INTRODUCTION TO MANAGEMENT

CHAPTER ONE

MANAGEMENT: AN OVERVIEW

This chapter is mainly concerned with giving answers to the following questions:
What is management?
Why is management important?
What do managers do?
Are all management jobs the same?
If there are differences, what are they?

Chapter Objectives:

After completing this chapter the student is expected to:

Explain the different meanings and definitions of management
Describe the significances of management
Discuss why management is both an art and science
Identify the different classifications of managers
Describe the roles managers play and the skills they need.

1.1. MEANING AND DEFINITION OF MANAGEMENT

Meaning:
The word “Management” has various meanings. The most important ones include the following:
Management refers to a group of people who are responsible for guiding and controlling the
organization (Managerial personnel).
Management is the process of running an organization (planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and
controlling ).
Management is a body of knowledge, a discipline
Management is a factor of production, economic resource as land, labour and capital

Definitions of Management

Management is defined by different authorities in different ways. The following are some of the
common definitions given by different authorities in the field.

Management is the art of getting things done through and with people in a formally organized group.
Management is the art of knowing what you want to do in the best and cheapest way.
Management is the art of securing maximum results with a minimum of efforts so as to secure
maximum prosperity and happiness for both the employer and employee, and give the public the best
possible service.
Management is the process of planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling the use of a
firms resources to effectively and efficiently attain its objectives.

Why do the definitions of management differ?

Authorities agree that it is impossible to provide a single universally accepted definition of
management due to various reasons. Thus, the different orientations about the definition of
management emanate from the following reasons.
Management has various aspects, that cannot be represented by a single definition.
The theorists who gave the definitions had different areas of interest or training, and all defined
management from their perspective (engineering, sociology, psychology, mathematics, etc)
Management as a discipline is young and there is a lack of clarity of concepts and principles.

Nevertheless, despite all the above reasons for providing different definitions, the definitions are not
contradictory. In fact most of the definitions of management do share a common idea “management is
concerned with the accomplishment of objectives / goals through the efforts of other people”.

Precise Definition of Management

Though management is defined in various ways as mentioned earlier, the following is the commonly
used precise definition of management:

“Management is the process of planning, organizing, directing and controlling to accomplish

organizational objectives through the coordinated use of human and material resources.” It is the
process of efficiently and effectively getting activities completed with and through other people. It is
the process by which human and non-human resources are coordinated to accomplish a set of
objectives.

Definition of Terms

Organization – is a group of two or more people coming together to achieve common objectives (goals)
Resources – are inputs that will be utilized in order to perform a given task.

Planning – is determining courses of actions that will be done for, in order to achieve objectives.
Organizing – refers to integrating resources to their best efficiency and effectiveness.

Directing – refers to leading, motivating, and influencing people, so that they can behave in the desired
way.

Controlling – refers to ensuring whether objectives are efficiently and effectively achieved or not.

Effectiveness – doing the right thing.

Efficiency – refers to doing things right and performing something with the minimum possible input
(cost).

1.2. SIGNIFICANCE OF MANAGEMENT

As people began forming groups to accomplish activities that they could not achieve as individuals,
management has been essential to ensure the coordination of individual efforts. Thus, the task of
managers has been rising in importance, as society has come to rely increasingly on group effort, and
as many groups have become large.
Basically, an organization is a group of two or more persons that exists and operates to achieve clearly
stated, and commonly held objectives. Each member of an organization is expected to do part of jobs
that are important to meet the organizational objectives. However, members may be working in
opposite directions. To prevent this from happening and to ensure the coordination of work to
accomplish the objectives set, management is needed. Therefore, management is essential whenever
and wherever human efforts are to be undertaken collectively to achieve specific goals. Thus, the
success of group activity is determined by management. The success and failure of a given concern or
firm depends on the competence of its manager. Every scientific and technological development is
result of organizations; and the achievements of organizations are, obviously, the achievements of their
managers.

1.3. IS MANAGEMENT A SCIENCE OR AN ART?

The question whether management is an art or a science has been an issue of debate for a long period of
time.

Science is defined “as a systematized knowledge derived from observation, study, and experimentation
carried on in order to determine the nature and principles of the subject under study”. Similarly,
management has a structured body of knowledge with its own distinct concepts and principles that are
developed with reference to the general truths underlying the management practice. From this point of
view, management is termed as a science. However, although management is recognized as a science,
it should be noted that it is not as comprehensive or as exact as the other pure sciences. The reason is
that the variables with which managers deal differ. Managers deal with the human elements. And the
behavior of human beings is unpredictable. As a result, they cannot be subject of controlled laboratory
experiment.
According to Terry, “art is brining about a desired result through the application of skill; it is the
application of knowledge and skills to accomplish results”. Art is grounded in the knowledge or
principles developed by science. Just as a doctor uses the science of medicine while diagnosing and
treating the patients, a manager uses the knowledge of management theory while performing his
managerial functions. Art is the application of knowledge that constitutes the science. Thus, art needs
the existence of science and science demands skillful application of knowledge. However, art is not
only based on a systematic body of knowledge based on evidence, but it derives its creative power
through intuition, inspiration and other purely subjective qualities.
Like all other practices management is an art. It is knowhow, it is the application of knowledge; and it
is doing things in the light of the realities of the situation. Management principles are not developed
for the sake of knowledge,
but their application for specific situation. Thus, in the art side of management managers make
decisions and try to solve problems based on their intuition experience, instinct and personal insight.
Management is therefore considered as both a science and an art.
1.4. Levels of Management
Levels of management are hierarchical arrangement of managerial positions in an organization. The
number of levels of management may depend on the size of the organization. In general, however,
there are three managerial levels, which includes:
Top level management,
Middle level management, and
Fist level (operating level management)
These levels of management can be presented graphically as indicated below

Top – level Management

Top – level management includes that of board of directors, executive committee and chief executive,
or president, or general manger, etc. of an organization.

Functions of top management include;

Establishing broad objectives;
Designing major strategies;
Outlining Principal policies;
Providing effective organizational structure that insures integration;
Providing overall leadership and direction;
Making overall control of the organization;
Dealing with external parties such as the government, community, business, etc. by representing the
organization, and
Analyzing the changes in the external environment and respond to it.

Middle – level Management

Middle-level management includes heads of the different functional areas and their assistant: divisional
heads, department heads, section heads, plant managers, branch management, etc. The major functions
of middle-level management are:
Acting as intermediary between top and operating level management;
Translating long-term plans of top management into medium range plans;
Developing specific targets in their areas of reasonability;
Developed specific schedules to guide actions and facilitate control;
Coordinating inputs, productivity and outputs of operating level management.

Operating level management (First level management)

First – line management is found at the lowest level in the hierarchy.

The first – line managers comprise the largest managerial group in most organizations and they are
responsible for directly and managing operating

employees and resources.

They direct small team of workers and keep a check on their performance so that short-term plans and
work target are achieved.

Specific functions of first line managers include the following:

Plan daily and weekly activities based on the quarterly and yearly plans.
Assign operating employees to specific tasks.
Issue instructions at the workplace.
Motivate subordinates to charge or improve their performance.
Provide subordinates feedback about the ongoing performance.
Take action to resolve performance problems.
Identifying ways of improving communication among subordinates.
1.5. Functional and General Managers
We can distinguish or classify managers based on the scope of the activities they manage into:
Functional and
General managers
Functional Managers
Functional managers are managers appointed to supervise single operations which require specialized
skills.
Eg. Accountants, personnel, marketing and production managers

General Managers

General Managers are responsible for the overall operations of a more complex unit, such as company
or division.

General Managers usually coordinate two or more departments and hold functional managers
accountable for their specialized areas.

Managerial Roles
Managerial functions are broad areas of activities that represent the ends for which management is
practiced. They are purposes that tell little about what managers actually perform. They simply
indicate the objectives of managers when they do their work. Thus, from the above definition, it can be
inferred that there must be the means to successfully accomplish managerial functions and categories
of actual managerial behaviors. These are managerial roles.

Managerial roles represent specific tasks that managers undertake to ultimately accomplish the
functions of planning, organizing, staffing, leading and controlling. They are an organized set of
activities belonging to an identifiable job that give realism and systematize managerial functions.

Beside the functional approach of management the other approach to study management is to examine
the roles that managers are expected to perform. Managerial roles are related to how managers carry
out their jobs in their day to day managerial life. Managerial functions are general administrative
duties that need to be carried out in all productive organizations. Managerial roles are specific
categories of behavior/managerial behavior. Managerial functions involve “desired out comes”. These
outcomes are achieved through the performance of managerial roles (actual behavior). In other words,
roles are the means and functions are the ends of the manager’s job.
Henery Mintzeberg developed ten managerial roles, which can be classified in to three broad
categories. These are interpersonal, informational and decisional roles.
Inter personal roles
These are the roles that the managers play in interacting with other people both within the
organization and outside the organization. Managers spend a lot of time with peers, subordinates,
suppliers, customers, government officials and community leaders because of their formal
authority, superiority and strategic position. Therefore, they are required to have an understanding
of interpersonal relations. These roles again are classified in to three categories.
Figurehead role:- when managers perform duties of social or legal obligations that represent
an organization at different occasions such as ceremonial and symbolic in nature it is said to be
Figurehead role. These duties include:-greeting visitors, signing legal documents, taking
important customers to lunch, attending social functional involving their subordinates like
wedding, funerals, Handing out merit certificates to works etc or speaking at functions in
schools and churches etc.
The leadership role:- the influence of a manager is clearly seen in his role as a leader of the
unit or organization. This involves directing and coordinating subordinates activities such as
 hiring, training, motivating and guiding. He must be an example/role model leader so that his
subordinates follow his directions and guideline with respect and dedication.
Liaison role:- Managers must maintain a net work of outside contacts in order to asses the
external environment such as competition, social changes or changes in government rules,
regulation and laws that affect the organization interest. In this role the managers build up their
won external information system.
The Liaison with external sources of information can be developed by attending meetings and
professional conferences by personal phone calls, trade journals and by informal personal
contacts within outside agencies.
Informational Role
Managers emerged as a source of information about certain issues concerning the organization.
They play the role of central point for receiving and sending important information. Informational
roles describe the manager’s activities used to maintain and develop an information network. In
informational role managers perform the following three roles.
The monitor role:- in this role managers constantly monitoring and examining their internal
and external environment by collecting and studying information concerning their
organization. They seek information from various sources in order to make decision and solve
problems that would be achieved by reading reports and periodicals, by asking their liaison
offices etc.
The disseminator role:- Manager’s must transmit their information regarding changes in
policies or other matters to their subordinates, their peers and to other members of the
organization. He/she should provide important information to subordinates that they might not
ordinarily know about. This can be done through memorandums, phone calls, individual
meetings and group meetings. Managers do not put aside information rather they pass it to
peers. The type of information to be forwarded to organizational members may include facts,
opinions, interpretations and influences.
Spokes person role:- the manager represents his/her organization or unit to other people
internally or externally. A manager represents his organization in either sending relevant
information to people out side the firm or making some demand on behalf of the firm. He
transmits information to outsiders as official position of the organization. Managers are also
responsible to provide official statements to people outside the organization about company
policies, plans, actions or development. The information can be transmitted to outsiders
through a speech at the trade show, reports, holding a press conference, giving public
interview or through advertising media’s.

Decision making/Decisional role

On the basis of the managers interpersonal and information received, a manager must make
decisions and solve organization problem in that respect. These are manager’s activities to make
choices from alternatives. Managers are responsible to identify problems and opportunities and then
balance conflicting interests. In the decisional role the manager becomes an entrepreneur,
disturbance handler, resource allocator and negotiator.
Entrepreneurial role: - here managers are continuously involved in improving the
organization and facing dynamic technological changes and initiating and designing of
change in the organization by assuming the risk of change. They always look out for new
ideas for product improvement. They initiate feasibility studies, they arrange capital for
new products, they ask for suggestions from employees, how to improve the organization.
In general they take risks for investment.
Disturbance handler role: - managers have to work like a fire fighter. They must seek
solutions of various unanticipated problems such as strikes, complaints, grievances,
 shortage of materials etc. the manager makes decisions or takes corrective action to
response to pressure beyond his/her control. They have to take corrective actions during
crises, disputes and sudden departure of subordinates, importance customers or suppliers.
The resource allocator role:- the manager must divide work and delegate authority
among his subordinates. He/she must make decisions how to optimally allocate scarce
resources among the unlimited needs. This role of managers pertains to decisions about
how to allocate people, time, equipment, budget and other resources to attain desired
results. Managers decide exactly where the organization will expend its resources
according to the priorities of organizational objectives.
Negotiator role:- the manager deals or negotiates with individuals or groups about certain
issues in view of reaching agreement on certain problems. The manager also bargains with
units and individuals to obtain advantages for his/her unit or organization.
Managerial Skills
A skill is an acquired and learned ability to translate knowledge into performance. It is an ability or
proficiency in performing a particular task. In order to be effective at all levels in which managers
perform; they must possess and continuously develop several essential skills. Managerial skills are
skills of a manageability of a manager to perform his duties and responsibilities expertly. Modern
business organizations are dynamic, complex and competition in the market place is very high.
Consequently managers must be highly skilled to succeed. The major managerial skills that managers
need to possess include: Technical skills, Human skills and Conceptual skills. These essential skills
briefly explained as follows.
Technical skills
Technical skill involves the use of knowledge, methods and techniques in performing a job effectively.
It is a specialized knowledge and expertise, which is utilized in dealing with day-to-day problems and
activities. This skill is acquired through education and training or formal studies in colleges and
institutions. Technical skill is more important at lower level management and as one move to higher
level management; the relative importance of technical skill will diminish. E.g. engineers accountants,
computer programmers, program analysis etc.
Human skills
It is the ability to work with other people in a co-operative manner i.e. the ability to influence others,
to motivate, to lead and understand others. It involves understanding, patience, trust and genuine
practice in interpersonal relationships. Though there are some controversies, these skills are equally
important at all levels of management because all tasks in an organization are done with people. This
skill includes effective communication, creation of positive attitude towards others, development of
co-operation among group members and motivation of subordinates.
Conceptual skill
It is ability of a manager “to see” the big picture of the organization, to view the organization from a
broad perspective. It is the ability to view the organization as a whole entity and as well as a system
comprised of various parts and subsystems integrated into a single unit. It is especially important for
top level managers ho keep the whole system under focus. They must understand the complexities of
the overall organization, to see the big picture and how each unit of the organization contributes
towards the success or achievement of organizational skills. Conceptual skills are more important in
strategic (long range) planning; therefore it is the top level managers/executives who require more of
these skills than middle level manages and supervisors.

UNIVERSALITY OF MANAGEMENT
Is a manager’s job universal? Are the principles of management universally applicable? It is already
stated that managing is found in all types, functions, levels and sizes of organizations. Management
can be applied to all organized human efforts whether they are in business, government, and
educational, social, religious or other fields. Universality of management suggests that the manager
uses the same managerial skills and principles in each managerial position held in various
organizations. It means that management is generic in content and is applicable to all types of
organizations. Many professionals in the field of management agree that “management is universal”.
This is to mean that regardless of title, position or management level, all managers do the same job.
They all execute the five management functions and work through and with others to set and achieve
organizational goals.

These proponents argue the universality of management by stating that the functions of managers are
rarely the same whether the organization are private or public, profit making or not for profit,
manufacturing or service giving and small firms or industrial giants. This is because of the fact that the
basic principles and concepts of management are universally applicable to all types of organizations.
Lawrence A. Appley declared that ‘He who can manage, can manage anything’. Accordingly an
industrial manager could manage a philanthropic organization, a retired army general could manage a
University, a civil servant could manage an industrial organization, and so on. Let’s discuss the factors
that have contributed to the universal organization (arguments for universality)
Managers perform the same functions irrespective of their level in the organization, industry or
country. The functions performed by the company president and the office supervisor are the same.
Regardless of the level, all managers plan, organize, lead and control. The difference lies in such things
as the breadth of the objectives, the magnitude of the decisions taken and etc.
Classical writers like Fayol, believed that there are certain principles in management which are
universally applicable. Such principles as one man one boss (unity of command), division of work to
improve speed and efficiency, limiting the number of persons to be supervised, the principle of
motivation etc. have found universal expression irrespective of the nature and level of management in
organizations.
The fundamentals governing the management of a business, a church or a university are the same; the
difference lies in the techniques employed and the practices followed. All managers are accountable for
performance of other people; they plan, make decisions, and organize work and so forth.
The very fact that managers regularly move from public to private sector organizations bears ample
testimony to the fact that management concepts are universal across organizational types. For example,
D.D. Eisenhower went from a general in the US army to President of Columbia University to President
of the United States.
Nowadays, management has got rationalistic and quantitative approaches, which contribute for the
universality of management principles. One can say a best that management principles are universal but
their application is situational.
Basic Management Functions
The Basic Management functions include
Planning
Organizing
Staffing
Directing, and
Controlling

Planning: -
It is the first function that all managers engage in.
It lays the groundwork for all other functions.
Planning usually:
-Identifies the goals of an organization
-It maps out courses of action
 Length of time and scope of planning:
Will vary according to the level in the company
Top-level management planning may cover a period of five or ten years. (Long –range planning)
The plans at the top management level may cover expansion of the business and how it will be
financed.
Lower level management planning is however concerned with planning today’s or tomorrow’s actions.
A manager’s plans affect and are affected by, the plans of others and the requirements of governments
ruling
Organizing
Organizing is concerned with:
Assembling the resources necessary to achieve the organization’s objectives.
Establishing the activity-authority relationships of the organization

Planning has established the goals of the company and how they are to be achieved
Organizing is therefore concerned with developing the structure to reach these goals.

Staffing:
Staffing is concerned with locating prospective employees to fill the jobs created by the organizing
process.
Involves:
Recruiting and selecting potential candidates for a job.
Matching the job demands with the candidates’ abilities.
Orienting new employees to the job environment
Keeping employees qualified
Appraising performance and providing feed-back
Determining the proper pay and benefit for each job
Directing /leading:
Directing is aimed at getting members of the organization to move in the direction that will achieve its
objectives.
It involves motivating and encouraging employees, to participate in the decision-making process.

Controlling:
Controlling deals with:
Establishing standards of performance
Reassuring performances against established standards, and
Dealing with deviations from established standards.
It attempts to:
Prevent problems
Solve the problems that occur
In general, controls ensure that work is performed to standards as planned.

St. Mary’s University

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Operating – level
Management

Middle – level
Management

Top –
level
Management