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ScotlandBusiness Management

The Internal Business Environment

8 dot points across 8 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

What do the classical schools of management, scientific management and bureaucracy, say about how organisations should be run?

Classical management theory: Taylor's scientific management (work study, the one best way, piece-rate pay) and Weber's bureaucracy (rules, hierarchy and impersonal authority), and their strengths and limitations.
The classical schools of management in Advanced Higher Business Management: Taylor's scientific management (work study, the one best way and piece-rate pay) and Weber's bureaucracy (rules, hierarchy and impersonal authority), with their strengths and limitations.
14 min answer →

How do the human relations school and theories of motivation explain what makes people work well?

The human relations school and motivation theories: Mayo's Hawthorne studies, Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Herzberg's two-factor theory and McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y, and what they imply for managing people.
How people are motivated in Advanced Higher Business Management: Mayo's human relations school, Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Herzberg's two-factor theory and McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y, and what each implies for managing staff.
15 min answer →

What makes an effective leader, and how do trait, style and situational theories explain leadership?

Leadership theories: trait theory, behavioural/style theories (autocratic, democratic, laissez-faire) and situational theory (Hersey and Blanchard), and what they imply for how a leader should behave.
How leadership is explained in Advanced Higher Business Management: trait theory, behavioural style theories (autocratic, democratic and laissez-faire) and situational theory (Hersey and Blanchard), and what each implies for effective leadership.
14 min answer →

Why do organisations need to manage change, and how do Lewin's model and change strategies help?

Managing change: the drivers and resistance to change, Lewin's three-step model (unfreeze, change, refreeze) and force-field thinking, change strategies (top-down, participative, directive), and the factors that make change succeed.
How organisations manage change in Advanced Higher Business Management: the drivers of and resistance to change, Lewin's unfreeze-change-refreeze model, top-down and participative change strategies, and the factors that make change succeed.
14 min answer →

Why does workforce diversity matter, what does equality law require, and what are the benefits and challenges of a diverse workforce?

Workforce diversity and equality: the meaning of diversity, the requirements of the Equality Act (protected characteristics and avoiding discrimination), and the benefits and challenges of managing a diverse workforce.
How organisations manage diversity in Advanced Higher Business Management: what workforce diversity means, the Equality Act's protected characteristics and ban on discrimination, and the benefits and challenges of a diverse workforce.
13 min answer →

How do teams develop and work effectively, and what do Tuckman's stages and Belbin's roles add?

Teams and group working: the benefits and challenges of teamworking, Tuckman's stages of team development (forming, storming, norming, performing) and Belbin's team roles, and the features of an effective team.
How teams work in Advanced Higher Business Management: the benefits and challenges of teamworking, Tuckman's stages of team development and Belbin's team roles, and what makes a team effective.
13 min answer →

Why does the contingency approach argue there is no single best way to manage, and what does it depend on?

The contingency approach to management: the view that the best way to manage and organise depends on the situation (size, technology, environment, task and people), and how it builds on and qualifies classical and human relations thinking.
The contingency school in Advanced Higher Business Management: the view that there is no single best way to manage and that the right approach depends on the situation, building on and qualifying classical and human relations theory.
13 min answer →

What do managers actually do, and how do Fayol's functions and Mintzberg's roles describe the work of management?

The roles and functions of management: Fayol's functions of management (planning, organising, commanding, coordinating, controlling) and Mintzberg's managerial roles (interpersonal, informational and decisional), and how they describe managerial work.
What managers do in Advanced Higher Business Management: Fayol's five functions of management and Mintzberg's interpersonal, informational and decisional roles, and how the two frameworks together describe the reality of managerial work.
14 min answer →