Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Other subjects

Criticism of Frederick Taylor's Principles of Scientific Management

Frederick Taylor is a controversial figure in management history. His innovations in industrial engineering led to rapid increases in productivity, but at the same time, he has been accused of destroying the soul of work and of dehumanizing factories.

Defining Span of Control in Management

Span of control refers to the number of subordinates a supervisor can manage efficiently and effectively.

Line Authority Versus Staff Authority: Key Differences

Line authority involves direct and legitimate authority over subordinates.

Staff authority is an assistant function, as it guides line managers or functions in performing specific activities.

Delegation, Centralization, and Decentralization

Core Concepts in Project Management and Evaluation

1. Key Project Cycle Management Stages

• Initiation
• Planning
• Execution
• Closure

2. Four Main Analyses in the Logical Framework Approach (LFA)

1. Analysis of Problems
2. Analysis of Stakeholders
3. Analysis of Objectives
4. Analysis of Strategies

3. Causes of Insufficient Access to Safe Water

• Lack of safe water infrastructure in rural areas.
• Contaminated water sources and lack of basic sanitation facilities.
• Excessive consumption in some households.

4. The 5 Whys Technique

a) Why use the 5 Whys? To identify and recognize root causes.

b) What is the key "Why" question? Why does this happen?

5. Difference Between Stakeholders and Target Groups

• Stakeholders: Refers to all individuals, groups, or organizations who are affected by

Stages of the Service Marketing Research Process

Complaint Solicitation

A method of communication to improve services by gathering customer feedback.

Critical Incident Studies

Qualitative interviews where customers share stories of satisfying and dissatisfying service encounters.

Requirement Research

Identifying the expected benefits and attributes customers desire in a service.

Relationship and SERVQUAL Surveys

Questionnaires assessing the customer-company relationship to identify strengths and weaknesses.

Trailer Calls or Post-Transaction Surveys

Brief surveys conducted immediately after a transaction to capture key service encounter information.

Service Expectation Meetings and Reviews

Eliciting client expectations at a specific time and later assessing... Continue reading "Service Marketing Research: Process, Relationships, and Recovery" »

ISO 9000 Quality Management System: Core Principles

The ISO 9000 Quality Management System (QMS) is built upon eight fundamental principles derived from Total Quality Management (TQM):

• Customer Focus: Understand customer needs, meet their requirements, and strive to exceed their expectations.
• Leadership: Establish unity of purpose and organizational direction, fostering an environment that promotes employee involvement and objective achievement.
• Involvement of People: Leverage the full abilities of involved employees for the benefit of the organization.
• Process Approach: Recognize that desired results are achieved more efficiently when activities and related resources are managed as processes.
• System Approach to Management: Identify, understand,

The Organizing Process and Its Importance

Organizing is the process of defining and grouping activities and establishing authority relationships among them. The process of organizing consists of the following steps:

• Identification and division of work
• Departmentalization
• Assignment of duties
• Establishing reporting relationships

Organizing is considered important because it leads to:

• Division of work
• Clarity in reporting relationships
• Optimum utilization of resources
• Growth
• Better administration
• Greater creativity

Organizational Structure: Frameworks for Operations

An organizational structure is the framework within which managerial and operating tasks are performed. It can be functional or divisional. The span of management refers to the number of subordinates... Continue reading "Organizational Structure: Types, Benefits, and Drawbacks" »

Characteristics of Wireless Communication

• Information is sent and received using areal, infrared light, or ultrasound signals.
• The waves are propagated through space at the speed of light.

Characteristics of a Wave

1. Amplitude: The maximum value that a wave can reach, which depends on the wave's energy. The value diminishes with distance and is measured in meters.
2. Frequency: The number of times the wave oscillates per second, measured in Hz.
3. Period: The time it takes for the wave to complete a cycle, measured in seconds.
4. Wavelength: The distance it takes for a wave to complete a cycle, measured as the distance between two crests.

Electromagnetic Spectrum

The electromagnetic spectrum encompasses all electromagnetic waves from low to high frequency.

Frequency

Nowadays, online learning is becoming increasingly prevalent. Many traditional universities have started to share their courses online, often for free. It represents an accessible and comfortable method to acquire knowledge in almost every field, from law and accounting to humanities, such as psychology, sociology, and history. Online learning is a great alternative to traditional universities, especially for people who cannot afford the time and financial commitment of traditional courses. But what are the advantages and disadvantages of online learning?

Benefits of Online Learning

Although many still consider traditional universities the optimal path to knowledge and a diploma, online learning proves to be a powerful alternative. Students have... Continue reading "Online Learning: Unpacking Its Benefits and Drawbacks" »

Understanding Quality

Quality is a subjective subject; it can be clustered into five quality points of view:

1. Internal processes
2. Business performance
3. Product/service characteristics
4. Customer perception
5. Company strategy

Quality Planning – The process of identifying the quality standards relevant to the project and deciding how to meet them.

Quality Improvement – The purposeful change of a process to improve the confidence or reliability of the outcome.

Quality Control – The continuing effort to uphold a process’ integrity and reliability in achieving an outcome.

Quality Assurance – The systematic or the planned actions necessary to offer sufficient reliability that a particular service or product will meet the specified requirements.

What is Quality?

Unit 10: Marketing Fundamentals

"Marketing is the social process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want, through creating and exchanging products and value with others." This involves exchange, satisfaction, strategy, vision, and direction (avoiding marketing myopia).

Marketing Defined

Marketing is the business discipline responsible for detecting the wishes and needs of consumers and guiding the company to satisfy them through mutually beneficial exchanges.

Core Principles

• Values (Business Ethics): The set of principles, beliefs, and rules that dictate how the organization will be managed.
• Mission (Based on field of activity, essential capabilities, and culture, including values and beliefs): Answers questions like: Who are

Frustrating Experiences

Sources of user frustration with contemporary user interfaces include:

• User frustration originated from interface complexity, network disruptions, and malicious interferences.
• Hard-to-use computers can affect workplace productivity, users' moods, and interactions with coworkers.
• Interruptions appear to be troubling to users.
• Memory serves as an indication of where frustration occurs while using technologies such as operating systems, web browsers, text editors, email clients, mobile devices, digital video recorders, and others.
• User frustration with mobile devices has increased over the years.
• Email has become a source of frustrating "spam."

Frustrating Experiences (cont.)

The top causes of frustration reported were:

• Page layout