Module 1-A_Introduction to Management.pdf

I MODULE 1.1 INTRODUCTION TO MANAGEMENT TABLE OF CONTENTS What is Management? 1 The Management Theories 2 The Scientific Management Theory 2 The General Administrative Theory 3...

I MODULE 1.1 INTRODUCTION TO MANAGEMENT TABLE OF CONTENTS What is Management? 1 The Management Theories 2 The Scientific Management Theory 2 The General Administrative Theory 3 The Principles of Henri Fayol 3 Total Quality Management 5 Organizational Behavior Approach 6 SMARTER GOALS 8 What is Management? When we think of management, the common understandings of how to manage are either overseeing what needs to be done or delegating and assigning tasks to different people. In reality, management is a hybrid between the two concepts. For this course, management is defined as the process of coordinating and overseeing the work performance of individuals working together in organizations, so that they could efficiently and effectively accomplish their chosen goals. Key Concepts to Remember Coordination ○ The harmonious and integrated action of parts and processes of an organization ○ All the different parts and processes need to be unified and related in an attempt to achieve the organization’s goals. ○ Efficiency ○ Yielding the maximum output from minimum input ○ Doing something the right way helps reduce the amount of resources needed while improving the quality of the product or service in the end. Effectiveness ○ Being able to do things correctly ○ Doing the right thing ensures that the organization is still working towards their intended goal. In order to coordinate efficiently and effectively, management focuses on different functions that allows for an achievement of the organization’s goals. Please take note that other resources utilize five (5) or more functions; however, this course will just use four (4) for the sake of simplicity. The different functions of management are as follows: Planning ○ This function focuses on determining the organization’s goals or performance objectives. It also includes defining strategic actions 1  and developing activities to achieve coordination and integration of work tasks. Organizing ○ This function focuses on assigning tasks, setting aside funds, and bringing harmonious relationships between individuals and teams. Furthermore, it includes filling in different job positions and assessing capabilities. Leading ○ This function focuses on influencing or motivating subordinates and staff to do their best. It focuses on dealing with human behavior in order to bring out an effective and efficient employee. Controlling ○ This function focuses on evaluating and correcting the performance of an individual or a team. It focuses on realigning operations and plans back to the accepted standard of the organization. The Management Theories The current understanding of what management is has been defined by multiple theories over the years. For this course, we will focus on four (4) influential theories that shaped and molded management as we know it today. The Scientific Management Theory This theory focuses on a form of management which conducts a business or affairs by standards established by facts or truths gained through systematic observation, experiment, or reasoning. This theory is focused on increasing labor efficiency and productivity primarily by managing the work of employees in the organization’s technical core (i.e., shop floor). In other words, it focuses on the improvement of technical elements of an organization's operations. It is also characterized by close forms of supervision and control-oriented management practices. The discovery of the theory is linked to Frederick Taylor (1856–1915). While working as a mechanical engineer in a steel company, he noticed the inefficiencies of workers, the lack of enthusiasm of workers, and the discrepancy between abilities and aptitudes and job assignments. 2 He believed in the economically-motivated “mutuality of interest” of employees and managers. Due to these, he developed the science of work, also known as the `` one best way”. His method emphasizes on an absolute adherence to work standards. Examples of methods to achieve the science of work are the following: Scientifically selecting, placing, and training workers ○ Workers need to be effective and efficient with their jobs Applying a financial incentive system ○ People need to be motivated in order to function effectively Developing and maintaining friendly labor-management relations ○ Allows for an easier means of supervision and control Utilizing specialized functional supervision ○ Labor needs to be assessed if it can be further improved The General Administrative Theory This theory concentrates on the manager’s functions and what makes up good management practices. For this theory, organizations are viewed as giant machines created to achieve goals. The focus of this theory is how the manager maintains an effective work machine. In order to do so, a basic set of universal laws, or principles should govern organization design and allow managers to run those “machines” effectively. This theory was developed by Henri Fayol (1831-1925) and Max Weber (1864-1920). Henri Fayol believed that management is an activity that all organizations must practice and viewed it as separate from all other organizational activities. Furthermore, he developed a set of principles that governs how the theory can be executed. For Max Weber, he envisioned an organization that is managed on an impersonal and rational basis and organizations must have authority structures and coordination with others. The Principles of Henri Fayol Division of Labor The work should be divided among the individuals on the basis of their specializations, so as to ensure their full 3  focus on the effective completion of the task assigned to them. Authority The authority and responsibility are related to each other. Authority means the right to give orders while responsibility means being accountable. Thus, to whomsoever the authority is given to, exact obedience must be held accountable for anything that goes wrong. Discipline The individuals working in the organization must be well-disciplined. The discipline refers to the obedience, behavior, respect shown by the employees towards others. Unity of Command According to this principle, an individual in the organization must receive orders from only one supervisor. In case an individual has the reporting relationship with more than one supervisor then there may be more conflicts with respect to whose instructions to be followed. Unity of Direction Unity of direction means, all the individuals or groups performing different kinds of a task must be directed towards the common objective of the organization. Subordination of According to this principle, the individual and Individual to organizational interest must coincide to get the task General Interest accomplished. The individual must not place his personal interest over the common interest, in case there is a conflict. Remuneration of The payment methods should be fair enough such that Personnel both the employees and the employers are satisfied. Centralization Fayol defines centralization as the means of reducing the importance of a subordinate's role in the organization, and the extent to which the authority is centralized or decentralized depends on the organization type in which the manager is working. Scalar Chain This means there should be a proper hierarchy in the organization that facilitates the proper flow of authority and communication. It suggests that each individual must know from whom he shall get instructions and to 4  whom he is accountable to. Also, the communication either going up or down must pass through each level of authority. In certain circumstances where the quick flow of communication is required, the rigidity of a scalar chain can pose problems. Order This principle is related to the systematic arrangement of things and people in the organization. This means every material should be in its place, and there should be a place for every material. Likewise, in the case of people, a right man should be in the right job. Equity All the employees in the organization must be treated equally with respect to justice and kindliness. Stability of Tenure The employees should be retained in the organization, as new appointments may incur huge selection and training cost. Initiative The manager must motivate his subordinates to think and take actions to execute the plan. They must be encouraged to take initiatives as this increases the zeal and energy among the individuals. Esprit-de-Corps This means “unity is strength”. Thus, every individual must work together to gain synergy and establish cordial relations with each other. To summarize the elements of the General Administrative Theory, the theory showcases the following: a division of labor, a well-defined hierarchy of authority, a system of rules for employees and work procedures, impersonal work relationships, a selection and promotion system based solely on competence, a well-defined promotion path, and well documented organizational transactions. Total Quality Management This management philosophy focuses on a way of managing with the goal of getting everyone committed to quality, continuous improvement, and the attainment of customer satisfaction by meeting or exceeding customer expectations. The pioneers of this theory are Edwards Deming and Joseph Juran. They focused on a customer-oriented idea which was supported by the Japanese, but not immediately by the Americans. 5 In order to implement TQM, there are a few assumptions that needs to be made by the organization, which are the following: Quality products are less costly to produce than poor quality products. ○ There would be less need to deal with breakage and returns if a product is of quality. Organizations are systems of interdependent parts and quality problems cut across functional lines. ○ The organization needs to be seen as a capable unit where each part has a responsibility for the quality of the product or service. Continuous learning and improvement are vital to the long-term health and survival of an organization. ○ Organizations and businesses need to stay relevant in order to deliver the best quality for their customers. People (employees) care about quality and improving the quality of their work. ○ Employees are not just functions of work, but humans that also have their own wants of improvement. Quality and continuous improvement are the responsibility of top (senior) management. ○ Top management guides the organization and directs their growth as they operate. Organizational Behavior Approach This theory focuses on viewing an organization as a social system of people-to-people and people-to-work networks in which employees have both social needs and the desire to make meaningful contributions toward the accomplishment of organizational goals. Furthermore, the theory also focuses on motivation and behavior of employees. This theory was influenced by numerous people. To name a few: Robert Owen (1771-1958) was a progressive industrialist who recognized the need for good overall management of an organization's human resources, Hugo Munsterberg (1863-1916) was the father of industrial psychology and used his knowledge to enhance the effectiveness of organizations, Mary Parker Follett (1868-1933) asserted that a manager’s influence and power in an organization should be based off their knowledge and skills, and Chester Barnard (1886-1961) who 6 provided insight into the concept of formal (consciously created) and informal (spontaneous) organizations within firms. The reason why organizations shift their focus to motivation and behavior is due to two understandings of human behavior, the Human Relations Model and the Human Resources Model. For the Human Relations Model, it believes that a well-satisfied worker would lead to better performance. In other words, a worker whose needs are satisfied would deliver higher performance. Human Relations Model For the Human Resources Model, it promotes the idea that the Human Relations Model creates a cycle of employee involvement. It follows for elements: Organizational Performance, Satisfaction, Commitment and Willingness, Employee Involvement, and Organizational Performance. The quality of any element depends on the quality of the element that it’s related to. If an employee has great performance, it would often correlate to increased satisfaction. This would create a domino-effect and a cycle for the employee’s involvement in an organization. Human Resources Model 7 For this theory, it focuses on the promotion of organizational humanism, or the analysis of the psychological forces that ties individuals to organizations. This theory aims to create a system of management practices that leads to employee satisfaction and well-being. SMARTER GOALS The theories you’ve just read aren’t laws. You are never forced to stick with only one theory. The theories can be mixed and matched with one another to suit specific needs. At the end of the day, you can think of the theories as mindsets. These can still evolve and change depending on experiences. Management is a complex subject. New theories can rise up at any given time. Anyone can create their own style of management (see Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, and Lisa Su as examples). Also, with the complexity of the topic, don’t be afraid to ask questions. There are college and master courses that focus on the different aspects of the subject. This is just an introductory course, so it’s fine to have questions. A word of advice for this subject: have a SMARTER Goal that you set for yourself to achieve this quarter. It would be a great way for you to apply your learnings for this subject in a personal experience. A SMARTER Goal has the following characteristics: SPECIFIC Don’t give yourself a general goal. Make it unique to yourself. Explain what it is. MEASUREABLE Have some form of means to assess if you are reaching your goal or not. ATTAINABLE Don’t force yourself into a goal that you know you can’t reach. We are human. We still have our limitations. REALISTIC Although it’s nice to achieve our dreams, sometimes dreams must remain as dreams. But it doesn’t necessarily mean that we can’t strive to make that dream a reality. Work for the steps that make your dream real. TIME-BOUND You have eight (8) weeks in order to achieve your goal. Make the most out of the time. 8 EXCITING Make sure the goal is something you really want. It doesn’t need to be academic in nature; however, if academics really excites you, feel free to set it as your goal. Take note, half-baked goals only affect you at the end. Make sure it’s something you really like. RECORDABLE Have some means to showcase your progress with your goal. Throughout the quarter, I’ll be asking you for updates about the goals you’ve set. 9