Question:
1.Discuss how Manageers can Make Effective Decisions in today world ?
2.What is Organisational Culture and how does it Influence Employee Behavier in an Organisation ?
3.Will Planning Become More or less Important to Managers in the Future ?
Answer:
1.
In the dynamic business world of today, there are a host of variables that need to be considered in order to make prudent decisions especially because so much data is available relatively easily. However, since decision maker has bounded rationality and can consider only limited aspects, it is worthwhile that for every decision, rather than taking all the parameters into consideration, it makes sense to limit the purview only to a limited variables which tend to have the highest impact. This helps in maintaining equilibrium between the prudence of decision and the time frame within which it needs to be made (Burton and Thakur, 2004).
Also, it is vital for the managers to embrace technology in decision making as various kind of software such as decision support systems are available which tend to present data in formats which aid decision management. Further, such systems ensure that all the relevant data is automatically available in the format that the decision maker intends to have and thus decision making becomes simplified as only interpretation is left to some extent to the decision maker. Even in this case, computing tools are available which consider all the inputs and provide model decisions for the assistance of the decision maker (Folino, 2005).
Besides, considering the complexity of the decision making particularly in problems that involve way too many aspects which are vital, it makes sense to take decisions with the help of a team as vital inputs can be provided by the team members in relation to the particular aspects. Further, this option also provides expert advice of the team members on certain aspects where the decision maker may have only limited knowledge and exposure. Also, team members may offer such pragmatic solution which in isolation may not be possible and thus overall decision accuracy is improved (Heller, 2008).
2.
Just like people who tend to have a culture, organizations also have a culture which is known as organizational culture. This primarily refers to the set of shared values and beliefs that the organization stands for which normally are reflected through the policies of the company and the behavior of the people belonging to the organization. Organization culture is a key element which tends to define the manner in which the business activities are performed and also the conduct of the firm towards the various stakeholders including the employees (Fox, 2007).
Organizational culture tends to have a significant influence on the behavior of employees. For instance, in a bureaucratic organization the focus is on processes rather than meeting the needs and expectations of the consumers. As a result, employees tend to follow order from seniors and procedures even though these may do little to provide quality service to the consumer. The case would be very different in a service based private entity where literally the consumer is the king and the employees would go out their way to assist the customers and provide them the requisite assistance. This essentially flows from the organizational culture and value system (Bratton, 2015).
Similarly, the level of formality coupled with the dress code for the organization is also driven by the culture. For instance, in traditional businesses with traditional outlook, formal conduct in interactions and dressing is emphasized on (Fox, 2007). However, this is not the case in an organization where the culture is more western and casual. In such an environment, casual behavior is the norm which is reflected in every aspect and tends to facilitate creativity in work with high degree of customer focus. Besides, the relationship between supervisor and employee is impacted by the organizational culture which defines the utility of employees for the organization (Bratton, 2015).
3.
Planning would certainly be more important in the future as the project complexity is on the rise and thus it required adept planning in order to execute the project within given deadlines and cost constraints. However, the nature of planning in the future would undergo a change as the underlying environment in which the businesses operate are increasingly becoming more dynamic and hence a high degree of flexibility is required. Thus, planning for contingency and having alternate plans in wake of expected and unexpected changes would assume very high importance especially in case of longer projects (Warner, 2010).
Further, technology would also emerge as a key enabler in this process as inputs from various packages would need to be considered while considering the dynamic planning process. Besides, technology allows the planners to simulate the various possible scenarios going ahead and to model separate plans to deal with the situations. Thus, planning is bound to become more critical so that the project managers can take requisite measures to deal with a particular contingency (Heller, 2008). Besides, the static planning would have to be done for shorter intervals and beyond those scenario planning would be required which would provide prior information to the managers and the associated team of what the scenario could be going ahead in the future and through technology this can be analyzed and understood even before the decision has been implemented. Thus, the reliance on scenario based planning would be vital for the future success for the managers as the traditional form of planning is fast losing relevance as decisions need to be taken keeping in mind that need to be altered along with course in line with potential changes in internal and external variables (Burton and Thakur, 2004).
References
Bratton, J. (2015) Introduction to work and Organisational Behaviour.3rd edn. New York:Palgrave Macmillan.
Burton, G. and Thakur, M. (2004) Management Today: Principles and Practice. 6th edn. New York: Tata McGraw –Hill Education.
Folino, F.D. (2005) Making Effective Decision.3rd edn. New Jersey: Gemini Books.
Fox, W. (2007) Managing Organisational Behaviour. 2nd edn. Claremont: Juta and Company Ltd.
Heller, R. (2008) DK Essential Managers: Making Decision.7th edn. London: DK Publishing.
Warner, J. (2010) Time Management Effectiveness Profile Facilitators Guide. 4thedn.Amherst: Human Resource Development
