Chapter 12 ORGANIZING AND WORK
Mar 27, 2015
Chapter 12
ORGANIZING AND WORK
“Management Talk”
“We believe that all people want to be involved in decisions that affect them, care about their jobs and each other, take pride in themselves and in
their contributions, and want to share in the success of their efforts.”
– The Saturn Team, in concert with the UAW and General Motors
Objectives
• Recognize the reasons for organizing work
• Understand how businesses prevent their workers from losing interest in their jobs
• Explain why managers need to delegate authority and responsibility
Understanding Management
The Saturn company began in the mid-1980s as the brainchild of a group of 99 General Motors employees. Working conditions at the company’s Spring Hill, Tennessee, plant are different from the typical assembly line factory. Saturn “team members” have the freedom to improve the production process. Within a few years, Saturn won awards for the quality of its vehicles. Other companies now look to Saturn for new and effective ways to manage workers
Management Skills
• How might involving employees in making decisions help factory operations run more smoothly?
• You are in charge of building your school’s homecoming dance with 20 volunteers. How would you organize them?
Sec. 12.1: Designing Organizations
• What ways do you organize your personal lives?
• What does authority mean to you?
• What role does authority play in:– Parenting– Education– Levels of government
What You’ll Learn
How organizing helps groups of people achieve results they could not achieve alone
Three reasons why businesses organize workforces
Nine characteristics of successful organizations How businesses prevent workers from losing
interest in highly specialized jobs Why businesses decentralize their operations
Why is this important?
“Without a well-defined organization, no business can be successful”
What is an Organization?
• A group of people working together in a coordinated effort to reach certain goals– Efficiency– Effectiveness– Better Results
• Manager’s role in organization– To ensure that everyone in the organization
works together in a coordinated manner
Why do Businesses Organize Their Workforces?
• To create clear lines of authority
• To improve productivity
• To make it easier for people within a company to communicate with each other
• To increase profit
• Provide a sense of stability and belonging when working for an effective organization
Establishing Lines of Authority
• Authority: Power based on the rights that come with a position– President: Can order troops into battle– CEO: To make important decisions– Store Managers: To approve returns or offer
discounts on damaged merchandise
• Ensures that those making decisions are qualified and are made at the appropriate level
• Chain of Command: The line of authority within an organization
Advantages of a Well-Defined Chain of Command
• Makes it easy for all to understand who is in charge
• Problems are addressed at the lowest possible level
Disadvantages of a Well-Defined Chain of Command
• Can create problems in structure is too rigid or too complicated
• Too many layers!
– Assigning responsibility will be difficult
– Decisions are made slowly, often by people with only a limited understanding of the issues involved
Improving Productivity• Division of Labor: The assignment of specific tasks to
individuals or groups• Specialization
– Groups of workers perform very specific tasks or sets of tasks based on a skill level
• Job Rotation– Periodically moving workers from one job to another
• Job Scope– Number of operations involved in a job
• Narrow Scope vs. Broad Scope
• Job Depth– Freedom employees have to plan and organize their work, interact
with co-workers, and work at their own pace
Marshmallow Activity!!!
• Teams form assembly lines to build marshmallow/toothpick towers (at least 9 inches high), using 40 toothpicks and 40 marshmallows
• Post activity discussion:– Ask how the groups organized this project
Improving Communication
EmployeesManagersManagers
IdeasResultsProblems
GoalsStrategiesPoliciesProcedures
Communicate: Meetings, memos, e-mail, telephone conversations, and informal encounters
Company Expectations
What Makes an Organization Effective?
• Knowing Your Customers and Responding to Their Needs
• To succeed in the business world, companies must change to keep up with customer needs– What are some ways that Kodak has done
this? (established first simple camera in 1888)
Characteristics of Highly Effective Organizations
• Responsive to the market
• Customer centered
• Committed to maintaining networks and alliances
• Developed around a vision
• Focused on creating top-quality products and services
• Dedicated to positive learning and change
• Attentive to meeting responsibilities to customers, employees, suppliers, and society
• Committed to measuring their progress against world-class standards of excellence
• Able to respond to changing market conditions quickly
What Makes an Organization Effective?
• Decentralization – Managers at all levels make decisions
• Advantages:– Increases an organization’s ability to respond to
market changes by allowing decisions to be made by managers who are close to their customers
– Frees senior managers from many day-to-day tasks– Increases lower-level managers’ job scope which
increasing their responsibility and interest on the job
• Disadvantages:– Can result in a loss of managerial control– Duplication of effort
12. 1: Chapter Summary
Organizations help individuals work together efficiently and effectively
A well-defined chain of command defines who is in charge for all members of an organization
The division of labor assigns specific tasks to individuals or groups
Companies prevent boredom in specialized workforces by rotating jobs, widening job scope, and increasing job depth
Sec. 12.2: Delegating Responsibility
• What do you respect about authority and how do you work best with it– Teacher – Student– Parent – Child– Coach – Player– Supervisor – Employee
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of working in teams?
• What role does responsibility play?
What You’ll Learn Three benefits of delegating Five reasons some managers are
reluctant to delegate How managers delegate effectively
Why is this Important?
“Managers cannot and should NOT make ALL decisions themselves.”
Maintaining Authority
• Delegate: To assign responsibility and authority for a task to another person
• Responsibility: Obligation to perform assigned duties
• Subordinate: Person holding a lower position within an organization
• Delegating to a Subordinate means:– Subordinate has been given the ability to act and make
decisions
“How much of a role should managers have in hiring future subordinates to whom they will delegate
responsibility?”
Enforcing the Unity of Command Principle
• Unity of Command: An employee should have only one immediate supervisor– Eliminates confusion– Eliminates conflict of expectations
“Have you ever been in a situation at home, work, or school where the unity of
command principle would have prevented a frustrating conflict of expectations?”
Maintaining Authority
• Establishing an Appropriate Span of Management– (Span of control) Defines the number of subordinates
a manager can effectively control
• Factors that control the quantity a manager can handle– The complexity of the jobs subordinates perform– The quality of the people who fill the positions– The ability of the manager
Traditional Manager Team Manager Thinks of self as a manager or boss
Follows the chain of command
Works within a set organizational structure
Makes most decisions alone
Hoards information
Tries to master one discipline
Demands long hours
Sponsor, Team Leader, Internal Consultant Deals with anyone necessary to get the job done Changes organizational structure in response to market changes Invites others to join in decision-making Shares information Tries to master a broad array of managerial disciplines Demands results
The team manager represents one who is more of a team player than a boss.
What are the benefits of this new type of management?
Maintaining Authority
• Giving Subordinates the Authority to Make Decisions
• Ensuring Accountability– The obligation to accept responsibility for
one’s actions– Allows managers to monitor the work of
subordinates
Why Delegate?1. Task is too time-consuming to handle alone2. Task is too routine to warrant a manager’s
attention3. Task requires special skills that a manager
may not possess
• Benefits of Delegating– Decisions are made by people with the most direct
knowledge of issues– Employees feel that management has confidence in
their abilities when work is delegated to them– Employees are more committed– Increase employees’ job skills and knowledge of the
organization
Learning to Delegate1. Analyze how you spend your time as manager2. Identify tasks that could be handled by
subordinates3. Determine which subordinates could best handle
them4. Make sure subordinate understands and accepts
responsibility for the task he or she is being given5. Clearly define objectives of all tasks6. Set standards 7. Provide appropriate training
Reasons Managers Resist Delegating
Fear that subordinates will not perform the task well
Fear that subordinates will do the job too well, showing up the manager
The belief that it is easier to perform the task oneself than to delegate it to someone else
The natural tendency to want to hold on to power Comfort in performing the tasks one is used to
performing
12. 2: Chapter Summary
Managers should delegate authority and responsibility for decision-making to subordinates
The unity of command principle states that an employee should have one immediate supervisor
The span of management defines the number of subordinates a manager can effectively control
In successful delegation managers identify tasks to be delegated, choose a subordinate to handle tasks, and establish expectations
Case Analysis
• Jim Waters is a detail man. Despite heading up a 30-person marking department for a major corporation, he types all of his own correspondence, keeps track of all employees’ sick and vacation days, and makes all of his own travel arrangements. As his supervisor, you are concerned that he is spending too much time on tasks that could be handled by his assistant.
• Explain how and why you would like Mr. Waters to delegate some of his experiences
Math Skills
• Cindy Giovanetti earns $6.25 an hour as a cashier at a video store. The manager of the store, Jon Laughlin, earns $12.00 an hour. Last week Jon put in 10 hours of overtime stocking the shelves with new products. He was paid $18.00 an hour.
• How much would the company save if Cindy had stocked the shelves during her regular working hours?