Essentials of Management
ESSENTIALS OF MANAGEMENT 10th MARCH 2013 Examination Paper
Candidates should answer any FIVE (5) questions from this paper. Clearly cross out surplus answers.
Time: 2 hours and 30 minutes
Any reference material brought into the examination room must be handed to the invigilator before the start of the examination.
ANSWER ANY FIVE (5) QUESTIONS QUESTION 1 a) Briefly explain what is meant by the term efficiency. Marks 2
b) What is the name given to a type of managerial role that involves people and other duties which 1 are ceremonial and symbolic in nature? c) The concept of an organisation is changing. List FOUR (4) characteristics of today’s new organisations. 4
d) There are four basic management functions. Briefly explain what the organising function 3 involves. e) Define the term therblig. f) List THREE (3) of the characteristics of a bureaucracy. 2 3 1 4
g) How many principles of management did Henry Fayol develop? h) The contingency approach to management incorporates a number of contingency variables, two of which are organisation size and environmental uncertainty. Briefly describe each of these two contingency variables.
Total 20 Marks QUESTION 2 a) Making good decisions is something that every manager strives to do. However, different managers employ different decision- making styles. i) List THREE (3) of the main characteristics of an analytic decision-making style. ii) What type of decision-making style is characterised by a low tolerance for ambiguity and an intuitive way of thinking?
3 1
b) List FOUR (4) of the characteristics of effective decision-making. c) Define the term heuristics. d) List FOUR (4) of the key factors that managers need to take account of in order to plan effectively in an uncertain environment.
4 2 4
e) ‘Measurable and quantifiable’ and ‘a clear time frame’ are two characteristics of well-designed 6 goals. Briefly explain why these two characteristics are important in designing goals and give one example of each. Total
Candidates should answer any FIVE (5) questions from this paper. Clearly cross out surplus answers.
Time: 2 hours and 30 minutes
Any reference material brought into the examination room must be handed to the invigilator before the start of the examination.
ANSWER ANY FIVE (5) QUESTIONS QUESTION 1 a) Briefly explain what is meant by the term efficiency. Marks 2
b) What is the name given to a type of managerial role that involves people and other duties which 1 are ceremonial and symbolic in nature? c) The concept of an organisation is changing. List FOUR (4) characteristics of today’s new organisations. 4
d) There are four basic management functions. Briefly explain what the organising function 3 involves. e) Define the term therblig. f) List THREE (3) of the characteristics of a bureaucracy. 2 3 1 4
g) How many principles of management did Henry Fayol develop? h) The contingency approach to management incorporates a number of contingency variables, two of which are organisation size and environmental uncertainty. Briefly describe each of these two contingency variables.
Total 20 Marks QUESTION 2 a) Making good decisions is something that every manager strives to do. However, different managers employ different decision- making styles. i) List THREE (3) of the main characteristics of an analytic decision-making style. ii) What type of decision-making style is characterised by a low tolerance for ambiguity and an intuitive way of thinking?
3 1
b) List FOUR (4) of the characteristics of effective decision-making. c) Define the term heuristics. d) List FOUR (4) of the key factors that managers need to take account of in order to plan effectively in an uncertain environment.
4 2 4
e) ‘Measurable and quantifiable’ and ‘a clear time frame’ are two characteristics of well-designed 6 goals. Briefly explain why these two characteristics are important in designing goals and give one example of each. Total