Describe how organizations benefit from total quality management.

Describe how organizations benefit from total quality management.

Total quality management (TQM) is the coordination of efforts directed at improving customer satisfaction, increasing employee participation, strengthening supplier partnerships, and facilitating an organizational atmosphere of continuous quality improvement.

Another tool used for TQM is benchmarking, which involves comparing and evaluating the products, processes, or management practices of another organization that is superior in some way in order to improve quality.

The five basic steps in benchmarking are identifying objectives, forming a benchmarking team, collecting data, analyzing data, and acting on the results. To have an effective TQM program, top management must make a strong, sustained commitment to the effort and must be able to coordinate all the program's elements so that they work in harmony.


Benefits of TQM include lower operating costs, higher return on sales and on investment, and an improved ability to use premium pricing rather than competitive pricing.

Discuss the steps in the managerial decision-making process.

Discuss the steps in the managerial decision-making process.

Decision making, an integral part of a manager's work, is the process of developing a set of possible alternative solutions to a problem and choosing one alternative from among the set.

Managerial decision making involves four steps: 

1. Managers must accurately identify problems, 
2. generate several possible solutions, 
3. choose the solution that will be most effective under the circumstances, and 
4. implement and evaluate the chosen course of action.

Explain the different types of leadership.

Explain the different types of leadership.

Managers' effectiveness often depends on their styles of leadership—that is, their ability to influence others, either formally or informally. Autocratic leaders are very task oriented; they tell their employees exactly what is expected from them and give them specific instructions on how to do their assigned tasks.


Participative leaders consult their employees before making decisions and can be classified into three groups: consultative, consensus, and democratic.


Entrepreneurial leaders are different depending on their personalities, but they are generally enthusiastic and passionate about their work and tend to take the initiative.

Identify the key management skills of successful managers.

Identify the key management skills of successful managers.

Managers need a variety of skills in order to run a successful and efficient business. Conceptual skills are used to think in abstract terms or see the "big picture." Analytic skills are used to identify problems correctly, generate reasonable alternatives, and select the "best" alternatives to solve problems. Interpersonal skills are used to deal effectively with other people, both inside and outside an organization.


Technical skills are needed to accomplish a specialized activity, whether they are used to actually do the task or to train and assist employees. Communication skills are used to speak, listen, and write effectively.

Distinguish among the various kinds of managers in terms of both level and area of management.

Distinguish among the various kinds of managers in terms of both level and area of management.

Managers—or management positions—may be classified from two different perspectives. From the perspective of level within the organization, there are top managers, who control the organization as a whole, middle managers, who implement strategies and major policies, and first-line managers, who supervise the activities of operating employees.


From the viewpoint of area of management, managers most often deal with the areas of finance, operations, marketing, human resources, and administration.

Describe the four basic management functions: Planning, organizing, leading and motivating, and controlling.

Describe the four basic management functions: Planning, organizing, leading and motivating, and controlling.

Managers perform four basic functions, which do not occur according to a rigid, preset timetable. At any time, managers may engage in a number of functions simultaneously. However, each function tends to lead naturally to the next.

Managers engage in planning—determining where the firm should be going and how best to get there. One method of planning that can be used is SWOT analysis, which identifies and evaluates a firm's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
Three types of plans, from the broadest to the most specific, are strategic, tactical, and operational.

Managers also organize resources and activities to accomplish results in an efficient and effective manner, and they lead and motivate others to work in the best interests of the organization.

In addition, managers control ongoing activities to keep the organization on course.

There are three steps in the control function: setting standards, measuring actual performance, and taking corrective action.

Define what management is.

Define what management is.

Management is the process of coordinating people and other resources to achieve an organization's goals. Managers are concerned with four types of resources—material, human, financial, and informational.