Management I - Chapter 1: Introduction to Management

Study Notes

Management I - Level One

Course taught by Dr. Ibrahim Reda in 2023/2024 academic year.

Chapter 1: Introduction to Management

Importance of Management: Management shapes organizational culture, impacting performance and survival. Managers convert disorganized resources (people, machines, money) into productive enterprises. Management is crucial for societal well-being, ensuring resource mobilization for macroeconomic, social, and political goals. It contributes to improving standards of living in society. It helps individuals achieve personal goals through organizational development and offers professional development opportunities.
Definition of Management: "Knowing exactly what you want people to do and then seeing that they do it in the best and cheapest way. It is the process of achieving organizational goals through planning, organizing, leading and controlling the human, physical, financial, and informational resources to achieve the organizational goals in an effective and efficient way."
Definition of Manager: "Manager is someone whose primary responsibility is to carry out the management process which includes the four functions of the management which are planning, organizing, leading and controlling the human, financial, physical and informational resources to achieve the organizational goals in an effective and efficient way."
Difference between Efficient & Effective:
- Effective: Ensuring goals are appropriately chosen, resulting in achieved goals, successful decision-making, and producing the needed results.
- Efficient: Ensuring resources are used optimally to achieve goals, minimizing resource inputs for desired outcomes, completing work without wasting time, energy, or money, and wisely utilizing available resources.
Managerial Functions: Planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. These don't always happen in a linear, predictable fashion.
Types of Managers: Managers are categorized based on organizational levels (Top, Middle, First Line) and functional areas (Marketing, Financial, Operations, Human Resources, Others like Supply Chain).
- Levels of Organization (A)
  - Top Managers: Set organizational goals, strategy, and policies; represent the organization externally; responsible for departmental performance.
  - Middle Managers: Supervise and coordinate first-line managers; decide how to best use department resources; perform goals, strategy, and plans set by top managers.
  - First-Line Managers: Supervise and coordinate employees; responsible for day-to-day operations.
- Functional Areas (B)
  - Marketing Managers
  - Financial Managers
  - Operations Managers
  - Human Resources Managers
  - Others (like Supply Chain)
Managerial Roles: Interpersonal, informational, and decisional.
- Interpersonal: Coordinating and interacting with employees, providing guidance, linking with internal and external people.
- Informational: Obtaining and transmitting organizational information, analyzing internal/external environments, using information to positively influence internal/external relationships.
- Decisional: Creating plans, strategies, and allocating resources to achieve goals; managing unexpected crises; making decisions to start/invest in new projects or programs.
Managerial Skills: Technical, conceptual, and human resources.
- Technical Skills: Applying specific knowledge, methods, and techniques to organizational work.
- Conceptual Skills: Comprehending organizational complexity; thinking abstractly and futuristically.
- Human Resources Skills: Communicating with, understanding, and motivating individuals and groups; directing and managing employee behaviour.
Is Management an Art or a Science?: Management is both an art (personal experience and judgment are crucial) and a science (research and models are used). Successful managers combine both.
Scope of Management: Management practices are used across a wide variety of settings, including profit and non-profit organizations (large businesses, small businesses, startups, international businesses, governmental organizations, public educational organizations, public health care organizations, and non-traditional organizations)
Revision Questions:
- Define the manager, including types and roles.
- Explain management functions in detail (planning, organizing, leading, controlling).
- Is management an art or a science?