Principles and practice of management

Posted on November 13, 2014 by admin

Length: The total length of essay -type questions should not exceed
2,000 words. Those exceeding the upper word limit will be
strictly penalized .
Important note
You must use word processing software (such as Microsoft Word) to prepare the
TMAs, and submit the TMAs via the Online Learning Environment (OLE). All
assignments must be uploaded to the OLE by the due date.
Failure to upload a TMA in the required format to the OLE may result in the score
of the TMA being adjusted to zero.
Question 1 (20 marks)
For each of the following ten sub-questions, select the best answer. Each
correct answer is worth 2 marks.
1 The candy market in Asia has grown recently as more Asians imitate
the American lifestyle, and Hershey has decided that to grow it must
start selling to the Asian markets. This decision was part of which
management function?
A planning
B organizing
C leading
D controlling
2 The marketing manager of Interstate Bakeries was asked to meet with
the organization’s research and development department to explain
why the company needed to change its 25 -year -old package design
for Twinkies. The marketing manager took on an interpersonal role
as:
A liaison
B disseminator
C disturbance handler
D figurehead

2 MGT B240 Principles and Practices of Management
3 Which of the following would be a part of an organization’s specific
environm ent?
A the technology it uses to make its product
B new laws controlling its product’s exportation
C the economy in which it operates
D its competitors
4 The __________ is the set of key values, beliefs, and attitudes shared
by organizational members.
A in dustry code of ethics
B internal environment
C organizational culture
D organizational strategy
5 Doug has a low-paying job for a telecommunications company. Every
day when he goes home from work, Doug puts a headset, a stapler, or
something similar in h is lunch box and takes it with him. Doug sees
nothing wrong with his behavior since he feels inadequately paid. In
terms of the stages of moral development, Doug is operating at which
level?
A post conventional
B legally mandated
C preconventional
D none of the above
6 Which of the following is a recommendation for how managers can
model and encourage ethical behavior in employees?
A use resources only for company business
B handle information in a confidential and honest manner
C set reasonable rather tha n unreasonable goals
D all of the above
7 The ________ perspective is that management’s social responsibility
goes beyond making profits to include protecting and improving
society’s welfare.
A socio-cultural
B socio-economic
C socio-legal
D socio-political

Assignment File    3
8 Neither Chile nor Peru has a mass-market café culture, but this fact
has not stopped Starbucks from trying to determine what can be done
to make its coffee houses successful in those markets. By recognizing
that people in these two South Ame rican countries do not drink
coffee as people in the United States do and that it needs to change
this habit, Starbucks has begun a __________ process with problem
identification.
A rational decision -making
B trend analysis
C satisficing
D selection of o ptimal solutions
9 Japanese -based Bandai, the world’s third-biggest toymaker, plans to
acquire several smaller companies in an effort to knock Mattel out of
its first place in the industry. Due to _____, it will not have access to
all of the information it would need to make a 100% satisfactory
selection of the toy manufacturers it needs to acquire to reach its
goal.
A bounded rationality
B satisficing standards
C resource maximization barriers
D synergistic issues
10 Darren Zhang of the University Career Center received word of a job
opportunity from a marketing consulting firm, and he sent the e -mail
on to all marketing majors. Darren is playing a(n) __________ role.
A interpersonal
B technical
C informational
D liaison
Question 2   (20 marks)
a   You have studied and understood well the contingency approach to
management. However, your boss, who has a background in
engineering, is not so convinced about the usefulness of this
approach. How can an approach in which we say ‘it depends on the
situatio n’ be useful to managers? Explain.    (10 marks)
b Explain, with illustrations based on an organization which is familiar
to you, the four

factors in an organization’s specific environment.
(10 marks)

4    MGT B240 Principles and Practices of Management
Question 3   (30 marks)
a   Social responsibility was hardly thought of in the old days. A
company ’ s most important goal was to maximize profit for its
shareholders. Today, for -profit enterprises generally make a point of
‘ putting something back’ into society as well as taking something
out. Not everyone, however, agree with these new priorities. Identify
and explain f ive arguments in favor of social responsibility and five
arguments against social responsibility. (15 marks)
b Rationality, bounded rationality and intuition are among the
management decision-making approaches. Comment whether
intuition is a valid approach to making decisions in organizations.
Why or why not? How might intuition be combined with a rational
decision approach?   ( 15 marks)
Question 4 (30 marks)
Read the following case and answer the questions that follow.
Case: Global Stumble
It’s not always easy to do business globally, as executives at
Japanese brokerage firm Nomura Holdings Inc. are discovering.
Nomura acquired Lehman’s international operations in late 2008
after Lehman’s parent company sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy
protection, an action that added about 8,000 non-Japanese
workers. For Nomura, the time seemed right to strengthen its
global expansion strategy. However, since the acquisition,
cultural and business differences between the two organizations
have been a major stumbling block. Although blending two
diverse cultures requires intentional efforts when different
organizations merge or are acquired, it’s particularly challenging
when the key assets in the cross -border acquisitio n are the people
employed by the organization being acquired.
Workplace tensions arose over executive compensation, how
quickly decisions were made, and how women were treated. For
instance, during Nomura’s initial training session for new hires,
the men a nd women were separated. The women – many of
whom had earned prestigious degrees from the likes of Harvard –
were taught how to wear their hair, serve tea, and choose their
clothing according to the season. The company’s dress code was
strictly interpreted for women, also. Women from Lehman were
told to remove highlights from their hair, to wear sleeves no
shorter than mid -bicep, and to avoid brightly colored clothing.
Several women were sent home from the trading floor for
dressing ‘inappropriately.’ One said, ‘ I was sent home for
wearing a short-sleeve dress, even though I was wearing a
jacket.’ A Nomura spokesperson said, ‘ The dress code is
displayed on the company’s intranet and is intended to ensure
that clients and colle agues don’t feel uncomfortable. ’
Assignment File    5
Lehman bankers also said they found the process for getting
approval on deals was ‘ slower and more difficult than it was at
Lehman.’    Also, at Lehman, clients were categorized, in large
part, by the fees they paid. At Nomura, more emphasis was
placed on other factors, such as the length of the relationship. The
bankers at Nomura said that ‘ their new colleagues were too
willing to dump loyal clients for a quick profit. ’
In its defense, Nomura has tried to blend the two cultures. In
offices in Europe and in Asia outside of Japan, there’s a mix of
nationalities. Also, the company has promoted a handful of non-Japanese employees to high-ranking positions. ‘ To reduce the
Tokyo-centric nature of the company, Hiromi Yamaji, head of
global investment banking, moved to London, and Naoki
Matsuba, global head of equities, moved to New York. ’ Until
March 2010, Nomura’s executive committee was all Japanese
men. However, in an attempt to make the company more globally
oriented, an ex -Lehman executive and foreigner, Jasjit ‘ Jesse’
Bhattal, a native of India, was promoted to the committee.
Nomura’s deputy president and chief operating officer, Takumi
Shibata, said, ‘ When your business is global, management needs
to be global. ’
Required:
a   What obvious cultural differences between Nomura and Lehman do
you notice in this situation? Explain.   (10 marks)
b W hat global attitude do you think characterizes Nomura? Be specific
in your description. Do you see any evidence of that changing?
Explain.    (10 marks)
c   Do some cultural research on Japan and the United States using the
Hofstede’ s five dimensions of national culture. C ompare those
cultural characteristics. What similarities and differences exist? How
might these cultural differences be affecting the situation at Nomura?
(10 marks)
Source of case and questions: Stephen P. Robbins and   Mary Coulter (2012)
Management, 11th edition, NJ: Prentice Hall, 121 .