Practice Flashcards
Management involves planning, organising and ______.
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All Flashcards in Topic 2.3
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2.3.110 cards
Management involves planning, organising and ______.
Controlling.
POLC.
Define management.
Management is the process of planning, organising and controlling resources to achieve business objectives.
Processes + resources.
Define leadership.
Leadership is the ability to inspire, motivate and guide people toward achieving a shared vision or objective.
Inspire + guide.
Leadership focuses on inspiring and ______ people.
Motivating.
People + vision.
State one key difference between management and leadership.
Management focuses on systems and processes (doing things right); leadership focuses on people and vision (doing the right things).
Systems vs people.
Managers maintain the status quo; leaders often drive ______.
Change.
Transform.
Complete the exam phrase: Managers aim to do things ______; leaders aim to do the ______ things.
Right; right.
Doing things right vs doing the right things.
Give one example of a management task.
Creating staff schedules, setting budgets, or monitoring performance against targets.
Systems + control.
Why do businesses need both management and leadership?
Because businesses need efficient systems and control (management) and motivated employees with direction and vision (leadership).
Both skills needed.
How do you score higher in “management vs leadership” exam questions?
Define both terms, give one clear difference, then apply to the business context (who did what and why it mattered).
Define + difference + apply.
2.3.215 cards
Autocratic leadership = leader decides ______.
Alone.
No consultation.
Define autocratic leadership.
Autocratic leadership is a style where the leader makes decisions alone without consulting employees.
Leader decides alone.
What is situational leadership?
Situational leadership is the idea that leaders adapt their leadership style depending on the situation and the needs of the team.
Adapt style to context.
Democratic leadership involves employee ______.
Consultation.
Two-way input.
Define democratic (participative) leadership.
Democratic leadership is a style where the leader consults employees and considers their views before making decisions.
Leader consults team.
Why is laissez-faire suitable for creative teams?
Because skilled, self-motivated employees perform better when given autonomy and freedom to innovate.
Creativity needs freedom.
Define laissez-faire leadership.
Laissez-faire leadership is a style where employees are given freedom to make decisions with minimal supervision.
High autonomy.
Laissez-faire leadership gives employees high ______.
Autonomy.
Freedom.
Why might autocratic leadership be suitable for an unskilled workforce?
Because employees may require close supervision and clear instructions to perform tasks correctly.
Needs direction.
There is no single best leadership style — it depends on the ______.
Situation.
Context matters.
What is one weakness of laissez-faire leadership?
It can lead to confusion and lack of direction if employees are not self-motivated.
Too little control.
Give one advantage of democratic leadership.
It increases employee motivation and commitment because employees feel involved in decision-making.
Involvement = motivation.
Exam tip: In leadership style questions, what should you explain?
Explain why the chosen style is suitable for the specific business situation, not just define it.
Style + why.
Exam tip: For 6-mark leadership questions, what must you include?
Benefits of the style, possible drawbacks, and application to the specific case.
Pros + cons + apply.
Give one situation where autocratic leadership is suitable.
During a crisis or emergency when quick decisions are needed.
Crisis = fast decisions.
2.3.310 cards
What is the planning function of management?
Planning is setting objectives, developing strategies and creating action plans (deciding what to do and how to do it).
Objectives + plan.
Management functions can be remembered using ______.
POLC.
Plan-Organise-Lead-Control.
Planning is mainly about setting ______.
Objectives.
Goals first.
What is the organising function of management?
Organising is arranging resources (people, money, materials) and allocating tasks so the plan can be implemented (deciding who does what).
Resources + roles.
Organising involves allocating resources and ______.
Tasks.
Who does what.
What is the leading/directing function of management?
Leading/directing is motivating, guiding and communicating with employees so they perform tasks and achieve objectives.
Motivate + guide.
Controlling checks whether ______ match plans.
Results.
Measure vs target.
What is the controlling function of management?
Controlling is monitoring performance against targets and taking corrective action when results do not match plans.
Check + correct.
Exam tip: If asked to outline management functions, what should you do?
Use POLC and briefly define each function, then apply to the business case.
POLC + define + apply.
What does POLC stand for?
Planning, Organising, Leading/Directing, Controlling.
POLC = 4 functions.
2.3.410 cards
Scientific thinking in management uses ___
Data, evidence and systematic analysis — objective, evidence-based, reduces bias.
Data + evidence + systematic
Intuitive thinking relies on ___
Experience, gut feeling and instinct — fast but subjective.
Experience + gut + instinct
Scientific tools include ___
Statistics, decision trees, financial ratios, forecasting — quantitative analysis.
Stats, decision trees, ratios
Intuitive is best for ___
Fast, creative, novel situations where data is unavailable or time is limited.
Fast + creative + novel
Intuitive risk: prone to ___ and ___
Bias and emotion — hard to justify or replicate decisions.
Bias + emotion
Scientific thinking is best for ___
High-stakes, complex, repeatable decisions — thorough but slow.
High-stakes + complex
Steve Jobs example of intuitive management?
Relied on intuition for product design — believed customers didn't know what they wanted until they saw it.
Jobs + product design
Scientific example: before launching a product, use ___
Sales forecasting, break-even analysis and market research.
Forecast + BE + research
Best managers combine ___ approaches
Both scientific AND intuitive — data-driven analysis with experienced judgement.
Both
Scientific advantage: can be ___ and ___
Replicated and tested — other people can verify the analysis.
Replicated + tested
Topic 2.3 study notes
Full notes & explanations for Leadership and management
BM exam skills
Paper structures, command terms & tips
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