An organization is collection of people working together with a division of labor to achieve a common purpose
Organization performance
Productivity – the quantity and quality of work performance; with resource use considered
Performance effectiveness – is an output measure of task or goal accomplishment
Performance efficiency – a measure of resource cost associated with goal accomplishment
Week 3. Who are Entrepreneurs?
An individual who notices opportunities and takes responsibilities for mobilising the resources necessary to produce new and improved goods and services.
An entrepreneur is willing to pursue opportunities in situations others view as problems or threats.
Week4. Planning process
Planning is the process of setting objectives and determining how to accomplish them.
1. Define your objectives. Identify desired outcomes or results in very specific ways.
2. Determine where you stand in relation to objectives. Evaluate current accomplishments relative to the desired results.
3. Develop premises regarding future conditions. Try to anticipate future events.
4. Analysis and choose among action alternatives. List and carefully evaluate the possible actions that may be taken.
5. Implement the plan and evaluate results. Take actions and carefully measure your process towards objectives.
Week5. Traditional organizational structures and the organizational chart
Functional structures group together people with similar skills who perform similar tasks.
Divisional structures groups together people working on the same product, in the same area, with similar customers, or involves in the same processes.
Matrix structure combines functional and divisional approaches to emphasis project or program team.
Week6. Value chain
Value chain is the specific sequence of activities that creates products and services with value for customers.
Primary activities – from inbound logistics to operations to outbound marketing and sales to after sales services. (Inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing and sales, service)
Support activities – procurement, human resource management, technology development and support, financial etc.
Week7. Culture
Diversity – describes race, gender, age and other individual differences
Multiculturalism – involves pluralism and respect for diversity
A multicultural organisation is based on pluralism and operates with respect for diversity.
Subcultures are common groups of people with similar values and beliefs based on shared work responsibilities and personal characteristics.
Trends in use of teams
Committees – a formal team designated to work on a special task on a continuing basis
Project teams and task forces – are formal teams convened for a specific purpose and expected to disband when the purpose is achieved
Cross-functional teams – bring together members from different functional departments
Employment involvement teams – meet on a regular basis to use their talents to help solve problems and achieve continuous improvement.
Quality circle – is a group of employees who periodically meet to discuss ways of improving work quality
Virtual teams – members that work together and solve problems through computer based interactions
International teams – are teams that include member from at least two different countries.
Self-managing work teams – have the authority to make decisions about how they share and complete their work.
How can communication be improved?
1. Rules for active listening:
Listen for message content. Listen for feelings. Respond to feelings. Note all cues, verbal and non-verbal. Paraphrase and restate
2. Feedback: The process of telling someone else how you feel about something that person did or said. E.g., course/teaching evaluations
3. Proxemics and space design: Interpersonal space is an important non-verbal cue.
Communication is the process of sending and receiving symbols with meanings attached.
Channel richness is the