Organizational Stakeholders

One reason for the difficulty in understanding corporate social responsibility is that man- agers must confront  the question, “Responsibility to whom?” Recall from Chapter 3 that the organization’s environment  consists of several sectors in both the task and general environment. From a social responsibility  perspective, enlightened  organizations view the internal and external environment as

5 Comments

The Ethic of Sustainability and the Natural Environment

When the first Earth Day celebration was held in 1970, most managers con- sidered environmentalists  to be  an ex- tremist fringe group and felt little need to respond to environmental concerns.39 Today environmental   issues have be- come a hot topic  among business leaders, and managers  and organizations  in all industries  are jumping on the

2 Comments

Evaluating Corporate Social Responsibility

A model for evaluating corporate social performance is presented in Exhibit 4.7. The model indicates that total corporate social responsibility  can be subdivided into four primary crite- ria: economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary responsibilities.50   These four criteria fit to- gether to form the whole of a company’s social responsiveness. Managers and organizations typically are

2 Comments

Managing Company Ethics and Social Responsibility

Many managers are concerned with improving the ethical climate and social responsive- ness of their companies. As one expert on the topic of ethics said, “Management is respon- sible for creating and sustaining conditions in which people are likely to behave themselves.”60 Managers can take active steps to ensure that the company stays on

1 Comments

Ethical Challenges in Turbulent Times

The problem of lax ethical standards in business is nothing new, but in recent years it seems to have escalated. In addition, public reaction has been swift and unforgiving. Any ethical misstep can cost a company   its reputation and hurt its profitability and performance. Within months after Martha Stewart  was charged with insider trading,

1 Comments

Goals and Plans of the firm

1. Overview  of  Goals  and  Plans Goals and plans have become general concepts in our society. A goal is a desired  future state that the organization attempts to realize.2  Goals are important because organizations exist for a purpose and goals define and state that purpose. A plan is a blueprint  for goal achievement and

2 Comments

Strategic planning

1. Planning  Types Managers use strategic, tactical, and operational  goals to direct employees and resources toward achieving specific outcomes that enable the organization  to perform efficiently and effectively. They take a number of planning  approaches, among the most popular of which are management by objectives, single-use plans, standing plans, and contingency plans. 1.1. MANAGEMENT 

2 Comments

Strategic formulation

1. Thinking Strategically Strategic management is considered a specific type of planning. Strategic planning in for-profit business organizations  typically pertains to competitive actions in the market- place. In nonprofit  organizations such as the Red Cross and the Salvation  Army, strategic planning pertains to events in the external environment. The final responsibility for strategy rests

2 Comments

Strategic Implementation and Control

1. Strategy  Implementation  and  Control The final step in the strategic management  process is implementation—how strategy is put into action. Some people argue that strategy implementation is the most difficult and im- portant part of strategic management.91  No matter how brilliant the formulated strategy, the organization will not benefit if it is not implemented

2 Comments

Types of Decisions and Problems

A decision is a choice made from available alternatives. For example, an accounting man- ager’s selection among Colin, Tasha, and Carlos for the position of junior auditor is a decision. Many people assume that making  a choice is the major part of decision making, but it is only a part. Decision making is the

Decision-Making Models

The approach  managers use to make decisions usually falls into one of three types—the classical model,  the administrative model, or the political model. The choice of model depends on the manager’s personal preference, whether  the decision is programmed or nonprogrammed, and the extent to which the decision is characterized by risk, uncertainty, or ambiguity.

1 Comments

Decision-Making Steps

Whether a decision is programmed  or nonprogrammed and regardless of managers’ choice of the classical, administrative, or political model of decision making,  six steps typically  are associated with effective  decision  processes. These steps are summarized in Exhibit 6.3. 1. RECOGNITION OF DECISION REQUIREMENT Managers confront  a decision requirement in the form of either a

2 Comments

Personal Decision Framework

Imagine  you were a manager at Tom’s of Maine, Boeing Commercial  Airplanes, a local movie theater, or the public library. How would you go about making important deci- sions that might shape the future of your department or company? So far, we have discussed a number  of factors that affect how managers make decisions.

4 Comments

Increasing Participation in Decision Making

Managers do make some decisions as individuals, but decision makers more often are part of a group.  Major decisions in the business world  rarely are made entirely  by an individual. Effective  decision making often depends on whether managers involve the right people in the right ways in helping to solve problems. One model that

1 Comments

Information Technology Has Changed Everything

The Internet, little more than a curiosity to many managers just a decade ago, now influ- ences their  lives and jobs in myriad ways. Managers at Arch Coal  use the Internet and GPS networking to monitor and manage major mining equipment. Trinchero Family Estates, producer of Sutter Hill wines,  uses an online system to

1 Comments

The Evolving World of IT

IT  changes  rapidly, and organizations  that want to stay competitive   are adopting  new technologies and approaches  to improve their operations. However,  most organizations merge new IT applications with existing operational and management information systems. 1. A NEW GENERATION OF IT The force that is fueling growth on the Internet today isn’t a bunch  of

1 Comments

Types of Information Systems

Organizations typically incorporate new and emerging tools into their existing IT systems. Most managers appreciate the value of making information readily available and easily shared with those who need it in some kind of formal, computer-based information  sys- tem. Such a system combines hardware, software, and human resources to support organi- zational information and

1 Comments

The Internet and E-Business

In recent years, most organizations have incorporated the Internet as part of their IT strategy.99  The Internet is a global collection  of computer networks linked together for the exchange of data and information.  The Internet became  accessible  as a public information and communications tool after Tim Berners-Lee,  a researcher at CERN (Centre Européan pour

Organizing the Vertical Structure

The organizing process leads to the creation of organization structure, which defines how tasks are divided  and resources deployed. Organization  structure is defined  as (1) the set of formal  tasks assigned to individuals and departments; (2) formal reporting relation- ships, including  lines of authority, decision responsibility, number of hierarchical  levels, and span of managers’

1 Comments

Departmentalization in the firm

Another fundamental characteristic of organization structure is departmentalization, which is the basis for grouping positions into departments and departments into the total organization.  Managers make choices about how to use the chain of command to group people together  to perform their work. Five approaches  to structural design reflect different uses of the chain of

1 Comments