DISCUSSION: Unit 1: Management and Its Characteristics -

Introduction to Management
When human being started group activities for the attainment of same common objectives whenever a group
is formed and a group activity is organized to achieve certain common objectives management is needed to
direct, co-ordinate and integrate the individual activities of a group and secure teams work to accomplish
organizational objectives. The objectives of all business are attained by utilizing the scare resources like men,
materials, machines, money etc.

In process of management, a manage uses human skills, material resources and scientific methods to perform
all the activities leading to the achievement of goods.

Part 1. WHAT IS MANAGEMENT?

Management is a universal phenomenon. It is a very popular and widely used term. All
organizations-business, political, cultural or social are involved in management because it is
the management which helps and directs the various efforts toward a definite purpose.
 EFL Brech defined management as ‘social process entailing responsibility for
effective planning regulations of operations of an enterprise.”
 FW Taylor defined management as “the art of knowing what you want to do and
seeing that it is done in the best and cheapest way.”
 Henry Fayol stated ‘management is to forecast, to plan, to organize, to command, to
coordinate and to control.”
 According to Harold Koontz- Management is an art of getting things done through and
with the people in formally organized groups. It is an art of creating an environment in
which people can perform and individuals and can cooperate towards attainment of group
goals.

Thus management is continuous organization and control of people and resources for realizing
goals of an organization.

PART 2. CHARACTERISTICS OF MANAGEMENT:

● Setting goals for organizations: Goals differ from organization to organization in
business, the basic economic goal is to earn maximum profit, while in service
organization like hospital and educational institution for the basic goal is to provide
better service and better education.

● Awareness of opportunities and resources: Management has awareness of

opportunities and resources like men, materials, money which assembles and
integrates by management.

● Management is transformation process: Management is a transformation process

consisting of planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling. Management is
universal: The principles and techniques of management are universally applicable to
all group activities performed at any level of organization.

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 ● System of authority: System of authority means a hierarchy of command and control.
Managers at different levels possess varying degrees of authority.

● Co – Ordination: Various human beings organized in formal groups are endeavoring

to achieve the common organizational objectives, so various departments in the
organization must work in harmony with one another.

● Management is dynamic: The ever changing social environment directly and

indirectly effects the group activity thus changing environments provide a challenge to
management. Efficient management cannot remain static it must adopt itself to
changing conditions.

● Management is decision making: The managers are decision makers. The marketing
managers decide about how to market, when to market, where to market how to
collect funds for organization.

● Management is a profession: The task of manager has been quite specialized. As a

result of these developments the management has reached a stage where everything
is to be managed professionally. A profession may be defined as an occupation that
requires specialized knowledge and intensive academic preparations to which entry is
regulated by a representative body.

● Management as a Science. Science is a body of knowledge pertaining to a specific

field of study that contains general facts which explains a phenomenon. It cannot be
denied that management has a systematic body of knowledge but it is not as exact as
that of other physical sciences. The main reason for the inexactness of science of
management is that it deals with human beings and it is very difficult to predict their
behavior accurately. Since it is a social process, therefore it falls in the area of social
sciences.

● Management as an Art. Management is not only a science but also an art. Art implies
application of knowledge and skill to trying about desired results. An art may be
defined as personalized application of general theoretical principles for achieving best
possible result. Management is called an art because managing requires certain skills
which are personal possessions of managers.

Part 3. Functions of Management:

The most widely accepted are functions of management given by KOONTZ and O’DONNEL

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 1. Planning : it is the basic
function of management. It
involves selecting the
objectives andactions
to achieve them. Planning stage involves decision making and choosing future courses of action
from the various alternatives. According to KOONTZ, “Planning is deciding in advance-what
to do, when to do & how to do. It bridges the gap from where we are and where we want to
be.”

2. Organizing: It is the process of bringing together physical, financial, and human resources
and developing productive relationship amongst them for achievement of organizational
goals. Organizing as a process involves: identification of activities, classification of
grouping of activities, assignment of duties, and delegation of authority and creation of
responsibility, and coordinating authority and responsibility relationships.

3. Staffing: Staffing function includes keeping the various organizational position fixed. This
activity is done by identifying work force requirements, keeping the records of the
performance of people working with the organization. So that suitable people can be
prompted and at the same time people performing not up to the mark could be send for
training. If all the above activities are taking place in nice way in any organization, it will
give rise minimum work force turnover.
4. Directing: Directing means influencing people, so that they will contribute to the
organization targets. Directing involves supervision, motivation, leadership and proper
communication.

5. Controlling: It is the process of monitoring actual organizational activities to see that they
conform to planned activities and correcting deviations or flaws.

Part 4. Importance of Management

1. Effective utilization of resources: Management tries to make effective utilization of
various resources. The resources are scarce in nature and to meet the demand of the
society, their contribution should be maximum for the general interests of the society.
Management not only decides in which particular alternative a particular resource is used
but also takes actions to utilize it in that particular alternative in the best way.

2. Development of resources: Management develops various resources. This is true with

human as well as non-human factors. Most of the researches for resource development are
carried on in an organization way and management is involved in those activities.

3. To incorporate innovations: Today changes are occurring at a very fast rate in both
technology and social process and structure these changes need to be incorporated to
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 keep the organizations alive and efficient. Therefore, they require high degree of
specialization, high level of competence, and complex technology. All these require
efficient management so that organizations work in the most efficient way.
4. Integrating various interest groups: In the organized efforts, there are various interest
groups and they put pressure over other groups for maximum share in the combined
output. For example, in the case of business organization, there are various pressure
groups such as shareholders, employees, government etc. These interest groups have
pressure on an organization.

5. Stability in the society: Management provides stability in the society by changing and
modifying the resources in accordance with the changing environment of the society. In
the modern age, more emphasis is on new inventions for the betterment of human beings.
These inventions make old systems and factors mostly obsolete and inefficient.
Management provides integration between traditions and new inventions and safeguards,
society from the unfavorable impact of these inventions so that continuity in social process
is maintained.

DISCUSSION: Unit 2:Management Science – Definitions and

Characteristics MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
Management science is a recognized and established discipline in business. The applications of
management science techniques are widespread, and they have been frequently credited with increasing
the efficiency and productivity of business firms. In various surveys of businesses, many indicate that
they use management science techniques, and most rate the results to be very good. Management science
(also referred to as operations research, quantitative methods, quantitative analysis, and decision
sciences) is part of the fundamental curriculum of most programs in business.

Management science is the application of a scientific approach to solving management problems in order to
help managers make better decisions. As implied by this definition, management science encompasses a
number of mathematically oriented techniques that have either been developed within the field of
management science or been adapted from other disciplines, such as the natural sciences, mathematics,
statistics, and engineering

Part 1. WHAT IS MANAGEMENT SCIENCE?

Read & react on the following

definitions of
management science

1. Management science is “‘approach of a manager, to solving management transportation

problems and decision making, by identifying, analyzing, modeling and setting options with the help
of quantitative techniques and research methods.”

2. Management science is the application of the scientific method to address problems and decisions
that arise in the business community and other organizations, such as government and military
institutions. This field of study, which is also commonly known as operations research (OR), operates

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 on the understanding that business managers can make informed decisions only when they have
access to scientifically acquired knowledge.

3. Management science is application of scientific method to problems involving identification, analysis

and interpretation, using models, relating to operations of business organizations.”

4. Management science is a systematic and analytical approach to decision making and problem solving
through scientific methods of observation, experimentation and inference, relating to managerial
issues”.

5. Management science encompasses a logical, systematic approach to problem solving, which closely
parallels what is known as the scientific method for attacking problems. This approach follows a
generally recognized and ordered series of steps: (1) observation, (2) definition of the problem, (3)
model construction, (4) model solution, and (5) implementation of solution results.

6. According to Lancaster University, management science can be defined as a concept that is

“concerned with developing and applying models and concepts that help to illuminate issues and solve
managerial problems”.

Hence, management consists of problem solving and decision making. A scientific approach is
necessary to attain organization’s goals and objective through the techniques of problem
solving and decision making. Modern manager has to be a scientist with extensive knowledge of the
elements of decision making. This knowledge enables him to identify problems, build model, and to
solve them effectively and efficiently. This approach to management, through problem solving and
decision making is called management science.

NOW...let’s talk about decision making…☺

The Management and decision are two very important activities which cannot be separated. Both
move together. Decision-making is the main business of management and it has been considered as
soul of management

Part 2. What is Decision-Making?

Decision making is the selection of one course of action from two or more alternative courses of action.
It is a choice-making activity and the choice determines our action or inaction.

According to George R. Terry:

“Decision-making is the selection based on some criteria from two or more possible alternatives.”

Elements of Decision making

One of the important tasks of an executive is the decision making. It generally takes a small
fraction of his time. Nevertheless the decision making is a very important aspect of his work since the
decisions he makes by virtue of his position, knowledge or experience have significant impact on the
entire organization, its performance, and the results. Hence, executives to be effective are to make
wise decisions. They are to make the decisions as a systematic process with clearly defined elements
and in a distinct sequence of steps.
For an effective decision making, the executive is to normally concentrate on those important
and strategic decisions which have big impact for the organization. These strategic decisions need to
have the highest level of conceptual understanding. The executive is required to find the constants in a
situation and is to apply his skill to manipulate a great many variables arising out of the chaotic
thinking in order to make an effective decision. He is to know what the decision is all about and what
the underlying realities are which the decision is required to satisfy. The executive is to look out for

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 impact rather than the technique. He is to ensure that the decision he makes needs to be sound rather
than clever.
An executive while making a decision is required to know whether the decision is to be based
on principle or it is to be made on the merits of the case and logically. He is to be aware that the
trickiest decision is the one which is between the right and the wrong compromise he has to make and
he is to be able to judge one from the other. Further, the executive is to be aware that the most time-
consuming step in the decision making process is not making the decision but putting the decision into
effect.

Unless a decision has ‘degenerated into the work’ it is not a decision and it is at best a good
intention. This means that, while the effective decision itself is based on the highest level of
conceptual understanding, the action to carry it out need to be as close as possible to the working level
and as simple as possible.
Very important aspects of the decision making by the executives for highly specific
solutions irrespective of the entirely different problems to be handled are:
a. The problem is to be tackled at the highest conceptual level of understanding,

b. A thinking by the executive about what the decision is all about before trying to
develop a principle for dealing with it,

c. The decision needs to be strategic, rather than adaptation to the apparent needs of
the moment, and

d. The decision is to be innovative even if it becomes highly controversial because the

decision may directly opposes to what ‘everybody know’ at the time of the decision
making.

Main Elements of Decision Making

The main elements of decision-making are as follows:
1. Concept of Best Decision:
Rational decisions must conform the basic concept of good decision. Curdiff and Still: Mentions
three keys to rational decision-making:

a. Conceptualization

b. Information

c. Prediction

are the three main keys to rational decision-making. The problem should be thoroughly analyzed
and all possible alternatives be fully considered.

Rational decisions require:

(a) Intelligence,

(b) Insight, and

(c) Lot of experience

2. Organizational Environment of the Company:

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 Organizational environment also exert great influence on decision-making. Some organizations
believe in rigid centralization while others have faith in decentralization and leave the routine
decision-making function with the departmental heads. Further, in the interest of the company it has
been suggested that the policy matter decision must be left with the top management and leave the
ordinary day to day routine matter decisions to the various departmental heads. External, Social,
Political and Economic environment also influence decision-making. But instable political conditions
in the country are not conducive to important decision-making.

3. Psychological Elements:
In psychological elements personal traits like preferences, intellectual maturity experience, educational
standard, social and religious designation and status etc., of the person responsible for the decision-making
also exert great influence on decision-making. Further in company the manager’s habits, temperament,
social environment, upbringing domestic life and political learning’s all have to trace his choice of
alternative, consequently on his decisions.

4. Timing of Decisions:
Decisions must be taken at the appropriate time keeping in view the prevailing conditions. Marketing
aim should also be taken into consideration and time required for achieving the aim. Any decision
taken in time leaves a lasting impression on the mind of those who are affected by the decision.

5. Communication of Decisions:
When a particular decision has been taken it must be communicated properly in time to the persons
concerned. Decision should be communicated to the subordinate executives in a courteous, simple and
understandable language. There should not be any ambiguity in the language written. It should be in a
very simple language.

6. Participation of Employees:
Participation of the employees in decision-making makes its implementation easier. Employee’s
participation has certain advantages and it ensures loyalty of the employees towards the organization.
It arouses the feeling of oneness with the company and the decision taken is considered as superior. It
helps in enhancing the efficiency of the organization which helps in attaining the goals of the
organization.

Part 3. Characteristics of Management Science

Definitions of management science bring out following characteristics:

1. System orientation
Business organization is considered as a system and an entity, by any part of organization has some
effect on the activity of every other part. To evaluate any decision one has to identify all possible
interaction and determine the impact on the organization a whole.
According to Henry Mintzberg, most organizations can be divided into 5 basic parts. Here is
a diagram:

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 https://www.metaanalytics.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/mintzberg_2b-3.gif

At the bottom of the organization is the operating core. These are the people that do the basic
work of producing the products or delivering the services. In the simplest organizations, the operators
are largely self-sufficient, coordinating through mutual adjustment. In those organizations, there is
almost nothing but operating core.
As the organization grows, the need for direct supervision increases. This results in the
development of a strategic apex, which in the simplest case is just a single manager. The apex is
charged with ensuring that the organization executes its mission. They are responsible to the owners,
government agencies, unions, communities, etc.
As the organization grows even larger, one manager can't handle all the workers, and so there are
multiple managers of workers, plus a manager to manage the managers. This creates a middle line
which transmits authority from the top to the bottom.
In Frederick Taylor's view, it was a primary responsibility of the managers to figure out how
work should be done by the workers. However, as organizations become larger, they typically develop
a separate group of people -- analysts -- who take on the job of figuring out what the company's
technology should be and what the company's procedures should be. These analysts form the techno
structure of the organization. The techno structure’s mission is to effect coordination through
standardization. For example, the industrial engineers standardize work processes; the strategic
planners standardize outputs; and the personnel trainers and recruiters standardize skills.
Finally, the organization adds other administrative units that provide services to itself, such as a
cafeteria, mailroom, legal counsel, public relations, etc. These are called the support staff.
The apex, middle line, and operating core are known collectively as line positions. In contrast, the
technostructure and support staff is known collectively as staff positions. Originally, the meaning of
these terms was that line positions had formal authority to make decisions, while staff positions did
not: they advised those who did. Today, that meaning has shifted. Line refers to people that work
directly on the main products of the company or manage the people who do. Staff refers to people who
construct and maintain the company's infrastructure. In a way, staff positions are like roads while line
positions are like the cars that run on top of the roads.
2. Interdisciplinary
It is recognized that combined effort of different persons can produce more unique solutions
with greater probability of success. The operations research team will look at the problem from many
angles, to determine the best solution.
For example, a mathematician might look at the inventory
problem and formulate some type of mathematical relationships
between the manufacturing departments and customer demand. A
chemical engineer might look at the same problem and formulate it in
terms of flow theory. A cost accountant might conceive the inventory
problem in terms of component costs (e.g., direct material cost, direct
labor cost, overheads etc.) and how such costs can be controlled and
reduced, etc.

Therefore, management science emphasizes over the interdisciplinary

approach because each of the individual aspects of a problem can be best
understood and solved by those, experts in different fields such as
accounting, biological, economic, engineering, mathematics, physical, psychological, sociological,
statistical etc

3. Scientific method
Operations research team applies the methods of observation, experimentation, inference and testing
frequently on all problems. When an issue is identified, its critical factors are observed, experiments are
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conducted on its behavior. Several inferences are arrived as to its causes and impacts, and finally testing
and simple solutions are arrived at new problems. Solution to a managerial problem may uncover several
related and unrelated problems. The result of management science study pertaining to a particular
problem need not wait until all the conceived problems are solved. Integrated and scientific approach will
lead to gradual solution of newly uncovered problems .
4. Decision Making
Decision making is inherent to management science and problem solution. Scientific decision making is
a systematic process, consisting of diagnosis of the problem, identifying critical factors, revealing
alternatives, and then selecting the best alternative.

5. Quantitative solution
Management science provides the decision makers with a quantitative basis for decision-making. For this
purpose, objectives of situation is identified, constraints are subjected to analysis, and various pay offs
under each alternative is evaluated. All these are performed in numerical terms.
6. Human factors
Human factors play dominant role in managerial problems. In quantitative analysis, human factors cannot
be considered and given due importance. However, management science takes into account all human
factors, besides material factors. Management science will be incomplete without a study of such factors.

DISCUSSION: Unit 3: Evolution of Management Science -

EVOLUTION OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
Part I. Evolution of Management Science

In this part of the module, recognized the works and legacies of well-
known management consultants.

Application of scientific methods to solve industrial problems dates back to the days of Adam
Smith, when he described the advantages of division of labor in 1776, for the increase in the
manufacture of pins. Early in nineteenth century, Charles Babbage, through his writing on
‘Economy of machines and manufacturer (1832) advocated the use of scientific principles in the
analysis of business problems.
The growth of industrialization after industrial revolution of England brought forward serious problems
related to organizational planning and control. However, the principles of managements started
emerging in their useful forms since 1903, when Frederick W Taylor presented a paper on ‘shop
management before American Society for Mechanical engineers. Through his professional career, Taylor
kept impressing that the manager should accept special responsibilities of developing a science for man’s
work. According to him, the managers must gather and classify all traditional knowledge and transform
this knowledge to laws, rules and procedures so that the workers and laymen are benefitted, by doing
their routine jobs.

Agner Krarup Erlang, in 1909, published his most important work containing the development of
formulae on waiting time, based upon lows of statistics. These are being widely used in practice. In the
area of inventory control, Ford W Harris deduced a formula in 1905, on ‘Economic Order Quantity’
that constituted as a basis of inventory control for a long time, and still finds wide use today.

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 Walter Shewhart used the principles of statistics to establish the concept of control charts in quality
control of manufactured products. The control charts are considered as one of the important tools in
statistical quality control.

Wassily Leontiff was first to develop and apply linear programming models in business problems. In
1947, George B Dantzig developed Simplex algorithm an efficient computational scheme to solve
problems related to allocation of scarce resources. Since 1956, a large number of theories and models
have been described to analyze the decision problems for their solutions. Some of them are mathematical
programming, simulation theory, decision theory, network models etc.

Part II. THE HISTORY OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCE

The roots of management science can be found in a concept of operations research, which was a
system developed during World War II. The War, like other wars before and after it, involved plenty of
operations outside of the traditional fighting on the battlefield. Warfare changed from the First World
War and scientists from different fields were part of the effort to gain the upper hand on both sides of the
war.
Operation research or operational research saw the scientists trying to apply analytical methods
in order to enhance the decision-making processes. The approach was highly used by the Allied forces,
with Britain engaging nearly 1,000 men and women in operation research during the war. The basis of
operation research was on different mathematical models, which were used to make predictions that
would improve military operations.
One example of the operation research use was the application of ‘effectiveness ratios’, which
compared the flying hours of Allied planes with enemy U-boat sightings in a given area. By studying these
numbers, the military was able to distribute the planes to productive patrol areas and map out enemy
positions more efficiently.
After the war, the operation research model became implemented in the corporate sector. As
businesses and other organizations begun using analytical research as part of the decision-making
process, the term management science was coined. In 1967, Stafford Beer said the field of management
science is essentially “the business use of operations research”.
At this initial stage, management science involved around the application of different scientific
methods and findings in order to solve management problems and streamline the processes of
management. The broad approach meant the system used operation research, system analysis as well as
the study of management-information systems as part of the implementation. Since then, the definition
and scope of management science has become more defined.

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Michael and Ohlmann, Jeffrey, An Introduction to Management Science Quantitative
Approaches to Decision Making, 14th Edition, copyrights 2019 Cengage Learning Asia Pte Ltd.

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