Chapter 6: Managing for Business Success

Link to Chapter 6: Managing for Business Success

Course Outcomes/Goals -

Describe the major functions of management.
Specify the skills managers need to be successful.

6.1 What Do Managers Do?

Efficiency & Effectiveness

The job of a manager is to make people more efficient and effective than they would be without them.

Your book defines management as, "The process of planning, organizing, directing (leading), and controlling resources to achieve specific goals."

6.2 Planning

Strategic Planning

“Plans are worthless, but planning is everything.” ~U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower

Inc.com has this to say about strategic planning, "Though the primary purpose of a strategic plan is to help you chart the smartest possible path to growth ... ." Top managers are creating an overall plan of action, which is carried down throughout the organization (according to our book).

We'll look at each of the steps in strategic planning and apply those towards our business plan project.

Mission Statement
Core Values
SWOT
Goals & Objectives
Tactile & Operational Plans

Mission Statement

"Our mission is to help people discover the things they love, and inspire them to go do those things in their daily lives." ~Pinterest

Why does your company exist? What purpose will your company fulfill? These are the questions a mission statement aims to answer. We'll look at this article from Inc.com which gives advice on creating mission statements and examples.

Work on a mission statement for your business plan. This will be included in the Business Idea, Description, & Vision section.

Core Values

Your book defines core values as, "... fundamental beliefs about what’s important and what is and isn’t appropriate in conducting company activities." Core values should align with the goals of the company and expectations of individual behavior. Check out this link with example core values from successful companies.

Create some core values for your business plan. This will be included in the Business Idea, Description, & Vision section.

SWOT Analysis

Where does your company fit in it's environment? We can use a SWOT analysis to identify strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats. We look at the external environment to find opportunities and threats. We look at internal factors to find strengths and weaknesses.

We will watch this short video about SWOT analysis. Here are some SWOT analysis examples.

Use Google Drawing to create a SWOT analysis for your business plan. Here is an example. This will be included in the Appendices section of your business plan.

SMART Goals & Objectives

Goals and objectives are the steps we take to meet our overall strategic plan. Goals, which can relate to all aspects of the business, are bigger and take longer to achieve (about 5 years). Objectives are short term actions we take to reach those goals.

What are some of your goals? How would we break those into objectives?

Our goals should be SMART:

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic/Relevant
Time Bound

Your book has some examples of goals and objectives that we will look at. Here are some example SMART goals. Write at least two SMART goals and objectives. These should be included in the Business Idea, Description, & Vision section.

Tactile & Operational Plans

The strategic plan needs to be carried through all levels of company management. To do this, we need to break the plan into smaller parts. First we create tactile plans (lasting maybe a year) and then break those into smaller operational plans (lasting only a week - month).

Contingency Planning & Crisis Management

"Everyone has a plan 'till they get punched in the mouth" ~Mike Tyson

Companies have to plan for the unexpected. Contingency planning is just being ready with a backup plan in case you have to make adjustments.

What if things go really bad? Some companies will have a team of people ready to handle these situations. This is what we would call crisis management.

6.3 Organizing

Collaboration

There are a lot of facts and terms from this section. We will use our book to cover this lesson. Here is the link to Ch 6.3. You will have a chance to move when we break the class into an organizational structure/chart.

Organization Chart

Use Google Drawing to create an organizational chart. You will include this in the Appendices section of your business plan.

The Assignment

Complete the exercise question number two at the end of Ch 6.3.

6.4 Directing

Leadership Styles

We will do a penny tossing activity that explores different leadership styles. After we do the activity discuss the following items with your team:

What types of leaders did you observe? How would you describe it?
What strengths and weaknesses did each leader bring to the activity?
How did the leadership style affect the group members and success?

In this activity, I will need three volunteers to be managers. I will give each manager a leadership style and they will rotate around and manage the different groups using their style. The workers are employed at The Paper Toy Company. Each group will choose an origami toy to create from this link (three groups). Our work environment would be similar to the company in this video. After we are done, we will try to identify the leadership styles and discuss which style groups preferred.

How you interact, motivate, and manage people is referred to as your leadership style. Our book describes three main leadership styles (although the activity had some others).

We will look at the three leadership styles they cover in the book. Here is a video that gives an example of each style (probably made by college students).

Which style would you prefer as an employee?

Which style is best? It depends on the situation.

What if we have new employees or a new team?
What if your team is unmotivated?
What if employees can't work independently?

Most people prefer a democratic style, but it depends on the situation.

Transformational Leadership

Transactional (rules & expectations, consequences) vs Transformational (mentor) leaders

According to your book, "In today’s organizations, in which team building and information sharing are important and projects are often collaborative in nature, transformational leadership has proven to be more effective."

The Assignment

Complete the exercise question at the end of Ch 6.4.

6.5 Controlling

Let's review what we've done as a manager so far. The last part of our management role is controlling, where we will use the Five-step Control Process as a guide.

We will discuss the chapter exercise question in class. What would the Five-step Control Process look like for your business plan's company?

6.6 Managerial Skills

What skills do we need to be a successful manager? Here are the important managerial skills covered in your book:

Technical skills (your background, education, & training)
Interpersonal skills
Conceptual skills
Communication skills
Time management skills
Pomodoro Technique
- How to Stop Procrastinating: 7 Timeless Tips #3
Decision making skills

Six-Step Approach to Problem Solving

1. ID the problem2. Why is this happening?

3. Brainstorm Solutions

4. Select best option

5. Implement decision

6. Monitor & evaluate

We will practice using the problem solving method using the example from this link.

The Assignment - SKIP 2017

Hit the web and find at least five skills (outside resource from your book) we need to be successful managers. Choose one and explain how we can develop or improve that skill. You will present this information to the class using Thinglink. Write a multiple choice question to test how well the class was paying attention. Send me the shared linked to your Thinglink.

Here is a link to Thinglink's help page.

6.7 Cases and Problems

The Assignment

Complete the Ethics Angle case Sugarcoating the News at Krispy Kreme. One of the links does not work and you will have to find an article about Scott Livengood.

Ch 6 Review

Use this link to review key terms on Quizlet (there are a few more study modes), or just use the gadget below.

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