PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT C483 WGU Practice Sets 2023 With 100% Reviews

PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT C483 WGU Practice Sets 2023 With 100% Reviews Describe strategic planning *** Making decisions about the organization's long-term goals and strategies Describe strategic goals *** major target long-term goals that are effective and efficient Describe strategy *** pattern of actions and resource allocations designed to achieve the goals of the organization. 1. Where will we be active? 2. How will we get there (increase sales or acquire another company)? 3. How will we win the in the marketplace (keep prices low or offer the best service)? 4. how fast will we move in what sequence will we make the changes? 5.How will we obtain financial returns (low cost or premium prices)? *In setting a strategy, managers try to match the organization's skills and resources to the opportunities found in the external environment. Explain what a Core Competency/ Capability means for an organization. *** Core Capability: (or competence) when resources are valuable, rare, inimitable, and organized. Something company does especially well relative to its competitors. (EX: Honda small engine) Core competencies typically refers to a set of skills or expertise in some activity rather than physical or financial assets. Porter's 5 Model *** Porter's 5 Model is a method used to help managers analyze the competitive environment and adapt to or influence the nature of their competition. Describe Porter's 5 Model and how it is used in the strategic planning process. *** 1. understand the competitive environment, organization's must identify competitors. 2. Analyze how to compete. 3. New entrants (Netflix took out blockbuster) 4. Substitutes and complements (coke for starbucks; starbucks complement is a cake pop) 5. Suppliers: switching costs (fixed costs buyers face when they change suppliers), supply chain management ( managing of the network of facilities and people that obtain materials from outside the organization, transform them into products, and distribute them to customers.) 6. Customers: without customers a company won’t survive (final customer ex: mcdonalds) (Intermediate customer ex: customer who purchases raw materials or wholesale products before selling them) Explain a SWOT Analysis *** 1. SWOT analysis: assessment of the organization's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats 2. SWOT analysis helps managers summarize the relevant important facts from their external and internal analysis SWOT analysis strengths and weaknesses *** -strength and weaknesses: interal recources EX: organization's strengths might include skilled management, positive cash flow, and well-known highly regarded brands. Weakness might be lack of spare production capacity and the absence of reliable suppliers SWOT analysis opportunities and threats *** -SWOT analysis helps managers summarize the relevant, important fats from their external and internal analysis. -they can identify the primary and secondary strategic issues their organization faces. The managers then formulate a strategy that will build on the SWOT analysis to take advantage of available opportunities by capitalizing on the organization's strengths, neutralizing its weakness, and countering potential threats. How SWOT analysis helps managers: *** -SWOT analysis helps managers summarize the relevant, important fats from their external and internal analysis. -they can identify the primary and secondary strategic issues their organization faces. The managers then formulate a strategy that will build on the SWOT analysis to take advantage of available opportunities by capitalizing on the organization's strengths, neutralizing its weakness, and countering potential threats. Name the 5 types of corporate strategies that organizations use *** 1. corportate strategy 2. concentration strategy 3. vertical integration strategy 4. concentric diversification strategy 5. conglomerate diversification strategy define corporate strategy *** identifies the set of businesses, markets, or industries in which the organization competes and the organization competes and the distribution of resources among those businesses shows basic alternatives for a corporate strategy, ranging from very specialized to highly diverse Concentration Strategy *** focuses on a single business competing in a single industry Vertical integration strategy *** involves expanding the domain of the organizatoin into supply channel or to distributors Concentric diversification strategy *** involves moving into a new business that are related to the company's original core business Conglomerate diversification strategy *** a corporate strategy that invovles expansioin into unrelated businesses Name the two kinds of business strategies that companies can use to gain competitive advantage *** 1. Low-cost strategy 2. Differentiation Strategy Define Low-cost strategy *** business attempt to be efficient and offer a standard, no-frills product ex: walmart define differentiation strategy *** comapnies attempt to be unique in its industry or market segment along some dimensions that customers value. this unique or differentiated position within the industry often is based on high product quality, excellent marketing and distribution, or superior service define business strategy *** the major actions by which an organization builds and strengthens its competitive position in the marketplace Name the 6 steps in the strategic planning process *** 1. Establishment of mission, vision and goals 2. analysis of external opportunities and threats 3. analysis of internal strengths and weaknesses 4. SWOT analysis and strategy formulation 5. strategy implentation 6. strategic control Describe the first step in the basic planning process (Establishment of mission, vision, goals) *** mission: clean and concise expression of the basic purpose of the orgnization; it describes what the orgnization does, for whom it does it, its basic good or service and its value ex: mcdonalds "To be our customer's favorite place and way to eat." strategic vision: the long-term direction and strategic intent of a company Describe the 2nd step in the planning process (analysis of external opportunities and threats) *** groups of individuals who affect and are affected by the achievement of the organization's missions, goals and strategies ex: buyers, suppliers, competitors, so on describe the third step analysis of internal strengths and weaknesses *** resources and core capabilities: resources input to production that can be accumulated over time to enhance performance of a firm tangible assets: real estate intangible assets: company reputation example: Disney describe step 4 SWOT *** comparison of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that helps executives formulate strategy describe step 5 strategy implementation *** 1. define strategic tasks 2. asses organization capabilities 3. develop an implementation agenda 4. create an implementation plan describe step 6 strategic control *** a system designed to support managers in evaluating the organization's progress regarding its strategy and when discrepancies exist, taking correctice action Define Value Chain *** The sequence of activities that flow from the raw materials to the delivery of a good service with additional value created at each step. Each step in the chain adds value to the product or service. List the steps in the value chain. *** 1. Research and development focus on innovation and new products. 2. Inbound logistics receive and store raw materials and distribute them to operations.. 3. operations transform the raw materials into final product. 4. outbound logistics warehouses the product and handles its distrubtion 5. marketing and sales identifies customer requirements and gets customers to purchase the product 6. service offers customer support, such as repair, after the item has been bought. What is the main difference between mechanistic and organic organizational structure? *** Organic is less rigid and emphasizes flexbility. What is mechanistic organizational structure? *** 1. type of bureaucracy 2. boss is number one and gives orders, then goes down chain of command What is organic organizational structure? *** 1. jobholders have broader responsbilities that change as the need arises. 2. communication occurs through the advice and information rather than through orders and instructions 3. decision making influence are more decentralized and informal 4. expertise is highly valued 5. jobholders rely more heavily on judgement than on rules 6. obedience to authority is less important than commitment to the organization's goals Define Total Quality Management (TQM) *** way of managing in which everyone is committed to continuous improvement of hir or her part of the operation How is the total quality management system implementing one benefits an organization? *** TQM is a comprhensive approach to improving product quality and customer satisfaction. is it s astrong orientation to customers. it also reorients managers toward involving people across departments improving all aspects of the business. continuous improvemnt requires integrative mechanisms that facilitate group problem solving information sharing and seperate stages and functions. What is the statistical important of TQM? *** to analyze the causes of the product defects using six sigma quality What is the Deming's 14 points? *** Edwards Deming created an approach to managed that demands understanding of the process--- delicate interaction of raw materials, machines, and people that determines productivity, quality, and competitive advantage. Name the 14 steps of Deming's 14 points *** 1. constancy of purpose 2. adopt the new philsophy 3. cease dependence on mass inspection 4. end the practice of awarding business on price tag alone 5. improve constantly 6. institute training and retraining 7. institute leadership 8. safe to ask questions 9. team work 10. be a business of methods not words ( no slogans, etc.) 11. eliminate numerical quotas 12. allow spotaneity 13. people are assets 14. provide a structure that enables quality What is the role of six sigma quality? *** to reduce defects in all organization processes--- not just product defects but anything tha tmay result in customer dissatisfaction Define quality assurance? *** complete system to assure the quality of products or services. it is not only a process, but a complete system including also control. it is a way of management define quality control? *** just measures and determines the quality level of products or services. it is a process itself describe what a quality audit is and entails? *** periodic, independent, and documented examination and verification of activities, records, processes, and other elements of a quality standard such as ISO 9000. any failure in their proper implementation may be published publicly and may lead to a revocation of quality certification. also called conformity assesmt or quality system audit. what is ISO 9001? *** A list of good quality management pracitice requirements. 1. customer focus 2. leadership 3. involvment of people 4. process approach 5. system approach to management 6. continual improvement 7. factual approach to decision making 8. mutually beneficial supplier relationships what is Dr. Ohmae's strategic triangle? *** Define Dr. Ohmae's strategic triangle *** Managers need to balance triangle and successful organizations use their strengths to create value by meeting customer requirements better than competitors do. Define Reengineering *** The principle idea of reeingeering is to revolutionize key organizational systems and processes to answer this question: "If you were the customer, how wouldyou like us to operate?" The answer is to form a vision for how the organization should run and then decisions are made and actions are taken to make organization operate like the vision. Processes such as product development, order fullfillment, customer service, inventory management, billing, and production are redesigned from scratch as if the organization were brand new and just starting out. Describe how organizations use reengineering *** it cuts costs. often requires a fundamental change iin the way the parts of the organization work together. ex: P&G tour down and rebuilt every activity that contributed to its high costs. Entrepreneurial Strategy Matrix *** How is the entrepreneurial strategy matrix use? *** to help entrepreneurs think about their ventures and decide whether they suit their particular objectives. it helps identify effective and ineffective strategies. it can also help entrepreneurs remember a useful point: successful companies do not always require a cutting-edge techonology or an exciting new product. even companies offering the most mundane products-- the type that might reside in the lower-left cell--- can gain competitive advantage by doing basic things differently from and better than competitors Identify the common characteristics that entrepreneurs possess *** commitment and determination; leadership; opportunity; tolerance of risk, ambiguity, uncertainty; creativity; self-reliance; and adbility to adapt; motivation to excel Describe the common reasons behind entrepreneurial success and failure *** 1. Risk: know the risk and anticipate setbacks 2. The role of the economic enviroment: economic cycles quickly change 3. Funds must be used appropriately 4. Records must be kept accurately 5. Do not neglect 6. Mortality and succession: the founder must have someone to take over after them that has experience and knowledge Identify common ways in which entrepreneurs finance their ventures *** 1. Going public: initialy public stock offerings, (IPOs) offers ways to raise capital through federally registered and underwritten sales of shares in the company 2. Loans from family friends credits and banks 3. Owner's savings 4. Investors: capitals and firms or others How can entrepreneurs increase their chances of success in planning their venture? *** 1. Having a business plan 2. Selling your plan: get investors to to support your plan 3. Legitimacy: peoples judgement and accpetance 4. network of supporters 5. top management teams: company image, support day to day activities, develop network of sources 6. advisory board 7. partners what is intrapreneurship? *** "in-house" entrepreneurs in a large corportates that are looking to try and find new profitable ideas define bootlegging *** informal efforts-- as opposed to official job assignments-- in which employees work to create new products and processes of their own choosing and initiative define skunkworks *** project teams designated to produce a new project discuss how a larger organization can promote and maintain the spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation *** entrepreneurial orientation: engage in activities designated to identify and capitalize successfully on opportunities to launch new ventures by entering new or established markets with new exisiting goods or services -allow independent action, innovate, take risks, be proactive, be aggressive Describe constructive conflict *** -total and consistent agreement amoung group members can be destructive - air legitimate differences - stay task-related -be impersonal -play devils advocate identify and describe the various conflict styles and how conflict strategies function in organizations *** types of conflict strategies: 1. avoidance 2. accomodation 3. compromise 4. competing 5. collaboration the Hackman and Oldham model of job design *** what are the key aspects of the job-characteristics model of organizing and describing jobs? *** 1. they believe they are doing something meaningful because their work is important to other people 2. they feel personally responsible for how the work turns out 3. they learn how well they perform their jobs Explain what a boundaryless organization is and what it means for organizations *** boundarless organization: one in which no barriers to information flow exist. - instead of seperating people, jobs, processes, and places with boundaries, ideas, information, decisions, and actions move to where they are most needed. -this does not imply a free for all - information is available as needed identify and summarize ways in which to become a better communicator cross-culturally *** Language barrier- - consider the receiver's background -cultural and technical -adjust your language accordingly -when receiving, dont assume that your understanding is the same as the speaker's intentions - the meaning of word choices can vary bt culture - when conducting business overseas, try to learn something about the other country's language and customs Understand the Prosci 3 Phase Change Management Process *** This process is built in three phases that a project or change manager can work through for the changes and intiatives they are supporting. the methodology includes research-based assesments and templates to support each phase, as well as guidance for completing each step most effectively What is phase 1 of the Prosci change management process? *** Preparing for Change: 1. defining your change management strategy 2. prepare your change management team 3. develop your sponsorship model what is phase 2 of the prosci change management process? *** Managing Change 1. develop change management plans 2. take action and implement change what is phase 3 of the change management plan? *** reinforcing change 1. collect and analyze feedback 2. diagnose gaps and manage resistance 3. implement corrective actions and celebrate successes identify and apply approaches to gaining cooperation in organizational change initiatives *** -managing resistance: 1. unfreezing- breaking from the old ways of doing things 2. moving- instituting change 3. refreezing- reinforcing and supporting the new ways Describe the essential activities required in leading change initiatives *** successful change requires managers to lead it actively 1. establishing a sense of urgency 2. creating the guidance coalition 3. developing a vision and strategy 4. communicating the change vision 5. empowering broad-based action 6. generating short-term wins 7. consolidating gains and producing more change 8. anchoring new approaches in the culture Describe strategic human resources management and how HR planning can benefit an organization *** strategic impact of human resources: 1. creates values: people increase value through effort. decrease costs or provide something unique to customers or both 2. is rare: people are a source of competitive advantage when their skills, knowledge and abilities are not equally available to all competitors 3. is difficult to imitate: people are a source of competitive advantage when their capabilities and contributions cannot be copied by others 4. is organized: people are a source of competitive advantage when organizations know how to deploy them as needed based on their experience, skills, and potential what is human capital? *** also called intelectual captial, often is used today to describe the strategic value of employee knowledge and abilities what is the HR planning process? *** 1. demand forecasts 2. labor supply forecasts 3. reconciling supply and demand 4. job analysis understand and identify the key techniques used in the employee recruitment and selection process in and organization *** selection: builds on recruiting and involves desicions about whom to hire 1. applications 2. interviews 3. reference checks 4. background checks 5. personality tests 6. druge testing 7. cognitive ability 8. performance tests 9. integrity tests 10. reliability and validity what is the FLSA law? *** distinguishes between exempt and nonexempt employees sets minimum wage, maximum hour, and child labor provisions what is the EPA act? *** The Equal Pay Act prohibits unequal pay for men and women who perform equal work What is the Pregnancy Discrimination Act? *** states that pregnancy is a disability and qualifies a woman to receive the same benefits she would with any other disability What is the ERISA? *** The employee retirement income security act protects private pension programs from mismanagement. ERISA requires taht reirement benefits be paid to those who vest or earn a right to draw benefits and ensures retirement benefits for employees who companies go bankrupt or who cannot meet their personal obligations What is OSHA? *** Occupational Safety and Health Act requires employers to pursue workpalce safety what is the social security act? *** provides financial support to retireees, in subsequent amendments, the act was expanded to cover disabled employees. the funds come from payments made by employers, and employees and self-empowered workers. unemployment insurance provides financial support to employees who are laid off for reasons they cannot control. identify issues that could arise between older and younger workers in an organization *** The older generation has all the experience and hard-working habits. To prevent from losing this generation employers (and AARP) have created a phased retirement plan that allow older employees to work fewer hours per week. Other strategies include making workplace adaptions to help older workers cope with the physical problems they experience as they age (poor vision, hearing, mobility). Younger talent work pool is smaller. Young workers tend to be "high-maintenance" but "high-performing" having learned to process the flood of information that pours in over the internet. They work well in environments that are stimulating, involve team work, and keep reasonable hours. Employers are also updating recruiting tactics by using the internet. Like sites such as Linkedin. Identify and apply the Americans with disabilities act (ADA) legislature in the workplace *** The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) defines a disability as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. EX: orthopedic, visual, speech, hearing, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, HIV, cancer, psychological illnesses, and so on. Companies that comply with ADA and for those with disabilities to be productive on the job the government has created new assistive technologies. The state government often pays for those technologies. Define Demand Forecasts in HR *** determining how many and what type of people are needed. The forecast derives from organizational plans. o Need people to work on production you hire more workers Define labor forecasts in HR *** how many and what types of employees the organization will have. o Supply Analysis: The organization estimates the number and quality of its current employees as well as the available external supply of workers. o Internal Supply: the company typically relies on its experiences with turnover, terminations, retirements, promotions, and transfers. o Computerized human resources information system assists greatly in supply forecasting Define reconciling supply and demand in hr *** : Once managers have a good idea of the supply of and the demand for various types of employees, they can start developing approaches for reconciling the two. o Sometimes organizations find they need more people than they currently have (labor deficit). In this case organizations can hire new employees, promote current employees, or outsource work to contractors. o In other cases, organizations may find that they have more people than they need (labor surplus). If this is known far enough in advance organizations can use attrition (the normal turnover of employees) to reduce the surplus. o Other times the organization may have to lay off employees or transfer them to other areas. Define job analysis in hr *** : two things o First it tells the HR manager about the job itself: the essential tasks, duties, and responsibilities involved in performing the job. This information is called a job description. o Second, job analysis describes the skills, knowledge, abilities, and other characteristics needed to perform the job. This is called job specification. Job Analysis provides the information required by virtually every human resource activity. It assists with the essential HR programs: recruitment, training, selection, appraisal, and reward systems. It may also help organizations defend themselves in lawsuits involving employment practices. o Job Analysis provides the information required by virtually every human resources activity. define diversity training programs *** diversity training programs attempt to identify and reduce and hidden baises and develop the skills needed to manager a diversified workforce effectively. majority of US organizations sponsor some sort of diversity training. usually diversity training has two components: awareness building and skill building define awareness building in diversity training *** designed to increase awareness of the meaning and importance of valuing diversity define skill building in diversity training *** Diversity training that merely identifies problems without giving participants the tools they need to be able to act on what they have learned may leave participants feeling that the training was not useful or worthwhile. describe the fundamental concepts of the organizational chart *** depicts the positions in the firm and the way they are arranged. the chart provides a picture structure (who reports to whom) and the various activities that are carried out by different individuals the matrix organization chart *** hybrid form of organization in which functional and divisional form overlap. Managers and staff personnel report to two bosses—a functional manager and a divisional manager. Matrix organizations have a dual rather than single line of command. define the unity of command principle *** states that a person should only have one boss. - reporting to two supperiors can be confusing define network organization *** collection of independent, mostly single-function firms tha collaborate to product a good or service. the network organization describes not one organization but the web of relationshups among many firms. netowrks can improve cost, quality, service, speed, sustainability, and innovation explain the key elements of the vertical organizational structure *** 1. authority: fundamental level, the legitimate right to make decisions and to tell other people what to do 2. board of directors: in coporations the owners are the stockholders. stockholders elect a board of directors to oversee the organization 3. inside directors: part of the board, top executives 4. chief executive officer: CEO , occupies the top of the organizational pyramid. personally, accountable to the board and to the owners for the organization's performance 5. top management team: composed of the CEO, president, chief operating officer, chief financial officer, and other key executives horizontal organizational structure *** a structure with fewer horizontal lauers saves time and money key elements in the horizontal organizational structure *** 1. departmentalized: organization is subdivided into smaller units or departments 2. line departments: those that have responsibility for the principle activities of the firm 3. staff departments: those that provide specialized or professional skill that support line departments 4. functional organization: jobs (and departments) are specialized and grouped according to business functions and the skills they require 5. divisional organization: organizations may restructure to group all functions into a single division and duplicate each of the functions across all the divisions 6. product divisions: all functions that contriubte to a given product are organized under one manager 3 approaches to the Bureaucratic Control *** 1. Feedforward Control: takes place before operations begin and includes policies, proceduresm and rules designed to ensure that planned activities are carried out properly 2. concurrent control: takes place while plans are being carried out 3. feedback control: focuses on the use of information about results to correct deviations from the acceptable standard after they arise Explain the need for organizational controls *** -control is essential for the attainment of any management objective -control: any process that directs the activities of individuals toward the achievement of organizational goals types of controls that exist *** 1. beaucratic control: ues of rules 2. market control: use of pricing mechanisms to regulate activities in organizations as though they were economic transactions 3. clan control: (or cultural control) does not assume that the interests of the organization and indviduals naturally diverge. instead clan control is based on the idea that employees may share the values, expectations, and goals of the organization and act in accordance with them identify the steps in the bureaucratic control process sequence *** 1. establish valid performance standards 2. provide adequate information to employees 3. ensure acceptability to employees 4. maintain open cummunication 5. use multiple approaches expansion of resources ***