Solutions Manual for

Solutions Manual for Management 6th Asia Pacific Edition 6e John Schermerhorn, Paul Davidson, Aharon Factor, David Poole, Peter Woods, Alan Simon, Ellen McBar (All Chapters) 1 / 4

Management, 6 th Edition © John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd 2017 Chapter 1 The contemporary workplace 2 Chapter 1 The contemporary workplace

In-chapter questions

Opening case study question: Managing the fresh food people

How has the workplace changed in the past twenty years and what are the implications of the changes? Where are the trends likely to take us in the next twenty years?

Challenging retail conditions predicted for the next five years plus two major new rivals in Aldi and Costco means that the supermarket sector is more competitive than ever.Supermarkets have taken up new technologies such as self-checkouts and complex data analysis of loyalty and credit cards to attempt to attract and retain customers, as well as create efficiencies. In the section on diversity in this chapter it mentions that the past two decades have been characterised by an upward trend in all types of non-standard forms of employment. There has been an increase in casual work, temporary work, outsourcing and offshoring, the use of agencies and other labour/market intermediaries. Given the continuing need for organisations to respond quickly in the marketplace, it could be expected that these forms of flexible employment will increase.

Boxed feature questions

Australian project management goes global

Thinking about the challenges of managing in a fast-moving technology-rich multinational environment, how will the manager of tomorrow be successful? We can and should learn from the past, but what can we learn from the future? Where is it taking us?

Managers work in a technology driven environment and the pace and complexities of environment have forced managers to continuously learn and have little tolerance for those who simply sit back and tell others what they should be doing. The manager of the modern day organisation should be good at: building relationships with others to perform to the best of their ability; helping others develop their skills and competencies; and fostering teamwork and creating a work environment that is performance driven and satisfying at the same time.The future is very complex as many trends such as globalisation and technology that are emerging are urging new practices in organisations, such as higher level of people involvement and employee empowerment.

The challenge of managing across cultures

By definition, cultures are different from each other, with differing values, attitudes, feelings and behaviours. Is it possible to have an approach to management that flies over all these differences, like a one‐size‐fits‐all theory that’s infinitely adaptable?

Due to the complex environment that organisations are operating in, management has to deal with different cultures, values, attitudes and ways of conducting business. Managers and 2 / 4

Management, 6 th Edition © John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd 2017 Chapter 1 The contemporary workplace 3 corporations have to learn to be flexible and adaptable to the international scene and its needs. They must adapt their management style to suit the cultural differences that may arise.It is highly unlikely that management can adapt a one-size-fits-all theory that is infinitely adaptable due the volatility of the environment, the cultural beliefs and behaviours that each country has towards management of organisations.

First, let’s fire all the managers

How relevant are Fayol’s four management functions — planning, leading, organising and controlling — to describing what managers do and/or should do? What does he omit? Has the workplace moved on such that these functions are no longer central to what managers do?

Fayol’s four management functions — planning, leading, organising and controlling — are a general description of what managers should do in modern day organisations. Fayol’s management function omits the issues and complexities that managers face on a day-to-day basis. The modern day workplace has drastically evolved since Fayol’s management functions were established. Manager’s nowadays have to deal with external and internal issues such as the rise of globalisation, the increased use of information technology, economical issues and the rise of workforce diversity. Managers now have to be facilitators, figureheads and liaisons to ensure their performance and their employee’s performance is maximised.

Workplace motivation and culture

While admitting that different cultures give different emphasis to various work practices (such as the importance of seniority as counted in years of service to the company), do you see a common core of management tasks across cultures? Do you think generational differences are as important as cultural differences?

Managerial work by nature is dynamic and is constantly changing. Traditionally, managers are supposed to direct and lead subordinates to carry out certain tasks. Therefore it can be said that there is a common core of management tasks across cultures, however it is essential to adapt those common core tasks to the specific culture and country. Generational differences are of importance when managing an organisation; however they are not as significant as cultural differences. Cultural differences are hard to manage as there are many more components that a manager has to be aware of and deal with. Cultural differences include: religion, local culture, national culture, political and economic differences.

Critical analysis questions

• Think back to how things have changed in the past three years, in terms of the role of the

manager; at least, as you perceive it. Taking the big-picture view, what changes do you see? For example, is there greater or lesser emphasis on people against profit, or on technology against entrepreneurship? Keep these thoughts in mind as you progress through the chapter. (page 9)

High performing organisations are achieving success because they are getting extraordinary results from their employees. Current themes include respect, participation, 3 / 4

Management, 6 th Edition © John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd 2017 Chapter 1 The contemporary workplace 4 empowerment, involvement and self-management. The focus is on intellectual capital and the knowledge worker.

The economy is now globalised, closely networked and strongly influenced by changes in information technology. This has led to more complex markets for goods and services, higher levels of competition, different methods/places of production, and new labour markets.

The shift towards an information-based economy has led to a demand for knowledge workers who have computer-related skills. Low skill workers are being displaced and find it difficult to get a new job.

• Diversity management might be seen as a necessary encumbrance — something

managers do because they have to — or it may be seen as a source of competitive advantage. What do you think? Does it have your grudging acceptance, profit-oriented approval, or ethical support? What difference does this make? (page 9)

Diversity management should be seen as a source of competitive advantage. Changes in the new economy have seen a move towards valuing people in organisations and this includes valuing their differences.

• The global financial crisis provoked shareholder fury at corporate bosses taking bonuses

when their companies were appealing for government bailout funding. Is there an ethical dimension to executive remuneration, or should companies and executives just pay whatever the market will bear? (page 11)

Some organisations will always pay what the market will bear. However, to remain competitive many will need to respond to ethical and social pressures to act responsibly in all aspects of their business. The increase in competition which has arisen from globalisation means that customers now have more power and can switch to competitors if an organisation is not perceived as ethically or socially responsible.

• What is the benefit of seeing an organisation as a system of inputs, transformation

processes and outputs? What difference would this view make to you as a manager?(page 13)

Organisations are open systems that interact with their environments transforming resources (inputs) into goods and services (outputs) see Figure 1.1. Managers who are able to view the organisation as an open system recognise the impact that the environment has on the organisation, the importance of customers and the benefit of receiving feedback.

• Is the ‘core’ of management just the same, irrespective of where you work, with the

difference being the applications of management in particular organisations and environments? Why or why not? (page 20)

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