NUS BUSINESS SCHOOL
DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION
MNO1001X Management and Organization
COURSE INSTRUCTORS
SESSION
AIMS & OBJECTIVES
:
:
Ms Chua Siew Beng
Ms Usa Skulkerewathana
Semester 2, 2012/2013
This course is designed to equip students with
 An appreciation of the dynamic nature of management in organizations
 A framework for understanding the functions of management and roles of a manager.
 An awareness of the influence of environmental changes on the professional ethics and expectations of managers.
 A foundation to rethink and critically explore the complexities and nuances of managing and management in a competitive and an ever changing environment.
BRIEF MODULE DESCRIPTION
The 39-hour course focuses on the essence of management and managing. The assumption underlying the course is that an understanding of essential management functions and a manager’s roles in the context of unprecedented changes in the wider socio-economic environment is likely to help students enhance their awareness of and appreciation of management practices in organizations.
The course is anchored on the four essential functions of management, namely, planning, organizing, leading and controlling. While basic principles of management, which includes an overview of organizations and the role of managers and management will be discussed, critical issues facing management of today’s organizations will also be explored. Topics addressing the challenges of today’s organizations, such as the drive for profits versus corporate social responsibility, ethical decision-making, cross cultural and national diversity issues will be explored to provide a critical perspective of the challenges facing the managers of today. It is envisaged that thoughtful reflections of such issues will help prepare students make sense of their experiences in and with management when they embark on their careers.
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COURSE OUTLINE
The syllabus of the course, while centered on the essentials of management and organization, would explore the intricacies of a manager’s roles by presenting to students the following:
A. INTRODUCTION TO MANAGEMENT
The module introduces to students some basic principles of management. This includes an overview of organizations, management functions, the role of managers and the need for organizations to handle major challenges and changes in the global economy.
B. MANAGING AND PLANNING
An organization is a collection of people brought together to achieve a specific purpose. In this endeavor, to ensure effectiveness and efficiency, it is imperative to ensure resources and product outputs are well managed. The fundamental challenge of a manager is therefore to develop a unified framework of thought that includes a good understanding of an organization’s internal environment, capabilities and strategic directions. Such an endeavor requires effective planning and the capacity to recognize problems and opportunities in daily events, and to make good decisions and take appropriate action. Students are introduced to the fundamentals of planning, decision-making, and strategic management. An introduction to the external and internal environment of an organization will also be provided to serve as background for discussing these topics.
C. ORGANIZING AND WORK ENGAGEMENT
The establishment of a strong and stable organization is dependent on a multitude of factors. Foremost is the ability of management to provide structural designs that will best support and facilitate employees’ work processes. The organizational design of today must be efficient as well as flexible enough to weather the impacts of today’s dynamic environment. The arrangement and structuring of work in organizations encompass the technicalities of organizational design, and challenges of engaging employees. How should a manager organize to ensure employees are connected? Does building a learning organization go beyond the bricks and mortar of an organization structure? As organizations become global in their outreach, are there global differences in organizational designs and structures? We will examine these challenges and others to gain insights into how managers organize to ensure success for their organizations.
D. LEADING AND INFLUENCE
Are managers leaders? It is a common stereotype that managers do the routine work and leaders inspire. Such a dichotomy in the roles of leaders and managers provides the impetus for us to explore the underlying factors that influence how employees behave in organizations. In organizations, an individual who has power is able to produce a desired effect on others. What is the relationship between power and influence in organizations?
Does power and influence give rise to effective leadership? These are some questions we
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will explore in this cluster. In addition, we will examine the components that influence work performance. Is motivation the sole factor in sustaining performance? An appreciation of the complexity of motivation arising from individual differences will be included to provide a basis to examine how individuals might respond to motivational strategies. In this aspect, we also provide students with an understanding that in managing, beyond visible facets such as strategies, goals, policies, procedures, and structure; a manager’s awareness of the power of his influence and the intangible aspects of manager-employees interactions are critical to the success of an organization.
E. CONTROL AND PERFORMANCE
Every organization sets out to achieve its intended purpose through a series of planned goals and strategies. Hence, the function of controlling is of utmost importance in the measurement of an organisation’s performance. Managers cannot know if their units are performing well or not unless there is a process of checks and balances. A basic understanding of what constitutes performance, criterion for measure of performance and systems for controls will be discussed to provide insights into the importance of control in managing. An organization can have the best of plans, organisational structures, motivated employees and effective leadership. However, without good controls, there is no assurance that activities are going according to plans and goals are attained.
F. A MANAGER’S DILEMMAS IN A WORLD OF CHANGE
Recent events in the world have brought several issues to the forefront. In the wake of the
2008 - 2009 financial crisis, the area of society that is getting close scrutiny is none other than the business sector. Unethical practices of business enterprises were reported in media: insider trading, unsafe products, unfair trade practices and environmental degradations are some examples that have been highlighted. In light of the global reach of organizations, diversity in workforce and accessibility of information on the World Wide
Web, how should the managers of today meet up to the expectations of its stakeholders?
What challenges do managers face in building ethical cultures in organizations? Why and how should managers uphold their ethical leadership and influence in organizations? In this context, we will examine the tensions and contradictions managers face in reconciling their individual ethic and the corporate ethic to make the best decisions within an organization.
TEACHING METHODOLOGY
The teaching format of this module is via lecture-tutorial method. The lecturer takes the students for both lectures and tutorials. Students are expected to work consistently throughout the semester to accumulate marks before the final examination. Continuous assessment components take up to 70% of the final grade. This teaching format is designed to facilitate a student-centered approach to delivering the curriculum. Students are urged to make the best use of this teaching approach to cultivate an active learning mindset, to be involved and be participative.
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REQUIRED TEXT AND READINGS
Required textbook chapters and additional readings will be assigned for each week.
METHODS OF ASSESSMENT
Students will be assessed on the basis of both individual and group work.
I. Continual assessments
Individual component 20%
70%
Group component 50%
II. Closed-book examination 30%
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