business administration case study
Content
MAKERERE UNIVERSITY MAKERERE UNIVERSITY BUSINESS SCHOOL
PROGRAMME: COURSE UNIT: ACADEMIC YEAR: SEMESTER: DATE: YEAR: FACILITATOR:
MSC. ENTREPRENEURSHIP BUSINESS ADMINSTRATION 2007/2008 TWO 21/05/08 ONE MR. BAGIRE VINCENT
NAME: APOLOT STELLA ODHIAMBO ANITA AKINYI FRANCIS KAWAGGA
REG NO: MUBS07/02/7022 MUBS07/02/7102
SIGN ……… ……….. …………
Task;
Scientific Management Case Question: Explain how the external business environment affected the operations of Dove stationers.
1.0 Introduction Dove Stationers Ltd is one of the businesses operated by the National youth Apostolate office (NYAO) of the Uganda Catholic Secretariat. NYAO businesses are under DOVE limited company registered with limited guarantee. The corporate mission of NYAO/ DOVE Limited Company is holistic service and business growth with Christian values. However Dove stationers as a business was set with the mission to raise local revenue and provide employment to young people finishing training. From the case Dove Stationers focuses mainly on providing services such as binding, typesetting, photocopying, laminating, packaging and document sealing. The key players in the case include the business owners – NYAO, decision makers (Board members), managers, supervisors and the employees. The case is about complexity of management and the dynamism in the organizational environment. Key issues in the case include among others, conflict in management issues such as scientific approach verses behavioral approach leading to different methods of work, structural issues leading problems in decision making, clarity in defined responsibility and authority as in the case of receiving orders by either Aisu or Kain, issues of control in terms of revenue and costs, conflicts in leadership styles and attitude to work. Also evident in the case is the issue of unclear defined procedure of work and different strategies / approaches in doing business not alignment to the corporate mission, technology issues, and issues of experience, flexibility and work conflicts among employees as well as control and authority.
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2. Explain how the external business environment affected the operations of Dove stationers 2.1 Introduction
The environmental structure of each company is divided into three basic environments with each part having sub sectors that should form the major foci of that particular environmental structure. These different environments and their structures may be defined as a general environment which is the level of an organization’s external environment made up of components that are normally broad in scope and have little immediate application for managing an organization, operating environment which is the
level of the firm’s external environment that has an immediate impact on the firm’s operations and profitability and the internal environment which is the level
which exists inside the organization and has immediate and specific implications for managing the organization. Whereas the general environment has mainly social, economic, political, legal and technical components, the operational external environment is comprised of factors related to the international implications of organizational operation variables related to those who provide the resources, factors that influence the supply of workers that are available and able to perform specific organizational tasks such as skill levels, trainability, desired wage rates, the average age (or average working life) of potential workers, and the desirability of working for a particular organization as perceived by potential workers. Also consists of those with whom a business must compete in order to secure resources and sell products and the characteristics and behavior of those who buy goods and services provided by the organization. 2.2 Effects of external business environment on operations of Dove Stationers The effects of external business on operations of Dove Stationers may be looked both at the broader level and operational level. At the broader level the social component is seen to affect the operations of Dove in terms of different languages, educational levels, age and lifestyles. In the case Kain‘s fragility with various languages is said to have played a role in developing customer loyalty. Social effect is also exhibited in the failure of the job card that most customers
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refused to sign was probably due their low level of education on the role of such tools in improving efficiency or customers being informed on issues of liability. The need for customer touch in terms of a smile, personal taking of the instructions other than the job card, personal attachment to staff, need to be available when work is done are all the behavioral nature of the Dove customers that in one way or the other affected its operations . In the case effects from technical aspects in terms of new approaches to producing services by Dove Stationers including new procedures as well as new equipment is seen to affect the operations of Dove due to failure of adoption by customers and the managers/ employees. Evident in the case is the failure in the use of job card, stock movement sheet yet the development had a potential to improve efficiency of operations and customer satisfaction. At the operating environment, it is evident in the case that the labor at Dove is not experienced since Dove project was set up to provide employment to young people finishing training. This could have led to limitations in skills and desirability of working for the organization .The average age of workers being young could have also been among the contributing factors to job conflicts and failure to adhere to procedures including subordination as evidenced in the case. In the case it is evident that mangers had conflicting approaches in regard to behavioral or scientific approach of management and this could have been as result of limited experience making mangers more theoretical other than being practical therefore failure to use both approaches to enhance productivity and efficiency at work. NYAO corporate business is built on principles of holistic service and business growth with Christian values and in the case failure of managers to build this component in their style of management affected much operations of Dove Stationers. Competition is another factor that affected Dove operations because whenever customers were not satisfied or were delayed they went to the competitor stationary shop across the road
Conclusion In conclusion to mitigate the effects of external business environment, the management of Dove Stationers needs to be re-engineered to both behavioral
4
and scientific management approaches in line with the main business principles of incorporate holistic of holistic service and business growth with Christian values
service and business growth with Christian values. Flexibility and mechanisms of control need to be adopted in the system. Human resource strategy concerned with attracting, assessing, motivating, training and succession needs crafted .Likewise a collaborative and cultural approach is required where managers are coordinators and other members are encouraged to contribute their points of view which will help in building value supportive value system.
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PROGRAMME: COURSE UNIT: ACADEMIC YEAR: SEMESTER: DATE: YEAR: FACILITATOR:
MSC. ENTREPRENEURSHIP BUSINESS ADMINSTRATION 2007/2008 TWO 21/05/08 ONE MR. BAGIRE VINCENT
NAME: APOLOT STELLA ODHIAMBO ANITA AKINYI FRANCIS KAWAGGA
REG NO: MUBS07/02/7022 MUBS07/02/7102
SIGN ……… ……….. …………
Task;
Scientific Management Case Question: Explain how the external business environment affected the operations of Dove stationers.
1.0 Introduction Dove Stationers Ltd is one of the businesses operated by the National youth Apostolate office (NYAO) of the Uganda Catholic Secretariat. NYAO businesses are under DOVE limited company registered with limited guarantee. The corporate mission of NYAO/ DOVE Limited Company is holistic service and business growth with Christian values. However Dove stationers as a business was set with the mission to raise local revenue and provide employment to young people finishing training. From the case Dove Stationers focuses mainly on providing services such as binding, typesetting, photocopying, laminating, packaging and document sealing. The key players in the case include the business owners – NYAO, decision makers (Board members), managers, supervisors and the employees. The case is about complexity of management and the dynamism in the organizational environment. Key issues in the case include among others, conflict in management issues such as scientific approach verses behavioral approach leading to different methods of work, structural issues leading problems in decision making, clarity in defined responsibility and authority as in the case of receiving orders by either Aisu or Kain, issues of control in terms of revenue and costs, conflicts in leadership styles and attitude to work. Also evident in the case is the issue of unclear defined procedure of work and different strategies / approaches in doing business not alignment to the corporate mission, technology issues, and issues of experience, flexibility and work conflicts among employees as well as control and authority.
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2. Explain how the external business environment affected the operations of Dove stationers 2.1 Introduction
The environmental structure of each company is divided into three basic environments with each part having sub sectors that should form the major foci of that particular environmental structure. These different environments and their structures may be defined as a general environment which is the level of an organization’s external environment made up of components that are normally broad in scope and have little immediate application for managing an organization, operating environment which is the
level of the firm’s external environment that has an immediate impact on the firm’s operations and profitability and the internal environment which is the level
which exists inside the organization and has immediate and specific implications for managing the organization. Whereas the general environment has mainly social, economic, political, legal and technical components, the operational external environment is comprised of factors related to the international implications of organizational operation variables related to those who provide the resources, factors that influence the supply of workers that are available and able to perform specific organizational tasks such as skill levels, trainability, desired wage rates, the average age (or average working life) of potential workers, and the desirability of working for a particular organization as perceived by potential workers. Also consists of those with whom a business must compete in order to secure resources and sell products and the characteristics and behavior of those who buy goods and services provided by the organization. 2.2 Effects of external business environment on operations of Dove Stationers The effects of external business on operations of Dove Stationers may be looked both at the broader level and operational level. At the broader level the social component is seen to affect the operations of Dove in terms of different languages, educational levels, age and lifestyles. In the case Kain‘s fragility with various languages is said to have played a role in developing customer loyalty. Social effect is also exhibited in the failure of the job card that most customers
3
refused to sign was probably due their low level of education on the role of such tools in improving efficiency or customers being informed on issues of liability. The need for customer touch in terms of a smile, personal taking of the instructions other than the job card, personal attachment to staff, need to be available when work is done are all the behavioral nature of the Dove customers that in one way or the other affected its operations . In the case effects from technical aspects in terms of new approaches to producing services by Dove Stationers including new procedures as well as new equipment is seen to affect the operations of Dove due to failure of adoption by customers and the managers/ employees. Evident in the case is the failure in the use of job card, stock movement sheet yet the development had a potential to improve efficiency of operations and customer satisfaction. At the operating environment, it is evident in the case that the labor at Dove is not experienced since Dove project was set up to provide employment to young people finishing training. This could have led to limitations in skills and desirability of working for the organization .The average age of workers being young could have also been among the contributing factors to job conflicts and failure to adhere to procedures including subordination as evidenced in the case. In the case it is evident that mangers had conflicting approaches in regard to behavioral or scientific approach of management and this could have been as result of limited experience making mangers more theoretical other than being practical therefore failure to use both approaches to enhance productivity and efficiency at work. NYAO corporate business is built on principles of holistic service and business growth with Christian values and in the case failure of managers to build this component in their style of management affected much operations of Dove Stationers. Competition is another factor that affected Dove operations because whenever customers were not satisfied or were delayed they went to the competitor stationary shop across the road
Conclusion In conclusion to mitigate the effects of external business environment, the management of Dove Stationers needs to be re-engineered to both behavioral
4
and scientific management approaches in line with the main business principles of incorporate holistic of holistic service and business growth with Christian values
service and business growth with Christian values. Flexibility and mechanisms of control need to be adopted in the system. Human resource strategy concerned with attracting, assessing, motivating, training and succession needs crafted .Likewise a collaborative and cultural approach is required where managers are coordinators and other members are encouraged to contribute their points of view which will help in building value supportive value system.
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