coordination exists; however, management may make special efforts to achieve coordination of higher degree.
3. Coordination is the responsibility of every manager in the organization
Because she tries to synchronize the efforts of his subordinates with others.
4. Higher is the degree Integration in the performance of various functions by various persons in the organization . higher is the degree of coordination and higher is the possibility of achievement of organizational objectives.
5. Coordination emphasizes unity of efforts which is the heart of coordination. This involves the fixation of time and manner of performance of various functions in the organization.
Any organization will have certain objective. People are grouped in an organization usually, into separate department is allocated different tasks one deals with production of goals and another deals with their distribution. One department may plan, a second may develop new products and a third carries out actual production. There are number of service functions such as finance, maintains, materials, personel etc, each with a different task, though all are collectively directly to accomplish the organizational goals. The kuocers of Internal specialization and task different grows with the overall size of organization. Over the years, modern organizations acquired centrifugal tendency with individuals and department straining to pressure different path towards functional autonomy. As a sequel, loyalty of managers today is generally more towards their own specialization or department than to the organization within the department there may be a high degree of homogeneity and commitment to the functional task but the more such homogeneity and commitment the grater the problems I achieving Integration between and among department.
Such Problems accumulate and aggravate in situations where allocation of different objectives, target and resources to department caused perceptual difficulties and misunderstanding. Sometimes the reactive approaches of top management may reinforce the centrifugal tendencies and guest for functional autonomy them promote. What is known in current management literature as “ superordiating goals” that promote and prison awareness of an overriding organizational objective. For example, in one organization the chairman of company issued directive to plant managements that they should stop overtime payment with immediate effect. Three month later, when the chairman noticed that overtime is still being paid in some departments he issued another directive, this time to finance department, not to make overtime managers authorize such payments. This new directive strained the relations between finance and production departments.

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Think about a conflict episode at your workplace between two parties about whom you have some knowledge.

Think about a conflict episode at your workplace between two parties about whom you have some knowledge. What ever the antecedent conditions which allowed the conflict to arise? How did the two parties respectively perceive the conflict situation ? How was the conflict managed ? Explain?
Ans: Conflict in some form and degree is a part and parcel of virtually every part of human life and organizations are no exceptions to this. It is an aspect of organizational functioning that is frequently apparent to even a casual observer. Conflict is so Important dysfunctional aspect of organization that it has drawn attention from management thinkers to analyze its processes, causes, and measures to eliminate or to modify it to be used for better organizational functioning

Antecedent conditions which allowed Conflict to arise

(1). Dysfunctional Aspect of Conflict: While the positive aspects of conflict are few and limited, negative aspects are many and serious. Conflict to the extent of healthy competition may produce better results but beyond that it may be destructive for example, conflict between management and works has led the closure of many organizations or has turned them in to loss-making units. Similarly conflict between live or staff or Interdepartmental conflict creates a lot of problems in the organization. In entered conflict may create following problems:

1. Dis equilibrium in organization
2. Stress and Tension
3. Diversion of Energy

2). Individual level conflict: The analysis of conflict may start at individual level because organization is composed of individuals and many Conflicts may arise at this level. Though there should be two parties to the conflict, it may arise within on individual because of lack of smooth progression of the need drive goals and roles. Thus there may be goal conflict and role conflict within an individual. Besides, there may be Interpersonal conflict when two Individuals Interact.

Goal Conflict: Goal Conflict occurs at individual level when an individual faces the problem of choosing among two or more goals which are naturally competing in some way Existence of mutually competing goals may leed to three possible alternatives approach conflict, approach avoidance conflict and avoidance- avoidance conflict.

Role Conflict: A role is a set of expectations people have about the behavior of a of a person in a position.



Role Ambiguity

(i) Organizational Positions
(ii) Personal characteristics

(3). Interpersonal Conflict: Interpersonal Conflict Involves two or more Individuals rather than only one individuals with different goals or roles. It arises due to Interpersonal Interactions. Such Interactions take place between superior and subordinate between two functional specialists, two Protenionals and so on. Since people interact in two types of relationships vertical relationships and horizontal relationships such a conflict may take in there two dimensions.

These are due to
(i) Nature of Person
(ii) Situational variables

(4) Inter group Conflict : Groups exists in every organization both at formal as well as at Informal level. There may be conflict within the group or conflict among groups. The first kind of conflict is mostly interpersonal. Therefore, Inter group conflict becomes more important form of group conflict. Inter group conflict arise because of Interaction of various groups. There are various factors which determine Inter group relationships. They may either create harmonizing situation or conflicting situation among groups. These factors are as follows:

1. In compatible Goals
2. Resource sharing
3. Task Interdependence
4. Absorption of uncertainty
5. Attitudinal sets
6.Joint Decision making process.

Conflict Management:

Conflict beyond certain level is dysfunctional. Therefore, an attempt should be made to develop organizational producers and practices through which organization functions in coordinate way and reducing conflict. However, if conflict generates in the organization for whatever the reason, management should take effective steps to resolve it. Thus, there can be two approaches of managing conflict: Preventive measures and curative measures. In Preventive measures, attempts are made to create situations in which conflict does not take place while curative measures derl with resolving conflict amicably so that its dysfunctional aspect is minimized. Such preventive and creative measure may be taken in terms of establishment of common goals, change in structural arrangement, and conflict-resolution actions. Application of these techniques will depend on the nature of ensures of conflicts in the organizations. Thus if the conflict is not dysfunctional but it is leading to healthy competition, it can be even encouraged. However, it is unlikely that a conflict is constructive in the absence of proper organizational climate. A major part of organizational climate as relevant to conflict management is built through common goals and proper structured arrangement.

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Discuss whether you need any control when every thing going as planned.

Discuss whether you need any control when every thing going as planned. Design a control system for controlling the p[performance of your own subordinates, keeping in view the characteristics of effective controls. Examinee the control methods and strategies used in your organization or any organization you are familiar with. Briefly describe the organization you are referring to.
Ans: All organizations, Business or non-business, face the recently of coping with problems of control. Like other managerial functions, the need for control arises to maximize the use of scarce resources and to achieve purposeful behavior of organization members. In the planning stage, managers decide how the resources would be utilizes to achieve organizational objectives, at the controlling stage, managers try to visurlise whether resources are utilized in the same way as planned. This control completes take whole sequence of management process.
The control system is used for measuring performance of subordinates. The measurement of performance against standards should be on a future basis, so that deviations may be detected in advance of their actual occurrence and avoided by appropriate actions, appraisal of achirl or expected performance becomes an easy task, if standards are properly determined and methods of measuring performance which can be expressed in physical and momentary terms, such as production units, profits etc. can be easily and precisely measurable

Methods

1. Control over policies: Policies are formulated to govern the behavior and action of personnel in the organization. These may be written or otherwise policies are generally controlled through policy manuals which are generally prepared to Top management. Each Individual in the organization is expected to function according to policy manuals.

2. Control over organization: Organization charts and manuals are used to keep control over organization structure organization manuals attempts at solving organizational problems and conflicts, making long-range organizational planning possible, enabling rationalization of the organization structure, helping in proper designing and clarification of each part of the organization, and conducting periodic check of facts about organizational practice.

3. Control over Personnel: Generally, Personnel manager or head of the personnel department, whatever his designation may be, keeps control over personnel in the organization. Sometimes, a personnel committee is constructed to act as an instrument of control over key personnel.

4. Control an wages and salaries: Control over wages and Salaries is done by having programme of job evaluation and wage and salary analysis. The functions are carried on by personnel and Industrial engineering departments. Often wage and salary committee is constituted to provide help to these departments.


5.Control Over Cost : Control over costs is exercised through making comparison between standard costs and actual costs.

6.Control Over Capital Expenditure: Control over capital expenditure is exercised through the system of evaluation of projects, ranking of projects on the basis of their importance, generally on the basis of their earning capacity. A capital budget is prepared for the Business as a whole. The Budget is reviewed by the budget committee or appropriation committee for effective control over capital Expenditure (and to make) there should be a plan to identify the realization of benefits from capital expenditure and to make comparison with anticipated results. Such comparison is important in the sense that it serves as an important guide for future capital budgeting activities
7. Control over Research and Development: Control over research and development is exercised in two ways: by providing a Budget for research and development and by evaluating each Project Keeping in view savings, sales or profit potentialities. Research and development being a highly technical activity is also controlled frdinectly. This is done by improving the ability and judgment of the research staff through training programmes and other devices.

Strategies of Control

(1)Personal Centralized Control

(i) Centralized decision-making
(ii) Direct Supervision
(iii) Reward and punishment reinforce conformity to personal, authority

(11)Bureaucratic Control:

(i) Breaking doe3m of tasks in to easily definable elements.
(ii) Formally specified methods, procedure and rules applied to the
conduct of tasks
(iii) Budgetary and financial standard cost-variance accounting controls.
(iv) Reward and punishment systems reinforce uniformity to procedures & rules.

(3)Output Control:


(i) Jobs and units designed to be responsible for complete outputs
(ii) Specification of output standards and targets.
(iii) Use of ‘responsibility accounting’ systems.
(iv) Delegation of decisions on operational matters: semi auto nary.
(v) Reward and punishment systems reinforce conformity to produces and Rules.

(4)Cultural Control:

(i) Development of strong identification with management goals.
(ii) Semi-autonomous workings sew formal controls
(iii) Strong emphasis on selection, training and development of personal.
(iv) Reward oriented towards security of tenure and corer progression.

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Explain the concept of Management by objectives (MBO).Describe some of the schemes and failures associated with MBO in your organization

Explain the concept of Management by objectives (MBO).Describe some of the schemes and failures associated with MBO in your organization or any organization you are familiar with. Briefly Describe the organization you are referring to.

Ans. MBO has gained immense popularity during the past two or three decades. The crowing literature and increasing practice in organizations in different countries confirm this. In Indir also, many managers have client about MBO. In many organizations, MBO has become the way of management process.
Concepts

The key concepts in MBO are emphasis on results than activities, objectives for specific managerial positions, participatory or joint objective setting, Identification of key result areas and establishment of periodic review system. In periodic preview -Periodic review of performance is an important feature of MBO. The performance review is held regularly, normally once year . It emphasis initiative and active role by the manager who is who is responsible for achieving objectives. Th3 review is future oriented because it provides basis for planning and corrective actions.

Successes

1. Better Managing : MBO helps in better managing the organizational resources and activities. Resources and activities are put in such a way that they result into better performance. There are five elements about what Improves performance.

(1)Clarity objectives
(2) Role Clarity
(3) Periodic feedback of performance
(4) Party corporation by managers in the management Process
(5) Realization that there is always scope for Improvement of
performance in every situation

2. Clarity in Organization action: MBO tends to provide Ok key Result areas where organizational efforts are needed. Since organizational objectives are defined very clearly, they help in relating the organization with its environment. A key factor in objective setting is the external environment in which organization operates. Therefore, any change is the external environment factors is taken care of at the levels of objective setting itself. This it provides basis for large-range planning in the organization. The organization can look forward to what it Intends to do in future, in short run as well as in the long run. All these factors lead to define the organization properly in the environment context as well as in the context of its various competition.

3. Basis for organizational change : MBO Stimulates Organizational change and provides as framework and guidelines for planned change, enabling the top management to Initiate, plan, direct and control the direction and speed of change. To cope up with change, the organization has to change itself appropriately.

Failures

1. Time and Cost: MBO is not as simple as it looks to to be it is a process which requires large amount of the most scarce resource in the organization time of the senior managers. This is particularly so at the Initial stages, when MBO is seen as something over and above the normal work. Sometimes managers get frustrated and feel over burned. Further, MBO generates paper work because large number of forms are to be designed and put into practice. Therefore, here is a problem of communication overload. However, such problems are transitory and emerge only at the initial stages. Once MBO becomes a part of the organizational life, these problems disappear.
2. Problem in objective setting: MBO requires verifiable Objectives against which performance can be measured. However, setting such objectives is difficult as least in some areas. Objectives are more in the form of statement rather than in quantitative form. Of course, some objectives can be qualified and can be broken in terms of time period but others back this characteristics for further course of action.
3. Emphasis on short term objectives : In order to be more precise, here is tendency to emphasis on short- term objectives usually for a year or even Len. No doubt, on is may help in performance appraisal but there is always a larger in embhasing short-term objectives at the cost of long-term objectives. Sometimes, an organization’s short-term and long-term objectives may be incompatible because of certain specific problems.
4. Failure to Tech MBO Philosophy : MBO is philosophy of managing an
organization in new way. However, managers fail to understand and
appreciate this new approach. They have a number of debts about MBO, how the performance is to be apprised, and how organization will benefit. MBO demands rigorous analysis as an integral element of the management process but the organization may not be used to rigoue. Frequently both the base data and the expertise for analysis are not available and one would not know if something was achieved. This is done on a systematic basis and managers seldom appreciate this. They take MBO as another tool for control moreover, their old way of thinking puts difficult in introducing MBO because they may not appreciate the full view of MBO.

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Explain the importance of decision making?

Explain the importance of decision making?

What kind of steps have been taken in the process of decision making in you organization or any other organization you are acquainted with. How can they be improved? Briefly describe the organization you are referring to.


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The life of manage is filled with making decisions after decisions. Manager are decision making as their central job because they constantly choose what is to be dove, who is to do, when where and how to do. Decision making, through permeates all managerial decision functions, is at core of planning because it is the planning where major decisions are made which set the organizational tore. It has to be dove in correction with formulation plans, establishing objectives, laying down policies, and so on. They produce actions and events for operation of organization. Collectively to the behavior of the organization itself. Decision making is both a managerial function and an organizational process it is managerial in that it is a fundamental responsibility of the managerial itself. Decision making in both a managerial function and an organizational process it is organizational in that many decisions transcend the Industrial manage and become the product of groups, terms, committees, etc. Most Important decisions today are made by group of managers rather than by an individual.

Threw Simplest way to view decision making is to see decisions us an act of choice by which an Individual or organization selects one position or action from several alternatives. Sometimes the chosen behavior is not reflected in specific actions,. and actions are often not overt or directly observable. A decision not to act at all is also possible. However most frequently, the decision results in some tangible action, such as rules, policies or other concrete events.Shall at all, have defined decision making as " Decision making is a conscious and human Process, Involving both Industrial and social Phenomenon based upon factual and value premises, which provides with a choice of are behavioral activity from among one or mo0re alternatives with the Intention of moving toward some desired state of affairs."

Characteristics

1. The decisions is a major one which affects the whole or major part of the organization.

2. It contributes directly to the achievement of organizational objectives. Though all decisions try to contribute in this decision direction, strategic decisions contribute directly and other decisions are drived from these.


Decision Making Process (Steps);-

When a manage makes a decisions, it is in effect the organization’s response to a problem. As such, decisions should be thought of as means rather than ends. Every Decision is the outcome of a dynamic process which is influenced by multiple factors. However, this process should not be interpreted to mean that decision making is a fixed procedure. A procer is basically a dynamic concept rather than static. Events and relationship are dynamic, continuous and flexible and must be considered as a whole in which many forces. Interact; a force affecting others and being affected by others.

1. Specific Objectives

The need for decisions making arises in order to achieved certain specific objectives. Every action of human being is goal directed. This is clear for decision making also which is an action. Therefore, the starting point in any analysis of decision making Involves the determination of whether a decision need to be made. In fact, setting the objectives setting is an outcome of earlier decision, this many not be considered truly as the first step of decision process but provides framework for the decision.

2. Problem Identification

Since a particular decision is made in the context of certain given objectives, Identification of problem is the real beginning of decision making process. A Problem is a felt need, a question thrown forward for solution. It is the gap between present and desired state of affairs on the subject matter of decisions. It is just like the diagnosis of patient by the doctor makes a diagnosis he has a normal, healthy person and also has a fairly clear concept of what as healthy person is with this model as the derived result, he looks for disparities in the patient's actual state of health or factors which Indicate that this future health will fall short of normal. In the case of management decision, however, a manage can't rely on commonly accepted norm such as healthy person. A problem can be Identified much clearly, if manages go through diagnosis and analysis of the problem.



3.Search for Alternatives:

A through diagnosis defines both a specific problem and the situations in which the problem exists with this definition in mind, a decision maker seeks possible solutions. A problems can be solved in several ways, however, all the ways can't be equally satisfying. Further, if there is only one way of solving a problem, no question of decision arises. Therefore, decision maker must try to find out the various alternatives available in order to get the most satisfactory result of a decision.

3. Evaluation of Alternatives:

After the various alternatives are identified, the next step is to evaluate them and select the one that will meet the choice criteria. However all alternatives available for decision making will not be taken for detailed evaluation because of the obvious limitations of managers in evaluating all the alternatives. The energy of managers is limited and Psychologically most of them prefer to work on plans that have good prospectus of being carried out. In narrowing down the number of alternatives and grouping of alternatives of similar native. The decision maker develops a list of limits that must be met by a satisfactory solution. He may check proposed alternatives against limits, and if an alternatives does not meet them, he can discard it. In the second approach, various alternatives can be grouped in to classes on some specific criteria Important to decision makes. A representative alternative from one group may be selected for future analysis. They having trend the group that shows up the best, decision maker can concentrate on alternatives within this group.

4. Choice of alternatives:

The evaluation of various alternatives presents a clear picture as to how each one of them contributes to the objective under question. A comparison in made among the likely outcomes of various alternatives and the best one is chosen. Choice aspect of decision making is related to deciding there most acceptable alternatives which fits with the organizational objectives. It may be seen that the chosen alternatives should be acceptable in the light of the organizational objectives. Thus it is not reentry that the decision making alternatives is best one. This concept is based on the satisfying approach rather than the maximizing approach of decision making, to be discussed later in detail. In choosing an alternative, the decision maker can go through three approaches

1. Experience
2. Experimentation
3. Research and Analysis

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