Management Discussion Board Week 6-8

Week 6:  

Module Presentation/Information-

According to theorists, organizational planning is the “process of identifying an organization’s immediate and long-term objectives, and formulating and monitoring specific strategies to achieve them.” Organizational planning, a critical component of business management, entails creating strategies, improving processes, assessing training requirements and preparing to cope with change. Apart from the basic functions, organizational planning also places emphasis on staffing, employee morale and resource allocation. The process of transforming defined organizational goals into targeted strategies and tactics is achieved by considering several independent aspects of business. Another aspect of organizational planning is climate in which the organization is operating. Managers can gain valuable insight on organizational climate by learning about employee perceptions on a range of issues. Studying the climate helps in effective organizational planning because insightful managers are able to create high-performance teams for different departmental operations, identify strengths that can be better utilized, monitor satisfaction levels and predict trends. In general, understanding the climate better enables managers to identify specific strengths and address shortcomings. Coping with change is another facet of business that effective organizational planning addresses. Employees in a changing environment may become discouraged and inefficient due to fear about the future. Planning takes into account the effects of change and strives to motivate employees and boost morale to maintain performance levels. It is important for managers when managing employees, to have preparedness and the ability to cope with developing workers with the right set of behavior and skills, to sustain in a period of change and uncertainty.

Question:Discuss the planning process of mangement and the various levels of the planning process? Explain. Before attempting the discussion board question students should review the instructions under the tab “Course Orientation”

Week 8:  

Module Presentation/Information-

Decision-making is an essential aspect of modern management. It is a primary function of management. A manager’s major job is sound/rational decision-making. He takes hundreds of decisions consciously and subconsciously. Decision-making is the key part of manager’s activities. Decisions are important as they determine both managerial and organizational actions. A decision may be defined as “a course of action which is consciously chosen from among a set of alternatives to achieve a desired result.” It represents a well-balanced judgment and a commitment to action. It is rightly said that the first important function of management is to take decisions on problems and situations. Decision-making pervades all managerial actions. It is a continuous process. Decision-making is an indispensable component of the management process itself. Means and ends are linked together through decision-making. To decide means to come to some definite conclusion for follow-up action. Decision is a choice from among a set of alternatives. The word ‘decision’ is derived from the Latin words de ciso which means ‘a cutting away or a cutting off or in a practical sense’ to come to a conclusion. Decisions are made to achieve goals through suitable follow-up actions. Decision-making is a process by which a decision (course of action) is taken. Decision-making lies embedded in the process of management. According to Peter Drucker, “Whatever a manager does, he does through decision-making”. A manager has to take a decision before acting or before preparing a plan for execution. Moreover, his ability is very often judged by the quality of decisions he takes. Thus, management is always a decision-making process. It is a part of every managerial function. This is because action is not possible unless a firm decision is taken about a business problem or situation. This clearly suggests that decision-making is necessary in planning, organising, directing, controlling and staffing. For example, in planning alternative plans are prepared to meet different possible situations. Out of such alternative plans, the best one (i.e., plan which most appropriate under the available business environment) is to be selected. Here, the planner has to take correct decision. This suggests that decision-making is the core of planning function. In the same way, decisions are required to be taken while performing other functions of management such as organising, directing, staffing, etc. This suggests the importance of decision-making in the whole process of management. The effectiveness of management depends on the quality of decision-making. In this sense, management is rightly described as decision-making process. According to R. C. Davis, “management is a decision-making process.” Decision-making is an intellectual process which involves selection of one course of action out of many alternatives. Decision-making will be followed by second function of management called planning. The other elements which follow planning are many such as organising, directing, coordinating, controlling and motivating. Decision-making has priority over planning function. According to Peter Drucker, it is the top management which is responsible for all strategic decisions such as the objectives of the business, capital expenditure decisions as well as such operating decisions as training of manpower and so on. Without such decisions, no action can take place and naturally the resources would remain idle and unproductive. The managerial decisions should be correct to the maximum extent possible. For this, scientific decision-making is essential. Definitions of Decision-making 1. The Oxford Dictionary defines the term decision-making as “the action of carrying out or carrying into effect”. 2. According to Trewatha & Newport, “Decision-making involves the selection of a course of action from among two or more possible alternatives in order to arrive at a solution for a given problem”. 3. Characteristics of Decision Making Decision making implies choice: Decision making is choosing from among two or more alternative courses of action. Thus, it is the process of selection of one solution out of many available. For any business problem, alternative solutions are available. Managers have to consider these alternatives and select the best one for actual execution. Here, planners/ decision-makers have to consider the business environment available and select the promising alternative plan to deal with the business problem effectively. It is rightly said that “Decision-making is fundamentally choosing between the alternatives”. In decision-making, various alternatives are to be considered critically and the best one is to be selected. Here, the available business environment also needs careful consideration. The alternative selected may be correct or may not be correct. This will be decided in the future, as per the results available from the decision already taken. In short, decision-making is fundamentally a process of choosing between the alternatives (two or more) available. Moreover, in the decision-making process, information is collected; alternative solutions are decided and considered critically in order to find out the best solution among the available. Every problem can be solved by different methods. These are the alternatives and a decision-maker has to select one alternative which he considers as most appropriate. This clearly suggests that decision-making is basically/fundamentally choosing between the alternatives. The alternatives may be two or more. Out of such alternatives, the most suitable is to be selected for actual use. The manager needs capacity to select the best alternative. The benefits of correct decision-making will be available only when the best alternative is selected for actual use. 

Question:

As a manager how would you define a problem? How do you know a problem exists within your department? How do you test the severity of problems in order to resolve problems quickly? Before attempting the discussion board question students should review the instructions under the tab “Course Orientation”

Note: Please answer and label each answer seperately. I would apprieciate it if you could 

label the week of the question with your answer. Thank you