People Organisations and Management- Assessment Questions
“HR1003 People, Organizations and Management” “Assessment 1 2008/2009 Semester B” Date: 20th March 2009 1. “Provide a brief definition of the concept of an organization. ” An organisation is a social arrangement, construct, a body or unit composed of two or more persons to achieve a specific objective on a relatively continuous basis by means of planned and coordinated activities. People interact with each other in a particular way and form relationships with suppliers, customers, clients and the community.
The objectives involve use of human resources and inanimate resources in order to accomplish the aims of an organisation and provide satisfaction for its people. 2. “Detail the principal distinctions between manufacturing and service organizations. ” • In manufacturing organisation, the goods can be serviced while in service organisation goods can not be serviced. • In manufacturing goods can be transported to the point of sale while in service organisation it is the transportation of information or the service provider. In manufacturing few producers deal with customer whereas in service most producers deal with customers • The producer/manufacturing has more chances of replacing damaged goods than the service organisation, replacement is difficult. • In manufacturing goods can be stored while in service organisation services can not be stored, otherwise they become perishable resulting in waste. 3. “If you had to provide a brief but accurate definition of the concept of work to an alien from another planet, what would you tell them? ” I would describe work as a complex entity, which comes in different forms.
People’s concept of work is different and their manner of approach is different. The objective of work is satisfaction; because people want to satisfy their interest which can be materially or physically, these include food, money, rent and mortgage in exchange for labour. Some work for moral obligation, some work to achieve goals, some to exert their effort and some for psychological fulfilment. 4. “Describe how we understand the work of a manager to differ from that of a supervisor. ” Manager’s work is about planning that is making developments in advance like the annual budget.
Organising is focusing on what resources are needed to achieve the goals. Leading is getting employees to do what is required of them; managers should provide a path to get things done. Controlling is checking if measures are being taken while delegation is the assigning of work for division of labour. Managers are the figurehead of the organisation, they give authority and status while supervisor’s role is to provide on-going guidance, be mentors of the job, be advocates for the organisation and advocates for employees. 5. Give two ways in which the political environment can impact upon how an organization operates. ” • Government ownership- changes in government results in changes in policy and attitudes towards foreign business. Organisations operate at the discretion of the government concerned. The government can encourage operation by offering opportunities for investment or can even discourage investment. A government can preserve certain sectors of the foreign market for enterprise or state trade. The stability of the government plays a part in the organisation’s operation. Trade policy- these include instruments like tariffs, quotas, voluntary export restrains and export subsidies. It imposes large burdens on the society. Trade policy is a device for income transfer to different groups and it is the designed by that country so as to yield pressure from groups of interest. 6. “Give two examples of how the nature of work was affected by the so-called Industrial Revolution. ” • The way people relate themselves to their jobs has brought a social change • Work that was hand-made is now machine made and is classified as a technological change . “Explain what Goldthorpe et al (1968) meant by their classification of an ‘instrumental’ orientation to work. ” Goldthorpe meant that work serves as a means in directing people’s choices; it is a principle that helps people makes sense of their lives. In reality an instrument gives direction and taste to music. 8. “What would you expect to happen to the wage rates of a particular occupation for whose services demand increased in the labour market? ” The wage rates will automatically increase in that particular occupation because the higher the demand the higher the profit margins.
The employee will receive bonuses or incentives due to demand situation. 9. “What do we mean when we categorise a particular worker as having a ‘profession’? ” It means the particular worker belongs to a disciplined group or body of people in a learned occupation, adheres to ethical standards, have special knowledge which is appreciated by the public. The list of such professional disciplines are; medicine, law, dentistry, social work and accountants. 10. “What is meant by the term ‘hierarchy’ when applied to organizations? ”
Hierarchy is a representation of the nature of an organisational design composed of structure. Hierarchy indicates the area where power and influence lie, its nature and its extent. The structure indicates span of control, the areas of responsibility, accountability, demand and reporting in an organisation. 11. “Explain the term ‘horizontal division of labour’. ” The horizontal division of labour involves grouping the basic tasks that must be performed into jobs and then into departments so as to achieve goals. Various issues underlie the horizontal division of labour.
The horizontal division of labour strongly affects job design and it has profound implications for the degree of coordination necessary. Differentiation which is the predisposition for managers in separate functions, goals differ, time spans, and interpersonal styles. A good illustration is the till- points in ASDA or Morrison’s. 12. “In a recent survey by the Work Foundation, 2 million workers expressed a preference to doing their work at home rather than in the office or factory. Give two plausible reasons to why you think this is. • Increases one’s efficiency as there is less obstruction and destruction. It is your choice to create a workable environment at your own home than in the office. Being in your own home you don’t need to waste time travelling to your place of work but you can start your work immediately. • Its cheaper in the sense of travelling costs and cost of childcare to those with children. 13. “Explain the term ‘social status’ as relates to work and occupations. ” It is the position or reflection of the rank in which an employee occupies in the organization of a society, reinforced by perceptions of excitement.
The social position of work and occupation may change as you grow. In the early years of occupation the social status is unstable as you are discovering the world, then it stabilises as you grow older. 14. “What do we mean by the term ‘multi-tasking’? ” It is the performance or ability of executing more than one task at a time; this is most common with office workers or students. Multi-tasking is considered more efficient and effective than single tasking in terms of time management. 15. “Give two characteristics of a bureaucracy. ” The management in that organisation goes by set rules or has a company manual. • The hierarchy and levels of authority flows from high to low, where senior offices supervise the small offices 16. “Give two characteristics of FW Taylor’s concept of scientific management. ” • Control- management specifies in detail how work is carried out. • Efficiency- both management and workers must work together to ensure work is done effectively. 17. “Briefly describe a scenario in every day working life where Taylor’s ideas are in evidence (e. . a particular organization you may have observed, worked for or been a customer of). ” I have worked for McDonald fast foods in 2004 and can evidence that Taylor’s ideas are still functional, both management and staff work together to ensure work is done effectively. There is efficiency in delivery of service. The moment a customer places an order at one end of the window, the other is producing the order and is reflected on the system and by the time the customer reaches the collection point, the order is ready and delivered to the customer. 18. Explain why Henry Ford’s organization of his motor company’s production process in the early years of the 20th century was regarded as being so radical. ” The job in motor industry had no team work and no multi-tasking. Encouraged individualism, no motivation as workers aim to manufacture a specific part of a car and increases fatigue. Henry’s process was radical because he advised system of mass production by use of semi-skilled workers. He affected the market of other cars by economies of scale, cars were allowed to be produced cheaply. The only motivational element was money.
Henry Ford’s process is considered radical as it steps to decentralisation. There is limited division of work and crunches on autonomy. 19. “Describe two ways in which ‘Human Relations’ theories of organizational behaviour differ from ‘Classical’ theories (e. g. scientific management/’Taylisom’, bureaucracy, Fordism etc. ). ” • Human relations theories value the interaction and friendship of workers while in Classical theories there is individualism and workers affiliation is only driven by rewards, there is no conflict between man and organisation. Human relations theories are non-rational in terms of job design while the classical (Taylors) theory focuses on specialisation of tasks, measurability and accountability. 20. “Explain the notion of ‘discretion’ in terms of how it applies to our understanding of the concept of ‘skill’. ” Discretion is the extent to which a worker can exercise decision making power over their work. Rolfe considers that this is a key element of skill in terms of the degree of control exercised over a work situation. 21. “Provide a brief explanation of the term ‘physiological needs’ as used by Maslow in his ‘hierarchy of needs. According to Maslow physiological needs are homeostatic and appetite drives, which indicate a lack in the body. These are thirst (water), shelter, survival and food. Maslow says without these physiological needs, all other needs are non-existing like happiness, love, security and self actualisation. Physiological needs give drive to the other needs in the hierarchy of needs. Without them you lose consciousness. Life is about eating, shelter and biological survival. After satisfying the physiological, higher needs emerge. 22. “How might managers satisfy ‘affiliation’ (or ‘social’) needs in their workforce? Team building- employees need a chance for communicating and interacting with other workers, they build up a harmonious relationship and feel that sense of belonging, friendship and affection among one another. Managers can introduce professional work groups where professionals meet and associate. Respect- the managers have to honour the expectation of their employees as per job offer. Employees need to feel valued and need to see their promises fulfilled. In an organisation, individual approval is more important than appreciation. 23. Provide a brief explanation of the difference between extrinsic and intrinsic rewards as discussed in the motivation literature. ” Extrinsic reward is influence derived from outside factors, it is the actual reward which is tangible like money or a prize as a motivation tool, while intrinsic is informative and intangible rewards like pay, status and good results. Intrinsic reward is achievable after performance to an end, it is person focused than task. Intrinsic is appetitive and makes you feel the push to finish. 24. “Name two elements of the ‘job characteristics model’ of motivation. • Autonomy- having the responsibility and control to determine your outcome. Autonomy can be high or low. High autonomy is whereby you have enough control to judge your performance or find alternative means to undertake a job; a telephone installer is a good illustration. Low autonomy is whereby you have no freedom to find alternative ways of doing your job but instead you have to follow a specified procedure • Task- significance – the extent to which a job makes significant impact on people inside or outside the organisation. 25. Describe the concept of ‘feedback’ as used in the ‘job characteristics model’ of motivation. ” Job feedback- is the extent to which job activities outcome in direct and clear information on how effective the work has been. Having the knowledge and skill to check effectiveness. An electronics worker of radios is a good example. He assembles a radio and after the job he tests the operation, such a worker has high feedback. An electronics worker who after completion refers the work to an inspector for approval is regarded as having low feedback. END OF PAPER
