9a-10

• the screening of

  large amounts of information to anticipate

  and interpret changes in the environment.

  Environmental scanning
• an environmental

  scanning activity by which organizations

  gather information about competitors.

  Competitor intelligence
• predictions of outcomes.

  Forecasts
• forecasting that

  applies a set of mathematical rules to a series

  of past data to predict outcomes.

  Quantitative forecasting
• forecasting that uses

  the judgment and opinions of knowledgeable

  individuals to predict outcomes.

  Qualitative forecasting
• the search for the best

  practices among competitors or

  non-competitors that lead to their superior

  performance.

  Benchmarking
• the assets of the organization

  including financial, physical, human,

  intangible, and structural/cultural.

  Resources
• resources to specific activities.

  a numerical plan for allocating

  Budget
• detailing what activities have to

  be done, the order in which they are to be

  completed, who is to do each, and when they

  are to be completed.

  Scheduling
• a scheduling chart developed by

  Henry Gantt that shows actual and planned

  output over a period of time.

  Gantt chart
• a modified Gantt chart that

  schedules capacity by entire departments or

  specific resources.

  Load chart
• a flowchart diagram showing the

  sequence of activities needed to complete a project

  and the time or cost associated with each.

  PERT network
• end points that represent the completion of

  major activities in a PERT network.

  Events
• the time or resources needed to progress

  from one event to another in a PERT network.

  Activities
• the amount of time an individual

  activity can be delayed without delaying the

  whole project.

  Slack time
• the longest sequence of

  activities in a PERT network.

  Critical path
• a technique for

  identifying the point at which total revenue is

  just sufficient to cover total costs.

  Breakeven analysis
• mathematical

  technique that solves resource allocation

  problems.

  Linear programming
• one-time-only set of activities that

  has a definite beginning and ending point in

  time.

  Project
• the task of getting a

  project’s activities done on time, within

  budget, and according to specifications.

  Project management
• a consistent view of what the

  future is likely to be.

  Scenario
• arranging and structuring work to accomplish an

  organization’s goals.

  Organizing
• the formal arrangement of jobs within

  an organization.

  Organizational Structure
• process involving decisions about six key

  elements:

  Work specialization

  Departmentalization

  Chain of command

  Span of control

  Centralization and decentralization

  Formalization

  Organizational Design
• The degree to which tasks in the

  organization are divided into separate jobs

  with each step completed by a different

  person.

  Work Specialization
• can result in human

  diseconomies such as boredom, fatigue,

  stress, poor quality, increased absenteeism,

  and higher turnover.

  Overspecialization
• How jobs are grouped together

  Departmentalization
• The continuous line of authority that

  extends from upper levels of an

  organization to the lowest levels of the

  organization—clarifies who reports to

  whom.

  Chain of Command
• the rights inherent in a managerial

  position to tell people what to do and to expect them

  to do it.

  Authority
• should have one boss and should report only to that

  person.

  the concept that a person

  Unity of Command
• authority comes

  from the willingness of subordinates to accept it.

  Acceptance theory of authority
• The number of employees who can

  be effectively and efficiently

  supervised by a manager.

  Span of Control
• the degree to which

  decision making is concentrated at

  upper levels in the organization.

  Centralization
• when an organization relegates decision making to managers who are closest to the action.

  Decentralization
• Increasing the decision-making authority

  (power) of employees

  Employee Empowerment
• The degree to which jobs within the

  organization are standardized and the

  extent to which employee behavior is

  guided by rules and procedures.

  Formalization
• bureaucracy was the natural result of

  combining the six elements of structure.

  Mechanistic organization
• is a highly

  adaptive form that is as loose and

  flexible as the mechanistic organization

  is rigid and stable.

  Organic organization
• the obligation or expectation to

  perform.

  Responsibility