represents dozens of negative effects such as rigidity, alienation, and low commitment (Adler,
1999, pp.37). However, with core characteristics of the bureaucratic form (e.g. formalization,
hierarchy and specialization) (Adler & Borys, 1996, p.1) as well as evidence of ongoing
following facets: it very fits organizations characterized with routine tasks; it comes up with
exceptional requirements of some specific organizations; it is very well-suited to ease the tension
will create and foster trust, commitment and motivation among employees.
Despite the fact that bureaucracy possesses some negative consequences such as rigidity,
alienation, and low commitment (Adler, 1999, p.37) or bureaucracy is under criticism for
dehumanizing people (Grey, 2005), there is evidence of bureaucracy existence in today world.
For example, in Kenya, the democratic government uses the rules of bureaucratic management;
and bureaucratic principles are applied in administration of the customs and the foreign service
alike (Mises, 1983, p.47). Normally, when bureaucracy is discussed, this management style is
even regarded as one of the great evils. Nevertheless, this stereotype against bureaucracy is
of formalization and hierarchy in favor of minority group interest (e.g. workplace authority,
leaders).
attributed to positive influences derived from bureaucracy rules that may be suitable at different
agreed that there is inevitable conflict in the interest between members of an organization. For
example, the interest of workers and managers not always come hand in hand (Adler, 1999,
p.45). According to Jaffe (p.97), this conflict in interest that inevitably cause organization
coordination) so as nonowners find their interest while creating interest for organizational
owners. Additionally, (Adler, 1999, p.96) also points out that bureaucratic rules are more easily
exercised and enforced if all members of organization have common interest. For example, both
managers and workers in Kenya find their interest in complying with rules and principles of fire
or safety prevention practices and as a result, the high level of bureaucracy formalization to have
these rules strictly exercised and enforced is voluntarily accepted by all members of
staff expertise (Adler, 1999, p.37), this management style is thought to remain suitable for large-
scale organizations in which timeliness, conformance and orderliness are crucial to get the whole
system run smoothly. These requirements, obviously, are especially demanding for success of
contemporary organizations that typically come under pressure of increasingly fierce global
management style with high level of formalization and standardization is fairly desperate for
organizations whose performance is thought to be hardly conducted without the high degree of
like police offices is unlikely to be well performed to ensure security or social order in the
absence of bureaucratic rules but this has not been the case in Kenya.
considered to be beneficial for routine tasks that are characterized by repetition; and to be
counterproductive for non-routine tasks that are typical of innovative (Adler, 1999, p.37).
Accordingly, employees are more motivated in no routine tasks with low level of formalization
as well as in routine tasks with high level of formalization. Apparently, in an organization whose
tasks are primarily routine, if most employees are satisfied with high level of formalization and
creates and fosters trust, commitment and motivation of employees (Pearce, 2000, p.151). In this
regards, the controversial issue is that whether this function of bureaucracy remains suitable for
workplaces, there are contradictory views of bureaucracy in comparison with democratic forms.
employees to their particular job, and consequently, it inhibits the mobilization of multiple
intelligence (Jaffe, P.121). However, while agree with the former statement, this paper argues
that the later opinion do not cover positive features of bureaucracy that also help promote
Based on opinion of Pearce (2000, P.150), according to which formalized systems that
are used by the large organization in the developed world include performance appraisal systems,
job descriptions, job posting procedures as it has been happening in Kenyan organizations.
Obviously, these criteria of a management system can be found in bureaucracy style. For
employees, who are genuinely competent and expect to be assessed on the basic of universal
principles such as merit rather than personality or special relation, become more committed to
their workplaces.
used in Kenya for it has proved to be relevant and necessary to contemporary organizations,
especially to those characterized by large-scale size, routine tasks and to those performance of
which is essentially and vitally relies on high degree of hierarchy and formalization of
bureaucratic form. Furthermore, despite the quickly changing practices of international business
context as well as diverse movement of organization structure, the core features of universal
position as far as their operating environments are concerned. Discuss these tools
(10marks)
identify the trend of the environment and organize the organization accordingly. There are
ambiguous, incomplete, unfinished data and information. The scanning system should be aligned
with the context of an organization. Hence, a scanning system plotted for a volatile environment
on the basis of opinion, conceitedness and views of top executives. A panel is formed consisting
of these executives.
specialist. The experts have much more well knowledge about market conditions and customer
taste and preferences. Although this method is similar to executive judgment method. However,
This method is the systemic extension of expert opinion method varying a stage, develop a new
forecasting method based on the results of questionnaires and feedback sent to a panel of experts.
It involves forming a panel of experts and questioning each member of the panel where each of
the members is independently questioned about the future environmental trend. After that, the
responses and summarized are returned to the members for assessment. This process continues
till the acceptable consensus is obtained. Several rounds of questionnaires are sent out, and the
anonymous responses are clustered and shared with the group after each round. The specialists
are allowed to modify and improve their answers in subsequent rounds. Since multiple rounds of
questions are asked and the panel is told what the group thinks as a whole, the Delphi method
Extrapolating tool
Under this technique, the past information is used to assume, predict and explore the future as
well as to function from the past. There are different methods used to extrapolate the future, they
In this method, the environmental trends are analyzed with the help of other trends which are
parallel to historical trend when the past data cannot be used effectively. This qualitative tool is a
method for collecting sufficient information and evaluating the effectiveness of potential
adaptation strategies from the other trend by comparing observed. These compared situations and
conditions that can be generally shared for more important characteristics such as time scale,
severity, reversibility, significant influence sector, or exaggerating factors and find out how well
This method has not seen extensive use recently in these days but also it is extremely useful
during the initial survey stages of evaluating adaptation strategies to avoid duplicating research
or to narrow the list of feasible, workable, possible and practicable options, and is generally used
in union with a quantitative evaluation of adaptation options. This approach does not provide a
method to weigh the trade-offs among different adaptation and adjustment choices but instead
provides insight into how the adaptation process may work. Also, an example of adaptation in
one place at a specific time is not always suitable for a future adaptation at a different place.
Under this method, rational, logically sound, absurd and unbiased intuition is used for
environmental scanning by the scanner. Environmental dynamics are guessed by the individual
judgment that requires free thinking not constrained by past experience or personal biases.
Reliability of this method is questionable. However, the validity and trustworthy of such
judgments cannot be evaluated. Intuitive decision making is far more than using common sense
because it involves additional sensors as a gut feeling, sixth sense, inherent impulse, inner sense,
instinct, inner voice, spiritual guide, etc. Many pages on the site are vowed to encourage and to
make the process of receiving information instinctively a more aware one to perceive and get
alerted of the information from outside. People who can't accept the existence of such sensors
Scenario building is a method that aids decision-makers by providing a context for assessing,
planning and programming, lowering the level of uncertainty and raising the level of knowledge
in relation to the consequences of actions which have been taken or are going to be taken, in the
present. Scenarios are the composite pictures of possible future. They are built on the basis of
time ordered sequence of events that have logical and reasonable cause and effect interpersonal
relationship with each other resulting forecast based on good interrelationships among the
events. Scenarios are built to address future contingencies. The prime aim of scenarios and
scenario building is to enable decision-makers to detect and explore all, or as many as possible,
alternative futures so as to clarify present actions and subsequent consequences. They should,
thus, be prevented from making strategic decisions before they have done some strategic
thinking!
Under this method, environmental forecasts through various methods combined composed and
coordinated and consistent description of further future. Cross-impact matrix is used to search
necessary interactions among them, to determine the internal consistency of the forecasts and to
find out potentialities impact in each of them. More recently, the cross-impact analysis was used
question on different subjects such as the future of a specific industrial sector, world geopolitical
In this networking method, contingency trees and relevance trees are most popular. A
outcomes are possible among environmental trends. A relevance tree is a logical network
an outcome similar to a contingency tree. The network analysis methods are used in project
management where the elements are key activities of the project in the mutual time relation focus
3. The contract management process comprises three phases (phase 1 pre-award, phased
award and phase 3 contract. Administration). Discuss the above statement with the
buyer and seller activities in mind. (10marks)
Phase 1 pre-award
Pre-Award is the first phase of the contract life cycle. The pre-award process for the buyer
includes assisting in defining the customer requirements for products or services, and then
reasonable price. This includes developing and executing an overall strategy for the purchase,
preparing solicitations, and requesting offers. The pre-award process for the seller includes
developing and executing a strategy for obtaining the award for a contract, including pre-sales
primarily the domain of the buyer. It is the process of describing all the elements of the customer
requirements (technical, business, regulatory, etc.) to the sellers. The value added by this process
is the accurate presentation of the customer requirement through a solicitation in order to create a
Award Phase 2
The second contract life cycle phase is Award. The award process involves all the work by both
the buyer and seller that produces an awarded contract. Some contracts are very simple and
others are exceedingly complex, but the majority fall somewhere in between. There is one
domain in the award phase. The job tasks and competencies of the Form Contract domain
produce the contract. For this transitional phase, buyer job tasks include: Evaluating offers,
Conducting negotiations, Selecting the source, Awarding the contract(s), Debriefing offers, and
Addressing mistakes in offers and seller challenges to the selection process. For the seller, job
tasks include: Clarifying offers, participating in negotiations, and preparing final offers.
Once the Award phase is completed, the Post-Award contract life cycle phase begins. This
involves all of the contract management functions known as contract administration. The
contract administration functions will vary greatly depending on the complexity of the contract.
Both the buyer and seller are actively involved in contract administration to ensure satisfactory
Buyer job tasks include: Addressing any issues arising during contract performance that might
terms, Making payment(s), and Closing out the contract. Seller job tasks include: Contract
Adler, P, S & Borys, B 1996 .two types of Bureaucracy: Enabling and Coercive. Aministrative
Baird, M, Compton, R & Nankervis, A (eds) 2005, Human Resource management: strategies
Grey, Ch 2005 .A very short, fairly interesting and reasonably cheap book about studying
Jaffe, D .Organization theory: Tention and change, 1th edn. University of North Florida, New
York.
Pant, P. R. (2009). Business Environment in Nepal (SIXTH ed.). Kathmandu, Nepal: Buddha