Management functions, Ethics, Strategic Planning, Staffing, and Communication in Organizations

Part A

1. (a) Rozana is promoted from a non-management to a management position. What changes in management functions and skills occur as she now performs the role of a manager? What similarities do you see among four management functions of planning, organising, leading and controlling when she was a non-manager and now that she is? Discuss in detail.
(b) Do you think these functions are inter-related: that is, does a manager who performs well in one function likely to perform well in others? Discuss and support your answer with relevant examples.         
         

2. As a manager, quite often, you are involved in the process of designing your organisation’s structure. You will face a situation where you have to decide on structural differentiation and then an integration of your organisational structure. Discuss what is structural differentiation and how is it affected by the organisation’s external environment.  How would you achieve the structural integration of your organisation? 
 
Part B

1. “Ethics are not shaped only by laws and by individual virtue.  They may also be influenced by the company’s work environment. Unethical corporate behaviour may be caused by an unethical individual, but it often also reveals a company culture that is ethically lax.”
Bateman and Snell (2015 pg. 161)
Discuss the danger signs that an organisation may be allowing or even encouraging unethical behaviour. What would you propose to create a culture that encourages ethical behaviour in an organisation? Discuss in detail.   
    

2. As a manager of an organisation, you may be involved in strategic planning for your organisation.  As strategic planning is an important process that sets the strategic goals of the organisation, managers have to carry out comprehensive analysis and evaluation of the organisation’s External Opportunities and Threats (EOT), and the organisation’s Internal Strengths and Weaknesses (ISW). 
Propose the types of analysis and information that you need to carry out your organisation’s EOT and ISW.
    
3. Staffing decisions do not simply focus on hiring employees only. As organisations evolve and market change, the demand for certain employees rise and fall. In addition, some employees simply do not perform at a level required to justify continued employment.
Critically discuss the options that managers have to reduce their staff legally.
    

4. One of the key components for effective managerial jobs is clear and effective communication between the managers and subordinates. However, communication is a process that involves many stages before a message can be transmitted from the sender to the receiver. Hence, there is always the possibility of interference or errors along the communication process that may result in miscommunication or message distortion.   
Identify and discuss the types of errors that may occur in the communication process between the manager and the subordinates. How would you improve the senders’ communication skills in order to reduce communication errors and miscommunication?   
    

5.  As organisations differentiate their structures into different jobs, tasks, units, departments and divisions, they also need to be concerned about integration and coordination, so that all parts of the organisation will work together. Describe various coordination methods that managers can use for organisational integration, and highlight also their advantages and disadvantages.