Principles of Management

STUDY GUIDE v2.0

PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT

Message to Student

Dear Kaplan Student,

Thank you for choosing Kaplan Singapore and

entrusting your educational investment with us.

It is Kaplan Singapore’s and the School of

Diploma Studies’ mission as your ‘private

education institution of choice’ to commit to

providing a fulfilling student journey and learning

experience for your development. The underlying

goal of Kaplan Singapore is to ensure that our

students are able to respond the demands of the

globalised economy set against a highly uncertain

and complex environment.

In the 21st Century it is important that your

educational experience provides with you with the

skills and competencies on HOW to think and not

just WHAT to think.

As such, the Kaplan Diplomas, which have a long

history of being recognised as equivalent to the

first year or more of undergraduate studies in high-

quality international universities, aim to prepare you

for work, further study, and lifelong learning.

“I encourage you to be an active learner, questioning and extending what you know in order to become a contributing participant

in the modern global economy.”

Your role as a Kaplan student is to participate, think

deeply on a topic and work with other students

and your Lecturers to broaden your knowledge. I

encourage you to be an active learner, questioning

and extending what you know in order to become

a contributing participant in the modern global

economy.

However, only you can embody these attributes. You

are the major determinant of your own academic

success and as adult learners you will receive both

the freedom and responsibility this entails. With that,

I wish you well in your learning and look forward to

seeing you succeed.

Krishna Rajulu

Academic Dean, Kaplan Singapore

KHE-LCD-SGD-00038 i

PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT

KHE-LCD-SGD-00038 ii

Kaplan Desired Graduate Attributes

Through the reading of this module, Kaplan

Singapore intends to:

• Instill in students the value of lifelong and self-

directed learning by stimulating intellectual

curiosity, creative and critical thinking and an

awareness of cultural diversity;

• Assist students in developing professional

attributes, ethical values, social skills and

strategies that will nurture success in both their

professional and personal lives;

• Foster integrity, commitment, responsibility and a

sense of service to the community;

• Prepare students to meet the ever-changing

needs of their communities both now and in the

future; and

• Promote innovative and effective teaching.

Culminating from these institutional values and

educational goals, Kaplan Singapore’s Desired

Graduate Attributes are:

Inquiry and criticality: Graduates will be able to

critically collect, evaluate and apply information and

data in order to make decisions in a wide variety of

professional situations. This attribute is demonstrated

when students:

• Undertake, evaluate and apply appropriate

research, theories, concepts and tools to

investigate problems and find solutions;

• Exercise critical thinking and independent

judgement to assess situations and determine

solutions; and

• Have an informed respect for the principles,

methods, values and boundaries of their profession

and the capacity to question these.

Ethicality and discernment: Graduates will be able to

assess situations and respond in an ethically, socially

and professionally responsible manner. This attributed

is demonstrated when students:

• Act responsibly, ethically and with integrity in their

profession;

• Hold personal values and beliefs and participate

in the broad discussion of these values and beliefs

while respecting the views of others;

• Understand the broad local and global economic,

political, social and environmental systems and

their impact as appropriate to their discipline and

profession; and

• Acknowledge personal responsibility for their own

judgments and behaviour

Ability to communicate well: Graduates will

recognise the importance and value of communication

in the learning and professional environment. This

attributed is demonstrated when students:

• Create and present knowledge, arguments and

ideas confidently and effectively using a variety of

methods and technologies;

• Recognise the wide range of possible audiences

for information and respond with communication

strategies appropriate to those audiences; and

• Work collaboratively with people from diverse

backgrounds and be aware of the different roles

of team members and to function within that team.

Independent and reflective practitioner

• Graduates will be able to work independently and

be self-directed learners with the capacity and

motivation for continued professional learning and

development; and

• They will be able to critically reflect on their own

practice and evaluate and understand current

capacity and further development needs

Embedded within the desired graduate attributes are

the following skills:

• Conduct research.

• Analyse, organise and present data and

information.

• Think and read critically.

• Make an oral presentation.

• Intellectual curiosity and awareness of culture and

diversity.

• Develop professional ethos and practice that will

foster success in career and life.

• Meet the ever changing needs of communities

now and in the future.

PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT

KHE-LCD-SGD-00038 iii

Table of Contents

Message to Student i

Kaplan Desired Graduate Attributes ii

Table of Contents iii

About this module iv

Instructions to Students v

Scheme of Work vi

Assessment Matters viii

Topic 1

Overview and Evolution of Management 1

Topic 2

Managing the Environment of Business 9

Topic 3

Implementing Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility 19

Topic 4

Planning & Decision-Making Strategies 29

Topic 5

Creating a Corporate Culture and Change 36

Topic 6

Designing Organizational Structures 45

Topic 7

Managing Human Resources and Employee Diversity 55

Topic 8

Leading and Motivating Employees 65

Topic 9

Managing & Leading Teams 75

Topic 10

Monitoring and Controlling 85

PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT

KHE-LCD-SGD-00038 iv

About this module

Management is the study of how organisations set in place people, structures, and processes to utilise resources efficiently and effectively to accomplish desired goals and objectives. This is particularly important as competition, globalisation, and demographic and cultural changes become more prevalent. As future managers, students need to be able to carry out the four primary functions of planning, organising, leading and controlling.

In this module, students will examine how organisations function, as well as, managers’ decision-making in order lead and motivate their teams toward achieving organisational goals in a range of industries such as Accounting/Banking/ Finance, Business Management/Marketing, Logistics, Human Resources, Hospitality/ Tourism/Events, Legal, Communications/Media, Information Technology, Health Services, and Sports Science.

Module Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this module, the

student should be able to:

• Explain the roles and functions of a manager in relation to the achievement of organisational

goals.

• Analyse the internal and external environments of a business for the purpose of informed

decision-making.

• Explain the importance of ethics and corporate social responsibility in management.

• Explain the roles of systems and processes in the organisational control.

• Explain the effectiveness of a leader’s skill in change management, decision-making and

motivating employees and teams.

• Develop strategic plans, along with associated organisational culture and structure, that are

aligned to achieving organisational goals

Overview of Learning Resources

Recommended reading:

Gomez-Mejia, L & Balkin, D. (2011) Management:

International Edition. Pearson Education Inc.

Robbins, P. S., & DeCenzo, A. D., & Coulter, M.

(2011). Fundamentals of Management: Global

Edition. Pearson Education Inc.

Bartol, K., & Tein, M., & Metthews, G., & Sharma,

B,. & Scott-Ladd, B. (2011). Management: A

Pacific Rim Focus 6e. Australia. McGraw Hill Pty

Ltd

Other sources:

See Proquest and Newslink databases linked

to your Elearn LMS homepage. The National

Library Board on North Bridge Road (databases

are for Singaporean/PR only)

PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT

KHE-LCD-SGD-00038 v

Instructions to Students

How to use this study guide

This study guide consists of written notes that

form the main treatise of the subject matter of

this module. You are strongly advised to study

these notes carefully and thoroughly, as well

as, examine the sources that have been cited.

Written quiz and examination will not test beyond

the scope of the contents found in the study guide.

However, in order to fully address the

assessment requirements of the assignment, you

will need to research beyond the confines of the

study guide. Nevertheless, the materials herein

are still a sound basis from which to build the

assignment.

Further supporting materials

The study guide is supplemented by the following:

• Reproduced PowerPoint slides used by the

lecturers

• Activity sheets

PowerPoint Slides

The PowerPoint slides are meant for the lecturers

to signpost the flow of the lesson and for you to

have a visual focus when in class. Outside of

class, they can also serve to help you recall the

activities that took place during the respective

lessons so that you might be reminded of key

learning points.

However, the PowerPoint slides must NOT

replace the need for you to read the written

notes in the study guide. The slides alone are

INSUFFICIENT for you to gain the necessary

understanding of the subject matter. As such,

they will NOT prepare you adequately for the

various summative assessment components.

Activity Sheets

It is imperative that you sincerely attempt all the

activities in class and document your responses

faithfully. These activity sheets are specially

designed to scaffold your learning; working

through the tasks is an integral part of

developing the desired skills.

Also, by making your thinking visible through the

activity sheets, it is then possible for your lecturer

to provide you with growth producing feedback

so that you may improve your performance or

have your doubts clarified.

PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT

KHE-LCD-SGD-00038 vi

Scheme of Work

LESSON TOPICS

1 01 Overview and Evolution of Management

• Tell who managers are and where they work.

• Explain why managers are important to organisations.

• Describe the functions, roles, and skills of managers.

• Develop your skill at being politically aware.

• Describe the factors that are reshaping and redefining the manager’s job.

• Explain the value of studying management.

2 02 Managing the Environment of Business

• Understand what open systems are.

• Comprehend the internal and external environment.

• Why the environment affects organizations.

• Perform PESTEL analysis (external environment).

• Perform Porter’s 5 forces analysis (external environment).

• Perform SWOT analysis (internal and external environment).

3 03 Implementing Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility

• Understand ethics and business ethics.

• Review ethical issues in business.

• Apply the four key ethical criteria that managers and employees should use

when making business decisions.

• Recognize morally challenging situations where ethical decisions should be

made.

• Identify important categories of stakeholders for approaches to corporate

social responsibility.

• Review benefits and challenges of corporate social responsibility.

4 04 Planning & Decision-Making Strategies

• Analyse the planning process

• Distinguish between formal and informal planning.

• Recognize the features of well-designed objectives.

• Identify the various types of action plans that managers can use to

accomplish stated objectives.

• Utilize the six steps of decision-making

• Apply the criteria of quality and acceptance to a decision.

5 05 Creating a Corporate Culture and Change

• Understand culture and corporate culture and differences of culture

• Explain the three major aspects of organizational culture.

• Identify the process through which it can be developed & sustained.

• Use classification systems to identify various types of organizational culture.

• Identify the sources of resistance to change.

• Understanding the nature of culture and tools for change

6 06 Designing Organizational Structures

• Understand what is organizing.

• Review what is differentiation and integration in organizing.

• Identify the vertical and horizontal dimensions of organizational structure.

• Apply 5 aspects of the vertical dimensions in organizing.

• Apply the three basic approaches – functional, divisional, and matrix to

departmentalization.

• Develop an awareness of strategic events that are likely to trigger a change

in the structure and design of an organization.

PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT

KHE-LCD-SGD-00038 vii

7 Quiz

8 07 Managing Human Resources and Employee Diversity

• Understand what is human resource management (HRM) and its importance

to organisations.

• Understand the role of strategic HR planning as the main purpose of

managing employees.

• Review the six HR tactics of the HRM process.

• Explain the meaning of workforce diversity, its components and benefits of

employee diversity.

• Develop an awareness of the unique perspectives, problems, and issues of

diverse employee groups.

• Describe the various approaches that managers may use in diversity

management initiatives.

9 08 Leading and Motivating Employees

• Distinguish between leaders, leadership and management/leadership.

• Ascertain how leaders use different power bases to exercise influence.

• Apply basic approaches of leadership theories to influence employee

behaviour.

• Understand employee motivation and become aware of the role of needs in

employee motivation.

• Distinguish between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.

• Apply basic approaches of motivational theories to affect employee

behaviour.

10 Assignment Consultation

11 09 Managing & Leading Teams

• Understand teams and its benefits.

• Identify the different types of teams

• Track the stages of team development that occur over the life of a project and

help the team perform effectively.

• Recognize key roles that team members and team leaders must play to

ensure high performance.

• Master the skills to detect and control team performance problems.

• Review characteristics of effective teams

12 10 Monitoring and Controlling

• Explain the nature and importance of control.

• Distinguish the link between planning and controlling.

• Describe the 4 steps in the control process.

• Understand the role of control in organizations.

• Recognize key common organizational controls.

• Review the characteristics organization controls.

13 Module Consolidation

14

PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT

KHE-LCD-SGD-00038 viii

Assessment Matters

Assessment Overview

Assessment 1: Quiz

Weightage: 20% (40 marks)

Duration: 1.5 hours

Date: Lesson 7

Format: 20 MCQ & 2 Short Structured Questions

Assessment 2: Individual Assignment

Weightage: 40% (80 marks)

Word Limit: 2000 words

Date: Lesson 11

Citation Format: APA

References: You are required to consult and

correctly reference a MINIMUM of 10 different

sources of information.

Assessment 3: Examination

Weightage: 40% (80 marks)

Duration: 2 hours

Date: To be advised

Format: 8 Structured Questions

Important Policies

Penalties for Plagiarism

Plagiarism in any form is not tolerated by

Kaplan Singapore. That said, direct quotations

and general similarities of com