Learning Outcomes:

CLO-Covered
1 State the concept of management functions, roles, skills of a manager and the
different theories of management. (CLO1)

Assignment 1
Reference Source:

Textbook:-

Management: A Practical Introduction (10th edition), by Angelo Kinicki & Denise

Breaux Soignet ,Published by McGraw-Hill Education, 2 Penn Plaza, New York, NY
10121.

Critical thinking 1:

Principles of Management

Reference: MGT490-Book-Chapter No-01 (The Exceptional Manager)

This chapter has introduced you to how Henry Mintzberg changed the perception of a
manger's role by studying how they spent their working day and classifying managerial
activities into decisional, interpersonal and informational roles. This gave a new insight
into the activities involved in being a manager but did not distinguish between the things
that people called ‘manager’ do that contribute to the management of the organisation
(such as coordination and control) from the things they do that everyone in an
organisation does (such as talking to other people). In this context, the earlier
contribution of Fayol in outlining the main purposes of management is considered to still
be of relevance, although it provides limited understanding of how managerial jobs are
affected by the environment in which managers work.

you will need to do further research beyond reading the chapter.

Assignment Question(s):

1. To understand what managers do, explain how it is necessary to study both the
activities performed by managers and the purposes of their activity. (05 Marks) (Min
words 150-200)

2. As well as variation across the levels of management (first-tier, middle and top),
how would you expect the manager's role to vary with the extent to which the
organisational environment is changing, such as through new technology, changes in
market demand or new forms of competition? (05 Marks) (Min words 200)

3. Mintzberg’s study in the 1960s came up with three important findings about a
manager’s routine. What are they, and are they probably still the same today? (05
Marks) (Min words 150-200)

4. What is the potential importance of studying how managers like to spend their
work time as well as how they actually allocate their work time between different
activities? (05 Marks) (Min words 200)

5. Explain how it is possible that there might be a difference between successful and
effective managers in terms of how each type of manager tends to spend their time. (05
Marks) (Min words 150-200)

6. What are the seven challenges of being a manager, and which one is the one I will
probably most have to worry about during my lifetime?. (05 Marks) (Min words 150-
200)

Important Note: -

1. Support your submission with course material concepts, principles, and theories from
the textbook and at least FOUR scholarly, peer-reviewed journal articles.
2. References required in the assignment. Use APA style for writing references.
 ANSWERS

Question 1

Managers are significant people in any organization as they foresee the

performance of the organization's employees. First, planning is a function of management

that details how the various tasks are done and the strategies to take to achieve the targets

and goals of the organization.

On the other hand, organizing coordinates the firms' resources to ensure effective

initiation and implementation of the set plans. Organizing as a management function

brings coordination between the various resources and tasks and between the managers

and the employees. Thirdly, leading is managers' actions that motivate the employees to

positively impact their behavior to achieve the organization's goals (Kinicki & Breaux

Soignet, n.d.). Leading influences the performance of the organization in the long run by

directly influencing the efforts the employees put into the organization.

Fourth, staffing is a process of selecting the best employees in the market based on

their technical skills and job experience and placing them in the right job they fit the job

description. Staffing ensures the right employees are given specific jobs. Lastly,

controlling facilitates assessment of the organization's progress to establish if the

organization is still on track to achieve the set goals and, if not, take corrective action.

Question 2

It can be argued that managers' role changes and varies according to their

situations. The top management foresees all the organization's activities and ensures the

achievement of the long-term strategy of the organization. In contrast, middle-level

management acts as departmental heads and foresees the activities of the various
departments. Middle-level managers align the departmental goals with the overall goals

of the organization. The lower-level managers, mostly the supervisors, manage the

subordinate employees to ensure they carry out their assigned tasks in time and ensure the

employees give their best for the organization's well-being.

Managers' role varies according to changes in technology, competition level, and

market demand. For example, when technology advances, the role of managers shifts to

implementing the new technology and adopting it in the organization. Technology keeps

on advancing due to globalization's effects. Change in competition level shifts the

managers' attention toward developing strategies to adapt to remain competitive in the

market (Kinicki & Breaux Soignet, n.d.). The change in competition is attributed to

globalization and an increase in competition. Lastly, a change in market demand, for

instance, an increase in market demand, will shift the manager's role towards increasing

the company's production capacity to meet customer demand and satisfy their needs.

Different situations, therefore, determine the managers' role at that particular moment.

Question 3

A study conducted by Mintzberg in 1960 revealed that managers' routines include

interpersonal, informational, and decisional roles. To begin with, managers play

interpersonal roles that determine their relationships with other parties inside and outside

the organization. Under interpersonal roles, the manager is a liaison, figurehead, and

leader. The manager plays a liaison role by coordinating activities of the organization.

Concerning figureheads, managers act on behalf of the organization in all official

meetings. Lastly, the manager plays a leadership role by acting as a role model for the

employees.
 Secondly, managers play an informational role by controlling information flow

across all management levels. The manager oversees the dissemination of information

from the top-level management to the lower-level management and vice versa. The

manager ensures employee feedback reaches the top-level managers in time for decision-

making.

Mintzberg identifies managers' four decisions all managers make: negotiating,

handling disturbances, entrepreneurial decisions, and resource allocation decisions.

Managers can negotiate with other parties to properly decide what to implement to

achieve organizational goals. Handling disturbances enables managers to manage

organizational change and chaos. As an entrepreneur, managers decide on the type of

business to indulge in. Lastly, managers make decisions when allocating resources to

departments.

Question 4

Time management is a critical aspect that needs to be embraced by employees and

managers. Organizational managers always dedicate a lot of their time to the organization

to ensure the goals of the organization are met (Kinicki & Breaux Soignet, n.d.). The time

managers dedicate to their organizations affects not only the employees' performance but

also the organization's overall performance. In circumstances where managers dedicate

very little time to their organizations, many shortfalls will be realized in the organization.

The managers must create schedules that outline all the tasks needed at each specific time

to help them manage their time well.

Managers should dedicate less time to performing less critical activities to create

more time for essential tasks. It is argued that managers spend about 60% on
administrative activities and 40% on decision-making and problem-solving. The

managers, therefore, spend a lot of time formulating policies and foresee their

implementation to achieve the goals of the organization in the long run. Effective time

management by managers will help them improve the output per worker and the

organization's overall productivity in the long run. Time management is, therefore, an

essential aspect that all managers need to consider. Managers should embrace time

management skills such as proper scheduling and time audits to help them manage their

time well.

Question 5

A manager can either be successful or practical or both. A successful manager's

rank in the organization rises faster to occupy a managerial office because of his/her

positive contributions to the organization (Kinicki & Breaux Soignet, n.d.). Secondly,

successful managers may not be actively involved with the daily management of the

organization's activities. Successful managers' impacts and contributions to the

organization can easily be seen and recognized since success runs across all units of the

organization.

On the other hand, effective managers can effectively manage the organization's

resources in the best way possible to achieve high efficiency in the long run. Effective

managers are often involved with the daily activities of the organization. Most likely,

effective managers turn out to be successful, but it is not a must for successful managers

to be effective. I, therefore, agree that a difference exists between efficient and successful

managers, and I believe that efficient managers are more relevant in any organization

than successful ones.

Question 6

Even though management comes with many advantages, managers face many

challenges as they run the organization. Managers face challenges when managing the

organization's competition. Technology advancements have intensified competition in

every industry. Managing competition is challenging since competition is an element of

the external business environment, and managers have no control over it.

Secondly, as mentioned above, managing technology is a challenge that managers

face daily (Kinicki & Breaux Soignet, n.d.). Globalization has resulted in continuous

technological advancement that managers find the technology they adopted in the

organization has become obsolete. Therefore, technology management is a challenge that

managers must deal with daily.

Managing internal politics and internal stakeholders is also a challenge that

managers face. A manager has to work with stakeholders such as the employees and the

top management. The managers must understand the organization's structure, which can

be challenging, especially if the manager is new to managing internal stakeholders well

Lastly, meeting ethical standards is also a challenge that managers face (Kinicki &

Breaux Soignet, n.d.). Ethics is a crucial aspect that every manager should uphold in the

organization. However, managers are also human beings; sometimes, they are tempted to

meet their interests at the organization's expense, which leads to ethical issues.
 References

Kinicki, A., & Breaux Soignet, D. Management: A Practical Introduction (10th ed., pp.

120, 108-110). McGraw-Hill Education.