Week 1 Class 1: The Roles of Sustainability Professionals

Chapter 1 – Managing Today

Who are Managers & Where do They Work?

 Managers: Individuals of any age, gender, interests, and culture who

work in both businesses and non-profit organizations. Their primary role
is to organize people to work towards meeting specific goals.

 Non-managerial Employees vs. Managerial Employees:

o Non-managerial Employees: Work directly on tasks but do not

oversee the work of others.

o Managerial Employees: Direct and oversee the activities of

other people to accomplish organizational goals.

What is an organization?

 Definition: A deliberate collection of people brought together to

accomplish a specific purpose.

 Characteristics of Organizations:

o Distinct Purpose: Established for a specific goal.

o People: Have individuals to achieve the goal.

o Organizational Structure: Defined structure to coordinate

activities.

What is Management?

 Definition: The process of getting things done effectively and

efficiently, with and through other people.

o Effective: Achieving goals.

o Efficient: Getting the most output from the least input.

o Optimal Combination: Ideally, management should find the

balance between effectiveness and efficiency.

Management Levels

 Top Managers: Make decisions about the direction of the organization

and establish policies. Their decisions affect the entire organization.
  Middle Managers: Translate goals set by top management into
specific details and communicate them to lower managers.

 First-Line Managers: Supervise day-to-day activities.

 Team Leaders: Responsible for leading and facilitating the work of

their teams.

Three Ways to Look at What Managers Do

1. Functional Approach:

o Planning: Defining goals, building a strategy, developing plans

to coordinate activities.

o Organizing: Defining tasks, finding resources, assigning

responsibility and accountability.

o Leading: Motivating employees, directing activities of others,

selecting effective communication channels, resolving conflicts.

o Controlling: Monitoring performance, comparing it with goals,

finding ways to correct deviations.

2. Management Roles Approach (Henry Mintzberg):

o Interpersonal Roles:

 Figurehead: Ceremonial and symbolic duties, representing

the organization.

 Leader: Inspires, encourages, builds morale, monitors

performance, coaches team members.

 Liaison: Exchanges information with various departments,

teams, and external stakeholders.

o Informational Roles:

 Monitor: Gathers intel for competitive advantage.

 Disseminator: Communicates useful information to team

members and subordinates.

 Spokesperson: Conveys important information to external

stakeholders.

o Decisional Roles:
  Entrepreneur: Takes initiative, addresses concerns,
problem-solving.

 Disturbance Handler: Ensures smooth operations,

resolves conflicts.

 Resource Allocator: Allocates funds, cuts costs,

distributes resources.

 Negotiator: Leads negotiations for win-win outcomes.

3. Skills and Competences Approach:

o Conceptual Skills: Analyzing complex situations to facilitate

decision-making.

o Interpersonal Skills: Working well with others, motivating,

mentoring, delegating.

o Technical Skills: Knowledge, expertise, techniques to perform

tasks.

o Political Skills: Building a power base, establishing connections

to get resources.

Factors Reshaping Management

 Changing Workplace and Workforce:

o Part-time jobs, freelance, contracts, temporary positions,

independent contractors.

o Alternative ways to get work done (project-based work).

o Working remotely.

 Digitalization and Automation:

o AI changes the way work is done.

o Shift from intuition-based to data-driven decision-making.

o Focus on strategic leadership rather than administrative tasks.

o Personalized and efficient workplace fostered by AI.

 Importance to Manager’s Job:

o Customers: Critical for business success.

 o Innovations: Essential for staying competitive.

o Social Media: Important for communication and marketing.

o Sustainability: Key for long-term success and ethical

responsibility.

Why Study Management?

 Skills and Abilities: Needed in today's uncertain, complex, and

chaotic environment.

 Critical Role: Managers are crucial in getting things done and play a
significant role in employee satisfaction and engagement.

Employability Skills for getting and keeping a job

 Critical Thinking: Purpose and goal-oriented thinking.

 Communication: Effective exchange of information.

 Collaboration: Working well with others.

 Knowledge Application and Analysis: Applying knowledge and

analyzing situations.

 Social Responsibility: Ethical and responsible behavior.

Week 1 Class 2: The Roles of Sustainability Professionals

Chapter 2 – The Manager as Decision Maker

The Decision-Making Process

 Definition: Decision making is an eight-step process that involves

identifying a problem, selecting an alternative, and evaluating the
decision’s effectiveness.

 Steps:

1. Identification of a Problem: Recognizing a discrepancy

between an existing state and a desired state.

2. Identifying Decision Criteria: Determining relevant factors

(e.g., price, model, size, manufacturer, repair record).

3. Allocation of Weights: Assigning importance to each criterion.

 4. Development of Alternatives: Listing possible solutions
without evaluating them.

5. Analysis of Alternatives: Assessing each alternative against

the criteria.

6. Selection of an Alternative: Choosing the best alternative

based on the analysis.

7. Implementing the Decision: Putting the decision into action

and ensuring commitment.

8. Evaluation of Decision Effectiveness: Reviewing the outcome

to see if the problem was resolved.

Common Decision-Making Errors & Biases

 Overconfidence: Overestimating one's knowledge or abilities.

 Immediate Gratification: Preferring immediate rewards and avoiding

immediate costs.

 Anchoring Effect: Fixating on initial information and ignoring

subsequent information.

 Selective Perception: Interpreting events based on biased

perceptions.

 Confirmation Bias: Seeking information that reaffirms past choices

and discounting contradictory information.

 Framing Bias: Highlighting certain aspects of a situation while

excluding others.

 Availability Bias: Focusing on recent and vivid events.

 Representation Bias: Assessing the likelihood of an event based on

its similarity to other events.

 Randomness Bias: Creating meaning out of random events.

 Sunk Costs Error: Fixating on past expenditures rather than future

consequences.

 Self-Serving Bias: Taking credit for successes and blaming failures on

external factors.

 Hindsight Bias: Believing one could have predicted an outcome after

it is known.
 Approaches in Decision-Making

1. Rational Model: Assumes logical and consistent choices to maximize

value.

2. Bounded Rationality: Recognizes limitations in information

processing and aims for satisfactory rather than optimal solutions.

o Example: Accepting a job offer that meets most criteria rather

than continuing to search for a potentially better one.

3. Intuitive Decision-Making: Relying on experience, emotions, and

subconscious processing.

o Types:

 Experience-based

 Affect-initiated

 Cognitive-based

 Subconscious Mental Processing

 Value- or Ethics-based

Decision-Making Conditions

 Structured Problems: Clear and straightforward, solved with

procedures, rules, and policies.

Things to use for structured problems:

PROCEDURES- A procedure is a series of interrelated sequential steps

that a manager can use when responding to a well-structured problem.
The only real difficulty is identifying the problem. Once the problem is
clear, so is the procedure.

RULES- A rule is an explicit statement that tells a manager what he or

she must—or must not—do

POLICIES- A third guide for making programmed decisions is a policy.

It provides guidelines to channel a manager’s thinking in a specific
direction.
  Unstructured Problems: New and unusual, requiring unique
solutions.

 Programmed Decisions: Routine and repetitive, used for structured

problems.

 Non-programmed Decisions: Unique and non-recurring, used for

unstructured problems.

Decision making conditions:

1. Certainty: This is the ideal situation where managers can make

accurate decisions because the outcomes of all alternatives are known.
For example, knowing the exact interest rates offered by financial
institutions for depositing funds.

2. Risk: More common than certainty, this condition involves estimating

the likelihood of certain outcomes. Managers use historical data and
secondary information to assign probabilities to different alternatives.

3. Uncertainty: In this situation, managers cannot predict outcomes or

assign probabilities. Decisions are influenced by limited information and
the psychological orientation of the decision maker.

Group Decision-Making

 Advantages:

o More accurate decisions.

o Greater creativity.

o Better acceptance of decisions.

o Increased legitimacy

 Disadvantages:

o Time-consuming.

o Potential for conflict.

o Dominance by a few members.

 o Pressures to conform

 Effective Group Size: 5-7 members.

 Techniques to Improve Group Decision-Making:

o Brainstorming-relatively simple idea-generating process that

specifically encourages any and all alternatives while withholding
criticism of those alternatives.

o Nominal Group Technique-participants secretly write a list of

general problem areas or potential solutions to a problem.

o Electronic Meetings-Participants are presented issues and type

their responses onto their computers. Individual comments, as
well as aggregate votes, are displayed on a projection screen in
the room.

Contemporary Issues in Decision-Making

1. National Culture: Influences decision-making styles and risk

tolerance.

o Example: Japanese group-oriented decision-making vs. American

individualistic approach.

2. Creativity: Enhances problem understanding and alternative

identification.

o Model: Requires expertise, creative-thinking skills, and intrinsic

task motivation.

3. Design Thinking: User-centric, solutions-based approach to problem-

solving.

o Stages: Identifying problems, understanding emotional and

rational aspects, evaluating alternatives.

4. Big Data: Provides powerful tools for decision-making but requires

clear goals for data collection and analysis.

Quantitative Decision-Making Tools

 Payoff Matrixes: Used to evaluate different strategies based on

potential outcomes.

o Optimistic Approach: Selects the strategy with the highest

potential payoff.
 o Pessimistic Approach: Selects the strategy with the least
negative outcome.

o Regret Matrix: Considers the potential regret of not choosing a

better strategy.

 Decision Trees: Visual representation of decision paths and their

possible consequences.

 Break-Even Analysis: Identifies the point at which revenue covers

total costs.

 Linear programming

 Queuing theory

 Economic order quantity model

Chapter 3 – Important Managerial Issues & The Business Canvas

Model

Globalization

 Definition: Globalization is the process of interaction and integration

among people, companies, and governments worldwide.

 Three Ways for an Organization to be Considered Global:

1. Marketplace Globalization: Exchange of goods and services

with other countries.

2. Talent Globalization: Using technical and managerial employee

talent from other countries.

3. Financial Globalization: Using financial sources and resources

outside its own country.

How Organizations Go Global

 Global Sourcing (Outsourcing): Purchasing materials or labor from

the cheapest source to maintain a competitive edge.

 Exporting & Importing:

o Exporting: Making products domestically and selling them

abroad.
 o Importing: Acquiring products made abroad and selling them
domestically.

 Licensing: Agreement where a company sells the right to use its

intellectual property or produce its product to another company for
royalties.

 Franchising: Agreement where the franchisor permits the franchisee

to use its business model or brand name for a fee.

 Strategic Alliance (Joint Venture): Partnership between

organizations to share resources and knowledge for developing new
products or building production facilities.

 Foreign Subsidiary: A company operating in one country but owned

by a parent company based in another country.

Types of MNCs:

Multidomestic corporation: An MNC in which management and other

decisions are decentralized to the local country in which it is operating.

Transnational (borderless) organization: An MNC where artificial

geographical boundaries are eliminated.

Global corporation: An MNC in which management and other

decisions are centralized in the home country.

Managing in a Global Environment

Parochialism A narrow focus where managers see things only through

their own perspective, not recognizing different ways of doing things in
other countries. This attitude cannot succeed in today's global
environment.

Hofstede’s Framework Geert Hofstede's framework analyzes cultural

variations and has significantly impacted our understanding of cultural
differences among countries.

GLOBE Findings The Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior

Effectiveness (GLOBE) research program, led by Robert House, provides
a more recent investigation of leadership and national culture,
 identifying nine dimensions using data from over 17,000 managers in
62 societies.

Managing in Global Organizations

 GLOBE Dimensions of Cultural Difference:

1. Assertiveness

2. Future Orientation

3. Gender Differentiation

4. Uncertainty Avoidance

5. Power Distance

6. Individualism/Collectivism

7. In-group Collectivism

8. Performance Orientation

9. Humane Orientation

What Does Society Expect from Organizations?

 Social Responsibility (CSR): Business’s intention to act in ways that

are good for society beyond legal and economic obligations.

 Social Obligations: Activities to meet economic and legal

responsibilities.

 Social Responsiveness: Engaging in social actions in response to

popular social needs.

Does Social Involvement Affect Economic Performance?

 Studies show a small positive relationship between social involvement

and economic performance, but no generalizable conclusions can be
made due to various contextual factors.

Arguments For and Against Social Responsibility

 For: Enhances company reputation, attracts customers and employees,

and can lead to long-term profitability.

 Against: Diverts resources from profit-making activities, increases

costs, and may not align with shareholder interests.
Ethical & Unethical Behavior

 Ethics: Set of rules and principles defining right or wrong conduct.

 Views on Ethics:

o Utilitarian View: Based on outcomes or consequences for the

greatest good.

o Theory of Justice: Focuses on fairness and equality.

o Rights View: Respects fundamental rights regardless of

consequences.

 Factors Influencing Ethical Behavior:

o Morality, values, personality, and experiences.

 Ensuring Ethical Behavior:

o Lead by example, use a Code of Ethics, reward ethical behavior,

and link job goals to ethical principles.

Ethics Training

 Can Ethics be Taught?

o Critics: Value systems are learned in youth.

o Proponents: Values can be learned, and ethical problem-solving

increases ethical behavior and awareness.

Business Model Canvas

 Definition: A strategic management tool to define and communicate a

business idea or concept.

 Components:

1. Customer Segments: Who are we solving the problem for?

2. Value Propositions: What problem are we solving?

3. Channels: How do we reach our customers?

4. Customer Relationships: How do we interact with our

customers?

5. Revenue Streams: How do we make money?

6. Key Resources: What resources do we need?

 7. Key Activities: What activities do we undertake?

8. Key Partnerships: Who are our partners?

9. Cost Structure: What are our costs?

Sustainable Business Model Canvas

 Eco-Costs: Ecological or social costs caused by the business.

 Eco-Social Benefits: Ecological or social benefits generated by the

business.

Week 3: The Roles of Sustainability Professionals

Chapter 4 – The Management Environment

The External Environment & Its Importance

 Definition: The external environment refers to factors, forces,

situations, and events outside the organization that affect its
performance.

 Components:

o Political/Legal: State and local laws, international laws, and

regulations.

o Demographics: Age, race, gender, education, geographic

location, family composition.

o Economic: Interest rates, inflation, employment/unemployment

rates, disposable income level, stock market fluctuations.

o Sociocultural: Values, attitudes, beliefs, traditions, lifestyles,

behavior.
 o Technological: Scientific and industrial innovations.

o Global: Global force majeure events (e.g., COVID-19).

Why the External Environment is Important

 Impact on Business: Changes in the external environment can

significantly affect business operations and strategies.

 Examples of Major Changes:

o AI and Automation Revolution: Transforming industries by

improving efficiency, decision-making, and customer experience.

o Climate Change and Sustainability Regulations: Stricter

environmental policies from governments and consumers.

o Geopolitical Shifts and Economic Uncertainty: US-China

tensions, regional conflicts, shifting global alliances affecting
trade and supply chains.

o Demographic and Workforce Transformations: Aging

populations, younger generations prioritizing remote work and
work-life balance.

Sharing Economy

 Definition: An economic environment where individuals share their

physical assets, knowledge, expertise, skills, or time with others
through peer-to-peer services for a fee.

 Market Size: Valued at USD 387.1 billion in 2022, projected to reach

USD 827.1 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 7.7%.

 Examples:

o Airbnb: Vacation rentals and homes.

o Uber: Peer-to-peer ridesharing, micro-mobility system with

electric bikes and scooters.

o DogVacay: Hosts take care of pets while owners are away.

 o Lyft: Ride-sharing service.

o Lending Club: Peer-to-peer network for cash loans.

The difference a manager makes in an organization (two views):

Omnipotent view of management: Managers are directly

responsible for an organization’s success or failure.

Symbolic view of management: Managers don’t have a

significant effect on organization’s performance. Performance is
influenced by factors over which managers have little control.

How the External Environment Affects Managers

 Environmental Change, Complexity, and Uncertainty:

o High Complexity: Multinational corporations, pharmaceuticals

with multiple regulations, cultures, technologies, and economic
conditions.

o Low Complexity: Local retail, small service businesses with

fewer variables and simpler decision-making.

o Dynamic: Tech industry, renewable energy requiring continuous

adaptation and innovation.

o Stable: Traditional manufacturing, utilities with more stability

allowing long-term planning.

Managing Stakeholder Relationships

 Importance: Effective management of stakeholder relationships is

crucial for organizational success.

 Case Study Example: Volkswagen emissions scandal and strategies

to rebuild trust with customers, investors, and employees.

Organizational Culture & Its Importance

 Definition: Organizational culture is the shared values, beliefs, and

norms that influence how employees think, feel, and behave.

 Sources of Organizational Culture:

o Mission and Vision of Founders: Founders project what the

organization should be.
 o Shared History: Members create a shared history that binds
them into a community.

o Corporate Rituals: Repetitive activities that express and

reinforce important values and goals.

o Symbols: Office layouts, dress code, material perks.

o Language: Special acronyms, unique terms.

How Culture Affects Managers & Employees

 Problem Solving: Culture helps managers solve problems through

transparency and clear expectations.

 Reduction of Rules: Strong culture reduces the need for extensive

rules and regulations.

 Clarity: Values, goals, and processes are clear for employees in

organizations with a strong culture.

Current Issues in Organizational Culture

 Creating a Customer-Responsive Culture:

o Characteristics: Friendly, attentive, enthusiastic, patient

employees; job environment with control to satisfy customers;
empowerment; role clarity; consistent desire to satisfy customers.

 Creating an Innovative Culture:

o Characteristics: Challenge and involvement, freedom, trust and

openness, idea time, playfulness/humor, conflict resolution,
debates, risk-taking.

 Creating a Sustainability Culture: Focus on environmental and

social responsibility.

 Creating an Ethical Culture: Emphasis on ethical behavior and

decision-making.

 Creating a Learning Culture: Encouraging continuous learning and

development.
Week 4: The Roles of Sustainability Professionals

Chapter 5 – Managing Change

Defining Change

 Organizational Change: Any alteration of an organization’s structure,

technology, or people.

o Changes in Structure: Alterations in authority relationships,

coordination mechanisms, degree of centralization, job design,
etc.

o Changes in Technology: Modifications to the way work is done

or to the methods and equipment used (e.g., computerizing work
processes, adding robotics).

o Changes in People: Changes in employee attitudes,

expectations, perceptions, or behaviors (e.g., team building
efforts).

Forces Creating a Need for Change

 External Forces:

o Marketplace/Competition: Changes in the competitive

landscape.

o Government Laws and Regulations: New or modified

regulations.

o Technology: Technological advancements.

o Labor Markets: Changes in labor supply and demand.

o Economic Changes: Economic fluctuations.

 Internal Forces:

o Strategy: Changes in organizational strategy.

o Workforce Composition: Changes in the demographics of the

workforce.

o Employee Attitudes: Changes in job satisfaction and other

attitudes.

Initiating Change
  Catalysts for Change: Individuals or groups who assume
responsibility for managing the change process.

o Examples: Managers, non-managers, outside consultants.

o Case Study: Steve Jobs at Apple, who implemented significant

changes to save and transform the company.

Approaches to Change

 Calm Waters Metaphor: Planned, gradual change with stability.

o Example: Coca-Cola's shift toward healthier beverages and

sustainability.

o Kurt Lewin’s Three-Step Change Process:

3. Unfreezing: Preparing for change by disrupting the status quo.

4. Changing: Implementing the change.

5. Refreezing: Stabilizing the change to make it permanent.

 White-Water Rapids Metaphor: Constant, unpredictable change

requiring agility.

o Example: Netflix's transformation from DVD rentals to streaming

and content production.

o Characteristics: Continuous adaptation, rapid decision-making,

and innovation.

Managing Resistance to Change

 Reasons for Resistance:

o Uncertainty: Fear of the unknown.

o Habit: Comfort with the current way of doing things.

o Concern Over Personal Loss: Fear of losing status, money,

authority, etc.

o Belief Change is Not in the Organization’s Best Interests:

Perception that the change will harm the organization.

 Techniques for Reducing Resistance:

o Education and Communication: Clear up misunderstandings.

 o Participation: Involve resisters in the decision-making process.

o Facilitation and Support: Help employees deal with fear and

anxiety.

o Negotiation: Exchange something of value for agreement.

o Manipulation and Co-optation: Covertly influence others.

o Coercion: Use direct threats or force.

Managing Employee Stress

 Employee Reactions to Change: Change often creates stress for

employees.

 Symptoms of Stress:

o Physical: Headaches, high blood pressure.

o Psychological: Anxiety, depression.

o Behavioral: Changes in productivity, absenteeism.

 Causes of Stress:

o Job-Related: Task demands, role demands, interpersonal

demands, organizational structure, organizational leadership.

o Personal: Family issues, economic problems, personality type

(Type A vs. Type B).

 Stress Management:

o General Guidelines: Stress can never be eliminated, but

dysfunctional stress can be reduced.

o Job-Related Factors: Improve communication, realistic job

previews.

o Personal Factors: Employee assistance programs, well-being

programs.

Week 5: The Roles of Sustainability Professionals

Chapter 6 – Planning and Goal Setting

Nature and Purposes of Planning

 Definition: Planning is deciding on the organization’s objectives or

goals and establishing an overall strategy for achieving those goals,
along with developing a comprehensive hierarchy of plans to integrate
and coordinate activities.

 Types of Planning:

o Informal Planning: General and lacks continuity, often used by

smaller businesses.

o Formal Planning: Defines specific goals to be met in a specific

time period, written down and made available to organization
members.

Reasons for Planning

 Coordinated Effort: Provides direction to managers and employees.

 Reduces Uncertainty: Forces managers to anticipate change and

develop appropriate responses.

 Reduces Overlapping and Wasteful Activities: Coordination before

the fact uncovers waste and redundancy.

 Establishes Goals and Standards: Facilitates managerial control.

Criticisms of Formal Planning

 Creates Rigidity: Managers need to remain flexible and not be tied to

a course of action simply because it’s the plan.

 Cannot Replace Intuition and Creativity: Planning should enhance

and support intuition and creativity.

 Focuses on Today’s Competition: Managers should plan with an eye

to untapped opportunities.

 Reinforces Success Leading to Failure: Managers may need to face

the unknown and do things in new ways to be successful.

Formal Planning and Organizational Performance

 Benefits: Generally translates into higher profits, higher return on

assets, and other positive financial results.

 Quality of Planning Process: Contributes more to high performance

than the extent of planning.
  Environmental Constraints: Can affect performance despite formal
planning.

The Strategic Management Process

 Definition: Strategic management is the ongoing planning,

monitoring, analysis, and assessment of all necessities an organization
needs to meet its goals and objectives.

 Steps in the Strategic Management Process:

1. Identify Mission, Goals, and Strategies: Define the

organization’s purpose.

2. External Analysis: Examine components of the environment

(PESTEL) to identify threats and opportunities.

3. Internal Analysis: Assess resources, capabilities, core

competencies, strengths, and weaknesses.

4. Formulate Strategies: Design strategies considering external

environment and available resources.

5. Implement Strategies: Execute the formulated strategies.

6. Evaluate Results: Assess the effectiveness of strategies and

make necessary adjustments.

Strategies Managers Use

 Corporate Strategies: Specify what businesses a company is in and

what it wants to do with those businesses.

o Growth Strategy: Expands markets or products.

o Stability Strategy: Used during periods of uncertainty.

o Renewal Strategy: Applied during troubled times.

 Competitive Strategies: Focus on cost leadership, differentiation, or

focus (cost advantage or differentiation advantage in a narrow niche).

 Functional Strategies: Used by various functional departments such

as operations, finance/accounting, marketing, etc.

Strategic Weapons

 Customer Service: Enhances customer satisfaction and loyalty.

 Employee Skills and Loyalty: Critical for organizational success.

  Innovation: Drives competitive advantage.

 Quality: Attracts and holds a loyal customer base.

 Social Media: Connects people and reduces costs or increases

revenue possibilities.

 Big Data/Digital Tools: Improves decision making and performance.

Approaches to Goal Setting and Planning

 Traditional Goal Setting: Goals set by top managers flow down

through the organization and become sub-goals for each area.

 Management by Objectives (MBO): Setting mutually agreed-upon

goals and using those goals to evaluate employee performance.

o Elements of MBO: Goal specificity, participative decision

making, explicit period, performance feedback.

Well-Written Goals

 Written in terms of outcomes rather than actions.

 Measurable and quantifiable.

 Clear as to a time frame.

 Challenging yet attainable.

 Written down.

 Communicated to all necessary organizational members.

Steps in Goal Setting

1. Review the organization’s mission and employees’ key job tasks.

2. Evaluate available resources.

3. Determine the goals individually or with input from others.

4. Make sure goals are well-written and communicated.

5. Build in feedback mechanisms to assess goal progress.

6. Link rewards to goal attainment.

Types of Plans
Developing Plans

 Contingency Factors:

o Organizational level.

o Degree of environmental uncertainty.

o Length of future commitments.

Long term plans: Plans with a time frame beyond three years

Short term plans: Plans of one year or less

Specific plans: Plans that are clearly defined and leave no room for
interpretation

Directional plans: Plans that are flexible and set general guidelines

Single-use plan: A one-time plan specifically designed to meet the needs of

a unique situation

Standing plans: Plans that are ongoing and guidance for activities
performed repeatedly
Week 6: The Roles of Sustainability Professionals

Chapter 7 – Structuring and Designing Organizations

Six Key Elements in Organizational Design

 Organizational Design: The process of aligning an organization's

structure, systems, processes, and people to its strategy and goals.

 Elements of Organizational Structure:

1. Work Specialization: Dividing work activities into separate

tasks to increase efficiency.

2. Departmentalization: Grouping jobs together based on

function, product, customer, geography, or process.

3. Authority and Responsibility: Rights inherent in a managerial

position to give orders and expect them to be obeyed.

4. Span of Control: The number of employees a manager can

effectively and efficiently supervise.

5. Centralization vs. Decentralization: Degree to which

decision-making is concentrated at upper levels or distributed to
lower levels.

6. Formalization: How standardized an organization’s jobs are and

the extent to which employee behavior is guided by rules and
procedures.

Work Specialization

 Definition: Division of work activities into separate job tasks.

 Advantages: Increased productivity and efficiency.

 Disadvantages: Human diseconomies such as boredom, fatigue,

stress, low productivity, poor quality, increased absenteeism, and high
turnover.

Departmentalization

 Types:

1. Functional: Grouping activities by function (e.g., engineering,

accounting).
 2. Product: Grouping activities by product line (e.g., footwear,
equipment).

3. Customer: Grouping activities by customer type (e.g., retail,

wholesale).

4. Geographic: Grouping activities by geographic region (e.g.,

North, South).

5. Process: Grouping activities by work or customer flow (e.g.,

testing, payment).

Authority and Responsibility

 Authority: Rights inherent in a managerial position to give orders.

 Responsibility: Obligation to perform and be accountable for

performance.

 Types of Authority:

o Line Authority: Directs the work of an employee.

o Staff Authority: Supports and advises line managers.

Power vs. Authority

 Authority: Based on position in the organization.

 Power: Ability to influence decisions, not necessarily tied to a position.

Span of Control

 Definition: Number of employees a manager can effectively supervise.

 Factors Influencing Span of Control: Employee experience, task

similarity, task complexity, physical proximity, standardized
procedures, management information systems, organizational value
system, manager’s preferred style.

Centralization vs. Decentralization

 Centralization: Decision-making concentrated at upper levels.

 Decentralization: Decision-making distributed to lower levels.

 Traditional View: Power concentrated near the top.

 Current View: Decisions made by individuals closest to the problems.

Formalization
  Definition: How standardized an organization’s jobs are.

 Traditional Approach: High formalization with explicit job

descriptions and numerous rules.

 Current Approach: Less reliance on strict rules, more flexibility.

Mechanistic and Organic Design Models

 Mechanistic Organization: Rigid and tightly controlled structure with

high specialization, rigid departmentalization, clear chain of command,
narrow spans of control, centralization, and high formalization.

 Organic Organization: Highly adaptive and flexible structure with

collaboration, adaptable duties, few rules, informal communication,
decentralized decision authority, and wider spans of control.

Examples of Mechanistic and Organic Organizations

 Mechanistic Organizations:

o McDonald's: Centralized decision-making, strict procedures,

clearly defined roles.

o Ford Motor Company: Hierarchical structure, specialized roles,

centralized authority.

o U.S. Military: Command-and-control leadership, standardized

training, strict chain of command.

 Organic Organizations:

o Google: Decentralized structure, creative freedom, open

communication.

o Spotify: Agile model with cross-functional teams, frequent

collaboration.

o Tesla (R&D Teams): Collaboration across disciplines, rapid

prototyping, continuous updates.

Contingency Factors Favoring Mechanistic or Organic Models

 Strategy and Structure: Simple strategy means simple structure;

elaborate strategy means more complex structure.

 Size and Structure: Large organizations (>2,000 employees) tend to

be mechanistic; smaller organizations can be organic.
  Technology and Structure: Stable and routine technologies favor
mechanistic structures; dynamic and complex technologies favor
organic structures.

 Environment and Structure: Stable environment favors mechanistic

structure; dynamic/uncertain environment favors organic structure.

Traditional and Contemporary Organizational Designs

 Traditional Designs:

o Simple Structure: Low departmentalization, wide spans of

control, centralized authority, little formalization.

o Functional Structure: Groups employees based on functions.

o Divisional Structure: Groups employees based on product lines

or geographic regions.

 Contemporary Designs:

o Team Structure: Entire organization made up of work teams.

o Matrix Structure: Specialists from different departments work

on projects led by a project manager.

o Project Structure: Employees continuously work on projects.

o Boundaryless Structure: Not defined by horizontal, vertical, or

external boundaries.

Contingent workers: temporary, freelance or contract workers whose

employment is contingent upon demand for their services.

Learning organization: An organization that has developed the capacity to

continuosly learn, adapt, and change.
Week 7: Controlling Work and Organizational Processes
Importance of Control

 Definition: Control is the management function that involves

monitoring activities to ensure that they’re being accomplished as
planned and correcting any significant deviations.

 Value of Control Function:

o Planning: Provides a critical link to planning by ensuring goals

and plans are being achieved.

o Empowering Employees: Provides information and feedback on

employee performance, minimizing the chance of problems.

o Protecting the Workplace: Helps minimize disruptions from

natural disasters, financial pressures, workplace violence, supply
chain disruptions, security breaches, and terrorist attacks.

Three Steps in the Control Process

1. Measuring Performance:

o Sources of Information: Personal observation, statistical

reports, oral reports, written reports.

o Personal Observation: Provides firsthand, unfiltered knowledge

of actual activity but is subject to perceptual biases and is time-
consuming.

o Statistical Reports: Include graphs, bar charts, and numerical

displays but may ignore important subjective factors.

o Oral Reports: Fast and allow for feedback but are filtered.

o Written Reports: More comprehensive and concise but require

more preparation time.

2. Comparing Performance to Goals:

o Example: Chris Tanner at Green Earth Gardening Supply

compares sales goals with actual sales figures to determine
significant deviations.

o Range of Variation: Critical to determine an acceptable range

of variation; deviations outside this range require attention.

3. Correcting Performance:
 o Possible Actions: Do nothing, correct the actual performance,
or revise the standards.

o Immediate Corrective Action: Corrects problems right away to

get performance back on track.

o Basic Corrective Action: Looks at how and why performance

deviated before correcting the source of deviation.

Three Types of Control that Organizations and Managers Use

1. Feedforward Control: Prevents problems before they occur by taking

place before the actual activity starts.

o Example: McDonald’s quality control experts helping Russian

farmers grow high-quality potatoes.

o Example: Scheduled preventive maintenance programs on

aircraft.

2. Concurrent Control: Takes place while a work activity is in progress.

o Example: Google’s team monitoring online ads performance

hour by hour.

o Example: Nvidia’s CEO using MBWA (Management by Walking

Around) to stay available to employees.

3. Feedback Control: Takes place after the activity is done.

o Advantages: Provides meaningful information on planning

effectiveness and enhances motivation.

o Example: Sales review after the activity is completed.

What Gets Controlled?

 Organization’s Finances:

o Ratio Analysis: Assessing financial health.

o Budget Analysis: Comparing budgeted figures with actual

performance.

 Organization’s Information: Management Information System (MIS).

 Employees’ Performance: Quantifiable and non-quantifiable

measures.
  Balanced Scorecard Approach: Looks at financial, customer, internal
processes, and people/innovation/growth assets.

Contemporary Issues in Control

1. Cross-Cultural Differences:

o Western Cultures: Individualistic and direct performance

evaluation.

o Eastern Cultures: Collectivism and group harmony in

performance evaluation.

2. Workplace Concerns:

o Controlling Employee Theft: Unauthorized taking of company

property by employees.

 Reasons for Theft: Opportunity, financial pressures,

rationalization.

 Control Measures: Feedforward, concurrent, and

feedback controls.

o Controlling Workplace Violence: Addressing factors

contributing to workplace violence.

 Control Measures: Feedforward, concurrent, and

feedback controls.