MANAGEMENT

Definition of Management

Management is the process of achieving goals and objectives effectively and efficiently by using management functions such as POLCA (Planning, Organizing, Leadership, Controlling and Assurance).

Definition of Management

·   Management is the process of achieving goals and objectives effectively and efficiently through and with the people. Management Defined & quote; Management is a process of designing and maintaining an environment in which individuals work together in groups to effectively and efficiently accomplish selected aims & quote;

1.       · Management Defined Cont’d Management is the process of achieving organizational goals and objectives effectively and efficiently by using management functions i.e. Planning Organizing Staffing Controlling 3 Management is a set of activities directed at an organization's resources with the aim of achieving organizational goals in an efficient and effective manner.

Processes of Management
Planning:

Planning in any organization occurs in different ways and at all levels. A top-level manager, says the manager of a manufacturing plant, plans for different events than does a manager who supervises, say, a group of workers who are responsible for assembling modular homes on an assembly line. The plant manager must be concerned with the overall operations of the plant, while the assembly-line manager or supervisor is only responsible for the line that he or she oversees.
Planning could include setting organizational goals. This is usually done by higher-level managers in an organization. As a part of the planning process, the manager then develops strategies for achieving the goals of the organization. In order to implement the strategies, resources will be needed and must be acquired. The planners must also then determine the standards, or levels of quality, that need to be met in completing the tasks.
In general, planning can be strategic planning, tactical planning, or contingency planning. Strategic planning is long-range planning that is normally completed by top-level managers in an organization. Examples of strategic decisions managers make are who the customer or clientele should be, what products or services should be sold, and where the products and services should be sold.
Short-range or tactical planning is done for the benefit of lower-level managers, since it is the process of developing very detailed strategies about what needs to be done, who should do it, and how it should be done. To return to the previous example of assembling modular homes, as the home is nearing construction on the floor of the plant, plans must be made for the best way to move it through the plant so that each worker can complete assigned tasks in the most efficient manner. These plans can best be developed and implemented by the line managers who oversee the production process rather than managers who sit in an office and plan for the overall operation of the company. The tactical plans fit into the strategic plans and are necessary to implement the strategic plans.
Contingency planning allows for alternative courses of action when the primary plans that have been developed don't achieve the goals of the organization. In today's economic environment, plans may need to be changed very rapidly. Continuing with the example of building modular homes in the plant, what if the plant is using a nearby supplier for all the lumber used in the framing of the homes and the supplier has a major warehouse fire and loses its entire inventory of framing lumber. Contingency plans would make it possible for the modular home builder to continue construction by going to another supplier for the same lumber that it can no longer get from its former supplier.
Organizing:

Organizing refers to the way the organization allocates resources, assigns tasks, and goes about accomplishing its goals. In the process of organizing, managers arrange a framework that links all workers, tasks, and resources together so the organizational goals can be achieved. The framework is called organizational structure, which is discussed extensively in another article. Organizational structure is shown by an organizational chart, also discussed extensively in another article. The organizational chart that depicts the structure of the organization shows positions in the organization, usually beginning with the top-level manager (normally the president) at the top of the chart. Other managers are shown below the president.
There are many ways to structure an organization, which are discussed extensively in the articles referred to previously. It is important to note that the choice of structure is important for the type of organization, its clientele, and the products or services it provides—all which influence the goals of the organization.

Directing (leadership)

Directing is the process that many people would most relate to managing. It is supervising, or leading workers to accomplish the goals of the organization. In many organizations, directing involves making assignments, assisting workers to carry out assignments, interpreting organizational policies, and informing workers of how well they are performing. To effectively carry out this function, managers must have leadership skills in order to get workers to perform effectively.
Some managers direct by empowering workers. This means that the manager doesn't stand like a taskmaster over the workers barking out orders and correcting mistakes. Empowered workers usually work in teams and are given the authority to make decisions about what plans will be carried out and how. Empowered workers have the support of managers who will assist them to make sure the goals of the organization are being met. It is generally thought that workers who are involved with the decision-making process feel more of a sense of ownership in their work, take more pride in their work, and are better performers on the job.
By the very nature of directing, it should be obvious that the manager must find a way to get workers to perform their jobs. T
Controlling

The controlling function involves the evaluation activities that managers must perform. It is the process of determining if the company's goals and objectives are being met. This process also includes correcting situations in which the goals and objectives are not being met. There are several activities that are a part of the controlling function.
Managers must first set standards of performance for workers. These standards are levels of performance that should be met. For example, in the modular home assembly process, the standard might be to have a home completed in eight working days as it moves through the construction line. This is a standard that must then be communicated to managers who are supervising workers, and then to the workers so they know what is expected of them.
After the standards have been set and communicated, it is the manager's responsibility to monitor performance to see that the standards are being met. If the manager watches the homes move through the construction process and sees that it takes ten days, something must be done about it. The standards that have been set are not being met. In this example, it should be relatively easy for managers to determine where the delays are occurring. Once the problems are analyzed and compared to expectations, then something must be done to correct the results. Normally, the managers would take corrective action by working with the employees who were causing the delays. There could be many reasons for the delays. Perhaps it isn't the fault of the workers but instead is due to inadequate equipment or an insufficient number of workers. Whatever the problem, corrective action should be taken.

                                                                                                

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT

Historical development

Difficulties arise in tracing the history of management. Some see it (by definition) as a late modern (in the sense of late modernity) conceptualization. On those terms it cannot have a pre-modern history, only harbingers (such as stewards). Others, however, detect management-like-thought back to Sumerian traders and to the builders of the pyramids of ancient Egypt. Slave-owners through the centuries faced the problems of exploiting/motivating a dependent but sometimes unenthusiastic or recalcitrant workforce, but many pre-industrial enterprises, given their small scale, did not feel compelled to face the issues of management systematically. However, innovations such as the spread of Hindu-Arabic numerals (5th to 15th centuries) and the codification of double-entry book-keeping(1494) provided tools for management assessment, planning and control.

Early writing

While management (according to some definitions) has existed for millennia, several writers have created a background of works that assisted in modern management theories

Some ancient military texts have been cited for lessons that civilian managers can gather. For example, Chinese general Sun Tzu in the 6th century BC, The Art of War, recommends being aware of and acting on strengths and weaknesses of both a manager's organization and a foe's.

Various ancient and medieval civilizations have produced "mirrors for princes" books, which aim to advise new monarchs on how to govern.

19th century

Classical economists such as Adam Smith (1723–1790) and John Stuart Mill (1806–1873) provided a theoretical background to resource, production, and pricing issues. About the same time, innovators like Eli Whitney (1765–1825), James Watt (1736–1819), and Matthew Bolton (1728–1809) developed elements of technical production such as standardization, control procedures, cost-accounting, interchangeability of parts, and work-planning. Many of these aspects of management existed in the pre-1861 slave-based sector of the US economy. That environment saw 4 million people, as the contemporary usages had it, "managed" in profitable quasi-mass production.

Salaried managers as an identifiable group first became prominent in the late 19th century.

20th century

By about 1900 one finds managers trying to place their theories on what they regarded as a thoroughly scientific basis (see scientismfor perceived limitations of this belief). Examples include Henry R. Towne's Science of management in the 1890s, Frederick Winslow Taylor's The Principles of Scientific Management (1911), Frank and Lillian Gilbreth's Applied motion study (1917), and Henry L. Gantt's charts (1910s). J. Duncan wrote the first college management textbook in 1911. In 1912 Yoichi Ueno introduced Taylorism to Japan and became first management consultant of the "Japanese-management style". His son Ichiro Ueno pioneered Japanese quality assurance.

The first comprehensive theories of management appeared around 1920. The Harvard Business School offered the first Master of Business Administration degree (MBA) in 1921. People like Henri Fayol (1841–1925) and Alexander Church described the various branches of management and their inter-relationships. In the early 20th century, people like Ordway Tead (1891–1973), Scotland J. Mooney applied the principles of psychology to management, while other writers, such as Elton Mayo (1880–1949), Mary Parker Follett (1868–1933), Chester Barnard (1886–1961), Max Weber (1864–1920), Rinses Likert (1903–1981), and Chris Argyris (* 1923) approached the phenomenon of management from a sociological perspective. Peter Drucker (1909–2005) wrote one of the earliest books on applied management: 

Towards the end of the 20th century, business management came to consist of six separate branches, namely:

·         human resource management

·         operations management or production management

·         strategic management

·         marketing management

·         financial management

·         information technology management responsible for management information systems

21st century

In the 21st century observers find it increasingly difficult to subdivide management into functional categories in this way. More and more processes simultaneously involve several categories. Instead, one tends to think in terms of the various processes, tasks, and objects subject to management.

Branches of management theory also exist relating to nonprofits and to government: such as public administration, public management, and educational management. Further, management programs related to civil-society organizations have also spawned programs in nonprofit management and social entrepreneurship.

Note that many of the assumptions made by management have come under attack from business-ethics viewpoints, critical management studies, and anti-corporate activism.

BUSINESS ETHICS

What is Business Ethics?

The concept has come to mean various things to various people, but generally it's coming to know what it right or wrong in the workplace and doing what's right -- this is in regard to effects of products/services and in relationships with stakeholders. Wallace and Pekel explain that attention to business ethics is critical during times of fundamental change -- times much like those faced now by businesses, both nonprofit or for-profit. In times of fundamental change, values that were previously taken for granted are now strongly questioned. Many of these values are no longer followed. Consequently, there is no clear moral compass to guide leaders through complex dilemmas about what is right or wrong. Attention to ethics in the workplace sensitizes leaders and staff to how they should act. Perhaps most important, attention to ethics in the workplaces helps ensure that when leaders and managers are struggling in times of crises and confusion, they retain a strong moral compass. However, attention to business ethics provides numerous other benefits, as well (these benefits are listed later in this document).
Note that many people react that business ethics, with its continuing attention to "doing the right thing," only asserts the obvious ("be good," "don't lie," etc.), and so these people don't take business ethics seriously. For many of us, these principles of the obvious can go right out the door during times of stress. Consequently, business ethics can be strong preventative medicine. Anyway, there are many other benefits of managing ethics in the workplace. These benefits are explained later in this document.

Assessing and Cultivating Ethical Culture

Culture is comprised of the values, norms, folkways and behaviors of an organization. Ethics is about moral values, or values regarding right and wrong. Therefore, cultural assessments can be extremely valuable when assessing the moral values in an organization.

Ethics Training

The ethics program is essentially useless unless all staff members are trained about what it is, how it works and their roles in it. The nature of the system may invite suspicion if not handled openly and honestly. In addition, no matter how fair and up-to-date is a set of policies, the legal system will often interpret employee behavior (rather than written policies) as de facto policy. Therefore, all staff must be aware of and act in full accordance with policies and procedures (this is true, whether policies and procedures are for ethics programs or personnel management). This full accordance requires training about policies and procedures.

Social Responsibility and Managerial Ethics

What Is Social Responsibility?

•The Classical View

–Maximize profits for the benefit of the stockholders–Doing “social good” unjustifiably increases costs.

What Is Social Responsibility?(cont’d)

•The Socio-economic View

–Management should also protect and improve society’s welfare–Corporations are responsible not only to stockholders–Firms have a moral responsibility to larger society “to do the right thing”

Arguments For andAgainst Social Responsibility

•

For

–Public expectations–Long-run profits–Ethical obligation–Public image–Better environment–Discouragement of furthergovernmental regulation–Balance of responsibility andpower–Stockholder interests–Possession of resources–Superiority of prevention over cure

Values-based Management

•Values-based Management

–Managers establish and uphold an organization’s sharedvalues

•Purposes of Shared Values

–Guiding managerial decisions–Shaping employee behaviour–Influencing the direction of marketing efforts–Building team spirit

•The Bottom Line on Shared Corporate Values

–An organization’s values are reflected in the decisions andactions of its employees

Stated Values of Organizations

Percentage of Customer satisfaction 77%Ethics/integrity 76%Accountability 61%Respect for others 59%Open communication 51%Profitability 49%Teamwork 47%Innovation/change 47%Continuous learning 43%Positive work environment 42%Diversity 41%Community service 38%Trust 37%Social responsibility 33%Security/safety 33%Empowerment 32%Employee job satisfaction 31%Have fun 24%.

Managerial Ethics

•Ethics Defined

–The rules and principles that define right andwrong conduct

•Four Views of Ethics

–Utilitarian view–Rights view–Theory of justice view–Integrative social contracts theory

Managerial Ethics (cont’d)

•Utilitarian View

–Greatest good is provided for the greatestnumber

•Encourages efficiency and productivity and isconsistent with the goal of profit maximization

•Rights View

–Respecting and protecting individual libertiesand privileges

•Seeks to protect individual rights of conscience, freespeech, life and safety, and due process

Examining Ethics

 

Ethical Leadership

•Managers must provide a

good role model

by:

–Being ethical and honest at all times–Telling the truth–Admitting failure and not trying to cover it up–Communicating shared ethical values to employeesthrough symbols, stories, and slogans–Rewarding employees who behave ethically andpunishing those who do not–Protecting employees (

whistleblowers

) who bring to lightunethical behaviours or raise ethical issues

 

The Value of Ethics Training

•Training can make a difference in ethicalbehaviors•Training increases employee awareness of ethical issues in business decisions•Training clarifies and reinforces the standardsof conduct•Employees are more confident of support whentaking unpopular but ethically correct stances

MANAGERIAL SKILLS

Managerial Skills

To be an effective manager, it is necessary to possess many skills. Not all managers have all the skills that would make them the most effective manager. As technology advances and grows, the skills that are needed by managers are constantly changing. Different levels of management in the organizational structure also require different types of management skills. Generally, however, managers need to have communication skills, human skills, computer skills, time-management skills, and technical skills.

Communication Skills

Communication skills fall into the broad categories of oral and written skills, both of which managers use in many different ways. It is necessary for a manager to orally explain processes and give direction to workers. It is also necessary for managers to give verbal praise to workers. Managers are also expected to conduct meetings and give talks to groups of people.
An important part of the oral communication process is listening. Managers are expected to listen to their supervisors and to their workers. A manager must hear recommendations and complaints on a regular basis and must be willing to follow through on what is heard. A manager who doesn't listen is not a good communicator.
Managers are also expected to write reports, letters, memos, and policy statements. All of these must be written in such a way that the recipient can interpret and understand what is being said. This means that managers must write clearly and concisely. Good writing requires good grammar and composition skills. This is something that can be learned by those aspiring to a management position.

Human Skills

Relating to other people is vital in order to be a good manager. Workers come in about every temperament that can be imagined. It takes a manager with the right human skills to manage this variety of workers effectively. Diversity in the workplace is commonplace. The manager must understand different personality types and cultures to be able to supervise these workers. Human skills cannot be learned in a classroom; they are best learned by working with people. Gaining an understanding of personality types can be learned from books, but practice in dealing with diverse groups is the most meaningful preparation.

Computer Skills

Technology changes so rapidly it is often difficult to keep up with the changes. It is necessary for managers to have computer skills in order to keep up with these rapid changes. Many of the processes that occur in offices, manufacturing plants, warehouses, and other work environments depend on computers and thus necessitate managers and workers who can skillfully use the technology. Although computers can cause headaches, at the same time they have simplified many of the tasks that are performed in the workplace.

Time-Management Skills

 Because the typical manager is a very busy person, it is important that time be managed effectively. This requires an understanding of how to allocate time to different projects and activities. A manager's time is often interrupted by telephone calls, problems with workers, meetings, others who just want to visit, and other seemingly uncontrollable factors. It is up to the manager to learn how to manage time so that work can be completed most efficiently. Good time-management skills can be learned, but managers must be willing to prioritize activities, delegate, deal with interruptions, organize work, and perform other acts that will make them better managers.

Technical Skills

Different from computer skills, technical skills are more closely related to the tasks that are performed by workers. A manager must know what the workers who are being supervised are doing on their jobs or assistance cannot be provided to them. For example, a manager who is supervising accountants needs to know the accounting processes; a manager who is supervising a machinist must know how to operate the equipment; and a manager who supervises the construction of a home must know the sequence of operations and how to perform them

                                                                OR

Manager

A manager is someone whose primary responsibility is to carry out the management process within an organization to achieve the organizational goals. Changing nature of organizations and work has blurred the clear lines of distinction between managers and non-managerial employees.

  

                                                                           OR

Managerial Skills

Robert Katz identified three managerial skills that are essential to successful management
Conceptual skills: the ability to think about the future of an organization as a whole or the ability to think in the long run
Human skills: ability to interact or coordinate effectively with people
Technical skills: involves process or techniques of knowledge and proficiency
Distributed skills to different levels of management
Top management Higher conceptual skills, equal human skills and lower technical skills
Middle managementConceptual skill is less than top management and higher than lower management with equal human skills and higher technical skills than top management and lower technical skills than lower management
Lower management Lower conceptual skills, equal human skills and most technical skills