Introduction to Management

Study Notes

An organization is a systematic arrangement of people brought together to accomplish a specific purpose, characterized by a distinct goal, people working together, a systematic structure, and an aim to serve society.

Mary Parker Follett (1868-1933): Management is the art of getting things done through people.
Henri Fayol (1916): Management is to forecast and plan, to organize, to command, to coordinate, and to control.
Frederick Winslow Taylor (1886): Management is to determine the overall policy of a business organization and to achieve organizational objectives efficiently and effectively.
Koontz and Weihrich (1990): Management is the process of designing and maintaining an environment in which individuals and groups efficiently accomplish selected goals.

Management is the process of getting things done, effectively and efficiently, with and through other people.
Efficiency refers to doing things right, while effectiveness refers to doing the right things.

The four main management functions are:
- Planning (Thinking function): defining goals, establishing strategies, and developing action plans to coordinate activities towards accomplishing organizational goals.
- Organizing (Thinking function): determining tasks, who does them, how tasks are grouped, who reports to whom, and who makes decisions.
- Leading (Doing function): directing and influencing organizational members, motivating them, and resolving conflicts towards achieving organizational goals.
- Controlling (Doing function): monitoring performance, comparing it with goals, and correcting any significant deviations.

The three levels of management are:
- Top Level Management: responsible for overall management, establishing operating policies, and guiding the organization's interaction with its environment. (e.g., CEO, President, Vice President)
- Middle Level Management: directs the activities of lower-level managers, responsible for setting objectives consistent with top-level management goals, and translating those goals into specific plans.
- Lower-Level Management: responsible for the work of non-management employees, directly responsible for the production of goods and services.

Managers need technical, human, and conceptual skills.
Technical skills: the ability to utilize job-specific knowledge of tools, techniques, and procedures to perform a task.
Human skills: the ability to work effectively with one's own work group as well as others, leading, motivating, and communicating effectively.
Conceptual skills: the ability to analyze and diagnose complex situations to see how things fit together and facilitate making good decisions.

Henry Mintzberg identified 10 roles of managers, categorized into:
- Interpersonal roles: managing relationships with organizational members and the society.
- Informational roles: gathering and disseminating information to stakeholders.
- Decisional roles: making significant use of information and reaching conclusions.
Examples of roles include:
- Interpersonal: Figurehead, Leader, Liaison
- Informational: Monitor, Disseminator, Spokesperson
- Decisional: Entrepreneur, Disturbance Handler, Resource Allocator, Negotiator