BUSINESS MANAGEMENTA1

Session 1October 30, 2014

What is management about … ?

• Game .. Homework

– What does it take to be a manager? Good manager? At what level?– refer to email and file posted in IS by Thursday Oct 2nd, 2014– Self-assessment test– Looking for core competencies of a manager inside of you

What is management about … ?

• Getting things done through people …• In an organizational setting …• Doing things now to get things done in the future …

But how?

• By planning and administering (example)– A factory … logistics dept manager … gathers info from sales dept.

about times and dates when goods are to be shipped -> learns about who has what shifts -> analyzes who is best for what trucks’ destinations (language competencies of logistics HR) -> sets up a working schedule (shifts) for employees

Getting work done …

• By communicating– How does he best communicate the schedule? (in what form? Formal?

Informal? Does he negotiate? Should he negotiate? Why/not?) – To whom? All employees in the dept? Their team leader? Why?– When? Next day? Why?

• By working together with others– knowledge, time (mother cannot stay late at work every day as she

needs to pick up her child from kinder-garden … etc.)– How do you create a supportive and dynamic team environment?

What if two workers hate each other? Do you want them to load up one truck together?

Getting work done …

• By setting a strategic path– What if the goods must be delivered by Saturday every week because

the law prohibits its transportation on Sundays? -> do you have this knowledge & understanding of this industry?

– => how do you plan the shipments? Will you not let employees stay at home on Fridays? (organizational changes)=> sales strategy => sales plans set accordingly => pricing strategy => marketing strategy …

• By being able to work with people of different cultures and backgrounds– Understanding and feeling other cultures, empathy -> employing

cheap yet educated labor from East may be insensitive and not proper

Getting work done …

• By being able to practice self-management– Equality of treatment of all subordinates regardless of race, religion,

language, etc. -> ethics

– Keeping promises -> integrity?

– Daily life and work shall be balanced for all -> would you ask subordinates to work 3 hours of overtime every day w/without adequate compensation? (lifting heavy boxed goods)

– How do you encourage people to work more efficiently in a logistics dept?

Cell-phone R&D project management example – 1 observer per group

• How much $ do we have available? E.g. 100,000 EUR?– What for?– How many people involved? Who is paid? How much? When?

• Planning & organizing a project?– What do we do ourselves? (knowledge, time, $ capacities)– What do we outsource? (knowledge, time, $ capacities)

• Time management of the project?– Deadlines? Why? -> e.g. Apple wants to present to the world a next

generation phone by a certain date– Breakdown of deadlines for individual steps – operations … ?

Cell-phone R&D project management example – 1 observer per group

• Who will work with whom? Why? How do you decide this? -> team work?

• At what pace do you plan R&D projects? How often do you plan the release of a new cell-phone? What kinds? Why?

• Who do you hire and why? Based on what criteria?

• How much of what are you willing and ready to invest in this project? Why?

Terminology – home assignment

• Organization … define

• Manager … define all items below– functional vs. general– First-line vs. middle vs. top managers

• Managing … define all items below– Planning– Organizing– Leading– Controlling– Evaluating– Taking corrective actions, changing plans, etc.