authority : | the formal and legitimate right of a manager to make decisions, issue orders, and allocate resources to achieve organizational goals. |
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behavioral management theory: : | a method that focuses on people as individuals with needs (also known as the human relations movement). | |
compensation: : | all work-related payments, including wages, commissions, insurance, and other benefits. | |
continuous process: : | a system that produces goods by continuously feeding raw materials through highly automated technology. | |
control: : | the systematic process of regulating organization activities to make them consistent with the expectations established in plans, targets, and standards of performance. | |
concurrent control: : | method of regulation applied to processes as they are happening. | |
cost-leadership strategy: : | system that focuses on keeping costs as low as possible through efficient operations and tight controls. | |
crisis problem: : | an unexpected problem that has the potential to lead to disaster if not resolved quickly and appropriately. | |
cross-functional teams: : | groups of experts in various specialties (or functions) who work together on solutions to organizational problems. | |
decentralized organizations: : | firms that consciously attempt to spread authority to the lowest possible levels. | |
demographics: : | measurements of various characteristics of the people and social groups who make up a society. | |
development plans: : | a series of steps that can help employees acquire skills to reach long-term goals, such as job promotions. | |
division of labor: : | see work specialization. | |
financial audits: : | formal investigations to ensure that procedures, policies, laws, and ethical guidelines are followed in the handling and reporting of financial activities. | |
financial ratio analysis: : | the relationship between specific figures on an organization's financial statements; helps explain the significance of those figures. | |
first-line management: : | the lowest level of management. | |
flexiplace: : | see telecommuting. | |
force-field analysis: : | a technique to implement change by determining which forces drive change and which forces resist it. | |
functional authority: : | authority to make decisions about specific activities undertaken by personnel in other departments. | |
job enlargement: : | a type of job re-design that increases the variety of tasks a position includes (also known as horizontal job loading). | |
job sharing: : | process in which one full-time job is split between two or more persons (also known as twinning). | |
joint venture: : | a business relationship formed between a domestic and foreign firm. | |
kaizen: : | a Japanese term used in the business setting to mean incremental, continuous improvement. | |
leading: : | establishing and influencing others to follow a specific direction. | |
learning organizations: : | firms that utilize people, values, and systems to continuously change and improve performance based on the lessons of experience. | |
legitimate power: : | vested authority stemming from a formal management position in an organization. | |
licensure agreement: : | contract that grants one firm the right to make or sell another company's products. | |
line authority: : | a manager's right to direct the work of his or her employees and make decisions without consulting others. | |
liquidity ratios: : | measurements of an organization's ability to generate cash. | |
manager: : | a person responsible for the work performance of one or more other persons. | |
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quality: : | reflects the degree to which a goods or services meet the demands and requirements of the marketplace. | | quantitative approach: : | using quantitative techniques, such as statistics, information models, and computer simulations, to improve decision making. | | queuing theory: : | a rationale that helps allocate services or workstations to minimize customer waiting and service cost. | | quotas: : | government regulations that limit the import of specific products within the year. | | recruitment: : | activities an organization uses to attract a pool of viable candidates. | | |
reengineering: : | redesigning processes requiring input from every employee in the company to achieve dramatic improvements in cost, quality, service, and speed. | |
referent power: : | influence that results from leadership characteristics that command identification, respect, and admiration from subordinates (also known as charismatic power). | |
resources: : | the people, information, facilities, infrastructure, machinery, equipment, supplies, and finances at an organization's disposal. | |
risk: : | the environment that exists when a manager must make a decision without complete information. | |
rule: : | an explicit statement that tells a supervisor what he or she can and cannot do. | |
satisfice: : | the making of the best decision possible with the information, resources, and time available. | |
scalar principle: : | a system that demonstrates a clearly defined line of authority in the organization that includes all employees. | |
simulation: : | a broad term indicating any type of activity that attempts to imitate an existing system or situation in a simplified manner. | |
situational theory: : | see contingency theory. | |
small-batch production: : | manufacturing of a variety of custom, made-to-order products. | |
social network: : | see grapevine. | |
strategic change: : | revision that takes place when a company changes its tactics (strategy) — possibly even its mission statement — to achieve current goals. | |
strategic plan: : | an outline of steps designed with the goals of the entire organization as a whole in mind, rather than with the goals of specific divisions or departments. | |
structural change: : | variation that occurs when a company changes its procedures, policies, and rules, and as a result, its organizational structure. | |
structured problems: : | familiar, straightforward, and clear difficulties with respect to the information needed to resolve them. | |
tactical plan: : | steps detailing the actions needed to achieve the organization's larger strategic plan. | |
tariffs: : | taxes placed on imports and/or exports in response to a political event. | |
interpersonal communication: : | real-time, face-to-face, or voice-to-voice conversation that allows immediate feedback. | |
intrapreneurship: : | organizational culture that allows employees flexibility and authority in pursuing and developing new ideas. | |
job analysis: : | a study that determines all tasks and qualifications needed for each position. | |
job description: : | a written statement of a job's requirements, processes, and rationale. | |
job enrichment: : | a type of job re-design that not only includes an increased variety of tasks, but also provides the employee with more responsibility and authority (also known as vertical job loading). | |
job rotation: : | temporarily assigning employees to different job, or tasks to different people, on a rotating basis. | |
team structure: : | organizational design that places separate functions into a group according to one overall objective. | |
technology: : | the knowledge, machinery, work procedures, and materials that transform inputs into outputs. | |
telecommuting: : | a work arrangement that allows at least a portion of scheduled work hours to be completed outside of the office, with work at home as one of the options (also known as flexiplace). | |
Total Quality Management (TQM): : | a philosophy that states that uniform commitment to quality in all areas of the organization promotes a culture that meets consumers' perceptions of quality. | |
twinning: : | see job sharing | |
unity of command: : | principle that states that an employee should have one and only one supervisor to whom he or she is directly responsible. | |
unstructured problems: : | difficulties that involve ambiguities and information deficiencies and often occur as new or unexpected situations. | |
validity: : | proof that the relationship between a selection device and some relevant job criterion exists. | |
vertical job loading: : | see job enrichment. | |
vision: : | the ability of the leader to bind people together with an idea. | |
wholly-owned subsidiary: : | a foreign firm owned outright, or with a controlling interest, by an out-of-country firm. | |
work specialization: : | the degree to which organizational tasks are divided into separate jobs (also known as the division of labor). | |
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zero defects: : | a program that emphasizes doing it right the first time. | | brainstorming: : | an idea-generating process that encourages the development of alternatives while withholding criticism of those alternatives. | | bureaucracy: : | a form of organization based on logic, order, and legitimate use of formal authority. | | decision tree: : | a diagram that analyzes hiring, marketing, investment, equipment purchases, pricing, and similar decisions. Decision trees assign probabilities to each possible outcome and calculate payoffs for each decision path. | | delegation: : | the downward transfer of authority from a manager to a subordinate. | | |
embargo: : | a prohibition on trade in a particular area. | |
empowerment: : | giving individuals an organization autonomy. | |
expectancy theory: : | a motivational theory stating that the three factors that influence behavior are the value of the reward, the relationship of the reward to performance, and the effort required for performance | |
expert power: : | a leader's special knowledge or skills regarding the tasks performed by followers. | |
exporting: : | selling of an organization's products to a foreign broker or agent. | |
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feedforward controls: : | method used to identify and prevent defects and deviations from standards. | | grapevine: : | the informal communications network within an organization (also known as social network and informal channels). | | horizontal job loading: : | see job enlargement. | | human relations movement: : | see behavioral management theory. | | incentive pay: : | links compensation and performance by paying employees for actual results, not for seniority or hours worked. | | |
income statement: : | a report that presents the difference between an organization's income and expenses to determine whether the firm operated at a profit or loss over a specified time. | |
informal channels: : | see grapevine. | |
network structure: : | an operating process that relies on other organizations to perform critical functions on a contractual basis. | |
open system: : | a method in which an individual or organization must interact with various and constantly changing components in both the external and internal environments. | |
operational goals: : | specific, measurable results expected from first-level managers, work groups, and individuals. | |
organizational change: : | a significant change that affects an entire company. | |
organizational chart: : | a pictorial display of the official lines of authority and communication within an organization. | |
organizational climate: : | the byproduct of organizational culture; it is the barometer for determining the morale of the employees. | |
organizational culture: : | an organization's personality. | |
organizational design: : | the creation or change of an organization's structure, the configuration and interrelationships of positions and departments. | |
organizational development (OD): : | a plan that focuses on changing an entire organization by changing processes and organizational culture. | |
organizing: : | the process of establishing the orderly use of resources by assigning and coordinating tasks. | |
orientation: : | a socialization process designed to provide necessary information to new employees and welcome them into the organization. | |
performance appraisal: : | a formal, structured system designed to measure an employee's job performance against designated standards. | |
philosophy of management: : | a manager's set of personal beliefs and values about people and work. | |
plan: : | a blueprint for goal achievement that specifies the necessary resource allocations, schedules, tasks, and other actions. | |
planned change: : | the deliberate structuring of operations and behaviors in anticipation of environmental forces. | |
planning: : | the act of determining the organization's goals and defining the means for achieving them. | |
privacy laws: : | legal rights of employees regarding who has access to information about their work history and job performance. | |
procedure: : | a set of step-by-step directions that explain how activities or tasks are to be carried out. | |
process theories: : | rationales that attempt to explain how workers select behavioral actions to meet their needs and determine their choices. | |
profitability ratios: : | measurements of an organization's ability to generate profits. | |
acceptance theory of management : | principle that emphasizes the willingness of subordinates to accept those with authority to act. | |
accountability : | the answering for one's actions and accepting the consequences | |
affirmative action : | a plan that requires employers to make an extra effort to hire and promote people who belong to a protected group | |
boundary spanning: : | the process of gathering information from the external environment to identify current or likely events and determine how those events will affect the organization. | |
centralized organization: : | authority is concentrated at the top of the organization. | |
chain of command: : | a line of authority that links all persons in an organization and defines who reports to whom. | |
classical adminsitrative: : | the branch of classical management theory that emphasizes the flow of information in organizations. | |
classical management theory: : | a theory, developed during the Industrial Revolution, that proposes "one best way" to perform tasks. Classical management theory developed into two separate branches: the classical scientific school and the classical administrative school. | |
closed system: : | an organization that interacts little with its external or outside environment. | |
coercive power: : | authority to punish or recommend punishment. | |
communication: : | the exchange of ideas, messages, or information, by speech, signals, or writing. | |
contingency theory: : | this principle examines the fit between the leader and the situation and provides guidelines for managers to achieve an effective fit (also known as situational theory). | |
differentiation strategy: : | a plan whereby a company attempts to set the organization's products or services apart form those of other companies. | |
charismatic power: : | see referent power. | |
classical scientific: : | a branch of the school of classical management theory, whose emphasis is on increasing productivity and efficiency. | |
competitive advantage: : | any aspect of an organization that distinguishes it from its competitors in a positive way. | |
condition of certainty: : | situation that occurs when the decision maker has perfect knowledge of all the information needed to make a decision. | |
content theory: : | identifies physical or psychological conditions that act as stimuli for human behavior. | |
contingency planning: : | development of alternative courses of action that can be implemented if and when the original plan proves inadequate because of changing circumstances. | |
employee benefits: : | legally required or voluntary compensation provided to employees in addition to their salaries. | |
financial statements: : | reports that provide management with information to monitor financial resources. | |
flextime: : | an employment alternative that allows employees to decide, within a certain range, when to begin and end each work day. | |
formal structure: : | the hierarchical arrangement of tasks and people within an organization. | |
functional structure: : | an organizational design that groups positions into departments on the basis of the specialized activities of the business. | |
functional teams: : | work groups that perform specific organizational functions with members from several vertical levels of the hierarchy. | |
management: : | the process of administering and coordinating resources effectively, efficiently, and in an effort to achieve the goals of the organization. | |
management information systems: (MIS) : | collects, organizes, and distributes data in such a way that the information meets managers' needs. | |
mass production: : | a system used to manufacture a large number of uniform products in an assembly line. | |
means-end chain: : | the effective design of organizational goals that encourages the accomplishment of low-level goals as a way of achieving high-level goals. | |
mechanistic structure: : | a highly bureaucratic organizational method, with centralized authority, detailed rules and procedures, a clear-cut division of labor, narrow span of controls, and formal coordination. | |
mission statement : | a document that describes what an organization stands for and why it exists. | |
motion study: : | research designed to isolate the best possible method of performing a given job. | |
multinational corporations (MNC) : : | organizations operating facilities in one or more countries. | |
need theory: : | a construct of motivation based upon physical or psychological conditions that act as stimuli for human behavior. | |
nonverbal communication: : | actions, gestures, and other aspects of physical appearance that can be a powerful means of transmitting messages (also known as body language). | |
ongoing plans: : | see continuing plans. | |
operational plan: : | developed by a first level supervisor as the means to achieve operational objectives in support of tactical plans. | |
organic structure: : | a management system founded on cooperation and knowledge-based authority. | |
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organization: : | a group of individuals who work together to accomplish a common goal. | | reward power: : | the authority to reward others. | | selective perception: : | the tendency to single out for attention those aspects of a situation or person that reinforce or appear consistent with one's existing beliefs, values, or needs. | | self-fulfilling prophecy: : | a belief that a manager can, through his or her behavior, create a situation where subordinates act in ways that confirm his or her original expectations. | | |