1

Concept Application Essay

Concept Application Essay

Carlos Pagan

MBA 500

Bellevue University
 2
Concept Application Essay

A business will typically have four basic functions that must be done in order to operate.

Those functions are marketing, production, accounting, and finance (Capsim, 2016, pg. 12). We

will go over how those functions play into management decisions, and different management

styles. Finally, we will go over a real-world example of how restructuring a management style

changed the operation for better.

Our text shows us that there is no magic formula for running a well-function business. A

successful business relies on managers who can see the bigger picture, understand how all the

basic functions work with each other, do what it takes to keep a complex business on its strategic

track, and display intellectual flexibility to adjust to changing customer demands (Capsim, 2016,

pg.13). It is when a manager can do all that can they be effective and efficient.

It is not just the manager that affects how the business perform, but the management style

as well. You can have a team of great managers, but if the style and layout is poor for the type of

business you’re running, then you may need to consider a restructuring. The different kids of

management styles are Autocratic, Persuasive, Consultative, Participative, and Laissez Faire.

The autocratic management style is good for business that require managers just to

manage and employees to follow orders. This helps give a clear and define set of expectations

but can leave employees feeling unimportant as they have absolutely no opportunity for give

feedback (Management styles explained, 2011).

Persuasive style is like the autocratic style where it is a top-down style of management.

The difference lies with how the information is given to the employee. Where autocratic tells

employees how to do something, persuasive sells the employee on the idea of how things should
 3
Concept Application Essay

go. Instead of being told what to do, employees are persuaded on the idea from management

(Management styles explained, 2011).

The consultative style involves two-way communication between managers and

employees. While management still has the final say on any decision during the decision-making

process, employees can offer feedback. This increases motivation in the workplace but can be

time consuming since you must make time to listen and receive that feedback from your

employees instead of flat out deciding on your own (Management styles explained, 2011).

Participative is similar to consultative as they both require two-way communication, but

managers allow employees to become more involved in the decision-making process. Instead of

the manager having the final say, employees can voice their opinion and can veto a decision as

they see fit. While this helps build trust among the team and motivates them to want to

participate, this style greatly increases the amount of time needed to decide (Management styles

explained, 2011).

Finally, we have Laissez Faire, this style allows employees to take complete

responsibility in their decision-making process within a very fine and thin line of structure from

their management team. While this style may seem counter-productive, it helps boost creativity,

innovation, communication, and team-work. As this is not a perfect style it does has its flaws

such as lack of productivity and no clear standard of how work should be completed leaving

employees confused sometimes (Management styles explained, 2011).

While a collegiate organization may not be an actual profitable business, they are still run

with a group of leadership in charge and members that follow the orders. Coming from a
 4
Concept Application Essay

Fraternity where I served on the board as Grand Treasurer, I thought I knew every aspect of

running my own organization. The fraternity was run part persuasive style part consultative,

members could give feedback and even vote on certain decisions, but major decisions that

affected us such as financially came directly from the executive committee and we persuaded the

members that the decisions made was the correct one. This worked because this was a group of

individuals seeking to better themselves professionally.

Fast forward to my Junior year of college, I started an organization for video gamers to

network and hang out with. I ran the group the exact same way as the fraternity, as the president

I made the decisions that I sought best fit and allowed minimal feedback. I quickly noticed that

membership began to drop, so I asked my faculty advisor for feedback gave me similar feedback

to what is in our textbook about managers “These individuals must also display intellectual

flexibility to adjust to changing customer demands.” (Capsim, 2016, pg. 13). My biggest mistake

was thinking that my members (customers/employees) needed the same kind of leadership that a

professional club needed. People wanting to join a video game club are joining because they

want to have fun, not be told what to do.

After that meeting with advisor, I called a board meeting and told them about the changes

I wanted. I made meetings shorter, events more frequent, and even scheduled game time after

meetings for anyone who showed up. One month after the changes, our membership doubled,

and we eventually became the largest organization on campus. Members could offer any

feedback and contribute to the organization how they felt fit with the occasional veto from me

when something was to absurd. This one simple action, changing my management style allowed

the organization to prosper and eventually lead to me earning my student innovator award.
 5
Concept Application Essay

The university allocated a room on campus designated for gaming, giving us all the

equipment needed such as computers, and even paid for our own private internet connection just

for gaming with signs above the computers saying, “not for the use of class assignments”.

While a business can have a great product or amazing marketing, it is the managers and

their management style that can make or break the business. With the right combination of

manager and management style, a team can be properly motivated to accomplish their goals.

With the wrong combination, employees can begin to hate their work and sacrifice on the

quality.
 6
Concept Application Essay

Sources:

Capsim (Ed.). (2016). Foundation A Hands-on Introduction to Business Fundamentals (1st ed.)

Management styles explained [Video file]. (2011). Retrieved September 4, 2019,

from https://digital.films.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=97233&xtid=44682