Management. Educational aid

Situation 10. Your team includes, among others, sales managers M. Kolokolov and O. Litin. They came to the company at about the same time. And the effectiveness of their work is also approximately at the same level. M. Kolokolov completes his work without delay, according to the plan for solving the problem established by the manager, and O. Litin often stays at work longer than expected, calculating various options for solving the proposed problem. As a result, he is always late in completing his work.

Which of these employees do you think deserves a promotion? Justify your answer.

EXERCISES

Exercise 1. Create a model of a management decision using the proposed template and a similar model without it. Compare the decisions made.

A checklist to help decision makers.

The solution will be more reliable if you answer the following questions:

WHO?

Who should make the decision? Who will make the decision?

If the answer to these questions is not the same, then how to fix it? Who should I consult with regarding my decision? Who should be

involved in the decision-making process? What areas of activity will be affected by the decision?

Who needs to be informed of the decision? Who will implement the solution? How will the solution work? Who will be responsible for the results?

WHAT?

What needs to be decided? (ideal situation) What needs to be solved? (minimum acceptable position)

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What can be solved? (what can realistically be done now in order to hopefully reach the maximum, the ideal)

What information is required?

What facts do we have at our disposal? What information is missing?

What formal communications should be used? What informal communications can be used? What benefits will the solution bring?

What threatening consequences need to be taken into account? What is the possible risk?

What can interfere with the actions of management and performers?

WHERE?

Where to find the necessary people? Where can I find the missing information? What will the decision lead to for employees and managers?

WHEN?

When should, could, or can a decision be made? When should it be announced?

When should you start doing it?

HOW?

How to get information, find the right people, enlist support, ensure staff participation and assistance? How to implement a solution [13, p. 61– 63]?

Exercise 2. Try to find material and justify that management decisions are the basis for the effective work of a manager?

Exercise 3. Describe the stages of making a management decision using the example of a specific organization.

Exercise 4. Discuss the question in your subgroup. How can the personal qualities of a leader-manager influence the process of making managerial decisions?

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CASE

Case “Medex Program”

The Medex company was engaged in the development and sale in Russia and some CIS countries of computer financial programs for medical institutions. The company was founded several years ago by Oleg Vladimirovich Petrenko, a former high-ranking official of the then AllUnion Ministry of Health. Currently, the company employs about 30 analysts and programmers.

Once a month, the company's board discussed plans, problems and opportunities available to the company. The meetings were convened and conducted by Petrenko himself. The board also included: Felix Tolkachev

— marketing; Ekaterina Semina — operations; Alexey Khitin — systems development; Dmitry Borovskoy — finance and accounting; Akhmet Bagirov — systems analysis. Below is a recording of a board meeting, at which one of the issues discussed was contracts for servicing previously sold programs.

Petrenko: So, the last thing on the agenda for today’s meeting is service contracts. Dmitry, this is your question.

Borovskoy: Yes, I've looked at the software service contracts that we have with a number of our clients, and it seems to me that we are not getting a good return on capital from them. According to my calculations, it would be better to sell an updated version of our Medex software package every year than to offer contracts for their maintenance ... or, it is quite clear, we should increase the price of these contracts.

Petrenko: How much do you propose to raise the price? Borovskoy: Today we are at zero profit.

Petrenko: So what do you suggest?

Borovskoy: I think we should increase the annual service fee for Medex programs by at least 30%.

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Tolkachev: If we do this, we may lose a number of clients... maybe not those we already have, but some potential clients.

Petrenko: How many software users have service contracts with us? Tolkachev: I don't know.

Borovskoy: It seems to me about 80%.

Petrenko: What is the standard price, calculated on a percentage basis to the software package?

Tolkachev: It depends to some extent on the price of the program, but it has more to do with how often it changes.

Chitin: Maybe we shouldn't make so many program changes. Last year we made such changes for program “B”, and then the Central Heart Center changed its decision. We would be better off spending our time transitioning to Apple's new system.

Semina: It didn’t help, and Stanislav Friedman left us. He knew our programs inside and out.

Petrenko: Yes! Stanislav was a unique specialist and worker. Why don't we try to do a better job of selling Medex service contracts? Aren't Medsystem and TMS making the same changes we're making, and making them just as often? Let's let our customers know that our programs are the most advanced on the market.

Tolkachev: In one of the companies mentioned, the financial director was replaced.

Petrenko: Akhmet, we haven’t heard anything from you yet. Do you have any ideas on how to reduce the cost of service contracts?

Bagirov: I don’t have much to say, this is a marketing problem. It seems to me so... how to sell contracts?

Semina: I think we need to have more data and information. Maybe we should put this question aside until we have a better understanding of our clients' needs and the like.

Borovskoy: What exactly should we know?

Petrenko: We need to know the changes planned for next year and how much it will cost in terms of their implementation.

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Semina: Excuse me, I have to leave. I have to meet Georgievsky at 11:00.

Borowsky: Why don't we just raise the price 20% for new customers and see what happens? TMS increased its price by 35% per year.

Petrenko: What do you think, Felix?

Tolkachev: Yes, we can try to do this. However, we may lose some potential customers.

Petrenko: Okay, let's try to do this [3, p. 159].

Questions for the case:

1.How was the problem that needed to be solved during the meeting formulated (in what statements)? How do these statements relate to each other (i.e., how is one a means of resolving the other)? Is the problem being solved at the meeting structured? Justify your position.

2.What different interests did these statements serve (i.e., engage people in discussion, help avoid blame, etc.)? What was the purpose of these statements in this situation? What decision-making model was used? Give your arguments.

3.What roles did Petrenko perform as a manager during the decision-making process at the meeting? What decision-making methods did he use?

4.Under what conditions was the decision made in this situation? Why do you think so?

5.Are there any ethical considerations in making this decision? Which? Explain.

6.What decision would you make in this situation? Give a detailed explanation on this matter.

CONTROL QUESTIONS

1.What is the role of management decisions in the management process?

2.List the steps in the decision-making process.

3.What is the role of the subjective factor in making management

decisions?

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5. POWER, LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT STYLE

Power is the ability (opportunity) to influence the behavior of other people in order to subordinate them to your will.

Power allows a manager to control the actions of subordinates, direct them towards the interests of the organization, encourage employees to work more efficiently, and prevent conflicts that arise in the team. Without power there is no organization and no definite order in activity.

The main types of power are presented:

-power based on coercion — influence through fear;

-power based on reward — positive reinforcement, but resource limitations when issuing rewards.

Leadership is the ability to influence people to achieve their goals. Thanks to leadership, the manager carries out a process of stable influence on subordinates.

Such concepts as formal and informal leadership appeared. Formal leadership is usually understood as the priority influence of a certain person on a group, which is based on the leadership position of this person associated with the possession of certain resources and power. Informal leadership is understood as the subjective abilities, readiness and skills of a person to perform the functions of a leader, while group members must recognize this person as a leader.

Moreover, leadership is always formal leadership, and leadership implies informal influence. By design, the concept of “leading” presupposes the presence of an appropriate classification, an advantage over subordinates in managerial qualities and, accordingly, the presence of business authority, which, coupled with personal authority, creates excellent preconditions for informal leadership.

Leadership style is reflected by various factors, such as the way the leader behaves when encouraging subordinates to complete tasks, the extent to which the leader himself extends his authority, and the types of power he uses.

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The main leadership styles include: authoritarian, democratic and liberal.

Authoritarian management style. Basically, it consists in the fact that all powers are in the hands of the manager and he makes all decisions individually, without taking into account the opinions of the staff subordinate to him. This style can be characterized by a command method of influencing subordinates. It is necessary in critical, crisis situations, when quick and organized decision-making is required, which is difficult when making decisions at collective meetings.

Democratic management style. It assumes that the leader partially delegates some of his powers to his subordinates and decisions are made as a result of collective discussions. This style is acceptable if the enterprise is stable.

Liberal management style. This style involves management without a leader; all responsibility rests entirely with the employees themselves.

SPECIFIC SITUATIONS

An example of a specific situation. Can leadership be taught?

Solution. Leadership is the achievement of a goal as a result of a positive influence on people. Leadership is much more than just mastering a set of rules. It presupposes knowledge of people, the ability to inspire and motivate each employee.

A good leader should:

-be able to clearly set goals for subordinates. People work better if they know not only what they should do, but also why it should be done and how it relates to the overall goals of the company;

-have analytical skills;

-serve as an example for employees;

-be sociable. Success depends on the work of the entire team, so the leader must be the first among employees, accessible to contacts, interested and fair;

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- be able to empathize, always remember that you are dealing with people. Take care of the health and well-being of employees. To ensure that they feel that they are participating in an important and necessary matter [11, p. 254].

Situation 1. In the Whirlwind organization, you are the deputy head of a department and are considered a formal and informal leader in your team. But suddenly a young promising employee appears who develops innovative projects. He wants your support. You become increasingly convinced that this person is clearly striving to take your place both in the organization and in the team.

What are your actions as a leader in such a situation?

Situation 2. You are the head of the workshop. Foreman V. Sotov contacted you with a complaint about repeated violations of discipline by employee A. Basin. The problem was that he is an informal leader and undermines discipline in the brigade.

What are your actions as a shop manager? What leadership style should be used in relation to A. Basin?

Situation 3. You are the head of the “Marker” company. The accountant of your company, S. Popova, enjoys authority in the team and is an informal leader in it. Your employees prefer to express their ideas first to the chief accountant, and then to you.

What are your actions in this situation?

Situation 4. An informal leader has appeared in your department who does not entirely agree with the policy you are pursuing in the team. As a result, the department staff was divided into two parts. One supports you, the other supports the informal leader.

What do you need to do and what leadership style should you use in this situation?

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Situation 5. A young manager, V. Popov, 34 years old, came to the Voskhod company. He is well versed in the current market situation and quickly understands all the problems of the enterprise. Before his arrival, 49-year-old S. Shishov, who had worked in the company all his life and was an informal leader in the team, applied for the position of manager. Working as an employee of the enterprise, S. Shishov often sabotages the actions of the young director, thereby causing losses to the organization. But he does this in such a way that it is impossible to point to him as the culprit. The director accidentally finds out about this.

What, in your opinion, should be the actions of a leader and what leadership style should be applied in a particular situation?

Situation 6. Your organization has a friendly team. But in order to develop in a new direction, you need to hire an employee (a specialist in this field) to the department. You hire an employee, but he comes into conflict with the informal leader, beginning to “share power.” There is a threat of collapse of the team.

You are the head of an organization. What actions will you take?

Situation 7. At one of the plant sites there was a defect in the manufacture of parts. No one admitted to committing it. The foreman stated that if the culprit is not identified by the end of the shift, all site workers will be deprived of their bonus. Before the end of the shift, one of the workers admitted his guilt and was punished accordingly. However, a week later, another worker came to the foreman and stated that it was he who allowed the defect to happen that day.

How would you behave if you were a master in a similar situation?

Situation 8. Employee of the “Strela” company M.I. Vorotov knows his job well and does it in a timely and efficient manner, but at the same time he constantly makes minor mistakes that can be avoided. The boss calls him every time for an explanation, M.I. Vorotov receives a “push”,

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which temporarily makes him more attentive. After some time, the situation repeats itself again.

What would you, if you were the head of this or a similar company, do in an identical situation?

Situation 9. You are the head of a large company “Maximum”. At 9 o'clock in the morning you invited your subordinate S.T. Smirnov, who is often late for work, for a conversation. By coincidence, you were late and came to work late. The subordinate is already waiting for you.

What should a leader do in this situation?

Situation 10. Your immediate superior P. Loktev (Deputy Director for Economics) retired due to health reasons. Handing over the case to the new deputy for economics, R. Pronin, who was hired from another enterprise for this position, P. Loktev spoke unflatteringly to R. Pronin about your professional competence (which did not correspond to the real state of affairs). You found out about this by accident.

What are your actions in this situation?

EXERCISES

Exercise 1. Choosing an individual type of team leadership is one of the most important tasks for a manager. There are generally five main types of leadership:

1.Laissez faire: low level of concern for production and people. The manager does not lead, does a lot himself, achieves minimal results, sufficient only to maintain his position in the organization.

2.Warm company: high level of care for people. Striving to establish friendly relations, a pleasant atmosphere and a comfortable pace of work. The manager is not particularly interested in whether specific and sustainable results will be achieved.

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