Introduction to Management .. please assist me with answering the following questions:

1. Define Management and describe two important ideas expressed in the definition.

2. What are technical skills? At what level are they most important and why?

3. Why are conceptual skills most important for top managers?

4. Identify the different roles that managers perform and discuss the importance of these roles in the achievement of organizational goals and objectives.

5. Distinguish between efficiency and effectiveness? As a student at the University of Technology, Jamaica suggest ways in which you could apply efficiency and effectiveness to enhance your academic performance.

6. Mr. Hall, Lecturer in the School of Building and Land Management (UTech) stated that"managers are people who stand in the way of progress." Do you agree or disagree with the statement? Give points to support you answer.

7. A college professor told her students that "the purpose of a management course is to teach students about management, not to teach them to be managers." Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Give points to support your position.

8. Do the roles that managers play change according to organization or industry? Explain your answer with the use of examples.

Mini Case

Hector, who is a Hispanic, has been working for a promotion for a long time. He works for a shipping company on the loading dock. The company is located in rural North Carolina. His job has been to drive a forklift and to occasionally load by hand boxes into large trucks. He reports to a loading supervisor who coordinates all the work of four forklift operators and makes sure the loads are accurate and ready to go on time.

Finally, Hector's hard work has paid off for him. His supervisor, Paul, has been promoted, and Hector was recommended to take his place. He has now been the supervisor for two weeks. Already he has begun to worry about whether he should have taken the job or not. He just can't seem to get the men working for him to move fast enough. Frequently, his loads are late in being finished and often they contain the wrong boxes. He cannot understand where he is going wrong. As a forklift operator he always received excellent ratings and has always been a hard worker.

1. What are some possible explanations for Hector's problems?
2. If you were Hector's boss, what would you recommend that he does?

Multiple Choice:Circle the letter that corresponds with the correct answer.

1. According to Mintzberg, when Mrs. Black, the manager at Grace Jamaica Ltd. attends a subordinate's wedding she is performing which of these roles?

a.	Monitoring
b.	Figurehead
c.	Spokesperson
d.	Leader
e.	Liaison

2. ____ managers are responsible for departments that perform a single functional task and have employees with similar training and skills.

a.	Top
b.	Middle
c.	First-line
d.	Bottom
e.	Functional

3. When senior managers at Grace, Inc. decided to become the number one service-quality clothing company in the world, they were engaging in the management function of

a.	planning.
b.	organizing.
c.	leading.
d.	controlling.
e.	dreaming.

4. Taylor White is a general manager. Which of the following best describes her position?

a.	She is responsible for several departments that perform different functions.
b.	She organizes people across departments to perform a specific task.
c.	She is responsible for one specific department (e.g., marketing).
d.	She supervises employees with similar training and skills.
e.	None of these

5. Marley is the executive director of the local Community for Critters. Her level in the management hierarchy is that of a(n)

a.	first-line manager.
b.	middle manager.
c.	top manager.
d.	consultant.
e.	operative.

6. According to the text, what are the skills used by managers when performing the four functions of management?

a.	Conceptual, interpersonal, and organizational
b.	Functional, problem-solving, and technical
c.	Analytical, interpersonal, and financial
d.	Conceptual, human, and technical
e.	Communication, strategic, and innovative

7. A manager's ____ skill is demonstrated in the way a manager relates to other people.

a.	Conceptual
b.	Human
c.	Technical
d.	Leading
e.	Controlling

Scenario - Barry Miller

The promotion to first line manager took place just six weeks ago for Barry Miller. He was well qualified for the promotion, but the new job still required a lot of training. One of the challenges has been to coordinate the production of his team with the needs of the sales department and with the availability of raw materials from his suppliers. Setting priorities and developing schedules to accomplish the work is a part of Barry's job that he has really enjoyed. The challenges to maintain high rapport and to build a strong team with his employees have already brought him a lot of satisfaction. In reflecting about the last six weeks, Barry concludes that he is very happy about his new job.

1. In his job, Barry needs to

a.	plan.
b.	organize.
c.	lead.
d.	control.
e.	all of these.

2. The managerial skill that is least important at Barry's middle-level management position is

a.	conceptual.
b.	human.
c.	technical.
d.	all of these skills are vital.
e.	none of these skills are important.

3. By maintaining information links, Barry Miller was exhibiting the interpersonal role of

a.	figurehead.
b.	leader.
c.	liaison.
d.	monitor.
e.	spokesperson.

4. With setting priorities and setting schedules, Barry was participating in the decisional role of

a.	entrepreneur.
b.	disturbance handler.
c.	disseminator.
d.	resource allocator.
e.	monitor.