CASE STUDIES NATURE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF MANAGEMNT

 

1	Alpha Ltd. is a construction company in which all the employees learn various ways of dealing with diverse situations from their seniors. Company provides financial as well as non-financial incentives. This helps the employees to grow and develop their abilities. The organization behaves as a responsible constituent of society and always creates good quality products. It has a positive image in the market. The training modules are excellent and the employees always try to find unique ways of providing solutions in the context of rapidly changing business environment. This has helped the organization to adjust smoothly. The importance of management highlighted is as follows: (a)  Helps in achieving personal objectives: A manager motivates and leads his team in such a manner that individual members are able to achieve personal goals while contributing to the overall organizational goals. (b)  Helps in the development of society: The organization tries to behave as responsible constituent of society and always creates good quality products. (c)  Creates a dynamic organization: Organizations have to function in a constantly changing environment. Management helps people adapt to the changes so that organization is able to maintain a competitive edge.
2	After completing his MBA degree, Amar joined a multinational company Zeya Ltd.'. His job demands long hours and commitment to the organization. He is responsible for integrating diverse elements and coordinating all the activities of the business and for its impact on society. His job is complex and stressful. (a)  Identify the level of management at which Amar joined the organization. (b)  State any two functions to be performed by Amar at this level other than those discussed in the paragraph.

	(a)  Top Level of Management (b)  The functions to be performed by Amar are: (i)  He is responsible for the welfare and survival of the organization. (ii)  He formulates overall organizational goals and strategies for their achievement.
3	Rosh is working as the CEO of a company. He deals with different types of people in his company who perform different types of activities which are many of times unrelated. His job is to unify these unrelated and diverse activities and interests into purposeful work so that a common focus could be provided. (a)  Which characteristic of coordination is indicated in the above case? (b)  Explain any two other characteristics other than identified in part (a). (a)  Coordination integrates group efforts: Coordination unifies unrelated or diverse interests into purposeful work activity. It gives a common focus to group effort to ensure that performance is as it was planned and scheduled. (b)   (i) Coordination ensures unity of action: The purpose of coordination is to secure unity of action in the realization of a common purpose. It acts as the binding force between departments and ensures that all action is aimed at achieving the goals of the organization. (ii) Coordination is a continuous process: Coordination is not a one-time function. It begins at the planning stage and continues till controlling.

4	Sonu Nigam, the famous playback singer always spends time for practice and adds his creativity in his singing. Like Sonu Nigam, Mr. Sharma, Manager of H Ltd., uses his creativity and practice management skills under different situations to manage the business. The employees are happy and satisfied as everyday he rewards employees for punctuality and efficiency. (a)  Identify and define the nature of management highlighted above. (b)  Name and define two other aspects of nature of management. (a)  The nature of management highlighted in the given case is management as an Art. ·       Art is the skillful and personal application of existing knowledge to achieve desired results. ·       It can be acquired through study, observation and experience. (b)  The two other aspects of nature of management are: (i)  Management as a Science ·       Science is a systematized body of knowledge that explains certain general truths or the operation of general laws. ·       It contains principles and facts which explain a phenomenon. (ii)  Management as a Profession ·       A profession can be defined as an occupation backed by special knowledge and training, in which entry is restricted.
5	Malini is a well-known businesswoman in the field of publishing. She owes the success of her business to her own education in business management and her team of certified management consultants. Therefore, she decides to send both her children Darshit and Pihu abroad to acquire a degree in business management in their individual area of expertise. She feels that all over the world there is marked growth in management as a discipline, but still it is not considered to be a full-fledged profession for certain reasons. (a)  Explain the reasons because of which Malini considers management as a discipline. (b)  Critically examine the various reasons because of which management is not considered to be a full fledged profession.

	(a)  Malini considers management as a discipline because there exist a number of theories and principles on management which have been formulated by various management experts. It is taught in various schools and colleges, all over the world, as a separate subject of study. (b)  Management is not considered to be a full-fledged profession because of the following reasons: (i)  Restricted entry: Unlike management, the entry to the other professions is restricted through an examination or eligibility criteria like specific percentage in a particular degree or diploma. However, in management, anyone can be called a manager regardless of his/her academic qualifications. (ii)  Professional association: All working professionals have to be a member of an affiliated professional association which regulates their entry, grants certificate of practice and formulates and enforces code of conduct. For example, the practicing doctors should have membership of All India Medical Association etc. However, in case of management, although there exist management association like the All India Management Association (AIMA), neither does it have any statutory backing nor is it mandatory for the practicing managers to a member of such associations.

6	In an organization, sales department wants to increase the sale by 20%. So, sales department planned to offer extra discounts to customers. Finance department raised objections on it as they say, it will result in loss of revenue and company may face liquidity problem. (a)  Identify the importance of coordination referred to here. (b)  Also, state two other importance of coordination. (a)  Functional differentiation (b)  The two other importance of coordination are: (i)  Growth in size ·       As organizations grow in size, the number of people employed by the organization also increases. ·       Though, all individuals differ in their habits of work, background, approaches to situations and relationships with others but need to be integrated to ensure that all individuals work towards the common goals of the organization. ·       But employees may have their own individual goals also. ·       Therefore, for organizational efficiency, it is important to harmonize individual goals and organizational goals through coordination. (ii)  Specialization ·       In modern organizations, there is a high degree of specialization arising out of the complexities of modern technology and the diversity of tasks to be performed. ·       So specialists are employed who think that they only are qualified to evaluate, judge and decide. ·       They do not take advice or suggestions from others which lead to conflict between them. ·       Therefore, some coordination is required to reconcile the differences in approach, interest or opinion of the specialists.
7	For management, it is important to be both effective and efficient. Effectiveness and efficiency are two sides of the same coin." Comment. "Coordination" is the process highlighted in above case

	It is the force which binds/synchronizes all the other functions of management being performed in various departments to provide continuity and efficiency in the working of the organization. It acts as a common thread that runs through all the activities. It begins at planning stage and continues until the organizational objectives are achieved; thus, it is implicit and inherent in all functions of an organization.
8	Identify the functions of management: (i)   Leading, influencing and motivating employees to perform the tasks assigned to them. (ii)  Recruitment and selection of the personnel. (iii)  Deciding the objectives, policies and procedures to be followed in the company. (i)  Directing (ii)  Staffing (iii)  Planning
9	Name the levels of management engaged in: (i)   Introducing a new product line and deciding the capital structure of the company. (ii)  Recruitment of casual labourers. (iii)  Devise a suitable advertising campaign to sell a new product/service a company is launching. (i)  Top Management (ii)  Supervisory or Operational Management (iii)  Middle Management
10	Jayanth is working as ‘Operations Manager’ in Taflon Ltd. Name the managerial level at which he is working. State any three functions performed by Jayanth. Jayanth is working at Middle level management. Functions : (i)  interpret the policies framed by top management (ii)  ensure that his department has necessary personnel (iii)  motivate them for higher productivity to achieve desired objectives.