Do Organisations Need Managers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Do Organisations Need Managers - Essay Example Currently, debates have risen as to whether organizations really need managers for the purposes of achieving their goals and objectives. This paper is to examine the functions and purpose of managers in organizations and there relevance in organizations. Traditional and Modern Managers Managers have existed in traditional and modem organizations and there are certain conventional functions and roles that such managers were executing. The conventional activities that managers are involved in organizations including building and maintaining relationships, getting and giving information, influencing people and decision making (Waldron, Vsanthakumar, & Arulraj, 2011). The functions and purpose of managers in the traditional management was restricted to the liaison between the owner and all the staff of the organization (Cieslinska, 2007). According to traditional and modern management principles, the functions of a manager are identified as interpersonal, informational, and decisional. I nterpersonal roles entail the development, building, and maintenance of contacts and relationships with variety of people both within and outside the organization or department. Interpersonal role requires managers to acts as a symbol for their organizations or departments and to liaise with other people outside the department or organization. The informational role requires managers to monitor and assess organizational operations through data collection and analysis and disseminating information to employees and other stakeholders and acting as a spokesperson for the organization (Puckett, Byers, & Green, 2004:32). Managers are also charged with decisional role where they are required to make innovative decisions, handle conflicts, and resolve problems and resource allocation (Yadav, 2009). Planning Managers are involved in the planning of the business environment in organizations. The planning aspect for managers entails the identification of goals and objectives that the organiza tion seeks to achieve. They also determine the methods and strategies to be used in the achievement of the pre-set goals and objectives of the organizations in which they head (Rondeau, 2011). It is the responsibility of the manager to ensure that the goals and objectives of organizations are met and achieved within the stipulated time frame. To ensure that the objectives are realized, the managers ensures that the organization runs smoothly and any impediments and obstacles that might derail the organization from achieving its goals and objectives are removed. In the traditional organizational management system, managers were preoccupied with the running of the day to day business with the sole responsibility of increasing profitability for the organizations. The responsibility of meeting the organizational goals such as the provision of safe place for employment, provision of quality products, adherence to the mission, vision and values of an organization and providing the expecta tions, wants and needs of customers squarely lies within the functions of managers (Puckett, Byers, & Green, 2004:37). The current environment in which most organizations

Amazon's Kindle 2.0, (Pricing) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Amazon's Kindle 2.0, (Pricing) - Essay Example Therefore, Amazon decided to use the skimming model to make sure that they had increased short term profits and portrayed image of Kindle as a high end product. Later, in July 2009 the price of Kindle 2.0 was dropped to $299 when the new model Kindle DX was launched (Kindle Dx vs Kindle 2.0). There are numerous reasons why this would have been done. The most plausible reason for this is that the newer version, i.e. the DX had better features than Kindle 2.0 and it was priced above $400. Another reason was a report by PC World that stated that each Kindle 2.0 device cost approximately $186 to build (The Kindle Pricing Strategy & The Kindle Pricing History). While PC World forgot to include the price of the software that the device hosted, it made a mark on the audience and Amazon had to reply by reducing prices. Similarly, the reduction in price was also made possible by the decrease in manufacturing costs resulting from the Prime View International’s acquisition of E-Link. Prime View is Kindle’s assembler and E-Ink provided them with the screens. By the acquisition Amazon was able to get better prices which it passes onto its consumers by reducing the price of Kindle 2.0. The future pricing of the Kindle devices should be done by taking in to account the prices of competing devices such as Sony E-Reader and the Apple iPad. The E-Readers by Sony are available in three different models each priced at $399.99, $299.99 and $199.99 respectively (All Reader Digital Books) . While the Apple iPad (16GB) is priced at $499 and the one with 3G support is priced at $629 (Apple- iPad - Price ). Therefore, the future pricing of Kindle devices should be done based on the comparison of the features offered by the Kindle devices and the Sony’s E-Reader and the iPad. Today, Amazon charges $259 for the Kindle 2.0 and $489 for the Kindle DX. I propose that they should charge about $200 for the Kindle 2.0 and $300 for