Page 215 - Introduction to Business

CHAPTER 5 Managing and Organizing Business 189

legal staff. Finally, some companies function on a organizations. The chief executive officer (CEO) is
committee or team approach which involves a usually the number one manager in an organization.
delegation of authority to committees or teams. Middle managers implement the policies and strategies
developed by top managers and run important
LEARNING OBJECTIVE 6 segments of the organization. First-line managers are
Explain briefly the directing and controlling directly responsible for supervising and working with
functions of the management process, including employees and getting the necessary work done.
the use of six sigma initiatives. Moreover, most large businesses and other
organizations have managers working in a wide variety
Once organizations have planned and organized to
of specialized areas such as human resources,
make things happen, employees in them need to be
motivated and directed toward achieving what the marketing, and accounting.
organization wants to achieve. Things have to be made
to happen, and some monitoring or controlling of the LEARNING OBJECTIVE 8
organization’s progress toward its goals becomes Analyze the different types of skills that go into
necessary. Most organizations have a feedback process making effective managers.
whereby employees and others who aren’t meeting A wide variety of skills go into making effective
organizational performance goals are informed and managers. Managers need conceptual skills enabling
given the opportunity to take corrective action. Six them to think broadly and abstractly, and often
sigma initiatives, taken in recent years by many leading technical skills like an in-depth knowledge of
corporations, are one type of control mechanism. Such computers, which help them perform a specialized
initiatives set a very high standard for the quality of task. Increasing globalization has led to a greater and
production, stating that out of 1 million products greater need for managers to have international skills
produced only three or four will have any quality such as the ability to speak a foreign language. Finally,
problems. human relations skills, involving the ability to get along
and deal effectively with other people, are always
LEARNING OBJECTIVE 7 extremely important for managers to possess.
Describe the basic kinds of managers within
organizations.
Organizations have various kinds of managers. Top
managers are the people that run companies and other

Chapter Questions 6. What are the negatives of having public CEO
succession races of the kind held by General
1. What are some arguments for the proposition that Electric on the succession of CEO Jack Welch?
the CEO of Goldman Sachs Group, Henry Paulson, 7. You graduate from school and open a company
should not have apologized to company employ- providing crisis planning consulting for
ees for the statement he made at the referenced businesses. What are three things you would
investment conference? advise companies to plan for in the event of a ter-
2. You are the manager of a major league baseball rorist attack at their corporate headquarters?
team with the strategic goal of winning the World 8. The U.S. Army is an example of an organization
Series. What type of strategy would you formulate with a very strict chain of command. What are
to achieve this goal, and how would you go about some examples of organizations with looser chains
implementing this strategy? of command?
3. Do you think a mission statement is necessary for 9. You graduate school and are hired into a highly
a company to have? Why or why not? specialized position in an organization. After a
4. You and a friend are thinking about starting a year or two you become very bored in your job.
company that would rent dorm refrigerators at What are some job assignment alternatives you
local college campuses and you need to do a can propose to your supervisor that don’t involve
strategic environmental analysis. What would an your entirely giving up your current position?
environmental analysis involve in such a situation? 10. What are some departments in the organization
5. How do tactical plans differ from operational where you currently work or have most recently
plans? worked?

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