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INTRODUCTION TO MANAGEMENT

CHAPTER ONE

MANAGEMENT: AN OVERVIEW

This chapter is mainly concerned with giving answers to the following questions:
 What is management?
 Why is management important?
 What do managers do?
 Are all management jobs the same?
 If there are differences, what are they?

Chapter Objectives:
After completing this chapter the student is expected to:
 Explain the different meanings and definitions of management
 Describe the significances of management
 Discuss why management is both an art and science
 Identify the different classifications of managers
 Describe the roles managers play and the skills they need.

1.1. MEANING AND DEFINTION OF MANAGEMENT

Meaning:
The word “Management” has various meanings. The most important ones include the
following:
i. Management refers to a group of people who are responsible for guiding and
controlling the organization (Managerial personnel).
ii. Management is the process of running an organization (planning, organization,
staffing, directing, and discipline).
iii. Management is a body of knowledge, a discipline
iv. Management is a factor of production, economic resource as land, labour and capital

Definitions of Management

Management is defined by different authorities in different ways. The following are some of
the common definitions given by different authorities in the field.
i. Management is the art of getting things done through and with people in a formally
organized group.
ii. Management is the art of knowing what you want to do in the best and cheapest way.
iii. Management is the art of securing maximum results with a minimum of efforts so as
to secure maximum prosperity and happiness for both the employer and employee,
and give the public the best possible service.
iv. Management is the process of planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling
the use of a firms resources to effectively and efficiently attain its objectives.

Why do the definitions of management differ?

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Authorities agree that it is impossible to provide a single universally accpeted definition of
management due to various reasons. Thus, the different orientations about the definition of
management emanate from the following reasons.
i. Management has various aspects, that cannot be represented by a single definition.
ii. The theorists who gave the definitions had different areas of interest or training, and
all defined management from their perspective (engineering, sociology, psychology,
mathematics, etc)
iii. Management as a discipline is young and there is a lack of clarity of concepts and
principles.
Nevertheless, despite all the above reasons for providing different definitions, the definitions
are not contradictory. In fact most of the definitions of management do share a common idea
“management is concerned with the accomplishment of objectives / goals through the efforts
of other people”.

Precise Definition of Management

Though management is defined in various ways as mentioned earlier, the following is the
commonly used precise definition of management:

“Management is the process of planning, organizing, directing and controlling to accomplish

organizational objectives through the coordinated use of human and material resources.” It
is the process of efficiently and effectively getting activities completed with and through
other people. It is the process by which human and non-human resources are coordinated to
accomplish a set of objectives.

Definition of Terms
Organization – is a group of two or more people coming together to achieve common
objectives (goals)
Resources – are inputs that will be utilized in order to perform a given task.

Planning – is determining courses of actions that will be gone for, in order to achieve
objectives.
Organizing – refers to integrating resources to their best efficiency and effectiveness.

Directing – refers to leading, motivating, and influencing people, so that they can behave in
the desired way.

Controlling – refers to ensuring whether objectives are efficiently and effectively achieved or
not.

Effectiveness – doing the right thing.

Efficiency – refers to doing things right and performing something with the minimum
possible input (cost).

1.2. SIGNIFICNACE OF MANAGEMENT

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As people began forming groups to accomplish activities that they could not achieve as
individuals, management has been essential to ensure the coordination of individual efforts.
Thus, the task of managers has been rising in importance, as society has come to rely
increasingly on group effort, and as many groups have become large.

Basically, an organization is a group of two or more persons that exists and operates to
achieve clearly stated, and commonly held objectives. Each member of an organization is
expected to do part of jobs that are important to meet the organizational objectives.
However, members may be working in opposite directions. To prevent this from happening
and to ensure the coordination of work to accomplish the objectives set, management is
needed. Therefore, management is essential whenever and wherever human efforts are to be
undertaken collectively to achieve specific goals. Thus, the success of group activity is
determined by management. The success and failure of a given concern or firm depends on
the competence of its manager. Every scientific and technological development is result of
organizations; and the achievements of organizations are, obviously, the achievements of
their managers.

1.3. IS MANAGEMENT A SCIENCE OR AN ART?

The question whether management is an art or a science has been an issue of debate for a
long period of time.
Science is defined “as a systematized knowledge derived from observation, study, and
experimentation carried on in order to determine the nature and principles of the subject
under study”. Similarly, management has a structured body of knowledge with its own
distinct concepts and principles that are developed with reference to the general truths
underlying the management practice. From this point of view, management is termed as a
science. However, although management is recognized as a science, it should be noted that
it is not as comprehensive or as exact as the other pure sciences. The reason is that the
variables with which managers deal differ. Managers deal with the human elements. And
the behavior of human beings is unpredictable. As a result, they cannot be subject of
controlled laboratory experiment.
According to Terry, “art is brining about of a desired result through the application of skill; it
is the application of knowledge and skills to accomplish results”. Art is grounded in the
knowledge or principles developed by science. Just as a doctor uses the science of medicine
while diagnosing and treating the patients, a manager uses the knowledge of management
theory while performing his managerial functions. Art is the application of knowledge that
constitutes the science. Thus, art needs the existence of science and science demands skillful
application of knowledge. However, art is not only based on a systematic body of
knowledge based on evidence, but it derives its creative power through intuition, inspiration
and other purely subjective qualities.

Like all other practices management is an art. It is knowhow, it is the application of

knowledge; and it is doing things in the light of the realities of the situation. Management
principles are not developed for the sake of knowledge,

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but their application for specific situation. Thus, in the art side of management managers
make decisions and try to solve problems based on their intuition experience, instinct and
personal insight. Management is therefore considered as both a science and an art.
1.4. Levels of Management
Levels of management are hierarchical arrangement of managerial positions in an
organization. The number of levels of management may depend on the size of the
organization. In general, however, there are three managerial levels, which includes:
i. Top level management,
ii. Middle level management, and
iii. Fist level (operating level management)
These levels of management can be presented graphically as indicated below

Top –
level
Management

Middle – level
Management
Top – level Management
Operating – level
Top – level management includes that of board of directors, executive committee and chief
Management
executive, or president, or general manger, etc. of an organization.
Functions of top management include;
 Establishing broad objectives;
 Designing major strategies;
 Outlining Principal policies;
 Providing effective organizational structure that insures integration;
 Providing overall leadership and direction;
 Making overall control of the organization;
 Dealing with external parties such as the government, community, business, etc. by
representing the organization, and
 Analyzing the changes in the external environment and respond to it.

Middle – level Management

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Middle-level management includes heads of the different functional areas and their assistant:
divisional heads, department heads, section heads, plant managers, branch management, etc.
The major functions of middle-level management are:

 Acting as intermediary between top and operating level management;

 Translating long-term plans of top management into medium range plans;
 Developing specific targets in their areas of reasonability;
 Developed specific schedules to guide actions and facilitate control;
 Coordinating inputs, productivity and outputs of operating level management.
Operating level management (First level management)
First – line management is found at the lowest level in the hierarchy.
The first – line managers comprise the largest managerial group in most organizations and
they are responsible for directly and managing operating

employees and resources.

They direct small team of workers and keep a check on their performance so that short-term
plans and work target are achieved.

Specific functions of first line managers include the following:

 Plan daily and weekly activities based on the quarterly and yearly plans.
 Assign operating employees to specific tasks.
 Issue instructions at the workplace.
 Motivate subordinates to charge or improve their performance.
 Provide subordinates feedback about the ongoing performance.
 Take action to resolve performance problems.
 Identifying ways of improving communication among subordinates.
1.5. Functional and General Managers
We can distinguish or classify managers based on the scope of the activities they manage
into:
i. Functional and
ii. General managers

i. Functional Managers
Functional managers are managers appointed to supervise single operations which require
specialized skills.
Eg. Accountants, personnel, marketing and production managers
ii. General Managers
General Managers are responsible for the overall operations of a more complex unit, such as
company or division.

General Managers usually coordinate two or more departments and hold functional
managers accountable for their specialized areas.

1.6. Managerial Roles

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Managerial functions are broad areas of activities that represent the ends for which
management is practiced. They are purposes that tell little about what managers actually
perform. They simply indicate the objectives of managers when they do their work. Thus,
from the above definition, it can be inferred that there must be the means to successfully
accomplish managerial functions and categories of actual managerial behaviors. These are
managerial roles.
Managerial roles represent specific tasks that managers undertake to ultimately accomplish
the functions of planning, organizing, staffing, leading and controlling. They are an
organized set of activities belonging to an identifiable job that give realism and systematize
managerial functions.

Beside the functional approach of management the other approach to study management is
to examine the roles that managers are expected to perform. Managerial roles are related to
how managers carry out their jobs in their day to day managerial life. Managerial functions
are general administrative duties that need to be carried out in all productive organizations.
Managerial roles are specific categories of behavior/managerial behavior. Managerial
functions involve “desired out comes”. These outcomes are achieved through the
performance of managerial roles (actual behavior). In other words, roles are the means and
functions are the ends of the manager’s job.
Henery Mintzeberg developed ten managerial roles, which can be classified in to three broad
categories. These are interpersonal, informational and decisional roles.
1) Inter personal roles
These are the roles that the managers play in interacting with other people both within
the organization and outside the organization. Managers spend a lot of time with peers,
subordinates, suppliers, customers, government officials and community leaders because
of their formal authority, superiority and strategic position. Therefore, they are required
to have an understanding of interpersonal relations. These roles again are classified in to
three categories.
a) Figurehead role:- when managers perform duties of social or legal
obligations that represent an organization at different occasions such as ceremonial
and symbolic in nature it is said to be Figurehead role. These duties include:-greeting
visitors, signing legal documents, taking important customers to lunch, attending
social functional involving their subordinates like wedding, funerals, Handing out
merit certificates to works etc or speaking at functions in schools and churches etc.
b) The leadership role:- the influence of a manager is clearly seen in
his role as a leader of the unit or organization. This involves directing and
coordinating subordinates activities such as hiring, training, motivating and guiding.
He must be an example/role model leader so that his subordinates follow his
directions and guideline with respect and dedication.
c) Liaison role:- Managers must maintain a net work of outside
contacts in order to asses the external environment such as competition, social changes
or changes in government rules, regulation and laws that affect the organization
interest. In this role the managers build up their won external information system.
The Liaison with external sources of information can be developed by attending
meetings and professional conferences by personal phone calls, trade journals and by
informal personal contacts within outside agencies.
2) Informational Role

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Managers emerged as a source of information about certain issues concerning the
organization. They play the role of central point for receiving and sending important
information. Informational roles describe the manager’s activities used to maintain and
develop an information network. In informational role managers perform the following
three roles.
a) The monitor role:- in this role managers constantly monitoring and examining
their internal and external environment by collecting and studying information
concerning their organization. They seek information from various sources in order
to make decision and solve problems that would be achieved by reading reports and
periodicals, by asking their liaison offices etc.
b) The disseminator role:- Manager’s must transmit their information regarding
changes in policies or other matters to their subordinates, their peers and to other
members of the organization. He/she should provide important information to
subordinates that they might not ordinarily know about. This can be done through
memorandums, phone calls, individual meetings and group meetings. Managers do
not put aside information rather they pass it to peers. The type of information to be
forwarded to organizational members may include facts, opinions, interpretations
and influences.
c) Spokes person role:- the manager represents his/her organization or unit to other
people internally or externally. A manager represents his organization in either
sending relevant information to people out side the firm or making some demand on
behalf of the firm. He transmits information to outsiders as official position of the
organization. Managers are also responsible to provide official statements to people
outside the organization about company policies, plans, actions or development. The
information can be transmitted to outsiders through a speech at the trade show,
reports, holding a press conference, giving public interview or through advertising
media’s.

3) Decision making/Decisional role

On the basis of the managers interpersonal and information received, a manager must
make decisions and solve organization problem in that respect. These are manager’s
activities to make choices from alternatives. Managers are responsible to identify
problems and opportunities and then balance conflicting interests. In the decisional role
the manager becomes an entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator and
negotiator.
a) Entrepreneurial role: - here managers are continuously involved in improving
the organization and facing dynamic technological changes and initiating and
designing of change in the organization by assuming the risk of change. They
always look out for new ideas for product improvement. They initiate feasibility
studies, they arrange capital for new products, they ask for suggestions from
employees, how to improve the organization. In general they take risks for
investment.
b) Disturbance handler role: - managers have to work like a fire fighter. They must
seek solutions of various unanticipated problems such as strikes, complaints,
grievances, shortage of materials etc. the manager makes decisions or takes
corrective action to response to pressure beyond his/her control. They have to

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take corrective actions during crises, disputes and sudden departure of
subordinates, importance customers or suppliers.
c) The resource allocator role:- the manager must divide work and delegate
authority among his subordinates. He/she must make decisions how to
optimally allocate scarce resources among the unlimited needs. This role of
managers pertains to decisions about how to allocate people, time, equipment,
budget and other resources to attain desired results. Managers decide exactly
where the organization will expend its resources according to the priorities of
organizational objectives.
d) Negotiator role:- the manager deals or negotiates with individuals or groups
about certain issues in view of reaching agreement on certain problems. The
manager also bargains with units and individuals to obtain advantages for
his/her unit or organization.

1.7. Managerial Skills

A skill is an acquired and learned ability to translate knowledge into performance. It is an
ability or proficiency in performing a particular task. In order to be effective at all levels in
which managers perform; they must possess and continuously develop several essential
skills. Managerial skills are skills of a manageability of a manager to perform his duties and
responsibilities expertly. Modern business organizations are dynamic, complex and
competition in the market place is very high. Consequently managers must be highly skilled
to succeed. The major managerial skills that managers need to possess include: Technical
skills, Human skills and Conceptual skills. These essential skills briefly explained as follows.
Technical skills
Technical skill involves the use of knowledge, methods and techniques in performing a job
effectively. It is a specialized knowledge and expertise, which is utilized in dealing with day-
to-day problems and activities. This skill is acquired through education and training or
formal studies in colleges and institutions. Technical skill is more important at lowver level
management and as one move to higher level management; the relative importance of
technical skill will diminish. E.g. engineers accountants, computer programmers, program
analysis etc.

Human skills
It is the ability to work with other people in a co-operative manner i.e. the ability to influence
others, to motivate, to lead and understand others. It involves understanding, patience, trust
and genuine practice in interpersonal relationships. Though there are some controversies,
these skills are equally important at all levels of management because all tasks in an
organization are done with people. This skill includes effective communication, creation of
positive attitude towards others, development of co-operation among group members and
motivation of subordinates.
Conceptual skill
It is ability of a manager “to see” the big picture of the organization, to view the organization
from a broad perspective. It is the ability to view the organization as a whole entity and as
well as a system comprised of various parts and subsystems integrated into a single unit. It
is especially important for top level managers ho keep the whole system under focus. They

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must understand the complexities of the overall organization, to see the big picture and how
each unit of the organization contributes towards the success or achievement of
organizational skills. Conceptual skills are more important in strategic (long range)
planning; therefore it is the top level managers/executives who require more of these skills
than middle level manages and supervisors.
1.8. UIVERSALITY OF MANAGEMENT
Is a manager’s job universal? Are the principles of management universally applicable? It is
already stated that managing is found in all types, functions, levels and sizes of
organizations. Management can be applied to all organized human efforts whether they are
in business, government, and educational, social, religious or other fields. Universality of
management suggests that the manager uses the same managerial skills and principles in
each managerial position held in various organizations. It means that management is generic
in content and is applicable to all types of organizations. Many professionals in the field of
management agree that “management is universal”. This is to mean that regardless of title,
position or management level, all managers do the same job. They all execute the five
management functions and work through and with others to set and achieve organizational
goals.
These proponents argue the universality of management by stating that the functions of
managers are rarely the same whether the organization are private or public, profit making
or not for profit, manufacturing or service giving and small firms or industrial giants. This is
because of the fact that the basic principles and concepts of management are universally
applicable to all types of organizations.
Lawrence A. Appley declared that ‘He who can manage, can manage anything’. Accordingly
an industrial manager could manage a philanthropic organization, a retired army general
could manage a University, a civil servant could manage an industrial organization, and so
on. Let’s discuss the factors that have contributed to the universal organization (arguments
for universality)
 Managers perform the same functions irrespective of their level in the organization,
industry or country. The functions performed by the company president and the
office supervisor are the same. Regardless of the level, all managers plan, organize,
lead and control. The difference lies in such things as the breadth of the objectives,
the magnitude of the decisions taken and etc.
 Classical writers like Fayol, believed that there are certain principles in management
which are universally applicable. Such principles as one man one boss (unity of
command), division of work to improve speed and efficiency, limiting the number of
persons to be supervised, the principle of motivation etc. have found universal
expression irrespective of the nature and level of management in organizations.
 The fundamentals governing the management of a business, a church or a university
are the same; the difference lies in the techniques employed and the practices
followed. All managers are accountable for performance of other people; they plan,
make decisions, and organize work and so forth.
 The very fact that managers regularly move from public to private sector
organizations bears ample testimony to the fact that management concepts are
universal across organizational types. For example, D.D. Eisenhower went from a
general in the US army to President of Columbia University to President of the
United States.

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Nowadays, management has got rationalistic and quantitative approaches, which contribute
for the universality of management principles. One can say a best that management
principles are universal but their application is situational.

1.9. Basic Management Functions

The Basic Management functions include
 Planning
 Organizing
 Staffing
 Directing, and
 Controlling
Planning: -
- It is the first function that all managers engage in.
- It lays the groundwork for all other functions.
- Planning usually:
- Identifies the goals of an organization
- It maps out courses of action

Length of time and scope of planning:

- Will vary according to the level in the company

Top-level management planning may cover a period of five or ten years. (Long –range
planning)

The plans at the top management level may cover expansion of the business and how it will
be financed.
Lower level management planning is however concerned with planning today’s or
tomorrow’s actions.
A manager’s plans affect and are affected by, the plans of others and the requirements of
governments ruling

Organizing
Organizing is concerned with:

1. Assembling the resources necessary to achieve the organization’s objectives.

2. Establishing the activity-authority relationships of the organization

Planning has established the goals of the company and how they are to be achieved

Organizing is therefore concerned with developing the structure to reach these goals.
Staffing:
Staffing is concerned with locating prospective employees to fill the jobs created by the
organizing process.

Involves:
- Recruiting and selecting potential candidates for a job.
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- Matching the job demands with the candidates’ abilities.
- Orienting new employees to the job environment
- Keeping employees qualified
- Appraising performance and providing feed-back
- Determining the proper pay and benefit for each job

Directing /leading:
Directing is aimed at getting members of the organization to move in the direction that will
achieve its objectives.

It involves motivating and encouraging employees, to participate in the decision-making

process.

Controlling:

Controlling deals with:

 Establishing standards of performance
 Reassuring performances against established standards, and
 Dealing with deviations from established standards.
It attempts to:
 Prevent problems
 Solve the problems that occur
In general, controls ensure that work is performed to standards as planned.

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