Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Solutions Manual
Visit to download the full and correct content document: https://testbankdeal.com/dow
nload/better-business-5th-edition-solomon-solutions-manual/
CHAPTER 7: BUSINESS MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION
CHAPTER OPENER
Chapter 7 introduces students to the topic of management. Students will explore the
various levels of management and the skills managers need in order to be successful. The
functions of management—planning, leading, organizing, controlling/monitoring—will
be discussed, along with different types of plans developed and implemented by
managers—strategic plans, tactical plans, operational plans, and contingency plans.
NOTE: End the lecture by asking students to write down the muddiest points or main
points of the lecture. This will allow you to know what might need to be reviewed during
the next lecture.
Activity Overview: This activity allows the class to create a SWOT analysis for a
company with which everyone is familiar. They can see how top executives begin to
develop strategic plans.
What to Do:
Don’t Forget: It is important that you choose a company that every student knows well
for this exercise.
Wrap-Up: From the SWOT analysis on the board, try to identify at least one important
strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat that should be included in the strategic plan
and develop a strategic goal for that item.
Activity Overview: This activity is designed to help students understand the connection
between long-term, intermediate, and short-term goals.
What to Do:
1. Ask student to write down one or two of their long-term goals, focusing on the five-
year plus horizon. (10 minutes.)
3. Ask students to identify one or two short-term goals—covering a range of less than
one year—that may help them to achieve their intermediate goals.
Don’t Forget: Remind students that the achievement of short-term goals can support the
achievement of intermediate goals, which can ultimately support long-term goals.
Database Search: Require your students to use the database resource of your institution’s
online library system. Have them search for recent case studies involving planning,
organization, leadership, or control issues. Ask students to share the case studies, along
with their write-up of the possible solution, by posting them online. You might also have
students submit the case studies for a grade.
Graphic Illustration: Have your students find an open source graphic on the Internet to
illustrate each of the following: technical skills, interpersonal skills, conceptual skills,
decision-making skills, and time management skills. Have them write a paragraph
explaining how the graphic they have chosen illustrates the skill. Then, ask students to
write a one-page paper on why all of these skills are necessary for a person to be a great
manager.
Decision Model: Ask your students to create a graphic to illustrate the five stages of
decision making, using their computers. Have them submit the graphic (with detailed
explanation) for a grade.
Strategic Search: Have your students search the Internet for a link to the Fortune 500
company list. Ask them to search the Web to find a copy of a strategic plan from any of
these companies. Students should review the strategic plan for the following: mission
statement; broad direction and vision; information; format; SWOT analysis; action plans.
Each student should post their findings on a course blog, so that the information can be
shared. (This is also great information for possible job hunting at a later date for your
students.)
Tactical Search: Once your students have completed the Strategic Search, have them look
for the tactical or operational plans from the same entity. These plans may be more
difficult to find. If your students cannot locate both a tactical and operational plan, you
may have them review not-for-profit institutions to find them. These public entities often
post their plans more readily than profit companies. Ask students to review the plans for
types of actions taken to achieve one goal in the overall strategic plan. They should list
the numbers of actions required to reach even one goal and post them on the discussion
board. Students will be surprised at the numerous actions and efforts needed to support
one goal.
Self-Test
Multiple Choice
7-1 The four primary processes of management are
b. organizing, controlling, planning, and leading.
Learning Objective 7-1: The Foundations of Management
AACSB: Analytical thinking
7-5 The focus of a strategic plan is different than a tactical plan because
a. a strategic plan has a long term focus and a tactical plan looks just a few years
ahead.
Learning Objective 7-2: The Functions of Management: Planning
AACSB: Application of knowledge
7-8 The seven basic tools for monitoring a business include all of the following
except
b. Monte Carlo statistical simulations.
Learning Objective 7-4: The Functions of Management: Controlling
AACSB: Analytical thinking
True/False
7-11 A company with a vertical organization cannot use an inverted organization.
False
Learning Objective 7-3: The Functions of Management: Organizing
AACSB: Analytical thinking
7-13 Conceptual skills mean a person has the ability to think abstractly.
True
Learning Objective 7-1: The Foundations of Management
AACSB: Analytical thinking
7-16 Answers will vary depending on the student’s individual work experiences.
Learning Objective 7-1: The Foundations of Management
AACSB: Application of knowledge
7-18 To answer this question students will discuss the seven basic tools to monitor
quality:
Check sheet. A simple sheet recording the number of times certain product
defects occur
Control chart. A graph that shows the average and fluctuations of a process
being monitored to determine whether it is behaving within the limits of proper
functioning.
Histogram. A graph that displays the count of the number of times a specific
event occurs.
Pareto chart. A combination bar and line graph that shows different categories of
problems and the total (cumulative) number of problems. merchandise.
Scatter plot. A graph that displays the values of two variables to see if there is a
relationship between them.
Run chart. A graph that displays the value of some data across a specific set of
dates. Managers can then identify problems that occur in a certain cycle.
Cause-and-effect diagram.
The answers will vary depending on the companies that the students use as
examples. Some students will believe that too much data would impede decision
making while other students will believe that additional data will improve the
quality of decision. Most students will also probably agree that the type of
problem and manager will affect the choice and use of data.
Team Time
On a Mission
This exercise requires that students compare mission statements from several different
companies and rate the statements on how inspiring they are. As the students compare
1. Include the four key elements: value, inspiration, plausibility, and specificity.
2. Keep it short and sweet.
3. Consider long-term vs. short-term.
4. Test it on your employees.
5. Revisit it often.
Web Exercises
“People typically leave a company for one of three reasons …Managers had a
much greater impact on employees’ performance and how they felt about their job
than any other factor, Google found.
“The starting point was that our best managers have teams that perform better, are
retained better, are happier — they do everything better,” Mr. Bock says. “So the
biggest controllable factor that we could see was the quality of the manager, and
how they sort of made things happen. The question we then asked was: What if
every manager was that good? And then you start saying: Well, what makes them
that good? And how do you do it?”
In Project Oxygen, the statisticians gathered more than 10,000 observations about
managers — across more than 100 variables, from various performance reviews,
feedback surveys and other reports. Then they spent time coding the comments in
order to look for patterns.
Once they had some working theories, they figured out a system for interviewing
managers to gather more data, and to look for evidence that supported their
notions. The final step was to code and synthesize all those results — more than
400 pages of interview notes — and then they spent much of last year rolling out
the results to employees and incorporating them into various training programs.”1
Based on the information collected, Google analyzed the comments and performance of
its managers. After the review, Google used the information to coach and improve the
performance of its managers. Based on their personal work experiences, many students
will identify additional factors that “make a good manager”.
1Google's 8-Point Plan to Help Managers Improve - The New York Times
www.nytimes.com/2011/03/13/business/13hire.html?_r=0
7-24 Students’ answers concerning contingency plans will vary depending on the local
business used for comparison. Students should include and elaborate on
information using Figure 7.7
7-25 Answers will vary but students should apply information from Figures 7.12 A –
G when discussing the complexity of a project’s impact on quality control.
Students’ opinions will vary as to whether the software industry can achieve Six
“The Waits!
Slowly they play, poor careful souls,
With wistful thoughts of Christmas cheer,
Unwitting how their music rolls
Away the burden of the year.
And with the charm, the homely rune,
Our thoughts like childhood’s thoughts are given,
When all our pulses beat in tune
With all the stars of heaven.”
—John Davidson.
FOOTNOTES:
[20] William Law.