• Home
• Module overview
• 1. The challenge of management
  • Introduction
  • 1.1 Defining management
    • 1.1.1 The art of getting things done through people
    • 1.1.2 Defining management by its functions
    • 1.1.3 Is management a profession?
  • 1.2 Management knowledge , skills and performance
    • 1.2.1 Types of managers
    • 1.2.2 Effectiveness and efficiency
    • 1.2.3 Managing the customer within
  • 1.3 The evolution of management thought
  • Conclusion

• 2. Understanding external environments

  • Introduction
  • 2.1 Putting the e xternal environment into focus
    • 2.1.1 Classifying external elements
    • 2.1.2 The changing environment
    • 2.1.3 The international dimension
  • 2.2 Relating the o rganisation to its environment
    • 2.2.1 So many issues: Which should you focus on?
    • 2.2.2 How do you acquire the relevant information?
    • 2.2.3 Clarifying the relationship between the internal and external environments
  • Conclusion

• 3. Social responsibility and ethics in management

  • Introduction
  • 3.1 Business is not value neutral: Social responsibility, obligation and responsiveness
  • 3.2 Focussing on ethics
    • 3.2.1 Why business ethics now?
    • 3.2.2 Ethical quandaries
    • 3.2.3 Approaches to ethical dilemmas
    • 3.2.4 Defining your ethics
  • Conclusion

• 4. Managerial decision making

  • Introduction
  • 4.1 Decision making and problem solving
  • 4.2 The nature of decision making as part of management
    • 4.2.1 Programmed and non-programmed decisions
    • 4.2.2 Certainty, risk and uncertainty
    • 4.2.3 Urgent vs important decisions
  • 4.3 Problem solving: making the most of opportunities
    • 4.3.1 Looking further at problem solving
    • 4.3.2 The effective decision making process
    • 4.3.3 Improving managerial problem solving: overcoming barriers
    • 4.3.4 Thinking 'outside the box' and creativity
  • 4.4 Interrelated problems
  • Conclusion

• 5. Managing strategically

  • Introduction
  • 5.1 Planning ahead
  • 5.2 Strategic management
    • 5.2.1 Some definitions
    • 5.2.2 The process of strategic management
  • Conclusion

• 6. Organisational design and structure

  • Introduction
  • 6.1 The terminology of organisational design
  • 6.2 Strategic organisational design and structure
    • 6.2.1 Types of organisational structure
    • 6.2.2 Strategic organisational design
  • 6.3 Teamwork
    • 6.3.1 The success of teamwork
  • Conclusion

• 7. Organisational culture and workforce diversity

  • Introduction
  • 7.1 Defining organisational or corporate culture
    • 7.1.1 Culture defined through its response to change
    • 7.1.2 Culture defined through the influence of the external environment
  • 7.2 Strong and weak cultures
  • 7.3 The functions of culture
  • 7.4 Creating and sustaining culture
  • 7.5 Types of culture
    • 7.5.1 Dominant culture
    • 7.5.2 Subculture
    • 7.5.3 Core values
  • 7.6 Changing culture
  • 7.7 Cultural diversity in the maritime industry
  • Conclusion

• 8. Change management

  • Introduction
  • 8.1 Dealing with change and the changing nature of change
    • 8.1.1 In what areas of the organisation can managers expect change?
    • 8.1.2 Reacting to change
  • 8.2 Key issues accelerating change
    • 8.2.1 External forces
    • 8.2.2 Internal forces
  • 8.3 Managing change
    • 8.3.1 Reactions to change
    • 8.3.2 Why employees resist change
    • 8.3.3 Emotions accompanying change
    • 8.3.4 Overcoming resistance
    • 8.3.5 Leadership and successful change
  • Conclusion

• 9. Motivating for performance

  • Introduction
  • 9.1 The nature of motivation
  • 9.2 Theories of motivation
    • 9.2.1 Do rewards really work? needs theories
    • 9.2.2 Are substantive rewards the only motivator? process theories
    • 9.2.3 Learning behaviour reinforcement theory
    • 9.2.4 Social learning theory
    • 9.2.5 Putting it all together systems theory
  • 9.3 The power of positive thinking
  • 9.4 Motivation: The implications for managers
  • Conclusion

• 10. Leadership

  • Introduction
  • 10.1 The nature of leadership
    • 10.1.1 Thinking about 'leaders' and 'leadership'
    • 10.1.2 Theories of leadership
    • 10.1.3 Refining our definition of leadership
  • 10.2 Perspectives on leadership
    • 10.2.1 Manager, leader, or both?
  • Conclusion

• 11. Teamwork

  • Introduction
  • 11.1 Work groups and group dynamics
    • 11.1.1 Work groups, work teams, taskforces, self-managing teams and team building
    • 11.1.2 High-performance teams
  • 11.2 Managing meetings and committees
  • 11.3 Group decision making
    • 11.3.1 Some advantages and disadvantages
    • 11.3.2 So, do groups make better decisions than individuals?
  • Conclusion

• 12. Managerial evaluation and control

  • Introduction
  • 12.1 Evaluation and control as a management process
    • 12.1.1 Why evaluate and control performance?
    • 12.1.2 Getting and using necessary information
  • 12.2 Levels of control
  • 12.3 Steps in the control process
  • 12.4 Assessing control systems
  • 12.5 Back to ethics
  • 12.6 Quality control systems
  • Conclusion

10.2 Perspectives on leadership

Warren Bennis of the University of Southern California noted that leaders have three basic characteristics in a 'tripod kept in some dynamic tension'. These characteristics are:

• ambition and drive (the need for power and achievement)
• competence and expertise
• a moral compass (ethics, values and integrity)

Consider this

Think about these characteristics. Can you identify these characteristics in individuals whom you consider to be effective leaders?

Dr Stephen Covey, chairman of the Covey Leadership Center , identified leaders as people who:

• promote the growth of others
  They coach, counsel and develop pride in those who rely on them, and they delegate and rely on others.
• are honest and have integrity
  They have lives integrated around a set of principles.
• habitually think in terms of 'abundance'
  They are able to see 'the full picture' and have vision.

This suggests a broader view of leadership that considers what the leader brings out in a group.

John Kotter of the Harvard Business School stated that leadership is basically a process of identifying several key factors:

• where you need to go in any situation
• the vision of what you are trying to achieve
• the strategy for getting there

.and then promoting the involvement of the relevant parties.

Horst H Schulze, president of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, raised some very important issues. He considers that teaching is the most important thing a leader can give. The effective leader sets a vision and creates a future by his or her own example, and makes the employees part of these. A leader should also teach by setting standards and promoting consensus. Schulze also mentioned that his having once been a line employee influenced his style of leadership.

Richard Branson of the Virgin Group of companies noted that inspired delegation is a critical feature of effective leadership. Effective leaders have the ability to let go of the reins when group members do not need to be tightly controlled. He also considers that it is vital to meet the staff and to know what is going on at all levels of the organisation.

Newsbreak

Portrait of a decision

You may remember the Tylenol poisoning tragedy? People who had taken Tylenol were dying and no-one knew why. James Burke, the Chief Executive Officer of Johnson & Johnson, faced one of the toughest decisions of his life. Should he pull Tylenol from the market?

The financial cost would be enormous. The legal implications could be staggering. His decision was - pull the product.

Burke attributes his action to the values underlying his company. Johnson & Johnson's credo begins: 'We believe our first responsibly is to the doctors, nurses and patients, to mothers and all others who use our products and services.' Burke is a clear example of a leader who knows his values and used them to make decisions. He also kept the long term view in focus. J & J suffered financially that year, but they came back stronger than ever with more customer trust they could have bought with millions of dollars in advertising.

Source: adapted from Heim, P and Chapman, E N (1990 ). Learning to Lead: An Action Plan for Success . USA : Crisp Publications Inc, page 48.

Genuine leaders (as opposed to individuals simply exercising power) have vision, discipline, wisdom, courage, humility; they recognise the importance of giving credit to others in the team; they are able to make decisions; they recognise the importance of others and develop friendships; they are tactful and able to inspire others to follow.

The million dollar goof - the million dollar lesson

The president of Acme Manufacturing called and asked to see Bob. Bob knows why the president called and wonders if it is time to update his resume. Bob is the manager of a new product development. For the past year he has been working on a special product. So far the company has spent more than a million dollars in the development, production, and preliminary marketing. The product has been on the market for three months and first quarter sales have just been reported. The product appears to be a total bomb with no hope of selling anywhere near its projection.

Bob entered the president's office fearing it would be the end of his career at Acme. Although he had contributed a lot to the company a million dollars is a million dollars. To speed things along, Bob told the president, 'I know why you asked to see me. You'll have my resignation by the end of the day'.

The president interrupted saying, 'Slow down. We all have to make educated guesses when making decisions. I'm sure you learned a lot from the product launch. I can't afford to lose you. We just spent over a million dollars on your education'.

Source: adapted from Heim, P and Chapman, E N (1990 ). Learning to Lead: An Action Plan for Success . USA : Crisp Publications Inc, page 55.

Consider this

What do you think was gained from this approach?

As a leader you obviously don't want to take unwarranted risks. However, it would be more damaging not to take any risks. Calculated risks are part of being a leader.

The following readings cover a range of general issues:

Reading 10.5

Onsman, Harry (2000, November/December). 'The consultants of swing'. Management Today , pages 14-18.

Blair, Gerard M (1996). 'Leadership styles'. ME96 . URL: http://www.ee.ed.ac.uk/~gerard/MENG/ME96/Documents
/Styles/styles.html (accessed 2001, 3 April). [2 pages]

Lenzner, Robert and Johnson, Stephen S (1997). 'Seeing things as they really are'. Forbes.com . URL: http://www.forbes.com/forbes/1997/0310/5905122a.html (accessed 2001, 3 April). [2 pages]

In May 1998, Tom Brown made history by writing the final chaplet of the Anatomy of Fire: Sparking a New Spirit of Enterprise . Not only was the first book of leadership written online with reader interaction, it advocates a new definition of leadership for the millennium. According to Brown, a leader:

• explores for a new ideas with the promise of positive change;
• rallies widespread enthusiasm for what he or she finds;
• secures the resources needed to convert the idea into a reality;
• fights with a steely resolve when the new idea is opposed by the status quo; and
• via all of these efforts, makes a positive contribution to society.

See http//:www.managementgeneral.com

You will find an example of the many 'chaplets' in your reader.

Reading 10.6

Brown, Tom. The Anatomy of Fire: Sparking a New Spirit of Enterprise , chaplet 4.2; 4.5. URL: http://www.managementgeneral.com/4-ebook/98_9book/199899eb.htm (accessed 2001, 3 April). [5 pages]

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