What similarities do you see among the four management functions of

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LaTrobe University

Faculty of Law and Management

School of Management

MGT1FOM: Foundations of Management

Tutorial Review Questions: Answer Guide

Topic 1: Introduction

5.

What similarities do you see among the four managem

ent functions of

planning, organising, leading and controlling? Do y

ou think these functions are

related – that is, is a manager who performs well i

n one function likely to

perform well in the others?

This question is designed to get students to think

carefully about the primary functions

of management. Students might mention the relations

hip between planning and

controlling. Planning is used to set the goals and

targets on which controlling is based.

The monitoring and corrective activities associated

with control then provide feedback

for future planning. Moreover, leading is related t

o both planning and control. Planning

defines the direction toward which leadership is us

ed to influence and motivate

employees. Leading is also used in the corrective a

ction stage of control. Organising is

related to planning because it is a technique for i

mplementing plans. Organising assigns

the responsibility to achieve the plan. Organising

also establishes the organisational

framework within which leading and control take pla

ce. Organising defines specific

leadership roles, for example, so that leaders have

the authority and responsibility to

accomplish certain outcomes. Likewise, organising p

rovides the area of responsibility

for management control.

To a large extent, the manager who performs only on

e function well will be at least

adequate in the other functions because the four fu

nctions overlap. For the most part,

managers should be able to perform each function ad

equately. However, managers who

excel in one area may not excel in the others. The

excellent leader who can inspire

subordinates may not be particularly good at the mo

nitoring activities associated with

control. Similarly, a leader who is very detail con

scious and concerned with control may

be less effective as a leader. One might argue that

organising and controlling activities

would be found together in a manager’s repertoire.

Moreover, planning and leading may

go together because the visionary leader sees and a

rticulates goals for the future and can

motivate people to attain them

6.

You are a bright, hard-working entry-level manager

who fully intends to rise

up through the ranks. Your performance evaluation g

ives you high marks for

your technical skills but low marks when it comes t

o people skills. Do you think

people skills can be learned, or do you need to ret

hink your career path? If

people skills can be learned, how would you go abou

t it?

Students could argue that these skills are fundamen

tal to human-kind and can be

developed and refined as one gains more experience.

The extent to which someone can

learn to be a totally popular and charismatic perso

n is questionable. Certainly, a quick

search of the internet reveals a number of self-hel

p books, videos, training courses and

consultants that claim to be able to teach mastery

of these skills.

In this situation, perhaps the first step is to pay

attention to how you react to others and

how they react to you. Compare your assessment with

what has been put on your

performance evaluation. Can you identify specific a

reas that you need to improve on

(e.g. listening)? Are there things you can learn fr

om observing a colleague who has

good people skills? Investigate what sort of traini

ng the company is prepared to provide

as part of your performance evaluation and any prof

essional development courses that

might be available to you. You could also visit the

library and check out those self-help

books or join a group like Toastmasters.

7.

Discuss some of the ways organisations and jobs cha

nged over the past 10

years. What changes do you anticipate over the next

10 years? How might these

changes affect the manager’s job and the skills a m

anager needs to be

successful?

This question is designed to get students to consid

er the changes in today’s society and

business world that will affect their careers as fu

ture managers. Some of the most

significant changes are technological advances, inc

reased globalisation, uncertain

environments and growing workforce diversity. These

changes are causing a revolution

in the field of management – increasingly, managers

are asked to do more with less, to