FACULTY OF ADMINISTRATION SCIENCES AND POLICY STUDIES

(AM 110)

INTRODUCTION TO MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES IN PUBLIC SECTOR

PAD 101

INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT

PREPARED BY:

CALVIN ANAK FREEDLINE BABA

(2020939759)

TITLE : DECEMBER 2018 & JUNE 2019 PAST YEAR PAPER

PREPARED FOR:

MDM SAREHAN BINTI SADIKIN

DATE OF SUBMISSION:

12th June 2020

DECEMBER 2018 QUESTIONS:

PART A
QUESTION 1
Answer:
The two basic managerial skills required to perform a managerial function are i) Technical
Skills and ii) Human Skills.
i) Technical Skills is the ability to utilize the knowledge of tool technique, and procedures that
are specific to a particular field.
ii) Human Skills is the ability to work effectively with one’s own work group as well as others
within the organization.

QUESTION 2
Answer:
Planning is the most basic managerial function. When done properly, it sets the direction for the
organizing, leading, and controlling functions. The two reasons that support the importance of
planning is i) planning sets standards and major objectives for the organization. The obvious
outcome of this is that all the employees get a direction and all their efforts are focused towards
a particular end. In this way, planning has an important role in the attainment of the objectives of
the organization. Secondly ii) planning coordinates effort. Planning is a management process
concerned with defining goals for a company's future direction and determining the resources
required to achieve those goals. Achieving a vision requires coordinated efforts that adhere to a
broader organizational plan.

QUESTION 3
Answer:
There are two types of decision making and they are i) Programmed Decision and ii) Non-
Programmed Decision. The difference between programmed decision and non-programmed
decision is programmed decision are made in accordance with habits rule or procedures. For
example; recurring situations (routine) and routine matters. ii) Non-programmed decision on
the other hand is deal with unusual or exceptional problem. For example; during non -recurring
situation and non-routine matters.
QUESTION 4
Answer:
The geographical departmentalization ensures that a cultural, social, and political need of the
region is met. When managers are sent from one location to another, they also gain expert
training to handle different scenarios .This type of departmentalization allows the company to
benefit from the low cost of operations as they can easily capitalize on the local conditions as
per their requirements .The two advantages of geographical departmentalization is suited to
fast change and allows for high product visibility and the disadvantages of the geographical
departmentalization is fosters politics in resource allocation and create conflicts between
divisional tasks and corporate priorities.

PART B
QUESTION 1
Answer:
Controlling involves ensuring that performance does not deviate from standards. Controlling
consists of five steps: (1) set perfomance standards, (2) measure actual performance, (3)
compare actual performance to standards, (4) take no corrective action and then (5) take
corrective action as needed (Figure 1, below). Corrective action can include changes made to
the performance standards setting them higher or lower or identifying new or additional
standards. Performance standards are often stated in monetary terms such as revenue, costs,
or profits but may also be stated in other terms, such as units produced, number of defective
products, or levels of quality or customer service.

Figure 1: The Steps In The Controlling Process in Public Sector

QUESTION 2
Answer:
Four ways to overcome the barriers to effective communication is:
1) Remain Aware of Cultural Differences - The beauty of the modern workplace is people of
all cultures and backgrounds can come together and work towards a common goal. Everyone
need to be extremely aware of cross-cultural communication issues.  For example, not everyone
in in the company might speak English well. To overcome this language barrier, keep messages
simple and to the point so everyone can understand them.
2) Avoid Slang/Casual Language - Slang and casual language can create a significant barrier
to effective communication. Avoiding slang in written and verbal instructions will go a long way
towards keeping the team on the same page. Slang differs significantly across generations and
cultures. It can even vary wildly from region to region, even among those that share a culture or
age group. Slang can cause confusion, but it can also be a source of alienation and frustration.
Confusion, frustration, and a generally disconnected team is a recipe for disaster.
3) Stay Open Minded for Questions and Answers - To communicate effectively, everyone
need to be open-minded and willing to ask and answer questions that may seem frustrating or
frivolous. Never put someone off just because they don’t feel like answering them. Instead, be
willing to help the coworkers with their problems. Consistently making yourself available, and
even communicating this availability to the team, can go a long way in promoting comfortable
and effective teamwork.
4) Overcoming Perpetual Barriers - Practice positive body language. The nonverbal aspects
of the interactions with others (such as posture, eye contact, and body stance) can
communicate a lot about how confident, interested, or engaged we are in a conversation or
topic. Because body language can be easily influenced by stress or tiredness, it’s important
that we stay in tune with how our physical behaviors could be misinterpreted. Practice positive
body language when communicating with others to ensure that we aren’t unintentionally
disrespecting those around us or sending a wrong message.
JUNE 2019 QUESTIONS
PART A
QUESTION 1
Answer:
The two basic functions of management are i) Universal applicability and ii) Organizational
need.
i) Universal applicability is the basic functions that managers perform, the roles that managers
play, and the skills that managers use are universal.
ii) Organizational need is the basic functions that consist of planning, organizing, leading, and
controlling that are required in every public agencies or department.

Question 2
Answer:

The difference between i) strategic and ii) operational planning is i) Strategic planning is a
process by which an organization makes decision and takes actions to enhance its long-term
performance. Strategic plan includes evaluation and development of the organization’s purpose,
mission, and overall objectives and policies for current and the future years. It also defines what
business the company is in, or wants to be in. It may take 5 to 10 years to complete. For
example; there are three levels strategic planning which are corporate strategy, business
strategies and functional strategies. On the other-hand ii) Operational Planning is a process of
determining the day to day activities that are necessary to achieve the long-term goals of the
organization. There are two main types of operational plans and they are Single-use- Plan and
Standing Plans. Single use plan it is a plan that addresses specific organizational situations that
typically do not occur. For example; Program is a single use plan that governs a comprehensive
set of activities to accomplish a specific set of goals, Project is a single use plan that directs the
efforts of individuals or work groups toward the achievement of a goal and lastly budgets a
single use plan that specify how financial resources should be allocated for given period. Apart
from that, standing plans are plans that deal with organizational issues and problems that recur
frequently. It assists managers in solving problems or processes. The major types of standing
plans are Policies which is a general guideline for decision making within the organization,
Procedures is an instructions or detailed guidelines for handling organizational action that are
occur regularly and lastly Rules is a statement or directives that must be adhered to in a given
situation. They are detailed and specific guides to action.
Question 3
Answer:
Two common techniques of group decision making in public sector is i) Authoritarion style
and ii) Brainstorming.
i) Authoritarian style basically decision ultimately rest in the hand of one person. It is
applicable in the presence of a powerful person who has the final authority on the outcome. The
disadvantage of this technique is people who opinions are disregarded might have negative
feelings about the final decision and the advantage is it save time to reach final decision.
ii) Brainstorming is suitable when a decision-making process has to be started from scratch.
This technique can create many options and evaluate the advantages and disadvantages for
each option. It needs a facilitator to facilitate the entire discussion. The disadvantage of this
technique is time consuming but the advantages is it encourage freedom and creativity to the
decision making group. The final decision is mostly based on consensus.

Question 4
Answers:
The two keys elements in designing an organization’s structure are i) Work specialization and
ii) Span of control.
i) Work Specialization is defined as dividing work activities into separate job tasks. Individual
employees specialize in doing part of an activity rather than entire activity in order to increase
work output. Another term for work specialization is division of work. For example; Job Design,
Job Enlargement, Job Depth and Job Enrichment and lastly Job Rotation.
ii) Span of control is the number of employees reporting to a particular manager. In theory,
when tasks are very complex, span of control should be relatively narrow. In contrast where jobs
are highly standardized and routine (low complexity), a manager will not need to spend as much
time supporting individual subordinates, and the span of control may be larger.

PART B
Question 1
Answer:
Controls at every level focus on inputs, processes and outputs. It is very important to have
effective controls at each of these three stages. Effective control systems tend to have certain
common characteristics. The importance of these characteristics varies with the situation, but in
general effective control systems have following characteristics.
1) Accurate - Effective controls generate accurate data and information. Accurate information is
essential for effective managerial decisions. Inaccurate controls would divert management
efforts and energies on problems that do not exist or have a low priority and would fail to alert
managers to serious problems that do require attention.
2) Timely - There are many problems that require immediate attention. If information about such
problems does not reach management in a timely manner, then such information may become
useless and damage may occur. Accordingly, controls must ensure that information reaches the
decision makers when they need it so that a meaningful response can follow.
3) Flexibility - The business and economic environment is highly dynamic in nature.
Technological changes occur very fast. A rigid control system would not be suitable for a
changing environment. These changes highlight the need for flexibility in planning as well as in
control.
4) Objective and Comprehensible - The information in a control system should be
understandable and be seen as objective by the individuals who use it. A difficult-to understand
control system will cause unnecessary mistakes and confusion or frustration among employees.
5) Focused on Strategic Control Points - The control system should be focused on those
areas where deviations from the standards are most likely to take place or where deviations
would lead to the greatest harm.

Question 2
Answer:
Three types of formal organizational communication in public sector are:
i) Vertical Network also known as Top Down or Down Stream communication. It consists of
communications that flow from a manager (superior) to an employee (subordinate) to inform,
direct, coordinate, and evaluate employees. Such information may include feedback, job
instructions and procedures. It is based on the assumption that the people working at higher
levels have the authority to communicate to the people working at lower levels. This direction of
communication strengthens the authoritarian structure of the organization.
ii) Horizontal Network where communication takes place among employees on the same level
in the organization. It involves the exchange of messages between functional positions at a
particular level within an institution, It facilitates information sharing and coordination to ensure
efficiency, although it is time consuming. This types of communication can be seen taking place
between persons operating at the same level or working under the same executive. The main
use of this dimension of communication is to maintain coordination and review activities
assigned to various subordinates. The best example of this communication can be seen in the
interaction between production and marketing departments.
iii) Diagonal Network also known as Matrix or Crosswire communication. This communication
takes place at different levels, when people interact with those working at a higher or lower -
level of organizational hierarchy and across the boundaries of their reporting relationships. In
other words, it occurs both ways, that is from the upper level to the lower level and vice versa.
The path is mixture of vertical and horizontal movements. It involves communication between
individuals at different levels who have no direct reporting relationship. It means that the transfer
of information is between who are neither in the same department nor on the same level of
organizational hierarchy. The diagonal communication cut across both work areas and
organizational levels in the interest of efficiency and speed.