Management Questions - Coursework Example

Topic: MANAGEMENT QUESTIONS Describe how you would establish that there is a market need for a new product. Establishing the need for a product in the market is a very complex task. However, an entrepreneur needs to refine his or her business concept to suit the needs of the market. Some of the questions that may arise in identifying a market need include the possibility of consumers buying the product and the possibility of their demands being profitable. I would establish a market need through the use of consumer focus groups (Cameron & Freeman, 2001, p. 100). These groups have vital information about consumers including their needs and preferences. This information is vital for an entrepreneur to analyze the properties of the product and align them to the needs of the market. The same applies to Creative Minds as a business in the market for art products. Vital information for the business relate to the needs of children in the market for art services. The needs of the children may include information such as pricing, delivery and forms of arts. What is a new product development process and why is it necessary? The new product development process is a mechanism used by a business in identifying the appropriate features of a product. The process involves a number of stages that include idea generation, screening, concept analysis, development, testing and launching. The process is necessary for a business to determine the suitability of its product in the target market. It ensures that the product entails appropriate features that will make it attractive in the market hence become profitable for the business (Denison & Mishra, 2005, p. 188). What is distinctive about the project approach and how can projects be clearly defined? The project approach involves the use of different specialists within a business organization to achieve the overall goal of the organization. Basically, it involves the use of interdisciplinary teams to achieve results. There are a number of aspects that make the project approach distinctive from other activities (Cameron & Quinn, 2006, p. 122). One major distinct feature of the project approach is that it has an outline of goals that are well defined. The approach also involves the use of coordination among different departments of the organization whereby the organization is able to draw assistance from different departments in achieving its goals. There are a number of approaches used in defining a project in a clear manner. The first step involves the generation of a formal definition for the project. This includes providing information such as goals, constraints and assumptions. The next step involves identifying the starting and ending dates. It also involves identifying milestones with the inclusion of reports and deliverables (Deal & Kennedy, 2002, p. 122). This step ensures that the project is in line with the objectives of the business. The third step in defining a project involves a list of potential constraints relative to the project such as the availability of capital and inputs of production. This stage basically relates to the identification of the possible challenges that the project may be face during the process of implementation. After identifying and listing constraints, it is important to identify the tasks that need to be accomplished during the project. The first approach involves identifying high level categories followed by details of each project. The entrepreneur can identify such details by use of a brainstorming method that is commonly referred to as green light. The details should include a detailed list of tasks to be accomplished during the implementation process. Tasks should be assigned with time in terms of days and hours, resources required and dependencies among the tasks. Lastly, prepare a Gantt chart. The chart summarizes all the activities of the project including the time of inception and completion (Cooke & Rousseau, 2008, p. 122). Of what value is the concept of a project life cycle to the project manager? The concept of project life cycle is valuable to the project manager because it enables the manager to perform a number of functions. The functions include project selection, planning, implementation, control, evaluation and finalizing of the project. The selection stage of the project involves the project manager identifying a project that is economically feasible and one that has positive returns for the business. In most cases, the project manager faces a dilemma of selecting a project among competing ones. This involves taking into consideration factors such as costs and benefits (Cascio, 2005, p. 177). Planning involves the project manager designing the course of action for the project. The plan identifies the tasks related to the project and how they are going to be accomplished. During the stage of implementation, the project manager is able to commence working on the project using the project plan. The manager is also able to monitor and provide feedback regarding the progress of the project. This allows the manager to make corrections whenever there may be variations. The project life cycle is also valuable to the project manager because it provides an indication regarding the success of the project in line with its goals. This stage of evaluation enables the project manager to make changes regarding the progress of the project. The stage also provides lessons that can be used in managing future projects. Depending on the outcome of the project, the project manager can take the decision of closing the project. Give two examples of tools available to the project manager for planning and scheduling. In what ways has the use of such tools been enhanced through becoming available on Computer Software? The most common tools available to the project manager for planning and scheduling include Gantt chart and the Critical Path Method. A Gantt chart is used to portray the timetable to be used in completing the tasks of the project. It outlines the various tasks of the project along with their timelines. The Critical Path Method is used in determining the longest path that a project before its completion. The two tools have been enhanced by computers in the sense that project managers are able to feed data into the computer and get a picture of their results in from of charts within a short time period (Conway, 2009, p. 11). What is organizational design? And structure. Organizational design refers to how an organization manages its process of structuring in order to achieve its business strategy. On the other hand, organizational structure refers to how an organization manages its resources and activities through division, organization and coordination. The process of organizational design first involves the formulation of the business strategy which includes decisions guidelines that influence appropriate course of actions. The strategy unifies to the intentions of the organization and allows members to focus on actions that achieve the desired goals. Basically, a strategy encourages actions that are in support of the goals of the organization and discourages those that are against (Deal & Kennedy, 2003, p. 199). In the case of organizational structure, there is the arrangement of people and tasks with the aim of achieving the goals of the organization. It involves the establishment of procedures that are used in assigning responsibilities for various functions within the organization. Organizations define the responsibilities of employees based on what they do and whom they report to. There exist several structures that organizations can adopt such as functional, product, matrix and network structures. Explain "Business Growth" Business growth is explained using five stages of growth that include: i. Existence This is the first stage of business growth and involves the founder of the business searching for potential customers. Most of the processes in existence are basic with the business owner doing most of the tasks. Since this is the initial stage in the growth of the business, there are very few customers and the business is struggling to survive. ii. Survival This stage confirms the viability of the business in the market. The business has a significant number of customers that maintain the operations of the company. However, this stage is associated with the problem of whether it is profitable or not (Chhokar, Zhuplev, Fok & Hartman, 2004, p. 288). The dilemma facing the business owner is whether the business will generate adequate cash flows to sustain the operations of the business. If the company is unable to generate adequate cash flows then it may be forced to shut down and if the cash flows are more than the expenses then the business will progress to the next stage. iii. Success The business has a stable capital base and generates adequate cash to sustain its operations. The owner of the business may decide to expand the operations of the business. There are two major characteristics of this stage. The business starts developing new structures and also consolidates and starts growing. iv. Take-Off The business starts experiencing rapid growth and also develops complex processes that make its management a complex task. v. Resource Maturity The company has established its operations and is able to introduce complex structures and designs. The business develops a decentralized system of management and there is always a difference between the business and the owner (Cameron & Quinn, 2009, p. 200). References Cameron, K. S. and Quinn, R. E., 2009, Diagnosing and changing organizational culture: Based on the competing values framework, Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Cameron, K. S. and Quinn, R. E., 2006, “Diagnosing and changing organizational culture,” San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, (2nd Ed.). Cameron, K. S. and Freeman, S. L., 2001, “Cultural congruence, strength, and type: Relationships to effectiveness,” Research in organizational change and development, 5 (1). Cascio, W., 2005, Managing human resources, New York: McGraw-Hill. Chhokar, S., Zhuplev, A., Fok, L.Y. and Hartman, S. J., 2004, “The impact of culture on equity sensitivity perceptions and organizational citizenship behavior: A five-country study,” International Journal of Value-based Management,14(1). Conway, J. M., 2009, “Distinguishing contextual performance from task performance for managerial jobs,” Journal of Applied Psychology, 84 (1). Cooke, R. A. and Rousseau, D. M., 2008, “Behavior norms and expectations: A quantitative approach to the assessment of organizational culture,” Group and Organization Studies, 13 (3). Deal, T. E. and Kennedy A. A., 2003, Corporate cultures, Reading, Mass: Addison-Wesley, 19 (4). Deal, T. E. and Kennedy, A. A., 2002, Corporate cultures: The rites and rituals of corporate life, Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company. Denison, D. R. and Mishra, A. K., 2005, "Toward a theory of organizational culture and effectiveness,” Organization Science, 6. Read More