Organisational Management (IORG)

Syllabus overview

This syllabus introduces students to the concepts, tools and issues of management in organisations of all types. The emphasis is on the role of the Chartered Management Accountant as supervisor and manager of staff in an open social system, and the relationships necessary with other specialists within the organisation. As well as their specialist role, Chartered Management Accountants are participants in the management process at the supervisory and managerial levels. This syllabus aims to provide students with an awareness of the skills required to operate effectively as a manager in the finance department of an organisation.

This syllabus aims to test the student’s ability to:

• evaluate and recommend improvements to the management of organisations in an international context;
• evaluate and recommend alternative structures for organisations;
• apply human resource management techniques in the management of a finance department;
• advise on the management of working relationships;
• advise on the management of change.

There will be a written paper of three-hours. The paper will comprise two sections.

Section A will contain a series of compulsory questions each with its own scenario. Section B will offer a choice of questions, with or without short scenarios.

All learning outcomes and knowledge domains apply to both sections of the paper, but the optional questions are more likely to cover topical issues or specific areas.

Questions will not be phrased in such a way that they require knowledge of the work of specific writers. Examples of suitable alternatives are given for guidance, and students should use the theories or approaches with which they feel most comfortable, or which appear most appropriate to the circumstances described in the question. This is essentially a practical exam, and the theoretical models mentioned in the syllabus provide a framework for analysis and problem-solving.

On completion of their studies students should be able to:

• explain the concept of strategy and its possible effect on the structure and management of business organisations;
• identify the stakeholders of an organisation and explain their influence on its management and structure;
• recommend appropriate organisational goals;
• analyse and categorise the culture of an organisation, and recommend changes to improve organisational effectiveness;
• explain the importance of organisational and professional ethics;
• recommend ways in which ethical behaviour can be encouraged in organisations;
• discuss ways in which the conflict between centralised control and individual creativity can be managed;
• explain the usefulness of both classical and contemporary theories of management in practical situations;
• explain trends in the general management and structure of organisations;
• evaluate the management of an organisation and recommend improvements.

• The determinants and components of strategy.
• Organisational objectives (by which we mean stakeholder analysis and organisational mission, goals and targets).
• The reasons for conflict between the objectives of an organisation, or between the objectives of the organisation and its stakeholders, and the ways in which this conflict might be managed (for example, compromise or identification of a dominant coalition).
• The process of strategy formulation (by which we mean the steps required and the order in which those steps might be undertaken).
• The various approaches that might be adopted to determine an appropriate strategy for the organisation (by which we mean rational, adaptive and interpretative approaches).
• The determinants of culture, the different models available for categorising cultures (for example, Deal and Kennedy, Harrison, McKinsey 7-S, Peters and Waterman, Peters).
• The importance of culture in organisations (for example, the ‘organisational iceberg’).
• The expectations of stakeholders with regard to ethical behaviour, and the role of government (for example, Cadbury Report, ombudsman appointment) and professional bodies (for example, CIMA) in determining ethical standards.
• The different models of organisational management available to achieve goal congruence while maintaining individual motivation (for example, the creation of strategic business units and the encouragement of entrepreneurial behaviour).
• The views expressed by both classical and contemporary writers on business management and the practical value and limitations of the approaches they propose (for example, scientific management, administrative, human relations, systems and contingency approaches when compared with contemporary writers such as Peters or Handy).
• Trends in business management and structure as evidenced in the business press and other mass media (for example, demerger, strategic alliances, virtual organisations, service centres).

On completion of their studies students should be able to:

• explain the relative merits of a range of different organisation structures;
• explain the relationships necessary between the functional areas in order for an organisation to achieve its objectives;
• analyse a range of organisations, identifying their component parts, the relationships between those parts and any problems with those relationships;
• recommend and evaluate changes to the structure of organisations;
• explain the general characteristics and operation of the main functional areas of an organisation;
• explain the relationship between the work of the management accountant and the functional areas of an organisation;
• explain the workings of the marketing function of an organisation and the major tools and techniques used by marketing specialists;
• analyse the information needs of managers in each of the main functional areas of an organisation.

• The different structures which might be adopted by a business organisation and how the various components of those structures interrelate (by which we mean entrepreneurial, functional, divisional, matrix, network, complex).
• The general operation of the main functional areas of business (by which we mean operations, marketing, human resource management, finance, research and development, information systems management).
• The organisation and activities of the marketing function (by which we mean marketing research, market segmentation, marketing strategy formulation).
• The concept of the marketing mix and the major tools therein (by which we mean branding, product mix, pricing, advertising, sales promotion, public relations, packaging, distribution).
• The information required by managers in the various functional areas of a business organisation and the role of the Chartered Management Accountant in identifying and satisfying those information needs.

On completion of their studies students should be able to:

• explain the process of human resource planning and its relationship to other types of business plan;
• produce and explain a human resource plan for an organisation;
• produce a plan for the recruitment, selection and induction of finance department staff ;
• produce a plan for the induction of new staff into the finance department of an organisation;
• explain the importance of human resource development planning;
• evaluate the tools which can be used to influence the behaviour of staff within a business, particularly within the finance department;
• explain the process of succession and career planning;
• produce a training and development plan for the staff of a finance department and analyse the major problems associated with the design and implementation of such a plan;
• produce and explain the planning and delivery of a training course on a finance-related topic;
• evaluate a typical appraisal process;
• analyse the issues involved in managing the dismissal, retirement and redundancy of individual staff.

• The relationship of the human resource plan to other types of business plan.
• The determinants and content of a human resource plan (by which we mean organisational growth rate, skills, training, development, strategy, technologies, natural wastage).
• The problems which may be encountered in the implementation of a human resource plan and the ways in which such problems can be avoided or solved.
• The human issues relating to recruitment, dismissal and redundancy, and how to manage them.
• The process of recruitment and selection of staff, using different recruitment channels (by which we mean advertisement, agencies, consultants, executive search).
• The content and format of job descriptions, candidate specifications and job advertisements.
• The techniques that can be used in the selection of the most suitable applicant for a job (by which we mean interviews, assessment centres, intelligence tests, aptitude tests, psychometric tests).
• The importance of negotiation during the offer and acceptance of a job.
• The process of induction and the importance thereof.
• A range of models of human behaviour and motivation and their application in a business context (for example, Taylor, Schein, McGregor, Maslow, Herzberg, Handy, Lawrence and Lorsch).
• The design of reward systems.
• The distinction between development and training and the tools available to develop and train staff (by which we mean education, training methods, management development programmes, promotion, succession and career planning, job redesign).
• The stages in the planning and conduct of a training course, the features and benefits of the various tools and visual aids used and the importance of feedback during and after a training course.
• The importance of appraisals, their conduct and the problems often associated with them.
• The relationship between performance appraisal and the reward system.

On completion of their studies students should be able to:

• explain the concepts of authority, power, responsibility and delegation;
• analyse the relationships between managers and subordinates;
• analyse situations where problems have been caused by the adoption of an ineffective or inappropriate management style, and recommend remedial action;
• explain the formation of groups and the ways in which groups and their members behave;
• identify the different roles adopted by members of a group, and explain the relevance of this to the management of the group;
• explain the problems of maintaining discipline and evaluate the tools available to help a manager to achieve it;
• explain how the legal environment influences the relationships between the organisation and its employees, and between the employees of an organisation;
• explain the responsibilities of the organisation, its managers and staff in relation to health and safety, and advise how a manager can promote the health and safety of subordinates;
• explain the various ways in which fair treatment of employees can be achieved, and the role of government in ensuring this;
• analyse the causes of intergroup and interpersonal conflict in an organisation and recommend ways in which such conflict might be managed.

• The concepts of power, authority, responsibility and delegation and their application to organisational relationships.
• The characteristics of leaders and managers.
• Management-style theories (for example, Likert, Tannenbaum and Schmidt, Blake and Mouton).
• The advantages and disadvantages of different styles of management.
• Contingency approaches to management style (for example, Adair, Fiedler).
• Theories of group development, behaviour and roles (for example, Tuckman, Belbin).
• Disciplinary procedures and their operation, including the form and process of formal disciplinary action and dismissal.
• The nature and effect of legal issues affecting work and employment, including the application of appropriate employment law (by which we mean law relating to health, safety, discrimination, fair treatment, childcare, contracts of employment and working time).
• The sources of conflict in organisations and the ways in which conflict can be managed to ensure that working relationships are productive and effective.

Only the application of general legal principles will be required in this exam, and the English legal system will be used in suggested answers purely as an example. Students will be free to use relevant law from their own country.

On completion of their studies students should be able to:

• evaluate the determinants of change in organisations and the different levels at which change must be managed;
• explain the process of organisational development and the problems associated with it;
• recommend ways in which planned change can be implemented at the organisational and departmental levels;
• evaluate how the organisation and its managers might deal with major critical periods in the development of the organisation;
• identify opportunities to improve the management of change, and communicate recommendations to appropriate managers.

• The impact on the organisation of external and internal change triggers (for example, environmental factors, mergers and acquisitions, re-organisation and rationalisation).
• The stages in the change process.
• Approaches to the management of organisational development and major cultural and structural change (for example, Kanter, Lewin and Peters).

• The importance of managing critical periods of change (e.g. start-up, rapid expansion, reorganisation, merger, redundancy programmes, close-down), and the ways in which these periods can be managed effectively.