Introduction

This course provides an introduction to the discipline of management.  It is designed to integrate the accepted theories in the area with real world applications to provide delegates with the basic knowledge and skills needed for managing an operation. The course begins with a discussion of the current issues in management and then proceeds to cover the traditional functions of management.

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Aims

The aim of this course is to identify the principals of managing in formal organisations and to identify and acknowledge the various challenges faced by today’s managers and, using that awareness, provide a learning experience to develop the key skills of management.

Objectives

• Describe the process of managing an organisation and explain some of the important management theories;

• Outline the framework within which a manager operates, including the cultural environment and the social environment;

• Describe the planning process, including operational and strategic planning;

• Outline a number of options for structuring an organisation including structuring to manage change;

• Demonstrate an ability to lead others through deploying a range of skills, including: influencing, motivating and communicating;

• Outline the process of controlling an operation including the tools for monitoring and improving business processes.

Duration – 5 days.

Class size:

To ensure maximum benefit for each delegate it is recommended that the class size for this programme does not exceed 16.

Method

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Presentations, case studies and assignments are used to help delegates understand the needs of managers in modern public and private organisations.

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Who Should Attend?

• Managers who are seeking to refresh and evaluate their current skills

• Managers who are new to the role of managing

• Supervisors, team leaders and others aspiring to achieve management positions

• Anyone who is interested in the subject of management

COURSE CONTENT

Day 1 - An Introduction to Management & the Environment of Management

Managing in organisations

• Management and organisation

• Meanings of management

• Specialisation between areas of management

• Influencing others through
  the process of managing
  the tasks of managing
  shaping their context

• Critical thinking

• Cases and examples

Theories of management

• Why study management theory?

• The competing values framework
  Rational goal
  Internal process
  Human relations
  Open systems

• Cases and examples

Organisation cultures and contexts

• The environments of managing

• Types of culture

• Competitive environment – Porter’s five forces

• General environment – PESTEL analysis

• Stakeholders and their expectations

• Corporate governance

• Cases and examples

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Managing internationally

• Ways of conducting international business

• An international PESTEL

• Comparing national cultures

• Contrasting national management systems

• Factors driving growth of international business

• Cases and examples

Corporate responsibility

• Contrasts in business practice

• Evaluating individual and corporate actions

• An ethical decision-making model

• Stakeholders and corporate responsibility

• Corporate responsibility and strategy

• Managing corporate responsibility

• Cases and examples

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Day 2 – Planning and Decision Making

Planning

• Purposes and contents of plans

• Steps in making a plan

• Information for planning

• Setting objectives (which affect motivation)

• Identifying steps to meet objectives

• Implementing and monitoring

• Cases and examples

Decision-making

• Stages in making decisions

• Programmed and non-programmed decisions

• Decision-making conditions

• Four decision-making models

• Biases in making decisions

• Vroom and Yetton decision styles

• Cases and examples

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Managing strategy

• Strategy: decisions that add value in long run

• How managers develop strategies

• Planning, learning and political views

• Tools for external and internal analysis

• Levels of strategy – corporate and business unit

• Ways to deliver strategy

• Cases and examples

Day 3 – Organising & Managing Change

Organisation structures

• Structure and performance

• Elements in structure: the design options

• Dividing work into functions and divisions

• Coordinating work: alternative ways

• Mechanistic and organic structures

• Cases and examples

Information systems and e-business

• Managing depends on information and knowledge

• Convergence transforms how people add value

• Value depends on technology and organisation

• Operating and management systems

• Applications – e-business, enterprise resource planning and customer relations

• IS and strategy

• Cases and examples

Managing innovation and change

• Initiating innovation and change in context

• Forms of innovation and change

• Four models of change

• Sources of innovation

• Organisational factors in innovation

• Cases and examples

Day 4 – Leading & Team working

Influencing

• Managing and leading

• ‘Interpersonal skills’ perspectives
  Trait, behavioural and contingency

• ‘Power’ perspectives

• Using networks to influence others

• Cases and examples

Motivating

• Managing and motivating

• Psychological contracts

• Behaviour modification

• Content and process theories

• Making work motivating

• Cases and examples

Communicating

• Communicating essential to add value

• Elements in the communication process

• Selecting ‘rich’ communication channels

• Comparing communication networks

• Interpersonal communication skills

• Communication, strategy and structure

• Cases and examples

Working in teams

• Teams and managing

• Types of team

• Team composition (Belbin)

• Stages of team development

• Team processes

• Outcomes – for members and the organisation

• Cases and examples

Day 5 – Controlling & Improving

Managing operations

• The challenges of operations management

• The transformation process

• The practice of operations – the 4 Vs

• Operations processes

• Activities of operations

• Cases and examples

Controlling and measuring performance

• The control process in management

• The tools of control

• Control strategies – mechanistic or organic?

• Measuring performance

• The balanced scorecard

• Human considerations

• Cases and examples

Managing quality and improving business performance

• Defining quality

• Quality control and quality assurance

• Identifying and reducing waste in an operation

• Identifying and reducing variation in a process

• The tools of quality management

• The process of benchmarking