Rift Valley Technical School
PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF MANAGEMENT
REVISION QUESTIONS
1. Same organizations may at times fail to plan. Explain the factors that may lead to
such failure.
-Lack of adequate money. Planning is expensive in terms of money
-Inadequate time. Planning is time consuming
-Lack of trained personnel. The personnel may not have the knowledge in planning.
-Planning requires same change in the current setup. Resistance to change makes planning
difficult.
-Top level management support. If planning is not supported by the top management, it has
high chance of failure.
-Planning may fail due to external force/environment that may negatively affect it.
Government regulations, natural calamities, economic downturns etc may make managers fail
to plan
2. A control system should posses certain attributes. Outline five such attributes
-Suitability
A good control system should be able to suit the activity that is being controlled. It should be
related to the objectives of the organization.
-Flexibility
The control system must be adaptable to changing environment in business operations. It
should remain workable even when the plans change.
-Economy
The system adopted should be cost effective. The benefit of the system should be higher than
the costs incurred. Same of the costs incurred are installation and maintenance costs.
-Simplicity
The control system should be simple to operate. It should be easy to understand by those
operating the system. Complex systems should not be encouraged.
-Suggestive
A good system should suggest the remedial action to be taken. The system should
Should be able to indicate where the problem is and the possible action to take.
-Objectivity
Control should be based on objectivity. A control system should be objective, verifiable and
specific. The system should not be influenced by the personality of the superior. It should not
be subjective.
-Promptness
A good control system should report deviations as quickly as possible. Prompt reporting leads
to quick decision making.
-Forward looking
A good control system helps the management to think ahead and plan for the future. It
should have the element of being proactive other than reactive.
3. Explain five limitations of using the scientific management approach in improving
efficiency in an organization.
-It is limited in scope. It does not cover every aspect in the organization.
-It could not handle the complex problem in the organization
,-it involves a lot of measurements that may sometimes not give the expected results
-It is time consuming. This time can be used to do more work
-It is costly to implement. Organizations may consume more than the benefits that they get.
4. Explain the reasons that may lead to the reluctance by an organization to participate
in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
-It reduces the profit of the business. The activities affect the returns to the consumers
-It dilutes business purpose. It diverts from the main objective of starting the business ie
profit maximization
-Social responsibility promotes laziness. People wait for the assistance. It erodes work ethics.
-Leads to increase in price of goods and services. The cost of the activities is passed on to the
consumers.
-Sometimes the community may take the assistance as a right. The community may become
hostile if the assistance is withdrawn.
-It is the responsibility of the government to provide the services in CSR. The organizations
obligation is only to pay taxes.
5. Explain the circumstances under which a manager may find it appropriate to adopt
the autocratic style of leadership.
-Emergency. This is where something has to be done with speed.
-Indiscipline. It appropriate where workers have habitually lack discipline
-Uneducated employees. Those who are not self controlled and motivated.
-Disorganized groups who want to depend on the leader
-It reduces a lot of time used in consultation. Appropriate where a decision must be made
quickly
6. Outline the indicators of low employee’s morale in an organization.
-Morale is an indicator of the attitude of employees towards their work, environment, and
management. It is a composite term reflecting the feelings and reactions.
-High rate of absenteeism
-High rate of labor turnover
-many complaints and grievances
-Frustration and frictions among the employees e.g. fights abusive language etc.
-Unnecessary resistance to change.
-Poor performance in work
-Lack of creativity and innovativeness.
7. Explain the benefits that accrue to an organization that undertakes manpower
planning.
-It leads to effective and efficient use of human resources. The productivity of an
organization depends on human resource.
-It leads to better decisions in recruitment, selection, training, remuneration, etc.
-Development of employees is enhanced. There is better chance of developing careers of the
employees.
-Assists to avoid labor crisis. Organizations that carry human resource planning are able to
meet their future needs.
-Human resource planning helps the organization to achieve its objectives.
, 8. Sniper Company limited has had its operations decentralized for some years but
intends to centralize them. Explain the reasons that may have lead to such a move.
-In a decentralized organization coordination may be difficult. Hence to achieve efficiency it
may be appropriate to centralize activities. Centralization leads to integration of individual
efforts.
-Decentralization is costly. It involves cost in terms of staff. More workers need to be hired in
a decentralized system of operations. A good example is the devolved government in Kenya.
-The decision may have been arrived at due to lack of able managers. It may have been
difficult to find people who can learn a decentralized system well.
-Centralization may be adopted to achieve uniformity of action. Same areas require
uniformity such as personnel purchasing, advertising etc.
-Centralization may have been adopted so as to handle emergencies. Quick decisions are
needed in an environment of high competition, economic and political changes.
9. Explain the limitations of using committees in decision making
-Time consuming. Committees consume a lot of time in deliberations and consultations.
-Committee decision making is expensive. This may be in terms of salaries, allowances,
refreshments, etc
-The committee comes up with a compromise decision. This decision made may not be the
best. A good idea may be rejected just to conform with the line of least resistance.
-There is lack of accountability in the decision. It is difficult to apportion the blame when a
decision backfires
-A committee may be formed with the sole intention of delaying decision making.
10. Explain the benefits that may accrue to an organization that uses Management by
Objectives (MBO)
-Management by objectives involves participative decision making. It hence assists in
planning. It makes people to set achievable and specific goals.
-Management by objectives assists in coordination. It leads to harmony and a common
direction in the whole organization.
-Management by objectives increases the motivation of workers. This is because the set
objectives are achievable. Hence the workers became happy and satisfied.
-Management by objectives leads to high commitment on the side of workers and managers.
They are committed to the objectives because they have been involved in the setting of the
objective.
-Management by objectives assists in organization change and development. It makes
managers to initiate and manage change when problems are noted in the current structure.
-Management by objectives helps in executive development. It stresses a long term
perspective and self-development. Being an intellectual and consultative process, it leads to
management development in goal setting.
-Management by objectives leads to objective evaluation of employee’s performance. The
parameters and standards of performance are clear and measurable.
11. Explain five factors that may influence the span of control in an organization.
-The span is affected by the competence of the superior. Managers who are more competent
can supervise more people than those who are less competent.
-the intelligence level of the subordinates affects the span. Where the subordinates are
professionals, the span can be wider than where the subordinates are not trained.
-the nature of work also affects the span. Routine and simple work involves a narrow span as
compared to complex work
PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF MANAGEMENT
REVISION QUESTIONS
1. Same organizations may at times fail to plan. Explain the factors that may lead to
such failure.
-Lack of adequate money. Planning is expensive in terms of money
-Inadequate time. Planning is time consuming
-Lack of trained personnel. The personnel may not have the knowledge in planning.
-Planning requires same change in the current setup. Resistance to change makes planning
difficult.
-Top level management support. If planning is not supported by the top management, it has
high chance of failure.
-Planning may fail due to external force/environment that may negatively affect it.
Government regulations, natural calamities, economic downturns etc may make managers fail
to plan
2. A control system should posses certain attributes. Outline five such attributes
-Suitability
A good control system should be able to suit the activity that is being controlled. It should be
related to the objectives of the organization.
-Flexibility
The control system must be adaptable to changing environment in business operations. It
should remain workable even when the plans change.
-Economy
The system adopted should be cost effective. The benefit of the system should be higher than
the costs incurred. Same of the costs incurred are installation and maintenance costs.
-Simplicity
The control system should be simple to operate. It should be easy to understand by those
operating the system. Complex systems should not be encouraged.
-Suggestive
A good system should suggest the remedial action to be taken. The system should
Should be able to indicate where the problem is and the possible action to take.
-Objectivity
Control should be based on objectivity. A control system should be objective, verifiable and
specific. The system should not be influenced by the personality of the superior. It should not
be subjective.
-Promptness
A good control system should report deviations as quickly as possible. Prompt reporting leads
to quick decision making.
-Forward looking
A good control system helps the management to think ahead and plan for the future. It
should have the element of being proactive other than reactive.
3. Explain five limitations of using the scientific management approach in improving
efficiency in an organization.
-It is limited in scope. It does not cover every aspect in the organization.
-It could not handle the complex problem in the organization
,-it involves a lot of measurements that may sometimes not give the expected results
-It is time consuming. This time can be used to do more work
-It is costly to implement. Organizations may consume more than the benefits that they get.
4. Explain the reasons that may lead to the reluctance by an organization to participate
in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
-It reduces the profit of the business. The activities affect the returns to the consumers
-It dilutes business purpose. It diverts from the main objective of starting the business ie
profit maximization
-Social responsibility promotes laziness. People wait for the assistance. It erodes work ethics.
-Leads to increase in price of goods and services. The cost of the activities is passed on to the
consumers.
-Sometimes the community may take the assistance as a right. The community may become
hostile if the assistance is withdrawn.
-It is the responsibility of the government to provide the services in CSR. The organizations
obligation is only to pay taxes.
5. Explain the circumstances under which a manager may find it appropriate to adopt
the autocratic style of leadership.
-Emergency. This is where something has to be done with speed.
-Indiscipline. It appropriate where workers have habitually lack discipline
-Uneducated employees. Those who are not self controlled and motivated.
-Disorganized groups who want to depend on the leader
-It reduces a lot of time used in consultation. Appropriate where a decision must be made
quickly
6. Outline the indicators of low employee’s morale in an organization.
-Morale is an indicator of the attitude of employees towards their work, environment, and
management. It is a composite term reflecting the feelings and reactions.
-High rate of absenteeism
-High rate of labor turnover
-many complaints and grievances
-Frustration and frictions among the employees e.g. fights abusive language etc.
-Unnecessary resistance to change.
-Poor performance in work
-Lack of creativity and innovativeness.
7. Explain the benefits that accrue to an organization that undertakes manpower
planning.
-It leads to effective and efficient use of human resources. The productivity of an
organization depends on human resource.
-It leads to better decisions in recruitment, selection, training, remuneration, etc.
-Development of employees is enhanced. There is better chance of developing careers of the
employees.
-Assists to avoid labor crisis. Organizations that carry human resource planning are able to
meet their future needs.
-Human resource planning helps the organization to achieve its objectives.
, 8. Sniper Company limited has had its operations decentralized for some years but
intends to centralize them. Explain the reasons that may have lead to such a move.
-In a decentralized organization coordination may be difficult. Hence to achieve efficiency it
may be appropriate to centralize activities. Centralization leads to integration of individual
efforts.
-Decentralization is costly. It involves cost in terms of staff. More workers need to be hired in
a decentralized system of operations. A good example is the devolved government in Kenya.
-The decision may have been arrived at due to lack of able managers. It may have been
difficult to find people who can learn a decentralized system well.
-Centralization may be adopted to achieve uniformity of action. Same areas require
uniformity such as personnel purchasing, advertising etc.
-Centralization may have been adopted so as to handle emergencies. Quick decisions are
needed in an environment of high competition, economic and political changes.
9. Explain the limitations of using committees in decision making
-Time consuming. Committees consume a lot of time in deliberations and consultations.
-Committee decision making is expensive. This may be in terms of salaries, allowances,
refreshments, etc
-The committee comes up with a compromise decision. This decision made may not be the
best. A good idea may be rejected just to conform with the line of least resistance.
-There is lack of accountability in the decision. It is difficult to apportion the blame when a
decision backfires
-A committee may be formed with the sole intention of delaying decision making.
10. Explain the benefits that may accrue to an organization that uses Management by
Objectives (MBO)
-Management by objectives involves participative decision making. It hence assists in
planning. It makes people to set achievable and specific goals.
-Management by objectives assists in coordination. It leads to harmony and a common
direction in the whole organization.
-Management by objectives increases the motivation of workers. This is because the set
objectives are achievable. Hence the workers became happy and satisfied.
-Management by objectives leads to high commitment on the side of workers and managers.
They are committed to the objectives because they have been involved in the setting of the
objective.
-Management by objectives assists in organization change and development. It makes
managers to initiate and manage change when problems are noted in the current structure.
-Management by objectives helps in executive development. It stresses a long term
perspective and self-development. Being an intellectual and consultative process, it leads to
management development in goal setting.
-Management by objectives leads to objective evaluation of employee’s performance. The
parameters and standards of performance are clear and measurable.
11. Explain five factors that may influence the span of control in an organization.
-The span is affected by the competence of the superior. Managers who are more competent
can supervise more people than those who are less competent.
-the intelligence level of the subordinates affects the span. Where the subordinates are
professionals, the span can be wider than where the subordinates are not trained.
-the nature of work also affects the span. Routine and simple work involves a narrow span as
compared to complex work
