By Tesfaye Madda ID.

No MBA/MWE/14/08

WOLAITA SODDO UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS
DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT
MBA PROGRAM
ASSIGNMENT
ON
CONCEPTS AND PRACTICES OF MANAGEMENT
BY TESFAYE MADDA MANDADO
ID. NO: MBA/MWE/14/08
WOLAITA SODDO UNIVERSITY, ETHIOPIA
MARCH, 2016

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By Tesfaye Madda ID. No MBA/MWE/14/08

Assignment on Concepts and Practice of Management Assignment

Chapter 11: Managerial Communication and Information Technology
Managerial Communication
Communication is the transfer and understanding of meaning. This means that if no information
or ideas have been conveyed, communication hasn't taken place.
Managerial communication is of the following two types:
Interpersonal Communication - Interpersonal communication generally takes place
between two or more individuals at the workplace.
Organizational Communication - Communication taking place at all levels in the
organization refers to organizational communication.

Communication passes between a source (the sender) and a receiver. The message is converted
to symbolic form (called encoding) and passed by way of some medium (channel) to the receiver,
who retranslates the sender's message (called decoding).
Body language refers to gestures, facial expressions, and other body movements that convey
meaning.
Verbal information refers to the emphasis someone gives to words or phrases that conveys
meaning.
Filtering is the deliberate manipulation of information to make it appear more favorable to the
receiver.
Selective perception is when people selectively interpret what they see or hear on the basis of
their interests, background, experience, and attitudes.
Emotions is how a receiver feels when a message is received influences how he or she interprets
it.
Information overload - when the information we have to work with exceeds our processing
capacity.
Defensiveness is when people feel that they're being threatened; they tend to react in ways that
reduce their ability to achieve mutual understanding.
Language: Words mean different things to different people. Age, education, and cultural
background are three of the more obvious variables that influence the language a person uses
and the definitions he or she gives to words.
Overcoming the Barriers to Effective Interpersonal Communication
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I. Use Feedback
II.
Simplify Language
III.
Listen Actively
IV. Watch Nonverbal Cues
V. Constrain Emotions
Formal versus Informal Communication
1. Formal Communication refers to communication that follows the official chain of
command or is part of the communication required to do one's job.
2. Informal Communication is organizational communication that is not defined by the
organization's structural hierarchy.
Direction of Communication Flow
1. Any communication that flows downward from a manager to employees is downward
communication.
2. Upward communication is communication that flows upward from employees to
managers.
3. Diagonal communication is communication that cuts across both work areas and
organizational levels.
4. Communication that takes place among any employees on the same organizational level is
called lateral communication.
Understanding Information Technology
Information technology (IT) is the use of any computers, storage, networking and other physical
devices, infrastructure and processes to create, process, store, secure and exchange all forms of
electronic data.
In a networked computer system, an organization links its computers together through
compatible hardware and software, creating an organizational network.
Email is the instantaneous transmission of written messages on computers that are linked
together.
Some organizational members who find e-mail slow and cumbersome are using instant
messaging (IM).
A Voice mail system digitizes a spoken message, transmits it over the network, and stores the
message on disk for the receiver to retrieve later.
Fax machines allow the transmission of documents containing both text and graphics over
ordinary telephone lines.
Electronic data interchange (EDI) is a way for organizations to exchange standard business
transaction documents, such as invoices or purchase orders, using direct computer-to-computer
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networks.
Teleconferencing allows a group of people to confer simultaneously using telephone or e-mail
group communications software.
If meeting participants can see each other over video screens, the simultaneous conference is
called video conferencing.
An internet is an organizational communication network that uses Internet technology and is
accessible only by organizational employees.
An extranet is an organizational communication network that uses Internet technology and
allows authorized users inside the organization to communicate with certain outsiders such as
customers or vendors.
Chapter 18: Foundations of Control
Control is the process of monitoring activities to ensure that they are being accomplished as
planned and of correcting any significant deviations.
Controlling is the process of monitoring, comparing, and correcting work performance.
Control is important, because its the only way that managers know whether organizational goals
are being met and if not, the reasons why. The value of the control function can be seen in three
specific areas: planning, empowering employees, and protecting the workplace.

The Control Process

Prentice Hall, 2002

18-8

The control process is a three-step process including measuring actual performance, comparing
actual performance against a standard, and taking managerial action to correct deviations or
inadequate standards.
Types of Control

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Managers can implement controls before an activity begins, during the time the activity is going
on, and after the activity has been completed. The first type is called feed forward control, the
second is concurrent control, and the last is feedback control.
Managers are concerned with organizational performancethe accumulated results of all the
organizations work activities.
Measures of Organizational Performance are organizational productivity, organizational
effectiveness, and industry rankings.
Productivity is the amount of goods or services produced divided by the inputs needed to
generate that output.
Organizational effectiveness is a measure of how appropriate organizational goals are and how
well those goals are being met.
Rankings are a popular way for managers to measure their organizations performance.
In measuring actual performance, managers need information about what is happening within
their area of responsibility and about the standards in order to be able to compare actual
performance with the standard.
Feed forward controls take place before a work activity is done. Concurrent controls take place
while a work activity is being done. Feedback controls take place after a work activity is done.
Financial controls that managers can use include financial ratios (liquidity, leverage, activity, and
profitability) and budgets. One information control managers can use is an
MIS, which provides managers with needed information on a regular basis. Others include
comprehensive and secure controls such as data encryption, system firewalls, data backups, and
so forth that protect the organizations information.
Balanced scorecards provide a way to evaluate an organizations performance in four different
areas rather than just from the financial perspective. Benchmarking provides control by finding
the best practices among competitors or non-competitors and from inside the organization itself.
Adjusting controls for cross-cultural differences may be needed primarily in the areas of
measuring and taking corrective actions.
Workplace concerns include workplace privacy, employee theft, and workplace violence. For each
of these issues, managers need to have policies in place to control inappropriate actions and
ensure that work is getting done efficiently and effectively.
Control is important to customer interactions because employee service productivity and service
quality influences customer perceptions of service value. Organizations want long-term and
mutually beneficial relationships among their employees and customers.
Corporate governance is the system used to govern a corporation so that the interests of
corporate owners are protected.

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Chapter 20: Controlling for Organizational Performance

The control process is a three-step process including measuring actual performance, comparing
actual
Managers measure and control organizational performance because it leads to
perfor
better asset management, to an increased ability to provide customer value, and to
mance
improved measures of organizational knowledge.
against
a standard, and taking managerial action to correct deviations or inadequate standards.
Managers are concerned with organizational performancethe accumulated end results
of all the organization's work processes and activities.
Managers are concerned with Organizational performancethe accumulated end results of all
the organization's work processes and activities.
Why Is Measuring Organizational Performance Important?
I. Better Asset Management
II.
Increased Ability to Provide Customer Value
III.
Impact on Organizational Reputation
IV. Improved Measures of Organizational Knowledge
Economic value added (EVA) is a tool for measuring corporate and divisional
performance. It's calculated by taking after-tax operating profit minus the total annual
cost of capital
Market value added (MVA) adds a market dimension because it measures the
stock market's estimate of the value of a firm's past and expected capital investment
projects.

Types Of Performance Control Tools

Financial
Controls

Information
Controls

Performance
Control
Tools

Benchmarking
Best Practices
Approach
Prentice Hall, 2002

Balanced
Scorecard
Approach
20-9

Balanced Scorecard Approach

The Balanced score card is a performance measurement tool that looks at four areasfinancial,
customer, internal processes, and people/innovation/growth assetsthat contribute to a
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company's performance.
Management Information Systems
How Are Information Systems Used in Controlling?
Managers need information to monitor organizational performance and to control organizational
activities.
Benchmarking is the search for the best practices among competitors or no competitors that lead
to their superior performance
Managers need information to monitor organizational performance and to control
organizational activities. Without information, they would find it difficult to perform the
activities
A Manager's Role in Helping Organizations Achieve High Performance Levels
One of the manager's first responsibilities in leading organizations to high performance levels is
helping organizational members make the right choices during periods of organizational
change.
Managers must provide direction by answering employees' questions about what the change
entails, what it means for them, how their performance will now be evaluated, and what tools
and support will be provided to them.
Finally, an important responsibility of managers in helping achieve high levels of performance is
moving from ideas to action.

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