UNIT 5 - MANAGING PEOPLE

Management is the key factor for the success of any organized activity and it is an essential function
in all social organizations. Management is both a discipline and an art. Management refers to a series
of functions (planning, organizing, leading, controlling) and also to the people who discharge it.
Today, management refers to managing: changes and challenges; crises; complexities; confidence;
culture and credibility; to succeed and to accomplish. Management is the art of getting things done
through or by people. It is a vital means by which all tasks can be achieved. It means to plan, organize
and integrate organizational activities and resources for the purpose of accomplishing common
objectives.
Making effective management decisions for your company
Significance
As the owner or manager of a small business, you are the point person for all major decisions
regarding the company. That includes hiring decisions, investments in advertising or promotions,
and decisions related to overall direction of the business. Managing your decision-making process is
also an important element of project management for you and your employees.
Techniques
You can approach the decision-making process from a number of perspectives. You can make your
decision after conducting a benefit versus cost analysis; if the benefits outweigh the cost that
indicates the choice might be the right decision. You can also use a modelling technique as another
way to make your decisions, which allows you to make your final choice based on a chart or visual
model. For instance, flowcharts or decision trees are helpful tools for managers in the decision-
making process. Forecasting, the process of making future predictions about the business or industry
based on research and trends, can also help you make important business decisions.
Types
You may face a number of specific dilemmas when making decisions for your business, as some
choices do not always have simple yes or no answers. For instance, you may have made a preliminary
decision but find that uncertainty holds you back from pulling the trigger. Some decisions come with
high-risk consequences, like the loss of a customer, loss of a substantial amount of revenue, or even
business closure. You may also find yourself faced with too many viable alternatives or a decision
that contains many factors to consider.
Considerations
Ethics sometimes plays a part in the decision-making process for a business owner. For example, the
owner may have to make a decision on whether to use a product that is potentially harmful to the
environment but necessary for the cost-effectiveness of the business. Santa Clara University offers a
process that you can follow in order to make an ethical decision as a business owner. First, recognize
that you're facing an ethical issue, obtain all of the facts about the circumstances involved, evaluate
all of your alternatives, make the decision, test your decision, and then reflect on the outcome.
Expert Insight
Though not everyone will agree with your business decisions, it's important to enforce them as the
owner. It's smart to accept advice and opinions from other parties, but you have the final word.

1. Answer the following questions, related to your making-decisions ability:

1. What is management?
2. Describe some good and bad managers that you know.
3. Do you usually have to make decisions in the workplace? Think about other situations when
you had to make an important decision.
4. Are you good at making decisions or are you usually indecisive?
5. Do you ever ask the opinions of others before making important decisions?
6. Have you ever made a rash decision and later regretted it?
7. Have you ever been in two minds about what to do in a situation?
8. Have you ever made a big decision and then changed your mind?
9. What is the best decision you have ever made in your life so far?
10. Think about a decision you have made which consequently has had the worst consequences.

2. What decision would you make in the following situations? Try to use, in your answer, some
of the following expressions about making decisions:

take into consideration, change/make up one’s mind, give second

thoughts, make a rash decision, be in two minds about it

• The ATM gives you an extra $100. Do you keep it or do you tell the bank about the error?
• Your boss stole a small sum from the company and asks you to lie and say it was a technical
error that caused the money to go into his account. If you tell the truth, you will lose your job.
What do you do?
• Your caught your friend cheating on an exam. Do you tell the examiner?
• At a restaurant, you notice your friend’s wife having a romantic dinner with another man.
Do you tell your friend, and possibly ruin his marriage, or do you mind your own business?
• The principal of the school where you are teaching tells you that in order to get more
funding from the state, you have to incorrectly report the income amounts of each of your students'
families. Should you be honest in your paperwork, or should you just do as your principal tells
you?
• Your friend is on her way out the door for an important date and asks whether you like her
blouse (you don’t!). Do you tell her the truth?

Job enrichment as part of modern management

According to the theory of job enrichment, there are five characteristics affecting an individual’s
motivation and performance:
❖ Skill variety - the extent to which a job demands different skills
❖ Task identity – the extent to which a job has a visible outcome
❖ Task significance – the degree to which a job has an impact on the work of others
❖ Autonomy – the degree of freedom and choice that people have in scheduling work and
determining procedures
❖ Feedback – the amount of direct and clear information that is received about performance
The first three factors above contribute to the meaningfulness of the job. The fourth gives a feeling
of responsibility. The fifth contributes to a feeling of achievement and recognition.
Job enrichment tries to maximize the above five factors within the constraints of an organization. It
also includes two strategic strategies:
• Job enlargement – combining a series of tasks into one challenging and interesting assignment;
• Job rotation – moving employees from one job to another.
3. Find a word in the text above which means:
a. Improvement of the quality of something by adding something else
b. The ability to make your own decisions without being controlled by others
c. Usefulness, seriousness, importance
d. Something that is your job or duty to deal with
e. Agreement that something is true or legal
f. Someone who is paid to work for someone else

4. What qualities and skills should a good manager have? Choose the two most important from
the list:
➢ motivate employees
➢ enjoy working with others
➢ give orders
➢ delegate tasks
➢ judge people’s abilities
➢ plan ahead
➢ be good with numbers
➢ be persuasive
➢ organize teams
➢ make good presentations

5. Works in pairs or small groups and discuss these questions:

a. What would you find difficult if you had to go and work in a country with a culture different
from your own?
b. What advice would you give to a foreign manager who is going to manage staff in your
country?
c. In your culture how usual is to see young people in management positions? What do people
generally think of them?
d. What challenges do young managers face, compared to older ones?

6. Choose the best expression provided below each paragraph in order to find out some advice
for young managers:
A. Act your age
Do not try to … an older person or like a statesman. Dress your age, too
a. show as if b. look like c. put on the clothes of

B. Avoid favouritism
Leaders … by treating people the same.
b. win respect b. hide their weakness c. fulfil their duties

C. Build coalitions right away

Show your colleagues that you are aware of your limited experience and that you are
interested in … too.
a. giving advice b. showing your ambition c. getting advice

D. Keep a cool head

When you are under a lot of pressure, some colleagues will expect you to crack. Do not …
 a. share your office b. give them satisfaction c. support your colleagues

E. Show respect to older colleagues

They have seen many young ambitious people come and go, so just … their experience.
a. draw on b. get away from c. don’t count on

F. Find the right balance between enthusiasm and over-confidence

You have been chosen for your youth and energy- draw on it. But don’t … it.
a. overreact b. overpass c overdo

7. Complete the following sentences with a suitable preposition: with, to, on, for, about
1. I agree … her that we have to change our management team.
2. I talk … my boss at our regular meeting, on Monday morning.
3. He apologised … losing his temper during the meeting.
4. We argued … our next term budget for over half an hour. Still, no conclusion has been reached.
5. We talked … our financial problems for five hours.
6. I apologised … my boss for giving him the wrong figures.
7. Can we agree … the date of our next meeting?

8. Fill in the gaps with the most appropriate word in the context:

expect; trustworthy; claims; making; ingredients; deceptive; truth; neither;

business; less;

Unfortunately, …. (1) people and companies are not always as reliable or as .… (2) as we would
like. Product descriptions are frequently not as accurate as they could be, for example when listing
…. (3) used in foodstuffs. Service is not always as prompt as we …. (4), even in so-called fast-food
restaurants. But it is perhaps in the world of advertising where ethical standards seem to be the most
elastic. Advertisements are frequently …. (5) and often confusing or deliberately misleading,
sometimes …. (6) extravagant promises. No doubt advertisers are …. (7) more dishonest nor any ….
(8) altruistic than the rest of us; they do not often make obviously false …. (9). It’s just that, like
Groucho, they sometimes seem a little too economical with the …. (10).

9. Socializing is an important part of good management. When socializing for business in your
country, how important are the following?
• being on time
• the way people dress
• how you address people
• giving gifts
• shaking hands

10. Put the verbs in brackets in the present tense simple or continuous:
1. The manager .............. a telephone call right now (make).
2. We always .............. a board meeting on Fridays (have).
3. Look ! He ............. the same mistake again (make).
4. They ............ a new promotion at the moment (plan).
 5. I always ............... caution measures to avoid all risks (take).
6. They ................... their resources to achieve the goals in an optimum way every year
(organize).
7. All managers ………. the basic managerial functions of planning, organizing, leading, and
controlling (perform).
8. Listen! The new manager ..................... to you at this moment (talk).
9. Marilyn ................ the most appreciated employee in the company (be).
10.We ................. new plans for action every morning (generate).

11. Comment on these definitions:

• W. TAYLOR: Management is the art of knowing what you want to do in the best and cheapest
way.
• JOHN F. MEE: Management may be defined as the art of securing maximum prosperity with
a minimum of effort so as to secure maximum prosperity and happiness for both the employer
and employee and give the public the best possible service.
• PETER DRUCKER: Management is equivalent with the people that manage.
• MACKENSIE: Management represents the accomplishment of the proposed objectives
through others; managers operate with ideas, things, and people.

12. Make the portrait of a famous manager.