Chapter One: Management Overview Unity University

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.

MEANING AND DEFINTION OF MANAGEMENT

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

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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.

i. Management is the art of getting things done through and with people in
a formally organized group.
ii. Management is the art of knowing what you want to do in the best and
cheapest way.
iii. 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.
iv. 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.
i. Management has various aspects that cannot be represented by a single
definition.
ii. 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)
iii. 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”.

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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 gone 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).

SIGNIFICNACE AND PURPOSE OF MANAGEMENT

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People in all works of life have come to recognize the important role that good
management plays a great role in any society. The study of management for those who
acquire managerial positions provides the body of knowledge that will help them to be
more effective managers. For those who do not plan on careers in management , the
study of management can give them a great deal insight into the way their bosses behave
and into the internal activities of organizations.
Today, management is playing a vital role in the progress and propensity of
business enterprise. The main purpose of management is to run the enterprise smoothly.
The profit making purpose of business is also to be taken care while undertaking various
functions. The major purposes of management are:
1. Optimum utilization of resources. The most important purpose of the
management is to use various resources of the enterprise in a most economic
way. The proper use of men, materials, machines and money will help a
business to earn sufficient profits to satisfy various interests i.e. proprietors,
customers, employees ,etc . All these interests will be served well only when
physical resources of the business are property utilized.
2. Growth and development of business. BY proper planning, organization and
direction etc., management leads a business to growth and development. It
helps in profitable expansion of the business. It provides senses of Security
among the employers & employers.
3. Better quality of goods. The purpose of sound management has always been
to produce the better products at minimum cost, thus it tries to remove all
types of wastages in the business.
4. Entering regular supply of goods. The other purpose of management is to
ensure the regular supply of goods to the people. It checks the scarcity of
goods in the market. It keeps the prices of goods within permissible limits.
5. Discipline & morale. The management maintains the discipline and boosts the
morale of the individuals by applying the principles of decentralization of
authority. It motivates the employees’ though monetary and non monetary
incentives. It helps in correcting and maintaining better work culture.
6. Promotion of research and development. Management undertakes the
research and development to take lead over its competitors and meet the

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uncertainties of the future. Thus it provides the benefits of latest research and
technology to the society.
7. Minimize the element of risk. Management involves the function of
forecasting. Though the exact future can never be predicted yet on the basis
of precious expenses and existing circumstances, management can
minimizes the element of risk. Management always keeps its ear and eyes to
the changing circumstances.
8. Improving performance.Management should aim at improving the
performance of each and every factor of production. The environments
should be so congenial that workers are able to give their maximum to the
enterprise. The fixing of objectives of various factors of production will help
them in improving their performance.
9. To prepare a perspective plan. No management should feel satisfied with
today’s work if it has not thought of tomorrow. Future plans should take in to
consideration what is done next. Future performances will depend upon
present planning. So planning for future is essential.
BASIC MANAGERIAL 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

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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:

1. Assembling the resources necessary to achieve the organization’s

objectives.
2. 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:

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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.

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:

i. Top level management,

ii. Middle level management, and
iii. Fist level (operating level management)

These levels of management can be presented graphically as indicated below

Top –
level
Management

Middle – level
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Management
 Management
Chapter One: Management Overview Unity University

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.

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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.

Functional and General Managers

We can distinguish or classify managers based on the scope of the activities they
manage into:
I. Functional and
II. General Managers

i. Functional Managers
Functional managers are managers appointed to supervise single operations
which require specialized skills.
Eg. Accountants, personnel, marketing and production managers

ii. General Managers

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

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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.
1) 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

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and strategic position. Therefore, they are required to have an understanding

of interpersonal relations. These roles again are classified in to three
categories.
a) 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.
b) 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.
c) Liaison role:- Managers must maintain a net work of outside contacts in
order to assess 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.
2) 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.
a) The monitor role:-in this role managers constantly monitoring and
examining their internal and external environment by collecting and

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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.
b) 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.
c) 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 outside 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.

3) 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.

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a) 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.
b) 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.
c) 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 extend its resources according to the priorities of
organizational objectives.
d) 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

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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

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managers who 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 managers and supervisors.

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 bringing about of 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.

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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.

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

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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.

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