30+mba-第36章
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the same as with postal surveys – the mailing should feature an explanatory
le。。er and incentives for the recipient to ‘open’ the questionnaire。
There are the basic rules for good questionnaire design； however the
questions are to be administered：
1。 Keep the number of questions to a minimum。
2。 Keep the questions simple！ Answers should be either ‘Yes/No/Don’t
know’ or offer at least four alternatives。
3。 Avoid ambiguity – make sure the respondent really understands the
question （avoid ‘generally’； ‘usually’； ‘regularly’）。
4。 Seek factual answers； avoid opinions。
5。 Make sure that at the beginning you have a cut…out question to eliminate
unsuitable respondents （eg those who never use the product/service）。
6。 At the end； make sure you have an identifying question to show the
cross…section of respondents。
Sample size is vital if reliance is to be placed on survey data。 How to calculate
the appropriate sample size is explained in Chapter 11 in the section
headed ‘Survey sample size’。
Marketing 119
Testing the market
The ultimate form of market research is to find some real customers to
buy and use your product or service before you spend too much time and
money in se。。ing up。 The ideal way to do this is to sell into a limited area or
a small section of your market。 In that way； if things don’t quite work out as
you expect； you won’t have upset too many people。
This may involve buying in a small quantity of product； as you need
to fulfil the order in order to fully test your ideas。 Once you have found a
small number of people who are happy with your product； price； delivery/
execution and have paid up； you can proceed with a bit more confidence
than if all your ideas are just on paper。
Pick potential customers whose demand is likely to be small and easy to
meet。 For example； if you are going to run a bookkeeping business； select
5 to 10 small businesses from an area reasonably close to home and make
your pitch。 The same approach would work with a gardening； baby…si。。ing
or any other service…related venture。 It’s a li。。le more difficult with products；
but you could buy in a small quantity of similar items from a petitor or
make up a trial batch yourself。
Organizational
behaviour
。 Structural options
。 Line and staff relationships
。 Building and leading teams
。 Understanding motivation
。 Managing people effectively
。 Directors’ roles
。 Handling change
Organizational behaviour； usually shortened to OB； is the whole rather
amorphous area that deals with people； why they behave the way they
do and how to create and manage an organization that can achieve the
goals set for the business。 As one cynical CEO summarized the task： ‘to get
people to do what I want them to do because they want to do it’。
The single most prevalent reason for a strategy failing lies in its implementation；
the analysis and planning behind a proposed course of action
are rarely the root of the problem。 That is more likely to lie in the selection
of the people to implement strategy； their management； motivation； rewards
and the way in which they are organized and led。 Stated like that；
it sounds a fairly simple task。 Just work your way through those headings
and any MBA worth their salt should be able to get the desired results。
Unfortunately； people both individually and collectively are rarely malleable
and infinitely variable in their likely responses to situations。 The
famous German military strategist Moltke’s statement that ‘No campaign
plan survives first contact with the enemy’ applies here if the word enemy
is replaced by organization。
However； by understanding and applying a number of principles and
concepts on the typical MBA syllabus you can improve an organization’s
chances of achieving its objectives。
4
Organizational Behaviour 121
STRATEGY VS STRUCTURE； PEOPLE AND
SYSTEMS
This is the ‘which came first’ question akin to that of the chicken and the
egg。 Unless you are starting up an organization on a greenfield site with no
people other than yourself and only a pile of cash； every business situation
involves some promise between the ideal and the possible when it
es to people and structures。
The theory is clear。 An organization’s strategy； itself a product of its
business environment； determines the shape of the organization’s structure；
the sort of people it will employ and how they will be managed； controlled
and rewarded。 But in the real world the business environment is
constantly changing as the economy fluctuates； petitors e and go；
and consumer needs； desires and aspirations alter。 In any event a business
is limited in its freedom of action。 However violent and essential a change
in strategy； a business will rarely be free to hire and fire staff at will simply
to change direction。 The exception is in the case of a plete closure or
withdrawal from an activity such as that of Marks & Spencer’s controversial
closure of its French outlets in 2001。 This move was considered vital to the
survival of the whole business and despite May Day protests in France the
pany’s shares rose 7 per cent on the announcement。
Figure 4。1 is a useful aid to understanding how to approach OB。 The
concentric circles are a metaphor to remind us of the circular nature of
subject。 You can’t just tackle one area without having an impact on others。
Figure 4。1 A framework for understanding organizational behaviour
Environment
Strategy
People
Recruit
Motivate
Manage
Lead
Structure
Organization
Teams
Systems
Reward
Appraise
Develop
Change
122 The Thirty…Day MBA
STRUCTURES – THE OPTIONS
Just as the skeleton is the structure that holds a body together； a business
too has its framework。 The goal of any framework is to provide some
boundaries while at the same time allowing the whole ‘body’ flexibility to
respond in order to go about its business。 While human bodies keep a very
similar skeleton to the one they start out with； a business has a number of
very different organizational structures to choose from。 Also； it is unlikely
that any one structure will be appropriate throughout an organization’s
life。
For an organization a structure has to perform the following functions：
。 show who is responsible for what and to whom；
。 define roles and responsibilities；
。 establish munication and control mechanisms；
。 lay out the ground rules for cooperation between all parts of the
organization；
。 set out the hierarchy of authority； power and decision making。
There are two major building blocks used in shaping an organization’s
structure beyond the level of the individual： the organizational chart and
team position。
Pictorial methods of describing how organizations work have been
around for centuries。 Both the Roman and Prussian armies had descriptions
of their hierarchical structures and the la。。er incorporated line and
staff relationships。 There is also some evidence that the ancient Egyptians
documented their methods for organizing and dividing workers on major
projects such as the pyramids。 However； Daniel C McCallum is generally
credited with developing the first systematic set of organizational charts in
1855； to organize railroad building on an efficient basis。 The trigger for his
innovation was the discovery that the building costs per mile of track did
not drop with the length of line being built； contrary to logic。 The inefficiencies
were being caused by poor organization。
Basic hierarchical organization
This simple structure has every member or part of the organization reporting
in to one person （Figure 4。2）。 It works well when the organization is
small； decisions are simple or routine and munications are easy。
This basic structure can be based around one of several groupings；
including：
。 functions such as marketing or manufacturing；
。 geography such as country or region；
Organizational Behaviour 123
。 product；
。 customer or market segment such as trade； consumers； new accounts
or key accounts。
Span of control
The number of people a manager can have reporting
