Management Fundamentals (Introduction) : 1) Meaning and Definition of Management
Management Fundamentals (Introduction) : 1) Meaning and Definition of Management
CHAPTER I
Management Fundamentals (Introduction)
1) Meaning And Definition Of Management
There are several definitions of Management; but they all are fundamentally the same.
Among the many, some are:
a) Management is the process of coordinating all resources through the five major
functions of planning, organizing, staffing, directing /leading and controlling to
achieve organizational goals/desired objectives.
b) It is the process of achieving organizational goals through engaging in the five
major functions of planning, organizing, staffing, directing/leading and controlling.
In the above definition there are three key concepts
i) Coordination of all resources – managers should coordinate the resources of
an organization. These resources may be human or non human.
ii) The five managerial functions – To coordinate the resources of an
organization a manager should employ/use the five managerial functions.
iii) Objectives – are the reason for the establishment of organizations and
management is useful for achieving these goals. Managing/management is
concerned with productivity: effectiveness and efficiency.
All organizations establish a variety of goals and direct their energies and resources to
achieve them.
All organizations also have resources that can be used to meet these objectives. Such
resources can be classified into: human and non-human, and management is the force that
unifies these resources. It is the process of bringing them together and coordinating them
to help accomplish organizational goals.
c) Management is the art of getting things done through other people by making the
atmosphere conducive for others.
d) It is the process of getting things done through others.
→ an effective manager focuses on both work and people.
→ the job of every manager is to achieve organizational goals through the
combined efforts of people.
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It maps out courses of action that will commit individuals, departments and the
entire organization for days, months and years to come.
Planning is the first managerial function that all managers engaged in because it lays
the groundwork for other managerial functions.
Planning achieves these ends after setting in motion the following processes:
(1) Determination of what resources will be needed
(2) Identification of the number and types of personnel the organization will need
(3) Development of the foundation for the organizational environment in which work
is to be accomplished.
(4) Determination of standard against which the progress toward the objectives can
be measured so that corrections can be made if necessary
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employees to fill the jobs created by the organizing process. It basically deals with
inventorying the people available, announcing vacancies, accepting, identifying the
potential candidates for the job, recruiting, selecting, placing, orienting, training and
promoting both candidates and existing employees.
Remember
Many aspects of staffing function are the responsibility of personnel department.
iv. Directing/LEADING: has been termed as motivating, influencing, guiding,
stimulating, actuating or directing. It is aimed at getting the members of an organization
move in the direction that will achieve its objectives.
Leading/leadership is the heart and soul of management. It involves influencing others to
engage in the work behavior necessary to reach organizational goals; i.e., it is influencing
people so that they will contribute to organization and group goals; it has to do
predominantly with the human/interpersonal aspect of management.
Leading is the most complex managerial function because it deals with complex human
behavior; and because most problems in organizations arise from people, their desire and
behavior. It includes communicating with others, helping to outline a vision of what can
be accomplished, providing direction, and motivating organization members to put forth
the substantial effort required.
v. CONTROLLING: is the measuring and correcting of activities of subordinates to
ensure that events conform to plans. It deals with establishing standards, measuring
performances against established standards and dealing with deviations from established
standards.
Controlling is the process through which mangers assure that actual
activities conform to planned activities.
It is checking current performances against predetermined standards
contained in the plan. Control activities generally relate to the measurement of
achievement. Significance Of Management
All the development that has taken place in the world is due to efficient management.
The points below bring out the significance or importance of management.
1. Encourages Initiative
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Management encourages initiative. Initiative means to do the right thing at the right time
without being told or influenced by the superior. The employees should be encouraged to
make their own plans and also to implement these plans. Initiative gives satisfaction to
employees and success to organization.
2. Encourages Innovation
Management also encourages innovation in the organization. Innovation brings new
ideas, new technology, new methods, new products, new services, etc. This makes the
organization more competitive and efficient.
Management shares some of its profits with the workers. It provides the workers with
good working environment and conditions. It also gives the workers many financial and
non-financial incentives. All this improves the quality of life of the workers.
If the management is good, then the organization will produce good quality goods and
services. This will improve the goodwill and corporate image of the organization. A good
corporate image brings many added benefits to the organization.
6. Motivates employees
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Management brings together the available resources. It makes optimum (best) use of
these resources. This brings best results to the organization.
8. Reduces wastage
Management reduces the wastage of human, material and financial resources. Wastage is
reduced by proper production planning and control. If wastage is reduced then
productivity will increase.
9. Increases efficiency
Efficiency is the relationship between returns and cost. Management uses many
techniques to increase returns and to reduce costs. Higher efficiency brings many benefits
to the organization.
Absenteeism means the employee is absent without permission. Labor Turnover means
the employee leaves the organization. Labor absenteeism and turnover increases the cost
and causes many problems in the smooth functioning of the organization. Management
uses different techniques to reduce absenteeism and labor turnover in the organization.
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Levels Of Management
Is management the same throughout an organization? Yes and No
Yes: because all managers perform the five managerial functions.
No: because despite the fact that they perform all managerial functions, they perform it
with different emphasis and scope.
Managers – are those persons in the position of authority who make decisions to commit
(use) their resources and the resources of others towards the achievement of
organizational objectives.
Everybody is the manager of his/her time, energy and talents.
Managers can be divided based on two criteria. These are:
1) Levels of management (vertical difference)
2) Scope of responsibilities (horizontal difference)
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- Work long hours and spend much of their time in meetings and
on telephone.
- Are persons who are responsible for making decisions and
formulating policies that affect all aspects of the firm’s operations.
- Provide overall leadership of the organization towards
accomplishment of its objectives.
Top-level managers take the credit or blame for organizational success and failures
respectively.
Top level management includes the board of directors, executive committee, and
chief executive, general manager ( the organization’s most important managers) or
the president and his/her immediate subordinates usually called vice-presidents etc, of
an organization.
ii. Middle Level Managers
Middle level managers occupy a position in an organization that is above first-line
management and below top management. They interpret and implement top
management directives and forward messages to and from first-line management.
- Their subordinates are managers.
- Often coordinate and supervise the activities of lower level
managers.
- Receive broad/overall strategies from top managers and
translate it into specific objectives and plans for First-Line Mangers/operating
managers.
- Are responsible for the proper implementation of policies and
strategies defined by top-level managers.
- Their principal responsibility is to direct the activity that
implement the policies of the organization.
- Coordinating inputs, productivity and outputs of operating
level managements.
- Middle level management includes heads of the different areas
and their assistants, divisional heads, department managers, section heads, plant
managers, branch managers, etc.
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Planning
Organizing
Controlling
Staffing
Directing
Top
Middle
First-line
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Role is an organized set of behaviors that is associated with a particular office or position.
A role is any one of several behaviors a manager displays as s/he functions in the
organization
Managers perform the basic managerial functions by playing a variety of managerial
roles. Henry Mintzberg studied or identified 10 a variety of managerial roles which are in
turn grouped into three categories: interpersonal roles, informational roles, and
decisional roles.
I. Interpersonal Roles involve developing and maintaining positive relationships with
significant others in the organization. It is communication oriented. It includes:
i. Figurehead Role: managers perform symbolic duties of a legal or social nature.
The manager is the head of his work unit, division, section or department. Because of
this “lead person” position the manager represents his work unit at ceremonial or
symbolic functions.
The top level managers represent the company legally and socially to those outside of
the organization..
E.g. Signing documents, presiding at a ceremonial event, greeting visitors, attending a
subordinate’s weeding, taking a customer to lunch, university president hands out a
diploma for graduates – in all these cases the manager is representing his/her
organization.
ii. Leadership Role: The manager is the environment creator – s/he makes the
environment conducive for work by improving working conditions, reducing
conflicts, providing feedback for performance and encouraging growth. The leader
builds relationship and communicates with employees, motivates & coaches them. As
a leader, the manager is responsible for hiring, training, motivating and encouraging
employees/subordinates.
→ The leadership role is evident in the interpersonal relationship between manager
and his/her subordinates.
iii. Liaison Role/Coordinator role: The liaison maintains a network of contacts
outside the work unit to obtain information. The manager serves as a link between the
organization and the informants who provide favors and information. S/he fulfills this
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responsibility to others.
Disturbance handler Take corrective action during disputes or crises; resolve conflicts among
subordinates; adapt to environmental crises.
Resource allocator Decide who gets resources; scheduling, budgeting, setting priorities
Negotiator Represent department during negotiation of union contracts, sales,
purchases, budgets; represent departmental interests.
Effective managers are essential to the performance of all organizations, whether they
have the ability to plan, organize, staff, lead and control business operations effectively
can determine a firm’s ultimate success or failure.
Management success depends both on: a fundamental understanding of the principles
of management and the application of technical, human and conceptual skills.
Modern businesses are dynamic and complex, and competition in the market place is
fierce. Consequently, managers must be highly skilled to succeed. The skills managers
need can be classified as:
o Technical skill
o Human Relations skill
o Conceptual skill
o Decision making skill
o computer skill
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Managers who lack human skills often are abrupt, critical, and unsympathetic toward
others. The results are often abrupt, critical, and unsympathetic response from workers to
management.
Because all work is done when people work together, human relation skills are equally
important at all levels of management.
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Conceptual skills are more important in strategic (long range) planning; therefore, they
are more important to top-executives than middle managers and supervisors.
Although all three of these skills are essential to effective management, their relative
importance to specific manager depends on his/her rank in the organization. Technical
skill is of greatest importance at supervisory level; it becomes less important as we move
up the chain of command. Even though human skill is equally important at every level of
the organization, it is probably most important at the lower level, where the greatest
number of management–subordinate interactions is likely to take place.
On the Other hand, the importance of conceptual skill increases as we rise in the rank of
management. For top management, which is responsible for the entire organization,
conceptual skill is probably the most important skill of all.
Technical skill deals with things, human skill concerns people and conceptual skill
has to do with ideas.
Conceptual Skills
Technical Skills
Human Skills
Top
Middle
First-line
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Management as a profession
Mr. Louis Allen defined profession as "a specialized kind of work practiced through and
by use of classified knowledge, a common vocabulary, and requiring standards of
practice and code of ethics established by a recognized body like medicine, law,
accountancy, etc.,
6. Universality Of Management
Regardless of title, position, or management level, all managers do the same job. They
execute the five managerial functions and work through and with others to set and
achieve organizational goals. Managers are the same whether the organization is private
or public, profit making or non-profit making, manufacturing or service giving, and
industrial or small firms. Hence, management is universal for the following reasons.
1. All managers perform the five managerial
functions even if with different emphasis.
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In sum, management theories and principles have universal application in all kinds of
organized and purposeful activity and at all levels of management.
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