Summary of Management Chap 6 by M Umer Toor

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Summary On Delegation By M. Umer Toor

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Please do comment, there are some extra points which need check. Thanks.

Umer Toor's Summary on Chapter 7

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Group 4 Respond to A Case Study Querry

Posted by Hassan-Mohi-ud-din, Mohsin Ali, Ahmed Fareed Chisti, M Umer Toor, Ali Haider, Hamna

1. What other planning tools and techniques might be useful to Andrew Friedman as he oversees and directs the team's operations?

Ans. He is already using 'statistical quantitative methods' for team assessment and other tasks. We would recommend him to use Gantt Charts, Loads Chartds and PERT Network Analysis for scheduling of resources, activities and departments. And, the following mentioned qualitative or quantitative tools can also be used for a variety of tasks concerned with his job:

qualitative risk identification data, qualitative forecsating technique "jury of
opinion", qualitative manipulation of risk data, qualitative risk mitigation
data cross-player feed-back and analysis of performance based on players' comments, qualitative employee appraisal, quantitative employee appraisal, qualitative consumer information, benchmarking,use of project management processes in a variety of project' operations, qualitative consumer information, qualitative client/customer nterviews, etc.

When Established Superiority Isn't everything

When Established Superiority Isn't everything !!
Posted By Muhammad Umer Toor, 21-Nov-2008.

Always keep in mind what first paragraph of page # 199, 227 (exhibit 8-7) of Management book [1] states, whenever you're in the business. Even when your organization is touching skies or, worst, in a downturn, and if you cease to bring innovation, cease to find new directions and so on and so fourth - this is a worst pitfall. Becoming best is one thing, and trudging along a constant line is not a safe strategy. Because, whenever you find that everything is going smooth, actually something is going wrong there. This happens mainly with those companies whose tasks demand optimum performance; when everything around them is changing without any notices. What I learnt from Stanely Hainsworth, 'former creative genius behind campaigns for Lego, Nike and Starbacks' [2], is that eternal reconstruction is the price of success for any brand. Editor at Entrepreneur magazine calls it as 'Survival of Fittest' [3]!

The basic idea behind finding new directions or cracking innovation, a necessity of established companies and else, is well explained by Hainsworth, and in his own words:

"Many [companies] wait until a crisis hits and then go through the cycle of a
hiring freeze, cost-cutting and layoffs. [Refocus] while you're strong, while have the resources and before you start cutting."[4]

This happens (-unexpected shocks-) mainly becuase of 'market-shifts', customer choices change (like our favorite ice-cream example!), and of course, due to dynamic enviornment, generally. [5]

Doing something ahead of hard times isn't at all a weak idea, only to insane. It's experts' view as well as well-researched thesis. (To quote you one more example). According to a research done [6] on the four common causes of growth stall, two majors reasons given for growth stalls confirm Hainsworth point of view.

One big reason, according to HBR [7], is that 'innovation management breaks'.
Second, because 'company lacks a strong talent bench'. [8]

Once, I asked a senior student of criminal psychology, "What is the remedy for a criminal-minded person?" And, his reply, which I found quite witty, was, "You shouldn't be criminal in the first place." 'That's the best strategy', he whispered to me without even whispering! And, business studies are no exceptions!


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Notes:

[1] Page 199 (Chapter # 7), Ist paragraph states the successful plans are not likely to work in changed situations. Whereas page 227 (exhibit 8-7) (Chapter # 8) urges the need for creating strategic flexibility, i.e, it consists of: monitoring and measuring results; gaining fresh perspectives and ideas outside organizations; sharing negative information and learning from the mistakes; while making strategic decisions, having multiple alternatives. (From: Management, 9th Ed., by S. P. Robbins& M. Coulter.)

[2] Quote from Entrepreneur, November 2008, article, INSGHIT "Survival of the Fittest,' by Lindsay Holloway.

[3] Quote from Entrepreneur, November 2008, article, INSGHIT "Survival of the Fittest,' by Lindsay Holloway, Pg. # 33.

[4] Quote from Entrepreneur, November 2008, article, INSGHIT "Survival of the Fittest,' by Lindsay Holloway, Pg. # 33.

[5] Quote from Entrepreneur, November 2008, article, INSGHIT "Survival of the Fittest,' by Lindsay Holloway, Pg. # 33.

[6] When Growth Stalls, by Mathhew S. Olson, Derek van Bever, and Seth Verry, HBR (Harvard Business Review), OnPoint, Fall 2008, Article Published Originally March 2008.

[7] Excerpt from HBR (Harvard Business Review), OnPoint, Fall 2008, When Growth Stalls, from Idea in Brief coulmn, Pg. # 33, Article Published Originally March 2008.

[8] It is further explained in the article, (OnPoint, Fall 2008, When Growth Stalls, from Idea in Brief coulmn, Pg. # 33, Article Published Originally March 2008) as:

"The firm has few executives and staff with
strategy-execution capabilities."

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