Introduction to

Management
Dr Horen Voskeritsian

DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT WWW.BBK.AC.UK

Lecture Outline
Introduction to Management
Management’s functions
Controlling the Labour Process

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Introduction to
Management

“What is work? Work is of two kinds:

first, altering the position of matter at
or near the earth's surface relatively
to other such matter; second, telling
other people to do so. The first one is
unpleasant and ill paid; the second is
pleasant and highly paid.”
Bertrand Russell
What is management?
Henri Fayol
Management is about:
• Forecasting
• Planning
• Organizing
• Commanding/Coordinating
• Controlling

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Mintzberg’s 10 Roles of managers
Figurehead/Representative of the organisation
INTERPERSONAL Leader
Liaison (between the organisation and people outside it)
Monitors information flow
INFORMATIONAL Disseminates information
Spokesperson
Change initiator/Entrepreneur
DECISION MAKING Disturbance-handler
Allocates resources
Negotiator

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What is management? (cont.)
Mintzberg’s roles resemble a manager’s job description
But management is something beyond that
• By definition it contains an element that sets it aside from any other job in an organisation
Managerial prerogative – or, the ability of a manager to define and control someone else’s work
Implies a power relationship – an unequal distribution of power between the one who manages
and the one who is being managed
Management, therefore, is defined by the structural relationship it has with other jobs in an
organisation
• E.g. other jobs may share some of Mintzberg’s characteristics but only if they have the ability to
control someone else’s work, can they be classified as ‘managers’

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Core Management Function
To manage the labour process in such ways as to maximise the extraction of surplus value
from an individual’s labour power, in order to satisfy the organisation’s goals
• For for-profits organisations, this means profit maximisation (i.e. satisfaction of the shareholders)
• For public or other non-profit organisations, this means minimisation of costs and satisfaction of
their mission statements
Important note: the above does not imply that managers may not pursue their own agendas
within an organisation (sometimes at the expense of this organisation – see Lehman Brothers!)
• As a general rule however, the purpose of the managerial practice is to find adequate ways to
control the labour process to deliver expected results

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Controlling the Labour Process
By this term we mean the management’s attempt to create an environment where:
1. The maximum surplus value will be derived
2. At the minimum cost
3. Without disturbance of production
The big question thus is: how can you achieve the above?
How can you ensure that people will work for you as productively as possible, without
compromising your profits and without compromising the quality and quantity of the final
product (or service)?
The history of management theories is an attempt to answer this question as successfully as
possible

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Early attempt to control the labour process
To achieve a rise in productivity and a more profitable (labour)
outcome, businesses have resorted to various methods. E.g.:
• Manipulating and pressing down wages
• Direct control over their employees’ working and personal lives
• Long working days
• Unsafe working conditions
• Use of technology to replace labour
As expected, these working conditions gave rise to resistance, and an
attempt by individual workers to manipulate their work as much as
possible
Because workers had first-hand knowledge on how to do their work,
they were able to manipulate their working environment in such a way
as to make their lives easier

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