Introduction to Management: Theory and Practice

• Introduction to Management covers management theory and practices and is for the courses MAPS 11512 / MACS 11512/IMGT 14512.

Learning Objectives

• Understand the concept of an organization and list its core components.
• Differentiate mission and vision statements using examples.
• Define management and distinguish between efficiency and effectiveness in decision-making.
• Explain management's four functions and their role in business.
• Identify six key skills for managers using examples.
• Discuss globalization, competition, and uncertainty's impact on decisions.
• Analyze business cases and propose management strategies for improvement.

Learning Outcomes

• Define and explain an organization and its key characteristics.
• Describe management's role in achieving organizational goals.
• Identify and explain key management functions (planning, organizing, leading, controlling).
• Analyze essential skills for managers at different levels.
• Recognize major challenges facing managers in a dynamic business environment.
• Understand the importance of mission and vision statements in shaping strategy.
• Apply management principles to real-world scenarios.

Session Outline

• What is an organization?
• What is Management?
• The Management process
• Skills of a Manager
• Challenges face by Managers

What is an Organization?

• An organization is defined as a group of people working together in a structured manner to achieve common goals.
• Organizations needs at least two people who work together to achieve a specific goal or set of goals.
• Common factors in organizations include people, objectives, structure, and management.
• Characteristics of an organization include people, objectives, structure and management.
• People in an organization include Employees, managers, and stakeholders.
• Objectives are goals like profitability, growth, or social impact.
• Structure involves defined roles, hierarchy, departments.
• Management defines Leaders who plan, organize, lead, and control activities.
• Google has engineers, marketers, and HR professionals (people).
• Google's goal is to be the most innovative tech company.
• Google has departments like R&D, Sales, and Customer Support.
• Common factors in organizations are people, structure, the objectives, and management.
• People include workforce, playing crucial roles in achieving goals, which can be categorized by their roles, such as employees, managers, and stakeholders.
• Objectives are the measurable goals, serving as a roadmap for progress and success, encompassing areas like financial performance, customer satisfaction, and employee engagement.
• Organizational structure defines how job titles, roles, and responsibilities are assigned, determining who reports to whom and who makes decisions, impacting efficiency and communication.
• Management involves planning, organizing, leading, and controlling resources and activities to achieve goals, including motivating employees, communicating effectively, and adapting to change.

What is Management?

• Management is the process of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling resources to achieve specific goals efficiently and effectively.
• Management constitutes activities (planning & decision making, organizing, leading, and controlling) directed at an organization's resources (human, financial, physical, and information) with the aim of achieving organizational goals efficiently and effectively.
• Key elements are planning, organizing, leading and controlling.
• Planning sets objectives and deciding how to achieve them.
• Organizing allocates resources and structuring the workforce.
• Leading motivates employees and directing them towards goals.
• Controlling monitors performance and making adjustments.

Efficiency vs. Effectiveness

• Efficiency means doing things right (using minimal resources).
• An example of efficiency is a factory that reduces waste by using lean manufacturing.
• Effectiveness means doing the right things (achieving goals).
• An example of effectiveness is a manager who launches a successful product that increases revenue.
• Efficiency is getting something done with least amount of wasted time, money, and effort.
• Effectiveness is the degree to which something is successful in achieving a desired result

The Management Process

• There are four key functions of management which are planning and decision making, organizing, leading, and controlling.
• Planning and Decision Making defines setting objectives and determining how to achieve them.
• Example: Apple plans new product launches every year to maintain market leadership.
• Organizing means structuring teams, defining roles, and allocating resources.
• Example: A hospital assigns doctors, nurses, and administrative staff to departments.
• Leading includes influencing and motivating employees to achieve goals.
• Example: Satya Nadella at Microsoft focuses on innovation & teamwork.
• Controlling means measuring performance, identifying problems, and making corrections.
• Example: Amazon tracks customer data to improve delivery times.

Planning and Decision Making

• Planning is the process used by managers to identify and select goals and courses of action for an organization.
• A manager cannot operate effectively without long-range plans.
• A plan for each day's work includes what is to be done and why, when it is to be done and how, who is to do the job and where it should be done.

Organizing

• Organization is needed when there is more than one employee needed to carry out a plan.A team needs to be formed.
• Each job must be carefully defined in terms of what is to be done, and establish delegation of responsibility.
• Departmentalization is defined as the process of grouping jobs according to some logical arrangement.
• Departmentalization is used when growth exceeds the owner-manager's capacity to personally supervise all, or when additional managers are employed and assigned specific employees to supervise.

Leading

• Leading means overseeing the team by influencing the employees to get the job done and motivating employees.
• The environment should make employees work efficiently.

Controlling

• Controlling constitutes the systematic process of regulating organizational activities to make them consistent with the expectations established in plans, targets and standards of performance.
• Steps in controlling process are to establish standards, measure performance, compare performance against standards and consider corrective action.

Who is a Manager?

• Someone whose primary responsibility is to carry out the management process.
• Someone who plans and makes decisions, organizes, leads, and controls human, financial, physical, and information resources.

Skills of a Manager

• Managers need a mix of different skills to be effective.
• Technical Skills are knowledge and expertise in a specific field.
• Example: A software engineer manager needs coding knowledge.
• Interpersonal Skills are the ability to communicate, motivate, and lead.
• Example: A team leader in a startup needs strong interpersonal skills to manage employees.
• Conceptual Skills are the ability to see the big picture and make strategic decisions.
• Example: A CEO decides to expand internationally.
• Decision-Making Skills means choosing the best course of action among alternatives.
• Example: A bank manager decides whether to approve a loan.
• Time Management Skills includes prioritizing tasks efficiently.
• Example: A project manager sets deadlines for each stage of a project.

Challenges Faced by Managers

• Managers face various challenges in a constantly changing business environment.
• Globalization - Companies operate in multiple countries with different cultures and regulations.
• Example - McDonald's adapts menus for different cultures (McVeggie in India, Teriyaki Burger in Japan).
• Market Competition - Intense rivalry among companies leads to price wars, product innovation, and aggressive marketing.
• Example - Apple vs. Samsung in the smartphone industry.
• Technological Advancements - Companies must keep up with new technologies to stay competitive.
• Example - Netflix moved from DVDs to online streaming.
• Uncertainty & Risk Management - Economic crises, political instability, and natural disasters affect business operations.
• Example - COVID-19 disrupted supply chains and forced businesses to adapt.
• Managing Workforce Diversity - Companies must manage employees from different backgrounds, cultures, and generations.
• Example - Google promotes inclusivity & diversity in hiring.