MANAGEMENT
AN INTRODUCTION
Summary of David Boddy’s book
,Chapter 1 : An introduction to management
A manager: someone who gets things done with the aid of people and other resources.
Management: the activity of getting things done with the aid of people and resources
Management skills: Identifiable sets of actions that individuals perform to produce an outcome
they value.
Developing skill: According to Whetten and Cameron we develop skill through five steps:
Assessment (show learners present skill|) > Learning (knowing the theory) > Analysis (see link
between skills and results) > Practice > Application.
Organisation: A social arrangement for achieving goals that create value
Value is added to resources when they are transformed into goods or services that are worth more
than their original cost plus the cost of transformation.
Tangible resources: Physical assets (plants, people, finance)
Intangible resources: Non-physical assets (information, reputation, knowledge)
Competences: skies and abilities an organisation uses to deploy resources effectively.
Specialisation between areas of management
General managers: responsible for the performance of a certain unit of the organisation
Functional managers: responsible for an area of technical or professional work, there are two
versions of functional managers:
- Line managers: responsible for activities that directly meet the customers’ needs.
- Staff managers: responsible for activities that support line managers (finance, personnel, legal
affairs)
Project managers: responsible for a temporary team created to plan and implement a change
(e.g. new product or system)
Management Hierarchies
Board of directors > Senior managers > Middle managers > First-line managers > Workers
Stakeholders: individuals, groups or organizations with an interest in, or who are affected by, what
the company does.
Influencing through the tasks of managing
Management tasks: Planning, organizing, leading and controlling and the use of resources to add
value to them
Planning sets out the overall direction of the work, forecasting future trends, assessing
resources and developing performance objectives.
Organizing moves abstract plans closer to reality by deciding how to allocate time and effort.
Leading is the task of generating effort and commitment, motivating, influencing and
communicating.
Controlling is the task of monitoring progress, comparing it with plan and taking corrective
actions.
External environment, were organizations depend on for the tangible and intangible resources they
need. And also for the people in that environment that buy their goods or value their output.
, Influencing through the process of managing
Mintzberg states that there are 10 management roles managers use to influence others to get
things done.
Informational Interpersonal Decisional
Monitor (seek and receive Figurehead (perform ceremonial Entrepreneur (initiate new
information) duties) projects)
Disseminator (forward information Leader (direct and motivate Disturbance handler (resolve
to others) subordinates) conflicts)
Spokesperson (represent the unit Liaison (maintaining a network) Resource allocator (decide who
in speeches) gets resources)
Negotiator
Two roles are missing from Mintzberg’s list:
- manager as subordinate, most managers also have to advise, assist and influence their boss
- manager as worker, managers often spend time doing the work of the organization
Influencing through shaping the context
The third way to influence others is by changing the context in which they work.
Dimensions of context
- Internal context (culture, objectives, structure, technology, power, people, business processes,
finance)
- Historical context
- External context, managers need to identify and adapt to external changes
Determinism: the external context determine an organization’s performance.
Managerial choice: The organization determines it’s own actions, the external context depends on
the organization
Interaction: People are influenced by themselves and themselves influence the context.
(Combination of determinism and managerial choice)
Thinking critically to develop knowledge and skill
Critical thinking: a positive activity that enables people eto see several possibilities, not a single
path.
Triple boot line: the idea that organizations can assess their performance on social and
environmental criteria as well as financial ones.
Corporate governance: ensuring that internal controls adequately balance the needs of those
with a financial interest in the organization, and that these are balanced with the interests of
stakeholders.
