October 2008

Question 2

a) Strategic planning is the process by which an organization makes decisions and takes

actions that affect its long-run performance.

b) Four barriers to effective planning which are demands on the manager’s time. Some

managers may simply too busy to take time to plan properly. Although constant

troubleshooting may seem to leave few opportunities for planning, the hectic nature of

the manager’s day in itself suggests that planning is very much needed. Through a

better planning, managers can develop operational systems that are more effective and

less problematic and demanding of their time.

Second is an ambiguous and uncertain operating environment. Managers who

are uncomfortable with ambiguity may find it difficult and frustrating to plan under

conditions of uncertainty. An organization that operates in rapidly changing and

complex environments often find that planning provides a mechanism for coping with

such conditions.

Third is resistance to change. Manager may hesitate to plan because they are

resistant to change. Organizational members may associate planning with a need to

change the way they do their jobs. Their hesitancy to change may discourage them

form initiating the planning process. Given the current focus on quality and

continuous improvement, resistance to change can have very detrimental results for

the organizational in the long run.

Lastly is lack of meaningful objectives of goals. Managers who are too

obsessed to achieve their organizational goal may forget about the meaningful

objectives that they already plan. They also careless about what the main objectives

that have plan until they could not achieve the objectives of the goals have been plan

before.

Question 3

The different types of control that are available for managers are:

Pre-action control / Preventive control / Feed-forward control.

This control is done at the input level of production. It is initiated

before the start of production or service activity. The purpose is to

anticipate potential problems and prevent them from accruing.

For example, the specifications of output or input factors such as

finance (capital), human resource and material resource.

Steering control /

Concurrent control.

This is control that occurs during the work progress. Management

can correct problems before they become too costly. The primary

goal is to spot problems as they develop and take corrective

action before final results are achieved. For example, is the zero

inflation campaign by the Malaysian Government to prevent

inflation.

Post-action control /

Feedback control /

Corrective control.

This is the control imposed after an action has occurred. The

control takes place after the activity is done. If there are problems,

corrective action is undertaken and applied to future activities.

For example is when the waiter of a restaurant asking you, how

was your meal after you have eaten.

Question 4

The are four basic functions of management which are planning, organizing, leading,

and controlling. Planning is setting goals and defining the actions necessary to achieve those

goals. Its defines where the organization wants to be in the future and how to get there.

Planning involves the process of defining goals, establishing a strategy in achieving that goals

and developing plans to integrate and coordinate activities. Types of planning are strategic

plan, tactical plan, operational plan, and contingency plan.

Second is organizing which is the process of determining the tasks to be done, who

will do them, and how those tasks will be managed and coordinated. It involves assigning

tasks, grouping the tasks into department and allocation of resources in department.

Third is leading which motivating and directing the members of the organization so

that they contribute to the achievement of the goals of organization. Leading defines as the

process of influencing the habits of others to achieve common goals. Its involves instruction,

how to complete the task and incentives to complete it correctly and quickly.

Last is controlling which monitoring the performance of the organization and the

progress in implementing strategic and operational plans. It is ensuring that the organization

is moving toward the achievement of its goals. There are common methods of controlling

operation which are budget, rules and procedures, quality control program, technology and

personal observation by management.

Question 8

a) Three advantages and three disadvantages of functional structure:

ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES

Facilitates specialization may help employees to develop better job-related skills.

Not connected with other group and this will arise problem of not understanding other function.

Cohesive work groups. Lead to development specialized managers rather than generalist who are more appropriate for top-level management positions. Does not foster development of general manager.

Supervision easier since each manager is expert in a narrow range of skill.

Only top-level management held accountable for profitability.

Centralized control improved operational efficiency.

Difficult to get quick decision-centralized.

b) Two reasons why division of work is important are to ensure that effort and attention are

focused on special portions of the task. By dividing the work into smaller elements and

assigning specific elements to specific workers, the work can be performed more efficiently

and productively. Besides that, by specialization the work also will reduces time that would

be spent in changing tasks.

APRIL 2009

Question 1

a) The decisional roles of manager as proposed by Mintzberg pertain to those events about

which the manager must make a choice and take action.

Decisional Roles Activity

Entrepreneur Initiate improvement projects, identify new ideas and delegate idea responsibility to others.

Disturbance handler Take corrective action during disputes or crises, resolve conflicts among subordinates and adapt to environmental crises.

Resource Allocator Decide who gets resources, schedule, budget and set priorities.

Negotiator Represents department during negotiation of union contracts, sales, purchases, budgets and represent departmental interests.

b) Conceptual skill is the ability to analyze complex situations and respond effectively to the

challenges faced by organization. Moreover, conceptual also is the ability to see organization

as a whole, how the company fits into or is affected by its external environment such as social

and economic forces, customer and competition and local community. Conceptual skills are

needed by all managers at all level but it is more important to top management position.

Question 2

a) The span management refers to how many subordinates a manager can effectively and

efficiently supervise. An example, the more individuals a manager supervises, the greater the

span of management.

b) The different between line authority and staff authority:

Line authority Staff authority

Those organizational members that are directly involved in delivering the products and services of the organization.

Those organizational members that are not directly involved in delivering the products and services to the organization, but provide support for line personnel.

Each manager with line authority is responsible for the work of his unit and its direct contribution to the objectives of the organization.

Staff personnel do not have authority for decision that related to the core delivery system of the organization.

Features:1) Pertains to superior-subordinates relationship.2) It is directly related to objectives of organization.3) The manager is doer.

Features:1) It is manager-to-manager relationship.2) It is indirectly related to the objectives of the organization.3) A manager has a supporting role and aids the doer.

Question 3

FinanceHuman Resources

SalesProductionMarketing

CEO

Functional structures are the most commonly used organizational form. The functional group

organizational members according to the particular function they perform within the

organization and the set of resources they draw upon to perform their tasks. For example, a

manager might organize his plant by separating engineering, accounting, manufacturing,

human resources and purchasing specialist into common departments.

Question 5

a) Controlling is defines as monitoring employees’ activities, determining whether the

organization is on target toward its goals and making corrections as necessary.

b) The controlling process consists of four key steps. Step one is setting the standard

performance, whenever possible the standards should be set in a manner that allows them to

be compared with actual performance. Second step is measuring actual performance; this step

may be ongoing ore repetition process. An organization must decide what to measure, for

example, production manager must measure the quantity of units produced per day, unit

produced per labour or percent of rejects returned by customers. Then, how to measure by

using four common sources of information such as, personal observation, statistical reports,

oral reports and written reports. Last, how frequently to measure, an example, daily, monthly

and quarterly yearly. Step three, comparing actual performance with standards. This step

involves determining if actual performance compared to standards falls within acceptable

limits. Step four, responding to deviations. If the deviation from performance is unacceptable,

then corrective action is warranted. Whereas, if the deviation is acceptable, no correction

action is necessary.

Question 6

a) Total Quantity Management (TQM) is the continuous process of involving all organization

members in ensuring that every activity related to the production of goods or services has an

appropriate role in establishing product quality. The objectives is to create an organization

committed to continuous improvement.

b) Two management functions from the perspective of Islamic management is organizing and

controlling. Organizing is the structure of projects as well as the structure of roles to be

undertaken by human efforts. This means in Islam, organizing comprises the structuring an

organization structure, utilization of resources, authority, power and the practice of delegation

as well as decentralization and centralization. Whereas, controlling from Islamic Perspective

is defined as the application of the procedures prescribed and organized according to plan as

well as the performance of the roles defined and specified under the organization. In simple

terms this means carrying out plans and assuring that the result will conform to the actual

plans.