Text 4. Job Design

Different types of jobs can involve very different activities. A job as a buyer for Macy's, the New York-based department store chain, may involve keeping in contact with various suppliers in a certain specialty area (such as shoes), pre­viewing new offerings, developing sources for in-house brands, and studying trends in consumer tastes. In contrast, the job of a salesperson may include learning about new items in certain departments, keeping merchandise neatly arranged, helping customers, and ringing up sales at the register. The differing activities of the buyer and the salesperson reflect work specialization, the de­gree to which the work necessary to achieve organizational goals is broken down into various jobs. Without some specialization, it would be difficult for most organizations to function, simply because it is usually impossible for every orga­nization member to have the entire range of skills necessary to run an effective organization. Most of us have probably experienced the frustration of attempt­ing to make a purchase only to find that the salesperson filling in for someone else cannot answer our questions about the products we are considering.

On the other hand, even jobs with similar titles can differ substantially in the activities performed. For example, a job as an administrative assistant may include typing, filing, and photocopying, or it could involve such activities as coordinating meetings and travel, investigating trouble spots, and making decisions about a certain range of issues. What is included in a given job depends on job design, the specification of task activities associated with a particular job.

Job design is important to the organizing function for two major reasons. For one thing, task activities need to be grouped in reasonably logical ways; otherwise, it may be very difficult for organization members to function efficiently. For another, the way that jobs are configured has an important influence on employee motivation to perform well. Thus managers need to consider both efficiency and motivational issues in designing jobs that will facilitate effective performance.

Unit 4. Management Functions and Management Skills

1. Read text 1. Text 1. Strategic Management

Strategic management is a process through which managers formulate and implement strategies geared to optimizing strategic goal achievement. One reason for the importance of the process is that it helps organizations identify and develop a competitive advantage, a significant edge over the competition in dealing with competitive forces. Many organizations develop strategies at three different levels: corporate, business, and functional. Corporate-level strategy addresses what businesses the organization will operate, how the strategies of those businesses will be coordinated to strengthen the organization's competitive position, and how resources will be allocated among the businesses. Business-level strategy concentrates on the best means of competing within a particular business while also supporting the corporate-level strategy. Functional-level strategy focuses on action plans for managing a particular functional area within a business in a way that supports the business-level strategy.

The part of the strategic management process that includes identifying the mission and strategic goals, conducting competitive analysis, and developing specific strategies is often referred to as strategy formulation. The part of the strategic management process that focuses on carrying out strategic plans and maintaining control over how those plans are carried out is known as strategy implementation. The three major strategic management modes, which address the issue of who has the major influence in the strategic management process and how the process is conducted, are entrepreneurial, adaptive, and planning. Each mode can have a positive influence on innovation, depending on how it is used.

Before attempting to devise an effective strategy, managers need to make an assessment of both the environmental and the organizational factors that influence an organization's ability to compete effectively. One general method is SWOT analysis, which involves assessing organizational strengths (S) and weaknesses (W), as well as environmental opportunities (O) and threats (T). Porter's five competitive forces model helps analyze the nature and intensity of competition in a given industry in terms of five major forces: rivalry, bargaining power of customers, bargaining power of suppliers, threat of new entrants, and threat of substitute products or services. A common aid in assessing internal organizational strengths and weaknesses is the functional audit.

Corporate strategy development generally involves selecting a grand strategy and using portfolio strategy approaches to determine the various businesses that will make up the organization. The three basic types of grand strategies are growth (which includes concentration, vertical integration, and diversification), stability, and defensive (which includes harvest, turnaround, divestiture, bankruptcy, and liquidation). Three of the most frequently used portfolio approaches are the BCG growth-share matrix, the GE business screen, and the product/market evolution matrix.

At the business level, use of Porter's competitive strategies, which include cost leadership, differentiation, and focus strategies, constitutes the best-known approach. Functional-level strategies support the basic thrust of strategy at the business level and help specify major ways that functional areas can be used to bolster the business-level strategy.

In carrying out strategic plans during strategy implementation, managers need to consider major internal aspects of the organization that may need to be synchronized. Such aspects include technology, human resources, reward systems, decision processes, and structure. Strategy implementation also includes maintaining strategic control; this involves monitoring critical environmental factors that could affect the viability of strategic plans, assessing the effects of organizational strategic actions, and ensuring that strategic plans are implemented as intended.