Chap 12. The changing role of management

• Reasons that cause a business to amend and adapt the way it operates

  • Changing Technology
  • Changing Laws and Regulations
  • Changing Customers
  • Changing Competition
  • Changing Employees and labour market
• Changing Technology


  • New products
  • New and faster production methods
  • New and faster methods of communication
  • New methods of selling
  • New jobs
• Changing Laws and Regulations


  • Society has become more complex and citizens more educated and demanding
  • New Irish and E.U. laws affecting business, covering issues such as consumer rights, employment law, environmental protection and fair competition
• Examples of changing laws and regulations


  • Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC)
  • Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 and 2007
  • Environmental Protection Agency
  • European Court of Justice
  • E.U. Regulations, Directives and Decisions
  • Data protection Act 2018
• Changing Customers


  • Trends, fashions and fads sweep the world in a very short time due to TV and global marketing
  • Rising levels of education are making consumers increasingly quality conscious
  • Increasing competition and choice is leading to fewer loyal customers for many well-known brands
  • Ethical and green issues are becoming more important to many customers when making purchasing decisions
• Changing Competition


  • Updating their products or introducing new ones
  • Introducing new ways of doing business
  • Growing in size to avail of economies of scale
  • Moving into traditional markets of other forms
• Changing Employees and Labour Market


  • Employee have higher levels of education and skills to bring to their jobs
  • Employees want jobs that are interesting and well paid
  • They want more flexible and family-friendly working conditions
  • Employees want to work with organisations with high ethical standards
• All of these changes are happening at a much faster rate. Decades ago it may have taken 10 years for a technological advance. Now we have advances every few months.
• Managing Change


  • Be pro-active and look ahead to predict likely changes so that change can be anticipated
  • Put people and procedures in place to deal with change
  • Train and motivate the workforce to respond flexibly and positively to change
• Reasons people resist change

  • Fears that they will lose earnings, power or even their jobs
  • Fears that the change will bring too much work
  • Fears that they will not be able to cope with the new situation
  • Beliefs that the change will just not work
  • Beliefs that they will not be able to benefit from the change
• Preparing the workforce for change

  • Honest, open communication
  • Leadership
  • Consultation
  • Negotiation
  • Reward
• Strategies for Managing Change

  • Managers moving from controller managers to facilitators
  • The introduction of Job Rotation/Job Enlargement/Job Enrichment
  • Employee Empowerment
  • Quality Circles
  • Team Work
  • Total Quality Management (TQM)
• Controller Manager


  Tells people what to do and expects them to do it without question
• Facilitator Manager


  Trains and develops employees to give them the skills they need so that they can make decisions and solve problems themselves
• Benefits of Facilitator Manager

  • Motivation - Employees are better able to handle change and they get more job satisfaction
  • Time - Managers are freed from a lot of routine decision-making
  • Flexible - The business is able to respond more flexibly and appropriately to changing circumstances
• Job Rotation


  Moving a trainee from department to department to broaden their experience
• Job Enlargement


  Giving employees extra duties to do in order to make the workplace more interesting
• Job Enrichment


  Employees are given greater responsibility in the workplace. They are given tasks intended to develop them and to get them to use their full abilities and skills
• Employee Empowerment


  A manager gives an employee the power to make their own decisions without having to ask the managers permission first
• Employee Empowerment Programme


  • Facilitator style attitude
  • Careful supervision
  • Rewards
  • Teamwork
• Benefits of Employee Empowerment

  • Unlocks the hidden talents of the workforce
  • Enables the firm not only to respond to change but also to create change
  • Results in higher motivation of staff, which helps to achieve objectives
  • Results in greater staff loyalty to the firm, lower absenteeism and lower staff turnover
• Potential Problems of Empowerment


  • Demotivated Staff
  • Serious mistakes due to lack of training, poor attitude or inadequate supervision
  • Unhappy middle managers whose power and role have been taken away from them
• Quality Circles


  A group of employees who meet regularly to discuss ways to improve product or service quality within their own department
• The principle behind Quality Circles is that the people who deal with an issue day-by-day are those who can see how best to improve it.
• Teamwork means organising workers into groups with specific objectives to accomplish.
• Total Quality Management (TQM)


  An approach to management that aims to maximise quality by getting all staff involved in continuously looking for ways to improve the quality of a firm's products and services
• Ways to Implement TQM

  • Focus on the Customer
  • Employee Empowerment
  • Teamwork
  • Continuous improvement
  • Quality Assurance System
  • Facilitator Management
  • Recruit and train conscientious, quality focused employees
• 1. commerce (B2C)


  Using the Internet to sell to consumers
• 1. business (B2B)


  Using the internet to conduct business with other firms e.g. buying and selling from them
• 1. commerce


  Using mobile phone technology for business and financial transactions
• Impact of New Technology on Marketing

  • Market Research can be conducted using the internet
• Impact of New Technology on Production and Stock Control

  • Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)
  • Computer Aided Design (CAD) and 3D Printing Technology
  • Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM)
  • Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM)
• Impact of new technology on Human Resources

  • Jobs become redundant
  • E-working means work location is becoming less important
  • Training using computer software
  • Payroll Management is now faster cheaper and more accurate
• Impact of New Technology on Costs and Financial Management

  • New Technology can be expensive to purchase and maintain
  • Financial Accounts can be quickly and accurately prepared using spreadsheet software
  • Reduced Costs through things like video conferencing and websites
• Challenges of New Technology

  • Business Vulnerability
  • Data Security
  • Human Resources and Industrial Relations