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Methods for the examination of the role of the time factor in managerial and organizational processes
24-32Views:76managerial efficiency. The system of investigations is in accordance with the method elaborated and applied by the Department of Management Science of UD, CAS, Faculty of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development (Berde, 2003). This method involves questionnaire interviews and corporate data collection. The first part of the questionnaire contains data with respect to the company, while the second part focuses on the manager being interviewed. The third part is a closed, directed interview-based preference assessment. I aim to assess the sample at my disposal in order to test the research model.
In the course of the assessment of questionnaires, I apply descriptive statistical methods for the assessment of the personal and professional features of the managers interviewed and the characteristics of the companies. In the case of questions substantively concerning the time factor – resource, managerial function, reaction time, and impact assessments – I carry out hypothesis testing. I draw up a zero hypothesis, whose appropriateness I test by means of statistical methods. I usually apply rank correlation for the evaluation of the relationship between the variables measured on an ordinal scale in my investigations. This can be applied if not the exact values of the given variables, but only their order in one respect or another is known. If the group building criterion is two-variable Mann-Whimey, if a multi-variable Kruskal-Wallis trial can be applied, which, after the rank transformation, gives information about the acceptance or refusal of the Ho hypothesis through the average of the ranks. The model also contains the managers’ evaluation of the time factor in management work. -
Changes in Managerial Functions in Agriculture
64-71Views:93Managerial activity is a process constituted by well separable functions, tasks. The functions and the content of managerial activity are influenced by several factors.
This multi-sided affectedness focused our attention on the analysis of management tasks. We aimed to formulate responses for the questions how and to what extent the activities and tasks of organizations define the tasks and functions at the given organization. On the basis of interview surveys, we analyzed the following managerial tasks: functions concerning information, communication, planning, decision-making, organization, control. The interviewed had to rank the factors influencing management tasks on a scale ranging from one to five. On the basis of the activities and tasks of organizations, we defined three types. The scope of this study does not allow us to publish all the results related to the above-mentioned managerial functions, so we can only present some, which are of interest.
Our findings suggest that the realization of certain management functions is influenced by several factors. Without striving for completeness, we could only evaluate 9-11 factors per function. The evaluation of information sources is considerably differentiated in terms of the activities, tasks of organizations. In the assessment of plans, the potentials for realization and repetition were judged differently, whereas non-organization changes and individual planning similarly. The findings of impact factors in decision making are largely different, as well in terms of organizational activities, but all the interviewed ranked the interests of the organization high. Analysis on control indicated that managers attributed higher importance to issues of content than to methodological ones.
Our investigations follow Fayol’s classical groups based on managerial tasks. We studied the following five tasks in the process of management: information tasks, planning, decision-making, instructions and control. We performed our studies with the inclusion of agricultural organization managers, with questionnaire surveys. The interviewed were asked to qualify the impact factors on the five investigated management tasks on a scale ranging from 1-5. We identified the following company groups: small company, medium company and large company.
We performed our analysis on the basis of company sizes as well, seeking to formulate responses on how size influences the qualification of the investigated factors.
Our findings suggest that the interviewed company managers attribute higher than average roles to the tasks of the management process. The qualification, ranking of management tasks are considerably influenced by company sizes. Relationships and venues are important in the implementation of information tasks, whereas the viability of plans is essential in the process of planning. Usefulness and company interests are highlighted in decision-making. In the case of instructions and decision-making, we stressed the significance of content elements as opposed to formal ones. -
Congruency Analyses in Agricultural Organizations
56-61Views:82Management is one of the ancient activities. Managerial behaviour helped humans to become sociable creatures. The aims and roles of management have continually changed along with social and economic changes. Some management theories in the early literature interpret the managerial function as „to instruct” and „to control” subordinates. The manager – having the appropriate authority – unilaterally appoints the expected activities in accordance with the objectives of the organization and his/her own wish. Its form is the instruction or the command.
Later, organizations and management theories defined the managerial function rather as the impact on the employees than (or instead of) a unilateral manifestation of will. These focus on collaboration and imitation instead of on obedience. These theories were based on the fact that the employees work hard to succeed in meeting organizational goals because they want to meet their own needs, desires and wishes.
Today, management means being in a relationship with colleagues, effective and successful working methods and, last but not least, commitment and liability for the company. The responsibilities of directors are to estimate the employees’ competences and to apply the workforce expediently.
In our opinion, the two most important questions of human resource management (HRM) will be:
• the expectations made of the manager by the subordinates,
• the expectations made of the subordinates by the manager.
The expectations of management have continuously evolved along with the social, political and economical improvement. We consider the most important requirements will be the following:
• the exploitation of employees’ abilities (especially the leaders’),
• the exploitation of human resource,
• aim-oriented leadership related to different management levels.
The actual research covers only the examination of managerial requirements. We experienced that the expectations are affected by many factors starting with the fulfillment of a specific task to the social environment as a whole. Managements of the last century did not require such self-reliance, creativity and broad knowledge from their subordinates as they do today. Employees have to be able to adapt to new tasks, technology and methods; have to react quickly against the problems; and be loyal to the company and the manager.
We plan to expand our research backwards as well, in which we will search for the answer what kind of expectations are formulated by subordinates on the manager. Thus, we can approach and reveal the expectations (the examined factors) from two sides.
Due to this method, we would like to work out such coherences which can help us to demonstrate the opinions of the differently qualified employees of the organisations. The applied method provides us facilities to carry it out in various organisational parameters, such as functional form, size, effectiveness, range of activity.