Comprehensive summary of the course Introduction to Management, first year. Comprehensive summary for the course Introduction to Management, first year.
Chapter 1
Definition of management
Management is the attainment of organizational goals in an effective and efficient manner
through planning, organizing, leading and controlling organizational resources. This
definition includes two important ideas:
1. The four functions of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.
2. The attainment of organizational goals in an effective and efficient manner.
The four primary management functions:
- Planning is the management function concerned with defining goals for the future
performance and how to attain them.
- Organizing involves assigning tasks, grouping tasks into departments, and allocating
resources.
- Leading means using influence to motivate employees to achieve the organization’s
goals.
- Controlling is concerned with monitoring employees’ activities, keeping the
organization on track toward meeting its goals and making corrections as necessary.
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,Organizational performance
Organizational performance is the attainment of organizational goals in an efficient and
effective manner. Management is so important because organizations are so important.
Organizations pervade our society, and managers are responsible for seeing that resources
are used wisely to attain organizational goals.
Organization: Social entity that is goal directed and deliberately structured.
Performance: Defined as the organization’s ability to attain its goals by using resources in an
efficient and effective manner.
Social entity: Being made up of two or more people.
Goal directed: Designed to achieve some outcome, such as make a profit, pay increases for
members, meet spiritual needs, or provide social satisfaction.
Deliberately structured: Tasks are divided, and responsibility for their performance is
assigned to organization members.
This definition applies to ALL organizations.
Management skills
A manager’s job requires a range of skills. Although some management theorists propose a
long list of skills, the necessary skills for managing a department or an organization can be
placed in three categories: conceptual, human, and technical.
- Conceptual skill is the cognitive ability to see the organization as a whole and the
relationship among its parts.
- Human skill refers to manager’s ability to work with and through other people and to
work effectively as part of a group.
- Technical skill is the understanding of and proficiency in the performance of specific
tasks.
2
,When skills fail
The two major reasons that managers fail are poor communication and poor interpersonal
skills. Managers fail to listen to customers, are unable to motivate employees, or can’t build
a cohesive team.
Top Causes of Manager Failure
Notice that many of these factors are due to poor human skills, such as the inability to
develop good work relationships, a failure to clarify direction and performance expectations,
or an inability to create cooperation and teamwork. Especially in times of uncertainty or
crisis, if managers do not communicate effectively, including listening to employees and
customers, and showing genuine care and concern, organizational performance and
reputation suffer.
Chapter 2
Management and organization
Management and organizations are shaped by forces in the larger society. Social, political,
and economic forces have influenced organizations and the practice of management.
- Social forces are aspects of a society that guide and influence relationships among
people, such as their values, needs, and standards of behavior / What do people
need? What are the standards of behavior among people?
- Political forces relate to the influence of political and legal institutions on people and
organizations / The increased role of government in business is one example of a
political force.
- Economic forces affect the availability, production, and distribution of a society’s
resources / A economic trend that affects managers worldwide is the growing
economic power of countries such as China, India, and Brazil.
3
, Classical perspective
Managers are always on the lookout for new techniques and approaches to meet shifting
organizational needs. Looking at history gives managers a broader perspective for
interpreting and responding to current opportunities and problems.
The study of modern management began in the late nineteenth century with the classical
perspective, which took a rational, scientific approach to management and sought to turn
organizations into efficient operating machines. This perspective contains three subfields.
- Scientific management: Emphasizes scientifically determined changes in
management practices as the solution improving labor productivity / Frederick
Winslow Taylor is known as ‘the father of scientific management’. Scientific
management is considered one of the most significant innovations influencing
modern management. Some supermarket chains are using computerized systems
based on scientific management principles to schedule employees for maximum
efficiency.
- Bureaucratic organizations approach: Emphasizes management on an impersonal,
rational basis through elements such as clearly defined authority and responsibility,
formal recordkeeping, and separation of management and ownership / Max Weber
introduced most of the concepts about bureaucratic organizations.
- Administrative principles approach: A subfield of the classical perspective that
focuses on the total organization rather than the individual worker and delineates
the managements functions of planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating, and
controlling / Henri Fayol, a major contributor to the administrative principles
approach, outlined 14 general principles of management, several of which are part of
management philosophy today.
Human perspective
The humanistic perspective on management emphasized the importance of understanding
human behaviors, needs, and attitudes in the workplace, as well as social interactions and
group processes. There are three primary subfields on the humanistic perspective, but these
two are important.
- The human relations movement: Stresses the satisfaction of employees’ basic needs
as the key to increased productivity / The Hawthorne studies were important in
shaping ideas concerning how managers should treat workers.
- The human resources perspective: Suggests that jobs should be designed to meet
people’s higher-level needs by allowing employees to use their full potential / Two of
the best-known contributors to the human resources perspective were Abraham
Maslow and Douglas McGregor. (P. 45 More info about them)
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