BUMGT1501 Management Principles: Case Study Report - Abraham's Grocery

This report analyzes the application of management principles within the context of Abraham's Grocery, a company that experienced significant growth due to positive customer feedback and effective owner behavior. The report emphasizes the importance of leadership, planning, organizing, and controlling within an organization. It suggests transformational and participative leadership styles, highlights the need for clear communication and defined responsibilities among employees and managers, and advocates for the administrative theory of management to address issues like employee turnover. Furthermore, the report stresses the significance of employee motivation, customer feedback, and setting both short-term and long-term goals to enhance productivity and overall business success. The analysis draws upon various management theories and academic sources to provide a comprehensive understanding of effective management strategies for organizational growth and stability.

Running head: MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES
Management Principles
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Executive Summary:
The given case study is related to that of Abraham’s grocery and it is seen that the company at
the time of initiation was very small and unknown but in a matter of time it grew in huge
proportions which was due to the positive feedback and proper behaviour of the owners and
founders. It is necessary for an organisation to have an effective means of leadership in order to
ensure that the company operates smoothly. The aim of the study is to discuss and apply the
different principles of management which are applicable in the specific organisational scenario.

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Table of Contents
Introduction:....................................................................................................................................3
Discussion:.......................................................................................................................................3
Part 1:...........................................................................................................................................4
Part 2:...........................................................................................................................................5
Part 3:...........................................................................................................................................7
Conclusion:......................................................................................................................................7
Recommendations:..........................................................................................................................8
References:......................................................................................................................................9

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Introduction:
There are four distinct management principles which concern those of planning,
organising, controlling as well as that of leadership. Planning is that function of management
which is involved with the setting of objectives and the determination of a course of action for
the achievement of these specific objectives. Planning comprises of managers being aware of the
environmental conditions which their organisation is faced with in order to forecast future
conditions. Organising is that function of management which is concerned with the development
of an organisational structure and the design of individual jobs within the organisation. Leading
is concerned with the social and informal sources of influence which help people take action that
is inspired by others. Controlling is concerned with the fact that the level of performance does
not deviate from the existing standards. There are also several methods by which the
performance can be measured (Shafritz, Ott & Jang, 2015).
It often happens however, that when an organisation grows there is huge difficulty in the
effective management and handling of the company operations.
Discussion:
The given case study is related to that of Abraham’s grocery and it is seen that the
company at the time of initiation was very small and unknown but in a matter of time it grew in
huge proportions which was due to the positive feedback and proper behaviour of the owners and
founders. It is necessary for an organisation to have an effective means of leadership in order to
ensure that the company operates smoothly.

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Part 1:
The leadership style which can be employed in this specific case is that of the
transformational style of leadership. As per the situation demands the participative style of
leadership can also be employed. Unless the leaders discuss about different possible outcomes of
a particular situation the best possible scenario cannot be arrived at. The different mangers of the
separate departments in the stores can also help the managers choose the best possible solution to
the problems in the organisation (Northouse, 2018).
Planning is essential in any organisation. Planning was needed in the Grocery stores as
there was the absence of a proper level of connectivity among the employees as well as the
managers of the different departments. It has been seen in the case study provided that the store
managers are not properly aware of the incidents which are going on in the store. Therefore it is
necessary for the managers to be aware of the specific procedure concerned. In case all the
managers are aware of the exact procedure which is going on in the store the problems and issues
of management in the stores can be avoided (Bloom et al., 2012).
There needs to be a clear demarcation of the responsibilities of the different people in the
organisation. This is because of the reasons that if situations are well organised unwanted
problems do not crop up. It is desirable that the owners call a meeting in the beginning and make
all the departmental managers aware of the responsibilities and duties which they are to abide by.
In case this is done the fights among the mangers for supremacy can be avoided and the
managers can also adjust with each other (Metcalf & Benn 2013).
Another important aspect is that of exercising a suitable amount of control. The amount
of control which is shown should not be used to demean the managers in any way. Rather the

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importance of control lies in ensuring that all the functions take place properly in the stores. In
case the managers understand that all have their respective duties and have proper reasons for
stating something, it helps them in being accommodating and adjusting to the needs of different
departments.
“In the most famous companies of the world including those of Microsoft, Google,
Woolworths, Wesfarmers and so on, the amalgamation of the activities of planning, controlling,
leadership and organising are helpful in understanding the overall scenario of the workplace.”
Part 2:
There is the need for a proper style of management to be applied in a specific
organisation which is of the administrative type. Compared to the scientific style of leadership,
this style is much more crucial because, this helps in the overall departmentalisation of the
different activities within a particular organisation. It is the duty of the managers to ensure that
the different functions of their organisation can be performed effectively. The administrative
theory of leadership is focussed on the fact that a major amount of emphasis is to be given to the
organisational management and the behavioural factors help in the overall situation.
Individual management of tasks is very crucial in the given scenario because a lot of
confusion can be avoided in this case. The management efficiency needs to be improved to
ensure that all procedures in the organisation are suitably standardised in order to ensure that the
different changes and processes in the organisation can be adjusted to. The stores need to be
properly managed so that internal disputes do not harm the individual functioning of the
organisation. (Metcalf & Benn, 2013)

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In Abraham’s grocery the administrative theory of management is ideal as the increasing
instances of employee turnover and organisational issues are due to the reason that there is not a
proper administration or control among the managers of several departments in the stores.
There are several factors which come under the principles of management. These include
the implementation of authority, proper sense of discipline, unity in the establishment of overall
command, the unity in the directions which are implemented, the different individual interests of
the members for the overall good of the organisation, the amount or the percentage of
remuneration, the centralisation concept and also the reduction of the unwanted roles in the
procedure of overall decision making, the hierarchy, the order, equity, stability of the members
of staff and also the overall spirit of the team (Drucker, 2012).
In case there is a great team spirit there is a positive vibe which makes the organisation a
great place to work. The subordinates need to have a specific initiative of working within the
company and ensuring that all the issues or problems the grocery chain faces are handled
collectively by them.
Negatives of the administrative theory of business also exist. This is due to the fact that
all management principles might not applicable in all types of organisational scenarios. The
problems of leadership in case are not completely dealt with the internal organisational condition
suffers. The authorities need to solve the issues of management and ensure that the issues are
solved properly and in case the problems to be overcome are ensured the staff turnover and
complaints are solved in an effective manner. The owners of the grocery need to ensure that no
sort of internal problems exist within the organisation (Morden, 2017).

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Part 3:
There is the need of for the enhanced productivity of the employees. Business no matter
of whatever category can be properly sorted by different business segments. For the effective
running of a business, people need to be available for fulfilling the daily responsibilities which
are likely to impact the motivation of the company. The facts which have a potential of
reduction of the productivity can be ignored at all costs. There are often negative people in
companies who need to be gotten rid of or explained clearly the repercussions of negative
behaviour. The motivation killers in all the stores need to be explained clearly and their problems
need to be solved properly.
There need to be routine meetings in the company and levels of feedback which the store
managers need to provide, the employee feedback also needs to be given priority. Most
importantly the feedback of the customers needs to be studied and understood carefully. Both
short and long term goals need to be set by the company in order to make expansion and success
an easy task. The principles of management in case are properly followed there is an enhanced
atmosphere and maintenance of the productivity of the employees as well as percentage of the
turnover of the staff members.
Conclusion:
Communication is an important feature of a business. In case there is not an effective and
proper system of communication, there is a specific level of difficulty in the achievement of
goals and suitable functioning. Communication is not only the utilisation of means of verbal and
written communication but also the utilisation of the systems of communication and effort on the
part of the people to fulfil specific needs of the company.

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Recommendations:
It can be recommended that productivity be encouraged in the place of work. It is not
easy to accomplish all the difficult tasks of life easily as several aspects contribute to the overall
success of the company. However the factors which absolutely cannot be ignored are those of
employee motivation, the proper and justifiable impact of the work procedures, the involvement
of the mangers and the use of the technologies and systems which assist the employees in the
effective work performance.

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References:
Bloom, N., Genakos, C., Sadun, R., & Van Reenen, J. (2012). Management practices across
firms and countries. The Academy of Management Perspectives, 26(1), 12-33.
Drucker, P. (2012). The practice of management. Routledge.
Kumar, S. (2012). Principles of management (Doctoral dissertation, BIRLA INSTITUTE OF
TECHNOLOGY, Mesra).
Metcalf, L., & Benn, S. (2013). Leadership for sustainability: An evolution of leadership
ability. Journal of Business Ethics, 112(3), 369-384.
Morden, T., 2017. Principles of management. Routledge.
Northouse, P. G. (2018). Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage publications.
Shafritz, J. M., Ott, J. S., & Jang, Y. S. (2015). Classics of organization theory. Cengage
Learning.