04 Aug To understand what managers do, explain how it is necessary to study both the activities performed by managers and the purposes of their activity.

Assignment 1

Reference Source: 

Textbook:-

Management: A Practical Introduction (10th edition), by Angelo Kinicki & Denise Breaux Soignet ,Published by McGraw-Hill Education, 2 Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10121. 

Critical thinking 1:

Principles of Management

Reference: MGT490-Book-Chapter No-01 (The Exceptional Manager)

This chapter has introduced you to how Henry Mintzberg changed the perception of a manger’s role by studying how they spent their working day and classifying managerial activities into decisional, interpersonal and informational roles. This gave a new insight into the activities involved in being a manager but did not distinguish between the things that people called ‘manager’ do that contribute to the management of the organisation (such as coordination and control) from the things they do that everyone in an organisation does (such as talking to other people). In this context, the earlier contribution of Fayol in outlining the main purposes of management is considered to still be of relevance, although it provides limited understanding of how managerial jobs are affected by the environment in which managers work.

you will need to do further research beyond reading the chapter. 

Assignment Question(s):

1. To understand what managers do, explain how it is necessary to study both the activities performed by managers and the purposes of their activity. (05 Marks) (Min words 150-200)

2.   As well as variation across the levels of management (first-tier, middle and top), how would you expect the manager’s role to vary with the extent to which the organisational environment is changing, such as through new technology, changes in market demand or new forms of competition? (05 Marks) (Min words 200)

3.  Mintzberg’s study in the 1960s came up with three important findings about a manager’s routine. What are they, and are they probably still the same today? (05 Marks) (Min words 150-200)

4.   What is the potential importance of studying how managers like to spend their work time as well as how they actually allocate their work time between different activities? (05 Marks) (Min words 200)

5.  Explain how it is possible that there might be a difference between successful and effective managers in terms of how each type of manager tends to spend their time. (05 Marks) (Min words 150-200)

6.   What are the seven challenges of being a manager, and which one is the one I will probably most have to worry about during my lifetime?. (05 Marks) (Min words 150-200)