Questions and answer of Case Application 1-More than a good story Question Question 1. As the top manage managers rs of their their company company what type type of of issues issues might might Bert Bert and John have to deal with? Be as specific as possible, which management functions might be most important to them? Why? Answer 1.
he number and type type of issues may vary from time to time or may arise
as influenced by many factors, however, few of the issues which they might face is as tabulated under. 1.
!ssues. As the top managers of their company, ny, Ber Bert and John have to
establish the plans and goals and ma"e some big decisions, such as which mar"et do they want to develop, how much money they want to earn ne#t year, which partner they want to cooperate and so on. As the top managers of the company Bert and John might face following issues$% a.
&eadership i.
'efining 'efining &eader &eadership ship (tyle. (tyle.
hough leadership may be hard to
define, but as one characteristic remain common i.e. all leaders must have the ability to ma"e things happen. hus being the top mangers they must maintain their will to control events, charting out of course and implementing with the power to get )ob done ii.. ii
using the s"ills and abilities of employees. *ons *o nsis iste tenc ncy y in in ma" ma"in ing g +oo +ood d 'ec 'ecis isio ion n. Being at the helms of affairs they are e#pected to maintain steadiness in achieving intended goal.
b.
gois go istitic c Approach. At some point they may have e#perience of being unavo una voida idably bly ent entang angled led in fol follow lowing ing ego egoist istic ic ap appro proach ach.. h his is has to remain rem ain in con contro troll in ord order er to ach achiev ieve e the desired desired goals. goals. -ew of the factors indicating problems with an out%of%control ego are$ i. ii. ii i . iv.
*onsistently poor morale. *onstant communication brea"downs Bad hiring decisions Acuisitions or me mergers th that go go so sour.
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v. vi. vii. viii. i#. #. #i. c.
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/igh employee turnover. *onsistently poor uality &oss of mar"et share. 0ulnerability to competitors. oor sales results. 'ecreasing profits from year to year. *onsistently poor decisions.
2otivational issue. 3o organi4ation, be it formal or casual, will get far if its wor"ers are not motivated. Wor"ers who lac" focus or are uninterested in the end goal are not usually very productive, and can often undermine a leader5s efforts and authority. (ometimes, the fi# is as easy as clearly communicating the mission. Being top managers they must wor" with employees to figure out an effective incentive structure.
d.
*ultivating &eadership Approach. Being at the top !t is a "nown fact that the hardest parts of running any sort of organi4ation is ensuring that those in superior positions are actually capable of leading effectively.
e.
*ommunication.
At
may face communication
some gap
point between
of them
time and
they
subordinate
management. ffective teamwor" depends on a culture of open communication, where superiors and subordinates can freely discuss progress and problems. mployees who feel that their bosses are distant or somehow 6off limits7 have a tendency to ma"e mista"es that could have been avoided had parties felt more comfortable tal"ing to each other. f.
*reating eam 8nity. Being &eaders they are often responsible for helping build unity between staff members. !t can ta"e a bit of time for wor"ers to develop trusting relationships with one another, and the role of a supervisor or managers is to set the proper framewor" to encourage these relationships to grow.
9. 2ost important management function. here are five basic functions tabulated as under$
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a. Planning.
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his function involves mapping out e#actly how to
achieve a particular goal. b. Organizing. After a plan is in place, a manager needs to organi4e her team and materials according to her plan. Assigning wor" and granting authority are two important elements of organi4ing. c. Staffing.
After a manager discerns his area:s needs, he may
decide to beef up his staffing by recruiting, selecting, training, and developing employees. d. Leading.
A manager needs to do more than )ust plan, organi4e,
and staff his team to achieve a goal. /e must also lead. &eading involves motivating, communicating, guiding, and encouraging. !t reuires the manager to coach, assist, and problem solve with employees. e. Controlling. After the other elements are in place. /e needs to continuously chec" results against goals and ta"e any corrective actions necessary to ma"e sure that his area:s plans remain on trac". ;.
All managers at all levels of every organi4ation perform these functions, but in
this particular case Controlling would be the most important function, which gives the basic drive to run the business. Because &ife is good company is a mature company, which has mature rules, middle managers and first line managers. !t also has mature mar"ets. As the top managers, the most important function is controlling now.
Question 9. 8sing descriptions from the case, describe Bert and Jhon5s managerial style. Would this approach wor" for other organi4ations? Why or why not? Answer 9.
Bert and John5s managerial style is managing people who ta"e action.
!t can wor" for other organi4ations as well. -or Bert and John, they set up the motto and enhance the company5s culture to let employees feel themselves to be constructive parts of the company.
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Question ;. /ow do you thin" the company5s motto 6Do what you like, Like what you do7 might affect how mangers manage? Be specific. Answer ;.
he motto 6'o what you li"e. &i"e what you do.7 might affect that which
"ind of employees the managers want to hire and how they encourage their employees to wor" hard. he motto is a "ind of company5s culture. And it can help employees to identify the company. !t can be claimed that the motto Do what you like. Like what you do wor"s as a catalyst in the positive growth of the company. Question <. What managerial challenges might there be in having friends wor" for your business? /ow could these challenges be "ept inconseuential? Answer <. he challenges in having friends wor" for your business might be hard to manage. (ometimes they don5t thin" you are the boss, they thin" you are )ust their friend. But it is easy to deal with tal" to your friends and ma"e sure they "now their roles. &et them "now here is the business, and there are rules in the company. verybody should follow the rules, nobody e#cept. Question =. Would you want to wor" for a company li"e this? Why or why not? Answer =.
o answer that would ! wor" for a company li"e &ife is +ood? yes
would be my reply. -oremost of the reason would be that the company promotes and maintain a stress free environment for all employees. his good management style encourages the eployees to learn new things and improve their performance and thus leading to a positive productivity note. Question >. !n what ways would the &ife is +ood managers corporate and retail stores@ have to deal with the challenges of customer services, innovation and sustainability? Be specific in your description. Answer >. 2anagers at &ife is +ood are reuires to utili4e their s"ills and bring on the right amount of motivation to run the company. 1.
*hallenges.
2angers might have to deal with following challenges$
a. Achie!ing "oal.
here are goals associated with ob)ectives, and if
organi4ation is aggressive then those goals reuire more than the typical amount of effort. !t5s going to ta"e some careful planning to
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figure out how to apply organi4ation5s people and resources to achieve an aggressive goal. 2anagers have to have to motivate people, remove hurdles, and focus on the things that are most important. b. "etting the #est out of eployee.
o ta"e on this challenge the
manager may have to adopt following steps$% i.
reating every employee with respect.
ii.
/elp employees align their personal goals with their wor" goals.
iii.
rovide a wor" environment that is appropriate for the wor" and conducive to employee well%being.
iv.
ncourage employee communication and cooperation
c. $ealing with %nderperforing &ployees. ight
and
periodic
provision of motivation and counseling by the managers will help the employees to improve upon their performance. d. 'iring the (ight People. )o ha!e the right person for a specific *o#
is
one
one
of
the
a*or
contri#utor
to
copany+s
perforance. ,t ust #e noted that an interviews may not predict a good wor" and wor" habits of interviewee, however its going beyond the interview which is crucial. e. Crises Manageent. lanning is a part of managing, but when a crisis hits, manager have to be able to deal with it calmly, uietly and without being overwhelmed by stress. f.
Continuous ,pro!eent. here5s always a room for improvement or a change in a process, a better wor"ing environment, better employee motivation, more focus on the essentials. A manager must see" out these improvement through research or periodical overviews of wor"place and respond correctly.
9.
!mportance of innovation. !nnovation is a critical factor in a growth of a
company, and it means doing things differently, e#ploring new territory and ta"ing ris"s. !nnovation can be the application of new ideas to the products, processes, or
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other aspects of the activities of a company that lead to increased 6value.7 -or a company li"e &ife is +ood managers must be abreast with the latest ideas and global trends. ;.
!mportance of sustainability. (ustainability is the ability to maintain a certain
status or process in e#isting systems or company5s ability to achieve its business goals and increase long term shareholder value by integrating economic, environmental, and social opportunities into business strategy. -or a company li"e &ife is +ood it becomes important because all the goals they pursue, and all the actions ta"en today will affect it in the future. Before sustainability can be fully integrated into a company5s core business, though, top managers have to ta"e following important actions$ •
(haping consumer tastes to build a stronger mar"et for sustainable products.
•
raining management, employees and the ne#t generation of leaders to deal with sustainability issues.
•
*ommunicating with investors to create a better understanding of the impact of sustainability.
•
2easuring performance on sustainability and e#plaining the value of business in society.
•
Wor"ing with governments to shape clearer regulation and create a level playing field.
