HI6005: Management and Organisations in a Global Environment - Holmes Institute MBA Program - Management Assignment

Management Assignment:

A key ingredient to writing a successful report involves the planning or organising stage. Organising can help you to sort out your ideas and to present your report in the order that communicates best to your readers. What follows is the specific issues of each individual component which were considered. As for any good business report, these components should be structured into sections and sub-sections and the heading for these should be in the Table of Contents. In these individual components, the in-depth discussion of the relevant issues is elaborated based on the existing literature and/or data. 1. Management Yesterday and Today: The developments in Western Management Theory over the last hundred years or more. The Egyptians had a theory that the sun revolved around the earth. Modern theory is that the earth revolves around the sun. At some stage in between a question – a research question - arose which we would now describe as challenging whether the observed motion is not absolute but relative to the position of the observer. 1. Scientific Management School has given way to Quantitative Management (Management Science) 2. Scientific Management School has given way to the Human Relations School of Management 3. Human Relations School of Management has given way to Behavioural Science School of Management 2. Early Management Theories Relevant to the Modern World: Describing the developments in Western Management Theory over the last hundred years or more, focus on the period from Taylor to Fayol and Weber explaining the context of their work. Examples of the portions of their theory still in use in the modern world. 1. Fred Taylor 2. Henri Fayol 3. Max Weber 3. The Timeline of Development of Management Theories: Relative or Absolute The study of management theories has been criticised by some people as a waste of time because old ideas are discarded if they are found to be out of tune with today’s business context. For instance, time-and-motion studies have fallen out of favour these days. On the other hand, some writers have argued that the timeline for the development of management theories is not an absolute scale but is, in fact, a relative scale. This means that what we think is an old idea may be a new idea in a different context. 1) Taylorism: could it be relevant in an emerging economy today? 2) Weber’s bureaucracy: could it be helpful in an emerging economy today? 3) Empowerment: does it make sense in an emerging economy today? 4. Globalisation: In this topic, you are to research globalisation. The business press bombards us with ideas about ‘the shrinking world’, ‘the flat world’ and ‘the border-less world’ – all catchphrases to describe the impact of globalisation. But are the (trade) borders really collapsing or are we seeing, post-GFC, a resurgence in them? What is behind the extreme demonstrations against globalisation at G7 and WTC conferences? 1. World 3.0: P Ghemawat’s questioning of whether the world really is as ‘global’ as we are being told it is and his ideas about how it could be globalised more effectively. 2. Anthony Giddens’ ideas on globalisation. 3. The “End of Poverty” movement and the contrary assertion that “Trade NOT aid” is the way to a more globalised world that mitigates against poverty 5. The Hawthorne Studies: The Hawthorne studies had their origins in the Scientific School of Management and constituted a genuine attempt at discovery through research. By today’s standards, there were deficiencies in the research which will be highlighted in the individual components of this topic. In your introduction outline the overall context of the Hawthorne studies and in your conclusion, stress the significant outcomes from the studies notwithstanding the acknowledged defects in the research methodology. 1. The Illumination Studies: One member of the group choose this phase of the studies. 2. The Relay Room Experiments: Another member of the group choose this phase of the studies. 3. The Bank Wiring Experiments: The third member of the group choose this phase. 6. Corporate or Organisational Culture: Discuss why an understanding of national culture is important for multi-national or trans-national corporations seeking to operate in a global business environment. Outline the dimensions commonly used in describing national culture. 8. Lessons from the Motor Vehicle Industry: The Automobile Industry was, for a long time, the world’s biggest industry (only overtaken towards the end of the twentieth century by the Information and Communications Technology Industry). It, therefore, should not surprise that the automobile industry has been a rich source of experience. Discuss the numerous advances in the understanding of management and organisation issues which have come out of the motor vehicle industry. 9. Management Decision Making: Overview: Decision making pervades everything a manager does from deciding about the details in a plan of action through to making decisions in a control context such as what to do when targets are not met. George Bush liked to be called The Decider. It is daunting to contemplate the impact of decisions a President has to make. In business, the manager also makes decisions that impact upon the success of the business and on people’s careers and lives. The importance of insights into decision making can be judged by the fact that two Noble Prizes have been awarded to researchers whose work has enlightened our knowledge of decision-making processes. In the general framework of this paper, you should outline the general approaches to management decision making. 1) Heuristics that can assist the decision maker in speeding up the decision making process 2) Common Biases that can skew the decision-making process 3) Social influences that might skew the decision-making process 10.Management Decision Making (continued): Cognitive Biases: Decision making pervades everything a manager does from deciding about the details in a plan of action through to making decisions in a control context such as what to do when targets are not met. Managers pride themselves on their ability to make a sound, objective judgements. However, there is considerable evidence to suggest that bias creeps into decision making. 11.Management Decision Making (continued): Social Model There is little doubt that social influences have a significant impact on decision-making behaviour. Social pressures and influences may cause managers to make irrational decisions. Outline, in the general framework, a model of social influence on decision making. 1)Solomon Asch’s classic study into the impact of social conformity on decision making 2)Stanley Milgram’s classic study of the influence that obedience to an authority figure can have on decision making 3)Fred Luthans’ study on the influence of information presented in a computer printout in contrast to the same information presented from an ordinary typewriter