Chapter 8: Leading 1. What is leading? Why is it important to the engineer manager? --- Leading is that management function which involves influencing others to engage in the work behaviors necessary to reach organizational goals. 2. How do leaders influence others? --- Leaders are able to influence others because of the power they possess. 3. What is meant by referent power? Give an example of a person with referent power. --- When a person can get compliance from another because the latter would want to be identified with the former. 4. Why is it important for a leader to have “the desire to lead”? What happens if the said desire is not present? --- Leadership is expected of any manager in charge of any unit or division. One cannot expect a unit or division to achieve objectives in the absence of effective leadership. 5. What is meant by “charisma”? Is it a necessary ingredient for leadership? --- When a person has sufficient personal magnetism that leads people to follow his directives. Charisma will help the leader in achieving his goals. 6. What is meant by “human skills”? How may these skills help the leader? --- This skills refer to the ability of a leader to deal with people, both inside and outside the organization. 7. How is positive leadership different from negative leadership? --- When the leader’s approach emphasizes rewards it is positive leadership. When punishment is emphasized by the leader it is a negative leadership. 8. What are free-rein leaders? When is free-rein leadership appropriate? --- Free-rein leaders are those who set objectives and allow employees or subordinates relative freedom to do whatever it takes to accomplish these objectives. It is more applicable to certain organizations manned by professionals. 9. When the situation does not fit the leader , what options do management have? --- Change the leader’s trait or behaviors, select leaders who have traits or behaviors fitting the situation, move leaders around in the organization until they are in positions that fit them, change the situation. 10. What leadership styles may be used by path-goal proponents? --- Clarifying the subordinate’s perception of work goals, linking meaningful rewards with goal attainment and explaining how goals and desired rewards can be achieved. Chapter 9: Controlling 1. Why is controlling a very important management function? --- When controlling is properly implemented, it will help the organization achieve its goal in the most efficient and effective manner possible.
2. What is controlling? Is it applicable to the day-to-day activities of the engineer manager? --- Controlling refers to the process of ascertaining whether organizational objectives have been achieved and determining what activities should then be taken to achieve objectives better in the future. 3. Why is establishment of performance objectives and standards an important step in the control process? --- In controlling, what has to be achieved must first be determined. Once objectives and standards are established, the measurement of performance will be facilitated. 4. Compare and contrast the three distinct types of control. --- Feed forward control is when management anticipates problems and prevents their occurrence. Concurrent control is when operations are already ongoing and activities to detect variances are made. Feed back control is when information is gathered about a completed activity and in order that evaluation and steps for improvement are derived. 5. How do strategic plans provide a basis for control? --- When there are indications that activities do not facilitate the accomplishment of strategic goals, these activities are either set aside, modified or expanded. 6. What are policies? In what ways do they facilitate control? --- Policies refer to the framework within which the objectives must be pursued. 7. When the engineer manager reviews the financial statements of the company under his supervision, what benefits does he have? --- A review of the financial statements will reveal important details about the company’s performance. 8. What are financial ratios? How may they be categorized? --- Under this method, one account in the financial statement is paired with another to constitute a ratio. It is categorized into liquidity, efficiency, financial leverage and pro fitability. 9. What is measured in the debt to total assets ratio? How may it be computed? --- This ratio shows how much if the firm’s assets are financed by debt. Debt of total assets ratio = total debt/total assets. 10. Do you consider “idle facilities or personnel” as a symptom of inadequate control? Why or why not? --- Yes. Chapter 10: 1. What is meant by “operations”? Does the term cover production of farm products --- Operations refer to any process that accepts inputs and uses resources to change those inputs in useful ways. 2. Why is operations management an important activity? Who are qualified to become operations managers? --- Operation is an activity that needs to be managed by competent persons. It must be performed in coordination with the other functions like those for marketing and finance.
3. What are the types of transformation process? In what ways are they similar and different? --- The types are manufacturing and service processes. Manufacturing processes are those that refer to the making of products by hand or with machinery while service processes are those that refer to the provision of services to persons by hand or with machinery. 4. What is a job shop? What makes it a useful transformation process? --- A job shop is one whose production is based on sales orders for a variety of small lots. Job shops are very useful components of the entire production effort, since they manufacture products in small lots that are needed by, but cannot be produced economically by many companies. 5. What is the batch flow process? What possible advantages does it offer? --- The batch flow process is where lots of ge nerally own designed products are manufactured. 6. What is the worker-paced assembly line? Why is it called as such? --- An assembly line refers to a production layout arranged in a sequence to accommodate processing of large volumes of standardized products or services. 7. Why is the machine-paced assembly line very popular among large corporations? --- This type if production process produces mostly standard products with machines playing a significant role. 8. What is a service factory? Provide an example. --- A service factory offers a limited mix of services which results to some economies of scale in operations. Example McDonalds. 9. What types of services are offered by professional service firms? What production problems do these firms encounter? --- Professional service firms offer a diverse mix of services. Professional service firms are often times, faced with delivery problems brought about by non uniform demand. 10. What are the important parts of productive systems? Point out the relationships between these parts. --- Product design, production planning and scheduling, purchasing and materials management, inventory control, work flow layout and quality control. Chapter 11: Managing the Marketing Function 1. How may the marketing concept be explained? Is it applicable to engineering firms? --- The marketing concept states that the engineer must try to satisfy the needs of his clients by means of a set of coordinated activities. 2. What is meant by the term “product”? --- The term product includes the tangible or intangible item and its capacity to satisfy a specific need. 3. How may the engineer manager meet the threat of a competitor’s product? --- The pressure to improve the quality of services sold will be felt. When improvements are not possible, extras or bonuses are given to clients. 4. Why is price said to be a strong competitive tool? --- Some companies use price as a competitive tool or as a means to convince the customer to buy. 5. What are some of the possible measures to make products easily available to customers? --- It is very important for companies to locate in places where they can be easily reched by their customers.
6. How may the engineer manager convince the buyer or client to patronize the firm? --- Before the buyer makes the purchasing decision, he must first be informed, persuaded and influenced. The activity referred to is called promotion. 7. What is advertising? What are the types o f advertising media? --- Advertising is defined as a paid message that appears in the mass media for the purpose of informing or persuading people about particular products, services, beliefs or actions. The mass media referred to include televisions, radio, magazines and newspapers. 8. May the engineer manager use publicity in promoting his firm? Cite an example. --- Yes, because publicity is a tool that publishes news or information about a product, service or idea on behalf of a sponsor but is not paid for the sponsor. Example is mass media. 9. In selecting a target market, what must the engineer manager do? --- Divide the total market into groups of people who have relatively similar product or services needs, determine the profit potentials of each segment, make a decision on which segment or segments will be served by the company. 10. What factors must be used in selecting a tar get market? ---The size of the market and the number of competitors serving the market. Chapter 12: Managing the Finance Function 1. What is the finance function? How important is it to the engineer ing firm? --- The finance function is an important management responsibility that deals with the “procurement and administration of funds with the view of achieving the objectives of business.
2. What are the specific fund requirements of firms? --- To finance daily operations, t o finance the firm’s credit services, to finance the purchase of inventory and to finance the purchase of major assets. 3. What are the various sources of the firm’s cash inflow? --- Cash sales, collection of accounts receivables, loans & credits, sale of assets, ownership contribution and advances from customers. 4. What is the difference between short-term and long-term sources of funds? --- Short-term sources of funds are those with repayment schedules of less than one year. Longterm sources of fund are where expenditures for capital assets are necessary. 5. What are the suppliers of short-term funds describe briefly e ach. --- Trade creditors, commercial banks, commercial paper houses, finance companies, factors and insurance companies. 6. Describe briefly the long-term sources of funds. --- There are instances when the engineering firm will have to tap the long-term sources of funds. An example is when expenditures for capital assets become necessary. 7. How may one determine the best source of financing? --- The factors are flexibility, risk, income, control, timing and other factors. 8. How may the financial health of the company be determined? --- It can be determined by balance sheet, income statement and statements of changes in financial position.
9. What is meant by “risk”? Why must it be managed properly? --- Risk refers to the uncertainty concerning loss or injury. 10. Describe briefly the methods of dealing with risks. --- The risk may be avoided, the risk may be retained, the hazard may be reduced, the losses may be reduced and the risk may be shifted.
