Midterm Mana Essay - Understanding Contingency Thinking and Management môn Principles of Management | Trường Đại học Quốc tế, Đại học Quốc gia Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh

1. Define contingency thinking and give an example of how it might apply to management
Acontingencytheoryisanorganizationaltheorythatclaimsthatthereisnobestwaytoorganizea
corporation,  to  lead  a  company,  or  to  make  decisions.  ...  Instead,  the  optimal  course  of  action
iscontingent(dependent)  upon  the  internal  and  external  situation. In  other  words,  the  way
youmanageshouldchangedependingonthecircumstances.
2. Explain why the external environment is so important in the open-systems view of organizations
Theexternalenvironmentincludesawidevarietyofneedsandinfluencesthatcanaffecttheorganization,but
whichtheorganizationcannotdirectlycontrol.Influencescan be political,economic,ecological,societaland
technological  in  nature.  A  highly effective  organization  is  regularly  exchanging  feedback  with its  external
environment–itisanopensystem.Healthyorganizationsregularlytrytounderstandtheirenvironmentsthrough
useofenvironmentalscanning,marketresearchandevaluations.Theseorganizationsoftentrytoinfluencetheir
externalenvironment,aswell,forexample,throughuseofpublicrelations,advertisingandpromotions,lobbying
andadvocacy,andeducatingindustryandlocalleaders.
3. Who and/or what should be considered as key stakeholders by a business executive when
mapping the task environment for his/her organization
When it comes toorganizational  stakeholders, the list should always begin with customers and suppliersto
establish  the  output/input  players  in  the  value  chain.  Employees  should  be  included  as  well  as
shareholders/investorstoidentifytheinterestsofthe"producers"and the"owners."Giventhesignificanceof
sustainability,itisimportanttoincludesocietyatlargeandfuturegenerationsinthestakeholdermap;itisalso
important  to  include  the  local  communities  in  which  the  organization  operates.  Beyond  these  basic  map
components,  the  stakeholders  for  any  given  organization  will  include  a  broad  mix  of  people,  groups,  and
organizationsfromregulatorstoactivistorganizationstogovernmentagenciesandmore.
4. Why do host countries sometimes complain about how global corporations operate within their borders ?
The potential drawbacks of MNCs on host countries include:
-Domesticbusinesses maynot beabletocompete withMNCsand somewillfail
-  MNCs  may  not  feel  that  they  need  to  meet  the  host  country
expectationsforactingethicallyand/orinasocially-responsibleway
-MNCsmaybeaccusedofimposingtheircultureonthehostcountry,
perhapsattheexpenseoftherichnessoflocalculture.
-  Might  MNCs  reduce  cultural  diversity  around  the  world  as  they
continue  to  expand,  particularly  into  less  developed  or  developing countries?
- ProfitsearnedbyMNCsmayberemittedbacktotheMNC'sbase
countryratherthanreinvestedinthehosteconomy.
-  MNCs  may  make  use  oftransfer  pricingand  othertax
avoidancemeasurestosignificantreducetheprofitsonwhichtheypaytaxtothegovernmentinthehostcountry
5. Why is the power-distance dimension of national
culture important in management ?
Thisdimensiondealswiththefactthatallindividualsinsocietiesare
not  equal  –  it  expresses  the  attitude  of  the  culture  towards  these
inequalities amongstus. Power Distance is defined asthe extent to
which the less powerful members of institutions and organisations
within a country expect and accept that power is distributed
unequally.(nóichungralàởnhữngnềnvănhóamàquyềnlựclàthứquyếtđịnh,nhưVNthìlớntuổihơncótiếngnóihơn-sếplớntuổicóuyhơnsếpnhỏtuổi-haynhữngngười
cóuyquyềnsẽđượcquyếtđịnhnhiềuvấnđềtrongcôngtyvàcấpdướiphảinghetheo-chothêmvídụ)
Power distance defines how social inequalityis perceived and accepted in different cultures. In high power
distance cultures childrenare raisedwith a greatemphasis onrespecting elders,which iscarried through to
adulthood. Therefore organisations are more centralised, employees prefer a more autocratic leadership style
wheresubordinatesareexpectedtobetoldwhattodoandtherearewidewagegapsinthehierarchicalstructure.
Ontheotherhand,inlowpowerdistanceculturesinequalityisnotdesired,employeesprefertobeconsultedwith
regardstodecisionmakingandthuspreferamoreresourcefulanddemocraticleader.
6. How do regional economic alliances impact the global economy ?
PromotingtradebetweencountriesintheregionleadstoanincreaseintheirGDP
Increasingcompetitionintechnology,labor,productqualityleadstodomesticGDPandCPIboost
Thereissupportivecooperationfromdevelopedcountriestodevelopingcountries
(câunàyhơikhóvớikiểuinternationaleconomyquá,tìmthêmvídụvềAPEC,EU,Asian,…)
7. How does planning help to improve focus ? Keypoints:
-Planningisamanagementprocessconcernedwithdefininggoalsforacompany’sfuturedirectionand
determiningtheresourcesrequiredtoachievethosegoals.Managersmaydevelopavarietyofplans(business
plan,marketingplan,etc.)duringtheplanningprocess.
-Achievingavisionrequirescoordinatedeffortsthatadheretoabroaderorganizationalplan.Thisisenabled
throughconsistentstrategiesthataresupportedbystaffatalllevels.
-Planningenablesincreasedfocuson,andcoordinatedactiontoward,competitivestrategies,whileminimizing
wastedtimeandensuringtherearebenchmarksforthecontrolprocess.
-Planningtypicallyoffersauniqueopportunityforinformation-richandproductivelyfocuseddiscussions
betweenthevariousmanagersinvolved.Theplanandthediscussionsthatarisefromitprovideanagreed
contextforsubsequentmanagementactivities.
Sincetheyhaveachieveddefinedgoalsthroughtheplanningprocess,managersandemployeescanfocusand
controltheireffortsandtheirresources,followdeterminedplansofaction,coordinateactivitiesbetweendivisions,
andusetimemanagementtomeetspecificgoals.Planninghelpstoachievethesegoalsortargetsbyefficientlyand
effectivelyusingavailabletimeandresources.Inshort,planning,ifexecutedproperly,shouldleadtothebenefits
Thereareawidevarietyofactivitiesanorganization(ortheindividualswithintheorganization)mightviably
pursue.Whilethereisvalueinthepursuitofmanyactivities,understandingwhichonestheorganizationshould
focusontoleverageorganizationalcompetenciesandalignwithmarketresearchrequirescarefulplanningand
delegation.Thisishowplanningachievesfocus.
8. Why does participatory planning facilitate implementation ?
Case Study: Britain in the 1940s
AfterthebombingofBritishcitiesduringWorldWarII,planning
advocateswantedtousethereconstructionplanningasawayto
engage the  public. The planners  wanted more authority  in the
political  system  to  play  a  more  substantive  role  within  their
democracy.  The  planners  created  new  techniques  to,
"communicate  with  laypeople,  including  mobilizing  publicity,
measuring  public  opinion,  organizing  exhibitions,  and
experimentingwithnewvisualstrategies".Theyalsodevelopeda
forum  to  educate  and  ask  the  public  about  various  plans  and policies.
Cincinnati's Over-the-Rhine neighborhood[edit]
Cincinnati'sOver-The-Rhine'sComprehensive  Plan  was  created  in  a  participatory  planning  process,  but  its
consistent  monitoring  of  its  implementation  failed.Looking  at  Cincinnati's  Over-the-Rhine  neighborhood,
geographerssawpotentiallogisticalwaystoobtain"necessarydata,createaland-useGIStoanalyzethedata,
updatethedata,andmonitortheprogressoftheimplementationoftheOver-theRhineComprehensivePlan".In
thecaseofCincinnati,itisproventhatplansthatarenotcarriedoutfailtoliveuptotheparticipatoryplanning
theory.FailureslikethatoftheOver-the-Rhineplanmakeitharderforfurtherprogresstowardplan'sgoaland
objectivesaswellasmutingtheparticipants.
9. How does Douglas McGegor’s Theory Y relate to the concept of internal control ?
Self-controlisinternalcontrolthatoccursthroughself-disciplineinfulfillingwork&personalresponsibilities.
Betterbeconsideredaspersonalcapacity,evenalifeskill.Self-controlisinternalcontrolthatoccursthroughself-
disciplineinfulfillingwork&personalresponsibilities.
ManagersthatarecategorizedasTheoryYassumeemployeesarehappy,enjoytheirwork,areselfmotivatedand
choosegreaterresponsibility.Inresponsetotheseassumptions,TheoryYmanagerscanfunctioninadecentralized
formandallowemployeesvariousdegreesofdecisionrights.
NômnalàtừtheoryY,internalcontrolsẽlàmchonhânviêntựbiếtmìnhcầnphảilàmgì,cótráchnhiệmvớicông
việcvớisựthúcđẩytíchcựctừmanager