Management Concepts and Effective Decision-Making - Assignment Example

Running Head Questions Questions In management, theory gives direction to practice. To paraphrase Kant practice without theory is blind. Without theory, responses to problems will be arbitrary and short-sighted. A coherent theory is required to guide our thinking about education. Theory guides by establishing the aims of education and projecting basic ways in which these ends can be reached (Dobson and Starkey 2004). Concrete decisions--such as whether sex education should be conducted in middle schools or whether a college should add a certain program of instruction--can be made according to a theoretical framework. In the final analysis, no practices can proceed without theory. in management, every policy and procedure, whether managers realize it or not, is laden with some conception of what education is all about and how it should perform its task. When these concepts are brought to light, we can more intelligently assess our educational activities. The correct route, then, is for us to maintain the intimate relationship between theory and practice, and to consider the options among theories of education. Nothing could be more practical. Practice has a reciprocal impact on theory. Practice can "test" a theory; it can validate or invalidate educational concepts and proposals. A fine-sounding theory may run into difficulties in practice and thus cause us to rethink, modify or perhaps even relinquish our original ideas (Drejer, 2002). Every educational theory has to encounter the hard realities of ordinary life and stand or fall according to its adequacy to human experience. Theory without practice is empty. Actually, exploring the general ideas which give direction to specific educational policies and practices does not go far enough. Thus, the particular world and life view which one adopts determines how the concepts of human dignity and fairness are defined. Not only are educational policy and practice subordinate to educational theory, but educational theory itself is born out of a larger world view. A general theory does not always dictate specific decisions but provides a way of thinking about policies and practices. Certainly no decisions can have clear direction without reference to some educational theory. No theory can have a firm foundation apart from some fundamental philosophical perspective. Theory in management contains the great ongoing dialog on lifes most important questions. Part of the significance of philosophy is that it holds before us basic problems and concerns which, when conscientiously explored, bring enlightenment and sensitivity (Pittengrew et al 2006). 2. I would agree with M. Porter that “the essence of strategy formulation is coping with competition”. In making a determination of the appropriate strategy to select, further analysis of these issues is required. In addition, management requests a review by the strategic planning team and possibly others relative to whether the right issues have been identified. Strategy is created to better position the form in relation to competitors and market leaders. Porter is right because competition is a core of business. “The essence of strategy formulation is coping with competition” and for this reason among the factors to be considered as part of the government environment are the number and locations of other governments, the degree of federal and state government presence, the typical services being provided, and the marketing strategies of other competitive local governments. The competitive -environmental scan includes consideration of general competitor profiles, market segmentation patterns, research and development, and so on. Predicting how each of these environments might affect the organization over time is an essential part of the strategic planning process, one that needs to be considered in each step (Pittengrew et al 2006). Factors to be considered as part of the macroenvironmental scanning process include social factors such as demographics, financial factors such as interest rates, and political factors such as increasing government deregulation, changing federalism and state governments trends, and regulations. In addition, the trend to conglomerates, diversification, national and international distribution, the increasing degree of competition, and the profit squeeze, make the control of marketing activities a key issue in business. Decisions have been classified in many ways. A common classification distinguishes between decisions related to objectives and those that pertain to more specific goals (Thompson and Martin 2005). The latter can be judged on the basis of efficiency; the former depend on normative values. Strategic decisions regarding major directions of an organization are contrasted with tactical decisions that carry out the strategies. Reciprocal decisions, in which one individual interacts with another and causes a reaction (such as competition), are distinguished from controlling decisions, in which one persons actions control the actions of another without interaction. Sequential decisions involving multiple actions and reactions, like those in the marketplace, are differentiated from single decisions (Dobson and Starkey 2004). Competition is the main threat to business existence and profitability. Marketing decisions form the programmed or highly rigid, routine, repetitious, specific type at one extreme to the non-programmed, less definite, unknown, uncertain, loosely constructed type at the other. The former can be handled by habit, clerical routines, standard operating procedures, and mathematical calculations, whereas the latter require creativity, intuition, judgment, and persuasive problem-solving techniques (Drejer, 2002). While there may not be perfect solutions to complex marketing problems, there may be optimal solutions to a number of subproblems or at least acceptable solutions to the total problem. Marketing decisions may also be classified according to managements degree of certainty or information about choices. Where "complete" information is assumed, the decision is made under conditions of certainty (Pittengrew et al 2006). Here the outcomes of each management action can be announced explicitly, and the particular state that will exist in the future can be completely identified. Wrong decisions can be eliminated. At the other extreme, decisions may be made under conditions of complete uncertainty. The decision maker brings nothing to the actual choice by way of experience or marketing information that helps in selecting among choices. This situation is an unrealistic one and is closely approximated in marketing by an absolutely new product with no marketing-research information available (Thompson and Martin 2005). 3. Practical examples of those firms who implement and then act shows that most of them fail and bankrupt. The main problem is that the process of formulation involves a choice between alternative and selection of the best one for a given situation. As a rule, the actual situation lies between these extremes. Often, through evidence gained from experimentation or statistical inference, management can assess both the probabilities and the consequences of outcomes and reduce ignorance (Dobson and Starkey 2004). Marketing decisions are usually made under conditions of considerable risk, and it is impossible for an executive to be sure that any specific decision will turn out to be the best one. All the decision maker can hope to do is obtain information to restrict the elements of indecision in a situation. Managers are forced to accept risks; they must gamble. Marketing executives are placed in the uncomfortable situation of having to choose the best course of action by evaluating relevant factors on the basis of imperfect information at a specific point in time. They know that the decision may eventually prove to be a poor one (Thompson and Martin 2005). The "right" decision consists of choosing the best possible course at a particular time regardless of how the results may be evaluated in the future. To some extent, strategy formulation involves a simulation phase when the manager calculates and foreshadows impact of this strategy on a company. Managers reject undesired or unprofitable solutions and select the most effective one. A person who does differently has no choice but to rely on God and the fortune (Drejer, 2002). Given perfect information, there would be no need for evaluations or judgment. Wrong decisions would result only from mistakes. Marketing plans and action are rooted in a logical consideration of an uncertain future. The complexity of the factors facing marketing managers makes decision making a risky, frustrating, subjective process (Pittengrew et al 2006). For most decisions, an extensive set of choices confronts them. Yet, for any specific company, the number of feasible alternatives is limited. Decision constraints exist. Marketing actions are confined to a fixed range of possibilities and the responsibility of the decision maker is to choose within this realistic range. References 1. Dobson, P., Starkey, K. (2004). The Strategic Management: Issues and Cases. Blackwell Publishing. 2. Drejer, A. (2002). Strategic Management and Core Competencies: Theory and Application. Quorum Books. 3. Pittengrew, A. M., Thomas, H. Whittington, R. (2006). Handbook of Strategy and Management. Sage Publications. 4. Thompson, J. L., Martin, F. (2005). Strategic Management: Awareness, Analysis and Change. Thomson Learning. Read More