Principles of Management - week # 1

Principles of Management - week 1 - chapters 1&2

Managers and Entrepreneurs (chapter 1)

The Evolution of management thought (chapter 2)

What is management ?

Management is the process of working with and through others to achieve organizational objectives in a changing environment.

Chapter 1

Managers and Entrepreneurs

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On this chapter we have discussed & answered questions about the following issues:

- Managers of the 21st century - what confronts them comparing to the past?

- Managerial functions versus managerial roles.

- Small businees opportunities - advantages and disadvatages, myths and truths.

We have found out what are the main things that managers learned their jobs from:

- Job assignments (The school of hard knocks).

- Relationships.

- Formal training and education.

We have discussed what affects management today :

- Globalization

- The evolution of product quality

- Environmentalism

- An Ethical reawakening

- E-business on the internet.

We have answered the question - "what do managers do? " and categorized the answer into 8 different managerial functions:

1. Planning.

2. Decision Making

3. Organizing

4. Staffing

5. Communicating

6. Motivating

7. Leading

8. Controlling

We have undertood that Managerial roles according to Mintzberg theory devide into three

categories:

- Interpersonal

- Informational

- Decisional.

At the end of this chapter we have learned the concept of Bootstrapping.

The following case analysis will explain the term and bring an example of an Entrepreneur who's strategic plan is based on Bootstrapping.

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Closing case # 1 - Greg Gianforte. Summary: Greg Gianforte is known as the "Bootstrap" entrepreneur. He was the founder of the company Brightwork development that was sold to McAfee associates for more than 10 million dollars. His second company - RightNow technologies inc. -is a remarkable example of entrepreneurship : in just five years it has grown to be worth over 30 million dollars in sales. The article shows the qualities of a real entrepreneur & risk-taker as he sold his product to his clients before having it in hand. He asked the right questions : what do clients need ? and he gave the correct answers, leading his product to a success.

Question : 1- How well does Gianforte fit the entreprenuerial profile in table 1.4 ? explain. Answer : Gianforte envisioned success of a product, he marketed his product by asking his clients what they expect from the new product and promissed them it will fulfill their expectations. He exhibited high risk-taking behavior by committing himself to a product that did not exist yet, and making promisses and obligations to clients. He was highly motivated to do something creative with his time and talent for entrepreneurship - and he succeeded.

2. Question : Do you find this story inspiring? why or why not ?

Answer : I find this story very inspiring because it proves that motivation, right marketing and envision can lead to great success. It also shows that risk-taking can be profitable.

3. Question : What are the risks of selling something to customers before you have a product in hand? how can those risks be minimized? Answer: The risks in selling something that is not yet in hand are that the product will fail to stand in clients' expectations, and that the time frame will not be sufficient to have the product manufactured. Risks can be minimized by asking clients as many questions as possible and doing a thorough research before making any final commitments to clients. Motivation and hard work and great will to succeed are also great helpers in minimizing risks.

4. question : If you have a good idea for a business, but are short of capital, does the bootstrap concept motivate you to get going ? Answer : Bootstraping can definitely drive an entrepreneur to get going as the need to stand in commitments made to clients can increase motivation. Lack of money, personel and equipment force the bootstrapper to concentrate on selling and bringing money into the company.

5.Question : Which of Mintzberg's managerial roles are evident in this case ? explain.

Answer : The managerial roles that are evident in Gianfortes case are : Figurehead, Leader, Liaison, Spokesperson, Entrepreneur, Resource allocator and Negociator. Gianforte was the founder of the company, he was the man behind the idea which makes him both a leader, an entrepreneur and a figurehead. He was a negociator communicating with clients, a spokesperson transmitting info about the product to people outside the company. He was a resource allocator as he put his own fortune into the company and he also fulfilled a role of liaison serving as a link between all people involved in the project - employess and clients.

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Interesting articles and links :

Entrepreneurs reinvent the family farm

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6408023/

Some personal thoughts:

The two things that interested me the most on this chapter were management ethics and being innovative.

I have an uncle who is an international civil engineer. His company is based in Israel but he has completed projects around Europe and the United States as well. I see him as a classic example of entrepreneur. His project in Philladelphia - five highrise buildings on the delaware river - is a great success. He had an innovative idea, to build a waterfront complex of highrise buildings , a rare thing around Philly .The project sold from itself because there was a great demand for waterfront appartments in the area. This is what I call innovation...

Here's a link to the company's site and to some articles about the company and its projetcs.

http://www.bsr-eng.com/english_site.html

http://www.waterfrontsquare.com/

http://new.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=734114&fid=1124 http://www.themarker.com/eng/archive/arc_article.jhtml?

Business Ethics - that's something that really interests me. I knew very little about the Enron case when I first got to the States in Sept 2001 . I got to explore the Sarbanes-Oxley Law in detail during this class. I think President Bush did a major and important thing on the Enron case. He opened a new era. a more honest one when it comes to ethics. Senior managers should know they are not free to do whatever they want. And they will pay the price in case of a corruption or any other financial scandal that might take place in an organization.

Ethics are there so managers and employees will have a guideline to follow.

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Chapter 2

The Evolution of management thought

On this chapter we have discussed & answered questions about the following issues:

- The Six approaches to management theory :

- Universal process approach

- Operational approach

- Behavioural approach

- Systems approach

- Contingency approach

- Attributes of excellence

- Open systems versus closed systems.

- what makes an idea innovative .

We have learned about the changes that occurred in the history of management:

- Managers more sensitive to employees' needs

- promotion of production efficiency and reducing waste

- Increasing importance of quality of goods and service.

Who am I ?

My name is Shirley Friedman, I am a 32 year old Interior design student in Boston Massachusetts. I am originally from Israel and have been living in the States since September 2001. I am married and live in the suburbs of Boston. I have worked for eight years in the tourism business in Israel and have decided to do a career retraining and get a bachelor degree in Interior design. My plan is to get my Interior design certificate, continue to General business associate degree and then transfer to another school and complete my bachelor degree in Interior design. This weblog is my final project for my business elective "Principles of management".