Read the text: Organizing
Organizing is 
an important managerial function that translates strategy into a systematic structure of authority relationships and task responsibilities. Contingency organization design has grown in popularity as environmental complexity has increased. Organization charts are helpful visual aids for organizers. Representing the organization’s structural skeleton, organization charts delineate vertical hierarchy and horizontal specialization.
The idea behind contingency design is to structure the organization to fit situational demands. Consequently, contingency advocates contend that there is no one best organizational setup for all situations. Diagnosing the degree of environmental uncertainty is an important first step in contingency design. Field studies have validated the assumption that organiza tion structure should vary according to the situation. Burns and Stalker discovered that mechanistic (rigid) organizations are effective when the environment is relatively stable and that organic (flexible) organizations are best when unstable conditions prevail. Lawrence and Lorsch found that differentiation (division of labor) and integration (cooperation among specialists) increased in successful organizations as environmental complexity increased.
There are four basic departmentalization formats, each with its own combination of advantages and disadvantages. Functional departmentalization is the most common approach. The others are product-service, geographic location, and customer departmentalization. In actual practice, these pure types of departmentalization usually are combined.
Design variables available to organizers are span of control (the number of people who report directly to a manager), decentralization, line and staff, and matrix. As organizers have come to realize that situational factors dictate how many people a manager can directly supervise, the notion of ideal span of control has become obsolete. Decentralization, the delegation of decision authority to lower-level managers, has been praised as being democratic and criticized for reducing top management’s control. Strategic business foster a high degree of decentralization. Line and staff organization helps balance specialization and unity of command. Functional authority serves to make staff organization more organic by giving staff specialists temporary and limited line authority. Matrix organizations are highly organic because they combine vertical and horizontal lines of authority to achieve coordinated control over complex projects.
Delegation of authority, although generally resisted for a variety of reasons, is crucial to decentralization. Effective delegation permit managers to tackle higher-priority duties while helping train and develop lower-level managers. Although delegation varies in degree, it never means abdicating primary responsibility.
I. Reading Exercises:
Exercise 1. Read and memorize using a dictionary:
| environmental complexity, contingency, relationships, responsibilities, advantage, differentiation, temporary, staff, rigid, flexible, authority, stable |
Exercise 2. Answer the questions:
1) Why is organizing an important managerial function?
2) What is the idea behind contingency design?
3) What did Burns and Stalker discover?
4) What are design variables available to organizers?
Exercise 3. Match the left part with the right:
| 1. Decentralization, the delegation of decision authority to lower-level managers, has been praised | a) as environmental complexity has increased. |
| 2. Contingency organization design has grown in popularity | b) by giving staff specialists temporary and limited line authority |
| 3. Functional authority serves to make staff organization more organic | c) each with its own combination of advantages and disadvantages. |
| 4. There are four basic departmentalization formats, | d) as being democratic and criticized for reducing top management’s control. |
Exercise 4. Open brackets choosing the right words:
As organizers have come to (deny/realize) that situational factors dictate how many people a manager can directly supervise, the notion of ideal span of control has (become/combined) obsolete.
The speaking module
II. Speaking Exercises:
Exercise 1. Describe o rganization charts ; contingency design, decentralization, matrix organization, line and staff organization using the suggested words as in example:
| organization charts helpful, structural, horizontal, hierarchy, visual, skeleton, structural, delineate example: Organization charts are helpful visual aids for organizers. Representing the organization’s structural skeleton, organization charts delineate vertical hierarchy and horizontal specialization. |
| contingency design demands, situations, uncertainty, to fit, setup, situational, all, environmental |
| decentralization democratic, reducing, authority, delegation, praised, lower-level managers, control |
| matrix organization organic, achieve, authority, horizontal, coordinated, combine, vertical, projects, because |
| line and staff organization balance, command, functional, temporary, line, by giving, unity, staff, serves |
Exercise 2. Ask questions to the given answers:
1) Question:
Answer: There are four basic departmentalization formats, each with its own combination of advantages and disadvantages.
2) Question:
Answer: Strategic business foster a high degree of decentralization.
3) Question:
Answer: Diagnosing the degree of environmental uncertainty is an important first step in contingency design.
The writing module
III. Writing exercises:
Exercise 1. Complete the sentences with the suggested words: step, advocates, uncertainty,
fit, should
The idea behind contingency design is to structure the organization to _____ situational demands. Consequently, contingency ______ contend that there is no one best organizational setup for all situations. Diagnosing the degree of environmental ______ is an important first _____ in contingency design. Field studies have validated the assumption that organiza tion structure _______ vary according to the situation.
Exercise 2. Compose a story on one of the topics (up to 100 words):
“ Organizing is an important managerial function”
“Basic departmentalization formats”
“ Design variables available to organizers”
Lesson 5 The reading module
Read the text: Strategic management
Strategic management sets the stage for virtually all managerial activity. Managers at all levels need to think strategically and be familiar with the strategic management process for three reasons: farsightedness is encour aged, the rationale behind top-level decisions becomes more apparent, and strategy formulation and implementation are more decentralized today. Strategic management is defined as the ongoing process of ensuring a competitively superior fit between the organization and its ever-changing environment. Strategic management effectively merges strategic planning, implementation, and control.
Strategic thinking, the ability to look ahead and spot key organization/ environment interdependencies, is necessary for successful strategic man agreement and planning. Three tools that can help managers think strate gically are synergy (the 2 +2 =5 effect), product life cycles that trace the life of a product through its introduction, growth, maturity, and decline stages and Porter's three generic strategies. Porter's three strategies are overall cost leadership, differentiation, and focus.
The strategic management process consists of four major steps: (1) formulation of grand strategy, (2) formulation of strategic plans, (3) implementation of strategic plans, and (4) strategic control. Ongoing evaluation after each of these steps and corrective action based on feedback help keep the strategic management process on track. Strategists formulate the organization’s grand strategy by conducting a situational analysis and identifying the driving forces. Results-oriented strategic plans that specify what, when, and how are then formulated and translated downward into more specific and shorter-term intermediate and operational plans. Problems encountered along the way should be detected by the strategic control or by ongoing evaluation and subjected to corrective action.
Event outcome, event timing, and time series forecasts help strategic planners anticipate and prepare for future environmental circumstances. Event outcome forecasts are used when strategists want to predict the outcome of a highly probable future event. Event timing forecasts predict when, if ever, a given event will occur. Time series forecasts seek to determine future values in a sequence of values recorded at fixed intervals. Popular forecasting techniques among today’s managers are informed judgment, surveys, and trend analysis.
I. Reading Exercises:
Exercise 1. Read and memorize using a dictionary:
| farsightedness, rationale, implementation, synergy, growth, maturity, decline stages, leadership, feedback, forecasting, merge, ongoing process, differentiation |
Exercise 2. Answer the questions:
1) Why should managers at all levels need to think strategically and be familiar with the strategic management process?
2) What is strategic thinking?
3) What tools can help managers?
4) What is ongoing evaluation based on?
Exercise 3. Match the left part with the right:
| 1. Strategic thinking | a) are translated downward into more specific operational plans |
| 2. Results-oriented strategic plans | b) is necessary for successful strategic man agement and planning. |
| 3. Strategic management effectively | c) are more decentralized today. |
| 4. Strategy formulation and implementation | d) merges strategic planning, implementation, and control. |
Exercise 4. Open brackets choosing the right words:
Problems (predicted/encountered) along the way should be detected by the strategic control or by ongoing evaluation and (subjected/implemented) to corrective action.
The speaking module
II. Speaking Exercises:
Exercise 1. Describe strategic management, strategic thinking, result-oriented strategic plans, time series forecasts, event timing forecasts
using the suggested words and expressions as in example:
| strategic management ensuring, ongoing, environment, competitively, fit, ever-changing, implementation example: Strategic management is defined as the ongoing process of ensuring a competitively superior fit between the organization and its ever-changing environment. Strategic management effectively merges strategic planning, implementation, and control. |
| strategic thinking interdependencies, planning, ability, synergy, cycles, tools, environment, look ahead |
| result-oriented strategic plans downward, when, operational, translated, what, shorter-terms, how, intermediate |
| time series forecasts values, intervals, determine, sequence, fixed, seek, future, at |
| event timing forecasts occur, event, given, predict, if ever, will |
Exercise 2. Ask questions to the given answers:
1) Question:
Answer: Strategic management effectively merges strategic planning, implementation, and control.
2) Question:
Answer: Popular forecasting techniques among today’s managers are informed judgment, surveys, and trend analysis.
3) Question:
Answer: Event outcome, event timing, and time series forecasts help strategic planners anticipate and prepare for future environmental circumstances.
The writig module
III. Writing exercises:
Exercise 1. Complete the sentence with the suggested words:
Дата: 2019-07-25, просмотров: 244.
