LEARNING OBJECTIVE REVIEW

  1. Discuss the nature of an organization’s environments, and identify and describe the components of its general, task, and internal environments.
  • Managers need to have a thorough understanding of the environment in which they operate and compete.
  • The general environment consists of the economy, technology, and the political-legal climate.
  • The task environment consists of competitors, customers, suppliers, regulators, and strategic partners. The internal environment consists of the organization’s owners, board of directors, employees, physical environment, and culture.
  • Owners are those who have claims on the property rights of the organization.
  • The board of directors, elected by stockholders, is responsible for overseeing a firm’s top managers.
  • Individual employees are other important parts of the internal environment.
  • The physical environment, yet another part of the internal environment, varies greatly across organizations.
  1. Describe the ethical and social environment of management, including individual ethics, the concept of social responsibility, and how organizations can manage social responsibility.
  • Understanding the differences between ethical and unethical behavior, as well as appreciating the special nature of managerial ethics, can help guide effective decision making.
  • Understanding the meaning of and arguments for and against social responsibility can help a manager effectively address both the formal and the informal dimensions of social responsibility.

3.Discuss the international environment of management, including trends in international business, levels of international business activities, and the context of international business.

  • Current trends in the international environment have resulted in the increasing globalization of markets, industries, and businesses.
  • Organizations seeking to become more international can rely on importing, exporting, licensing (including franchising), strategic alliances, and direct investment to do so.
  • The national culture, controls on international trade, economic communities, and the WTO combine to determine the context of international business.

4.Describe the importance and determinants of an organization’s culture, as well as how organization culture can be managed.

  • Organization culture is the set of values, beliefs, behaviors, customs, and attitudes that helps the members of the organization understand what it stands for, how it does things, and what it considers important.
  • Managers must understand that culture is a key determinant of how well their organization will perform; culture can be assessed and managed in a number of different ways.