As organizers have come to (deny/realize) that situational factors dictate how many people a manager can directly supervise, the notion of ideal span of control has (become/combined) obsolete.

The speaking module

II. Speaking Exercises:

Exercise 1. Describe organization charts; contingency design, decentralization, matrix organization, line and staff organization using the suggested words as in example:

organization charts helpful, structural, horizontal, hierarchy, visual, skeleton, structural, delineate example: Organization charts are helpful visual aids for organizers. Representing the organization’s structural skeleton, organization charts delineate vertical hierarchy and horizontal specialization.

contingency design demands, situations, uncertainty, to fit, setup, situational, all, environmental

decentralization democratic, reducing, authority, delegation, praised, lower-level managers, control

matrix organization organic, achieve, authority, horizontal, coordinated, combine, vertical, projects, because

line and staff organization balance, command, functional, temporary, line, by giving, unity, staff, serves

Exercise 2. Ask questions to the given answers:

1) Question:

Answer: There are four basic departmentalization formats, each with its own combination of advantages and disadvantages.

2) Question:

Answer: Strategic business foster a high degree of decentralization.

3) Question:

Answer: Diagnosing the degree of environmental uncertainty is an important first step in contingency design.

The writing module

III. Writing exercises:

Exercise 1. Complete the sentences with the suggested words: step, advocates, uncertainty,

fit, should

The idea behind contingency design is to structure the organization to _____ situational demands. Consequently, contingency ______ contend that there is no one best organizational setup for all situations. Diagnosing the degree of environmental ______ is an important first _____ in contingency design. Field studies have validated the assumption that organiza tion structure _______ vary according to the situation.

Exercise 2. Compose a story on one of the topics (up to 100 words):

“ Organizing is a n important managerial function”

“Basic departmentalization formats”

“ Design variables available to organizers”

Lesson 5 The reading module

Read the text: Strategic management

Strategic management sets the stage for virtually all managerial activity. Managers at all levels need to think strategically and be familiar with the strategic management process for three reasons: farsightedness is encour aged, the rationale behind top-level decisions becomes more apparent, and strategy formulation and implementation are more decentralized today. Strategic management is defined as the ongoing process of ensuring a competitively superior fit between the organization and its ever-changing environment. Strategic management effectively merges strategic planning, implementation, and control.

Strategic thinking, the ability to look ahead and spot key organization/ environment interdependencies, is necessary for successful strategic man agreement and planning. Three tools that can help managers think strate gically are synergy (the 2 +2 =5 effect), product life cycles that trace the life of a product through its introduction, growth, maturity, and decline stages and Porter's three generic strategies. Porter's three strategies are overall cost leadership, differentiation, and focus.

The strategic management process consists of four major steps: (1) formulation of grand strategy, (2) formulation of strategic plans, (3) implementation of strategic plans, and (4) strategic control. Ongoing evaluation after each of these steps and corrective action based on feedback help keep the strategic management process on track. Strategists formulate the organization’s grand strategy by conducting a situational analysis and identifying the driving forces. Results-oriented strategic plans that specify what, when, and how are then formulated and translated downward into more specific and shorter-term intermediate and operational plans. Problems encountered along the way should be detected by the strategic control or by ongoing evaluation and subjected to corrective action.

Event outcome, event timing, and time series forecasts help strategic planners anticipate and prepare for future environmental circumstances. Event outcome forecasts are used when strategists want to predict the outcome of a highly probable future event. Event timing forecasts predict when, if ever, a given event will occur. Time series forecasts seek to determine future values in a sequence of values recorded at fixed intervals. Popular forecasting techniques among today’s managers are informed judgment, surveys, and trend analysis.

I. Reading Exercises:

Exercise 1. Read and memorize using a dictionary:

farsightedness, rationale, implementation, synergy, growth, maturity, decline stages, leadership, feedback, forecasting, merge, ongoing process, differentiation

Exercise 2. Answer the questions:

1. Why should managers at all levels need to think strategically and be familiar with the strategic management process?

2) What is strategic thinking?

3) What tools can help managers?

1. What is ongoing evaluation based on?

Exercise 3. Match the left part with the right:

1. Strategic thinking	a) are translated downward into more specific operational plans
2. Results-oriented strategic plans	b) is necessary for successful strategic man agement and planning.
3. Strategic management effectively	c) are more decentralized today.
4. Strategy formulation and implementation	d) merges strategic planning, implementation, and control.

Exercise 4. Open brackets choosing the right words:

Problems (predicted/encountered) along the way should be detected by the strategic control or by ongoing evaluation and (subjected/implemented) to corrective action.

The speaking module

II. Speaking Exercises:

Exercise 1. Describe strategic management, strategic thinking, result-oriented strategic plans, time series forecasts, event timing forecasts

using the suggested words and expressions as in example:

strategic management ensuring, ongoing, environment, competitively, fit, ever-changing, implementation example: Strategic management is defined as the ongoing process of ensuring a competitively superior fit between the organization and its ever-changing environment. Strategic management effectively merges strategic planning, implementation, and control.

strategic thinking interdependencies, planning, ability, synergy, cycles, tools, environment, look ahead

result-oriented strategic plans downward, when, operational, translated, what, shorter-terms, how, intermediate

time series forecasts values, intervals, determine, sequence, fixed, seek, future, at

event timing forecasts occur, event, given, predict, if ever, will

Exercise 2. Ask questions to the given answers:

1) Question:

Answer: Strategic management effectively merges strategic planning, implementation, and control.

2) Question:

Answer: Popular forecasting techniques among today’s managers are informed judgment, surveys, and trend analysis.

3) Question:

Answer: Event outcome, event timing, and time series forecasts help strategic planners anticipate and prepare for future environmental circumstances.

The writig module

III. Writing exercises:

Exercise 1. Complete the sentence with the suggested words:

trace, that, through, decline, strate gically

Three tools ____ can help managers think ______ are synergy, product life cycles that _____ the life of a product _____ its introduction, growth, maturity, and ______ stages and Porter's three generic strategies.

Exercise 2. Compose a story on one of the topics (up to 100 words):

“ Strategic thinking”

“Major steps of strategic management”

“Forecasts in management”

Lesson 6 The reading module

Read the text: Organizations

Organizations need to be understood and intelligently managed because they are an ever-present feature of modern life. When people gather together and formally agree to combine their efforts for a common purpose, an organization is the result. All organizations, whatever their purpose, have four characteristics: (1) coordination of effort, (2) common goal or purpose, (3) division of labor, and (4) hierarchy of authority. If one of these characteristics is absent, an organization does not exist. Coordination of efforts multiplies individual contributions. A common goal or purpose gives organization members a rallying point. By systematically dividing complex tasks into specialized jobs, an organization can efficiently use its human resources. Division of labor permits organization member to become more proficient by repeatedly doing the same specialized task. Organization theorists have defined authority as the right to direct the action of others. Without a recognized hierarchy of authority, coordination of effort is difficult, if not impossible, to achieve.

Organizational classifications aid systematic analysis and study of organizations. There is no universally accepted classification scheme among organization theorists. Two useful ways of classifying organizations are by purpose and technology. In regard to purpose, organizations can be classified as business, not-for-profit service, mutual benefit, or common weal. In regard to technology, there are long-linked, mediating, and inten sive technologies. Each of these technologies has characteristic strengths and weaknesses.

Modern organization theorists tend to prefer open-system thinking because it realistically incorporates organizations' environmental dependency. Early manage ment writers proposed tightly controlled authoritarian organizations. Max Weber, a German sociologist, applied the label bureaucracy to his formula for the most rationally efficient type of organization. Bureaucracies are characterized by their division of labor, hierarchy of authority, framework of rules, and impersonality. Unfortunately, in actual practice, bureaucracy has become a synonym for a red tape and inefficiency. The answer to this bureaucratic paradox is to understand that bureaucracy is a matter of degree. When bureaucratic characteristics, which are present in all organizations, are carried to an extreme, efficiency gives way to inefficiency.

Barnard’s acceptance theory of authority and growing environmental complexity and uncertainty questioned traditional organization theory. Open-system thinking became a promising alternative because it was useful in explaining the necessity of creating flexible and adaptable rather than rigid organizations.

I. Reading Exercises:

Exercise 1. Read and memorize using a dictionary:

impact, purpose, goal, not-for-profit service, mutual benefit, common weal, division of labor, hierarchy of authority, framework of rules, impersonality, bureaucracy, red tape, inefficiency

Exercise 2. Answer the questions:

1. Why do organizations need to be understood and intelligently managed?

2. What systems do modern organization theorists tend to prefer?

3. What are bureaucracies characterized by?

4. When does efficiency give way to inefficiency?

Exercise 3. Match the left part with the right:

1. By systematically dividing complex tasks into specialized jobs,	a) are by purpose and technology
2. Bureaucracies are characterized	b) an organization can efficiently use its human resources.
3. Modern organiza tion theorists tend to prefer open-system thinking	c) by their division of labor, hierarchy of authority, framework of rules, and impersonality.
4. Two useful ways of classifying organizations	d) because it realistically incorporates organizations' environmental dependency.

Exercise 4. Open brackets choosing the right words:

When bureaucratic characteristics, which are present in all organizations, are (carried/divided) to an extreme, efficiency (grows/gives) way to inefficiency.