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Management and Leadership Functions

1. What are the functions of management and the functions of leadership? What are the activities, functions and actions that can be qualified both to leadership and to management? Analyse an example of a selected leader-manager in business and discuss his or her functions.
2. The meaning of the word “bureaucracy”. What is an ideal bureaucracy according to M. Weber? Discuss the main elements of that model. Indicate the arguments for the application of four selected principles and possible negative effects which may be caused by their realization in practice. Is a world without bureaucracy possible at all? Justify your answer.
3. Discuss classical, neoclassical and modern school of management thought. What factors led to their emergence? What theories were developed within each of them? What were their strengths and shortcomings?
4. What are images of organization, according to Gareth Morgan? What does it mean that each organization theory is based on a metaphor? What metaphors of organization were distinguished by Morgan? Discuss Morgan’s framework for organizational diagnosis using metaphors of organization.
5. What are the consequences of choosing a business form? (concerns in particular a choice between sole proprietorship and a corporation)
6. In what way competition law protects market mechanisms? List the major instruments of competition law.
7. What are the tools that can be implemented in big companies to stop discrimination, sexual harassment and mobbing in the workplace? How to start an implementation process?
8. What is the difference between tax evasion and avoidance? Is it morally justified not to pay all the taxes while running your business? Please use different perspectives – owners, employees, customers.
9. How people work in groups? Social facilitation and social loafing. Conformity. Crowd behaviour. Deindividuation. Group decision making: risky shift, groupthink.
10. Psychological theories of motivation – Maslow’s model, ERG, Herzberg’s theory, McClelland’s patterns of motivation, Vroom’s expectancy model, Adams’ equity theory, Porter&Lawler’s processual theory. Critically discuss the main theories of motivation.
11. What is Employer Branding? Give examples of successful Employer branding campaigns.
12. The future of work. Describe your own vision of the future, based on current trends and your personal values. What should we do to achieve it?
13. Arguments and rhetoric: show the differences between the structure of an argument and that of rhetorical ploys. What makes an argument? What makes a rhetorical ploy? Explain and provide an example of the latter to show how it works.
14. Verifying sources: explain the steps that need to be taken to make sure a given source is trustworthy; provide examples of methods used to make dubious information look legitimate.
15. Define the concept of time value of money; enumerate the factors underlying the time value of money; explain the role of time value of money in financial decision making by individuals and companies.
16. Explain the difference between money market instruments and capital market instruments, give examples of both; explain the framework of valuation of money market instruments and capital market instruments (i.e., explain how these instruments are valued)
17. Mortgage as a proprietary security for receivable debt. Explain the concept of mortgage and its status as a limited property right. Discuss the establishment and termination of mortgage. What can be the object of a mortgage? What is the practical significance of mortgage in private transactions? What other forms of security for receivable debts can you name?
18. Leading organizations and standards providing project management methodologies. Please indicate the similarities and differences between them.
19. Risk management in projects. Tools and techniques.
20. Basic project management processes. Sequence of processes.
21. Organization strategy and projects and project management. Mutual influence.
22. Research design. What is research design? What elements does it consist of? Define and discuss applicability of the following research strategies: case study, action research, ethnography, grounded theory. What is non-probability sampling? Discuss strategies of non-probability sampling (quota, purposive, snowball, convenience, self-selection).
23. Methods. What types of qualitative interview do you know? What are their weaknesses and strengths? What is the goal of observation in qualitative research?
24. Define verbal communication. What are the functions of language? What are some problems that can emerge when communicating verbally? What are the most common problems involving verbal communication in the workplace? Illustrate your answers with examples.
25. Define “the self.” What are self-esteem and self-disclosure? How can they impact communication? What is the Johari Window Model, and what are its practical applications? Illustrate your answers with examples.
26. Please, describe the cost functions of a firm. Why it is so important for a firm to have knowledge of the its cost structure? On what the firms’ cost structure has an impact? Explain.
27. Characterize the behaviour of the companies in perfect competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly and monopoly. Explain what are the differences between the discussed market structures.

28. What are the four basic financial statements? What is the purpose of the named four basic financial statements and how they are used by various stakeholders? Give examples and simulate scenarios indicating application process or use.
29. How would you approach Company accounts in a structured way in order to derive useful information about the company’s financial position, financial performance, and financial foresight of a given company?
30. Target marketing (i.e. Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning): Identity the key steps in the process and state its relevance to a specific industry. Further, motivation (why?), requirements (how?), outcome (what?). Discuss advantages and disadvantages, and alternatives.
31. Define the Marketing Mix for products, respectively services, and discuss the function and application of them illustrated by specific examples.
32. Nature of International Business: What makes international business different form domestic business? What are the key motivations for the firm to engage in the international business? What are the various types of risks that firms face when they conduct international business?
33. Organisation of global corporations: What are the different organisational structures for international operations? Which structure(s) is most associated with global strategy?
34. Discuss the national income measures- differences between GDP and GNP, GNI,National Income.
35. Explain differences between nominal and real GDP. How can we evaluate them. What is the GDP deflator.
36. What are the main criteria of cost classification and measurement and how do you apply cost accounting techniques for planning and support decision making processes? How is cost accounting beneficial to the firm?
37. Investment appraisal methods and tools based on discounted and non-discounted cash flow analysis (NPV, IRR, MIRR, accounting rate of return, payback period) and value base management
38. Company financing, leverage and capital structure: methods of company financing, the MM, the pecking order, and the trade-off theories of capital structure, the cost of the capital (cost of equity, cost of debt, and the WACC)
39. Present the concept of organizational strategy – what is strategy and why does it matter? What are main competitive strategies according to Michael Porter? Describe in details one of them and give one illustrating real-life business example.
40. Tools of external strategic analysis. Discuss levels/layers of external environment of the firm (i.e. macro-environment, industry, and strategic groups), describe one of them in details and apply to a company of your choice.
41. Innovation and entrepreneurship. Please discuss the role of innovation in entrepreneurship, the types of innovations and their sources.
42. Discuss the role of preparation in negotiation. What are the key elements of preparation? What information would you look for when you prepare for an important negotiation?
43. How would you define success in negotiation? What ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ skills would you need to achieve success in negotiation? Discuss the role of each type of skills.
44. Discuss how the EU influences the companies’ performance, in particular: point the advantages of economic integration within the EU for European companies, explain what the main principles of Common Market are (i.e. 4 freedoms, harmonized taxes), list measures, which the European Commission may apply in case a company breaches the EU law.
45. The role of value proposition in business plan – define and discuss Value Proposition in relations to: pain points, pain relievers and gain creators.