Student Queries ahead of the ‘Management Perspectives’ Exam received from 10th

January to 13th January

Student Query:
Please may you briefly go over the reasons that managers/leaders consider before
choosing an organizational structure. For example, are the reasons: size, purpose,
culture?

Clive’s Response
Size is certainly a factor…. So with a new smaller start-up you might expect
everyone to do whatever is required (a bit of sales, a bit of product development, a
bit of HR, a bit of finance etc) whereas in a bigger established organisation you will
likely have layers of bureaucracy with functional areas to do particular types of work
(e.g. finance, HR, Research and Development, etc). Cultures may impact on
structure (e.g. to maintain innovation a growing company may resist becoming too
bureaucratic) but structure also impacts on culture. Purpose may impact
structure. You might for example bring in institutional theory and how similar
companies in the same sector (e.g. flag carrying airlines) tend to adopt similar
structures but that may open up an opportunity for new smaller challenger
companies to gain a competitive advantage by having a different structure (e.g.
budget airlines) and this may lead to a response in terms of restructuring (e.g. how
British Airways has moved towards having a smaller company at the centre and
‘buying in’ services such as catering from other companies). Company structures
may appear to be fixed but actually will evolve over time, which is why management
have a responsibility for giving consideration to whether the structure is right for the
current time and for the future.

Student Query:
I looked at the questions on the past papers and ı kind of got intimidated. What
would your advise be about revision prior 1 week to the exam? How likely is it
possible for us to fail? Because ı am really scared of that outcome considering my
low-level English writing as i am a foreigner.

Clive’s Response
Please try not to be scared or feel intimidated. Instead, be focused! I am sure that if
you came to the lectures that you will have learned plenty that will serve you well in
the exam. If you have not watched the video that I prepared for you on preparing for
the exam, then please watch it. You will find it on the Learn page for the module.
The bit towards the end is important as it gives you a focus for your revision. If you
feel that revising all 12 of these topics is too much, then focus your efforts on a
smaller number. You will then need to hope that two of those you have revised for
come up in the choice of five questions. Of course, there is the chance of not
passing, but in past years there have been a fairly small number of students not
getting at least the pass mark of 40%. If you did not pass the exam, you would have
the opportunity to resit it in the summer, by which time your English will be even
more improved than I’m sure it is compared to when you arrived in the UK.

Student Query:
I was wondering if you could simply define leadership and management, I know
there isn't one definition of each but just a good way of summarising each would be
helpful. As I've seen it leadership is a focus on what the business is trying to
achieve/the vision, whereas management is the process of how it will be achieved.

Clive’s Response
A point that I made in the Leadership perspective lecture is that often the terms are
used interchangeably in practice but the literature often encourages us to look at
them as being different concepts. You are quite right that you will find various
definitions for both. Discussing the merits and problems with conceptual definitions
is at the heart of the critical thinking that we are looking for you to develop at
Loughborough. A definition of management by Daft and Benson (2016) is in the
Week 1 slides that you can draw on. In the slides on the Leadership Perspective
(week 8) (in the Conclusion section) you will find a statement of difference by Ibarra
(2015) as follows: “Management is about operational efficiency, getting things done
on time and on budget. Leadership is much more strategic, about asking the
question: Where should we be going?” There is a similar differentiation made by
Kent (2005) on the slide that follows that.

Student Query:
I was revising for the exam and doing some past papers when I went through this
question: “how the management thinking of Victorian philanthropist industrialists
may be reflected in today’s management practices at a particular type of
organisation”.
I am able to mention the importance of human welfare in today’s society. However, I
cannot provide an example of a particular type of organization.
I’ve watched the lecture again and again but I cannot find an application of this
approach in today’s world. I would be really grateful if you could clarify it for me.
Would it be fine if I integrated it with McGregor’s Theories X and Y and the general
perception of a workplace? (e.g. work /life balance and organizational stress)

Clive’s Response
So, hopefully you grasp that the Victorian philanthropist industrialists such as Salt
and Cadbury made efforts to look after the welfare interests of their workers – i.e.
their work and home conditions. So, you might think about how, say, the University
as my employer make efforts to look after my welfare interests through management
practices (although not as much as they perhaps should!). This might include
concern for my health and safety via processes, concern for my mental health via
access to wellbeing support services, concern for how I get to work by offering
shuttle buses and car parking, concern for the broader working environment so that
the campus offers a pleasant place of work. You might similarly apply this to other
types of organisations (e.g. banks having a gym, etc.). You might think about how
these industrialists saw that it gave them competitive advantage over employers who
were less philanthropic.
As a more general point, it is important for you to take time when thinking about the
question and plan it out. The questions do not as a rule invite you to just do a brain
dump of what you have temporarily remembered for the exam. They ask you to take
what you have revised and apply it to a more specific question. So do take your time
to plan out the question before launching into writing your answer. You can do this
planning in the answer booklet and simply strike through it to indicate that the plan is
not your answer!
With regard to the suggestion of bringing in McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y etc,
it would of course depend on the question being asked, but I would encourage you to
make connections between what was learned in different weeks.

Student Query:
ı was doing question number 5. The scientific management with examples of
managerialism. I got super confused what could the answer to that question be. I
dont even think ı am sure about the concept of managerialsm. Where do you think ı
can find my answer.

Clive’s Response
The concept of managerialism was the subject of the lecture that Peter Beszter gave
in Week 6. Scientific Management was covered in the lecture on the Classical
Management Perspective (week 2) – FW Taylor.

Student Query:
I want to ask a question on priority topic 5. There is an emphasis on measurement
but I’m not sure what is meant by measurement in scientific management thinking.

Clive’s Response
So if you revisit the section in the Classical Management Perspective lecture on FW
Taylor, you will see how scientific management employs scientific methods of
measuring to determine the best / most efficient way of doing things. We also
discussed the significance of measurement for management particularly in the
Systems Perspective lecture (e.g. measuring process efficiency) and in the lecture
on Managerialism (that Peter Beszter took).

Student Query:
I have a question on priority topic 5 about managerialism as an idea and how to
relate it to public services?

Clive’s Response
You haven’t been specific with the question. The Perspective of Managerialism
lecture slides (this is the lecture that Peter Beszter delivered) explain about
managerialism and how it relates to public services. Please also see the response I
gave to an earlier question from a different student below.
Query 8:
I'm just slightly struggling to grasp my head around the concept of
managerialism and wanted to check if I'm on the right lines.
What I've gathered so far is that it's the belief that management is the most
important part of any organisation. Also, that it's based on the assumption that
managers are more capable and efficient than other employees and hence
should be in charge of all decision making?
If that's not right, would you mind explaining what it is?
Clive’s Response to Query 8:
 Hmmm…. It is more that the skills and techniques associated with modern
management (e.g. measurement, targets, competitiveness, continual
improvement, mission/vision) should be assertively applied to the social
realm. Thus ‘management’ shifts from just being about businesses competing
to about how the governmental sphere is organised (i.e. managerialism) . For
example, in modern day Britain we have targets for specific crimes such as
burglary, we have libraries with mission statements, we have universities
competing in league tables. These are all relatively new ways of running
organisations that provide social/public services. There may be benefits in
terms of driving efficiencies but there are also broader implications for the kind
of society we live in (as discussed by Peter in the lecture). We also discussed
how managerialism is manifesting itself in society through subtly encouraging
us to measure ourselves and adjust our behaviour accordingly (self-
management) via various technologies (e.g. fitbits). So, managerialism is a
sociological term that refers to how management techniques have broadened
out to affect the very fabric of our society – how we live. Hope that helps. The
reading list will help further.

Student Query:
Could you please let me know what lectures I will need to look at for each of the
priority revision questions. I dont know if this is a silly question and dont worry I have
done a few of them I think I'm just a little overwhelmed and need a bit of guidance.
Clive’s Response
As the saying goes: ‘The only silly question is the one you don’t ask!’ Thanks for
asking the question. Before addressing it though, please know that it is natural to
have some uncomfortable feelings ahead of exams. You will not be alone in feeling
a little overwhelmed, but you can do this! Take heart that you have performed well in
exams in the past and apply a bit of focus.

Okay, so to answer your question, I would encourage you to consider drawing on

your learning from across the module when planning out your answers before you
start writing. However, the following table provides the key lecture relating to each of
the Priority Revision Areas as listed on the Priority Revision document (and video).

Priority Key lecture

Revision
Area Number
1 All the lectures
2 Classical management perspective (week 2)
3 Organisational Perspective: Part 2 – structure (week 4)
4 The Activity Perspective (week 5)
5 Scientific Management – Classical Management Perspective
(Week 2 – FW Taylor) and the Perspective of Managerialism
(week 6)
6 Humanistic Perspective (week 7)
 7 Humanistic Perspective (week 7)
8 Systems Perspective (week 8)
9 Leadership Perspective (week 9)
10 Leadership Perspective (week 9) – also see week 1 for definition of
Management
11 Best Practices Perspective (week 10)
12 Technology Perspective (week 11)

Student Query:
I was wondering what is the difference between the original Humanistic approach to
management and the neo-human relations movement? As they are both still
emphasising the importance of the individuals in the organization as a means to
success.

Clive’s Response
The Humanistic perspective was the overall title of the lecture…. It is just a title I
chose so that I could focus on management of the humans (or people) being
managed. The lecture travels through time with the neo-human relations movement
being one section of the lecture that groups together a set of psychological theories
from a particular time period (post WW2) that build on the Hawthorne studies to
illustrate why it is important to pay attention to the needs and concerns of the
workforce.

Student Query:
For a question such as:
11. A question that asks you to consider how and why a particular type of
organisation (e.g. a supermarket, a school or university, a bank, a factory, a
Government department, a hospital) might adopt ‘best practices’ for ‘Change
Management’ or ‘Quality Management’,
would it be useful to talk about reasons for failure for (e.g.) Change Management
(such as improper methods, focusing heavily on cost reduction and bureaucracy
etc.), or would that not be necessary?

Clive’s Response
If the question asks How? and Why? I would look to structure my answer
accordingly. If you can fit reasons for failure into those answers then great. For
example, you might consider for the How question how companies might want to
militate against known reasons for failure… But avoid just ‘doing a brain dump’ of
what you know about a topic if some of that knowledge doesn’t address the question
being asked.

Student Query:
I was just watching the preparation video you prepared for us, but i am still confused
with the "no opinions part".

Does everything I put down have to be referenced? For example, (Kroenke, 2012)

or, for example, some of the stuff in the lecture slides is not referenced and it is just
what we have been taught. for this would i approach it with a statement like "in my
studies..." and that be academically appropriate?

Clive’s Response
Thanks for asking for clarification on this point. This is an important discipline when
writing academic work. Avoid phrases like: ‘I think’ or ‘I believe’ or ‘My opinion is…’
in academic work – including exam essays. Instead use phrases like ‘I argue’, ‘It can
be argued that’, ‘Previous research has indicated’, etc. The difference between ‘I
argue’ and ‘I think’ is that if you are ‘arguing’ something you are bringing into
consideration either a credible source that you have come across (e.g. what you
learned during the module or something that you have read or ‘data’ that you have
collected (which might qualitative data such as the recounting of a personal
experience of how you have been managed in practice)).

If you were being asked to write an assignment to hand in, then I would say that you
should provide an in-text citation to back up an argument (unless you are providing
your own data), but here you are writing exam essays. So, it is best if you can
provide an in-text citation giving the date (e.g (Kroenke, 2012). If you can only
remember the person but not the date then please provide that (e.g. Kroenke). If you
can’t remember the reference at all (or a reference was not provided) you should still
make the argument. You might start a sentence with ‘It has been argued that…’

Student Query:
Despite going through all lecture notes and doing my revision my biggest worry is
structuring the answer. Is there any example answers we can see so that I don't
enter the exam without a clue on how to answer?
Clive’s Response
Sorry, but we don’t provide examples of answers for this module. This is for several
reasons but one reason is that it would encourage an over-prescriptive method of
answering questions and we want to encourage students to write with a sense of
freedom of style. But I do want to help you. And I want to give you the confidence
that if you have been sitting through all those lectures, you will not be entering the
exam without a clue on how to answer.

I take it you have listened to the video in which I talk about structuring your answers,
so I will try to sum up that advice for clarity.

1) Take time to reflect on all 5 questions.

2) Identify those that you think you might be able to give a good answer to.
3) If you have identified more than 2 then it might be worthwhile planning out
how you would answer them and that will help you to decide which 2 to
answer.
4) Once you know which 2 you are going to answer, before you dive into writing
the first answer, take time to think through what you will cover in your
answer. This should be guided by the question. Read the question carefully
as it will be the key to your structure. For example, if there are clearly two
parts to the question then you have the first stage of your structure. When
planning, think about the points that you want to make in your answer. You
might want to think about the order that you make these points so that they
flow best. Having a plan will stop you from going off on a ‘stream of
consciousness’ tangent from what is being asked in the question!
5) Once you have planned out the key points, then you will know what it is that
you are going to introduce. So, you are ready to write your introduction
paragraph, setting out how you are going to answer the question.
6) Then using your plan write out your different points one after another. If as
you write, new things come to your mind you can either decide to add them in
there or you can go back to your plan and make a quick note so that you can
write them later on in your answer.
7) Keep an eye on the clock as it is best to allocate equal time to each question.
8) When you think you have made all the points in your plan, do a quick check to
see that you have answered all parts of the question, and then add a quick
concluding sentence or paragraph to bring everything you have written to a
neat end.

Student Query:
I just wanted to ask about question 3 on the priority revision list. " a question on
different types of organisation structure and how organisation leaders / managers
might decide on which type of structure to choose for their organisation"

Will the organisation structures we are referring to be : matrix & mitzenbergs 5 (

entrepreneurial, adhocracy, machine/ prefessional bureaucracy & divisional)
OR
Are we meant to draw points on tall , flat, line structures etc

I'm very confused about this.

Clive’s Response
So, the slides to look at are those from Week 4: The organisational perspective –
part 2 structure. These slides offer lots of different considerations for managers
when deciding on how to structure the organisation. e.g. size (number of staff),
locations/ geography, functional areas of the business, different products/service
offered by the business, whether business works using project teams. Specific types
were named including tall, flat, virtual, platform, network, entrepreneurial, machine
bureaucracy, professional bureaucracy are perhaps the key ones.
Being more pragmatic (for you) if this subject is more confusing to you than others,
then it might be a good idea to focus your revision on other topics that you are less
confused about.

Student Query:
I was just wondering whether we could apply best practices to the systems approach
or if these are two unrelated topics? So, if we were to apply a systems approach to
an organisation, could we also discuss quality management - e.g. The Toyota Way
where all employees must act as quality inspectors? Or would this not be considered
a systems approach?

Clive’s Response
Yes, well done for making this connection... Quality Management techniques imply
seeing the organisation as a system to be managed for efficiency.

Student Query:
Would you be able to clarify a question like 'How is ‘management’ considered from
different perspectives?' would you suggest we work to answer the question with 3
different perspectives in great detail, or would you prefer an answer with more
responses (8) with less detail?

Clive’s Response
Sorry to sound a bit evasive here, but it would depend on the wording of the
question. When setting the questions we do try to think about what is reasonable to
answer in one hour of an exam. So, such a question as the one you ask about might
perhaps ask you to draw on at least three different perspectives discussed in the
module. Generally though you are right to think that some questions might ask for
breadth (i.e. more ‘responses’ (to use your word) but with less detail) and some
might ask for depth (i.e. fewer ‘responses’ but with more detail about them).

Student Query:
I wanted to know if we're meant to use headings. And how many words should be
expected for each question?

Clive’s Response
Yes, if you think it will help to structure your answer – and will help the reader – then
do use sub-headings.
For exams in the exam hall we don’t specify a word count. While you don’t want to
have too few words, it is better to have a well-planned out answer to the question
being asked rather than a long answer that reads like a brain-dump loosely related to
the question being asked.