ATD Level II

Principles of Management flashcards

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Complete Flashcard Reference

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What is management?

The process of planning, organising, leading and controlling an organisation's resources (human, financial, physical and informational) to achieve its stated goals efficiently and effectively. Informally, the word also means the group of people who carry that process out.

What are Katz's three management skills, and at which level does each matter most?

Technical skill: proficiency in a field's methods and tools. Most critical at lower management. Human skill: working with, motivating and communicating with people. Equally important at every level. Conceptual skill: seeing the organisation as a whole and how its parts relate. Most critical at top management.

What did Taylor's scientific management do?

It applied systematic observation and measurement to work: break a job into its tasks, time each one, design the 'one best way' to perform it, then train workers to follow it, with pay tied directly to output.

What are the six PESTEL categories?

Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal. They scan the macro-environment: factors that can affect any organisation in a market, whether or not it can influence them.

In a SWOT analysis, which elements are internal and which are external?

Internal, within the organisation's control: strengths and weaknesses. External, arising from the environment PESTEL scans: opportunities and threats. So a new competitor is a threat, never a weakness.

How do strategic, tactical and operational plans differ?

Strategic: long-term, organisation-wide, set by top management. Tactical: medium-term, set by middle management, turning strategy into departmental objectives. Operational: short-term, set by lower management, detailing the day-to-day actions.

What is the principle of unity of command?

Each employee reports to one, and only one, immediate superior. Breaking it leaves an employee with conflicting instructions and no way of knowing whose direction comes first, a risk built into a matrix structure.

What are feedforward, concurrent and feedback control?

Feedforward (preliminary): before an activity begins, inspecting inputs to prevent a problem at all. Concurrent: while the activity is happening, allowing immediate correction. Feedback: after it is complete, comparing the result with the standard to inform future planning.

What are the three stages of Lewin's change model?

Unfreezing: building awareness of the need for change and reducing the forces that support the status quo. Changing (moving): introducing the new processes, structures, systems or behaviours. Refreezing: stabilising the new state through policy, reward and culture so it does not revert.

What are the five levels of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, and how do they motivate?

Physiological, safety, social (belonging), esteem and self-actualisation. They are satisfied broadly from the bottom up: a need already satisfied stops motivating, and the next unmet level takes over.

What separates a manager from an individual contributor?