WGU C483 - Principles of Management Ch 9

WGU C483 - Principles of Management Ch 9 strategic alliance definition: a formal relationship created with the purpose of joint pursuit of mutual goals In a strategic alliance, individual organizations share administrative authority, form social links, and accept joint ownership. learning organization definition: an organization skilled at creating, acquiring, and transferring knowledge and at modifying its behavior to reflect new knowledge and insights Google, Toyota, and IDEO are good examples of learning organizations high-involvement organization definition: top management ensures that there is a consensus about the direction in which the business is heading. The leader seeks input from his or her top management team and from lower levels of the company. Task forces, study groups, and other techniques are used to foster participation in decisions that affect the entire organization. Also fundamental to the high-involvement organization is continual feedback to participants regarding how they are doing compared with the competition and how effectively they are meeting the strategic agenda Large organizations are typically... less organic and more bureaucratic. Large size often leads to scale economies Thus with size comes greater complexity, and complexity brings a need for increased control. In response, organizations adopt bureaucratic strategies of control. The conventional wisdom is that bureaucratization increases efficiency but decreases a company's ability to innovate. economies of scope definition: Economies in which materials and processes employed in one product can be used to make other related products downsizing definition: the planned elimination of positions or jobs Common approaches include eliminating functions, hierarchical levels, or even whole units. Customer relationship management (CRM) definition: A multifaceted process focusing on creating two-way exchanges with customers to foster intimate knowledge of their needs, wants, and buying patterns value chain definition: the sequence of activities that flow from raw materials to the delivery of a good or service, with additional value created at each step. or each step in the chain adds value to the product or service: When the total value created—that is, what customers are willing to pay—exceeds the cost of providing the good or service, the result is the... organization's profit margin Total quality management (TQM) definition: a way of managing in which everyone is committed to continuous improvement of his or her part of the operation. it is a comprehensive approach to improving product quality and thereby customer satisfaction. It is characterized by a strong orientation toward customers (external and internal) and has become an umbrella theme for -organizing work. It reorients managers toward involving people across departments in improving all aspects of the business. Deming's "14 points" of quality: 1. Create constancy of purpose—strive for long-term improvement rather than short-term profit. 2. Adopt the new philosophy—don't tolerate delays and mistakes. 3. Cease dependence on mass inspection—build quality into the process on the front end. 4. End the practice of awarding business on price tag alone—build long-term relationships. 5. Improve constantly and forever the system of production and service—at each stage. 6. Institute training and retraining—continually update methods and thinking. 7. Institute leadership—provide the resources needed for effectiveness. 8. Drive out fear—people must believe it is safe to report problems or ask for help. 9. Break down barriers among departments—promote teamwork. 10. Eliminate slogans, exhortations, and arbitrary targets—supply methods, not buzzwords. 11. Eliminate numerical quotas—they are contrary to the idea of continuous improvement. 12. Remove barriers to pride in workmanship—allow autonomy and spontaneity. 13. Institute a vigorous program of education and retraining—people are assets, not commodities. 14. Take action to accomplish the transformation—provide a structure that enables quality. six sigma quality definition: A method of systematically analyzing work processes to identify and eliminate virtually all causes of defects, standardizing the processes to reach the lowest practicable level of any cause of customer dissatisfaction ISO 9001 definition: A series of quality standards developed by a committee working under the International Organization for Standardization to improve total quality in all businesses for the benefit of producers and consumers 8 standards Re-engineering definition: The principal idea is to revolutionize key organizational systems and processes to answer this question: "If you were the customer, how would you like us to operate?" small batch technologies definition: When goods or services are provided in very low volume