Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Why Study Management?

ZHMANE – Lecture 1
Lecture notes - Lecture 1

Why study management?
In our society, the work is done by individuals who work in all sorts of organizations.
Organizations are everywhere: schools, businesses, state agencies, research institutions, etc.
Organization is a systematic arrangement of people to accomplish some specific
purpose.
Organizations can be very different as well as purposes for which they exist, but there are
three common characteristics of all organizations:
1. purpose– every organization has to have one, eve though they can be very different.
The purpose is typically expressed in terms of goals.
2. people – every organization is composed of people.
3. structure – consists of rules and regulations that define and limit behavior of
members of an organization.
In this complex world, individuals can no longer achieve goals by themselves individually,
but they need knowledge, skills and abilities of other people so that goals are achieved
efficiently.
The concept of efficiency is vital in our lives. It refers to relationship between inputs and
outputs. Since resources (inputs) are scarce, we must be concerned with efficient use of these
resources, i.e. we must seek to minimize resource costs.
But it is not enough to be efficient. Efficiency is needed, but efficient behavior must lead to
getting activities completed, i.e. must lead to achieve goals set forth. I other words, our
behavior must be effective. Effectiveness means that goals are attained.
This means that efforts of individuals and groups of individuals (i.e. organizations) must be
managed in one way or another. Management is thus defined as the process of getting
activities completed efficiently with and through other people.
What is management?
The term management can be used in different meanings:
1. process: management is the process undertaken by one or more persons to coordinate
the activities of other persons to achieve results not attainable by any one person
acting alone.
The process consists of certain functions:
a. planning = determining an organization’s objectives and establish the
appropriate strategies for achieving those objectives.
i. defining goals
ii. establishing strategy
iii. developing plans to coordinate activities.
b. organizing = designing and developing an organization that will be able to
accomplish the objectives; i.e. creating a structure of task and authority
relationships that serves this purpose.
i. determining the tasks to be done
ii. determining how the tasks are to be grouped
iii. determining who is to do them (staffing)
iv. determining who reports to whom and where the decisions are made.
c. leading = involves influencing the members of an organization to perform in
was that accomplish the organization’s objectives.
i. motivating
ii. directing
iii. communicating
iv. resolving conflicts
d. controlling = making sure that the actual performance of the organization
conforms with the performance that was planned and correcting any significant
deviations.
e. deciding –
2. people = people who manage organizations. They are called managers and they
engage in the process of management. When managing, i.e. when fulfilling
management functions, managers perform ten different, but interrelated managerial
roles:
a. interpersonal roles
b. informational roles
c. decisional roles
In order to be able to perform managerial roles, managers must posses and further
develop certain critical skills. A skill is an ability or proficiency in performing a
particular task. The possession of critical skills is one important precondition to being
efficient and effective. Important managerial skills are:
technical skills
analytical skills
computer skills
communication skills
human relation skills
conceptual skills = systems thinking
Given the size of organizations and the level of complexity, managers must be
specialized in order to be efficient.
a. vertical specialization = assigning the tasks of supervising subordinates to
another person;
a. first-line managers
b. middle managers
c. top managers
b. horizontal specialization = assigning certain tasks (production, marketing,
finance) to another person – functional managers. The function refers to what
activities the manager usually oversees as the result of horizontal specialization
process.
3. discipline = accumulated body of knowledge that can be learned. Management is a

subject with principles, concepts, and theories that can be learned and applied in the
process of managing.
The Managerial Process – management functions
Feedback
Leading
Planning Organizing Controlling GOALS
Feedback
Deciding
Historical background of the evolution of management

a. division of labor ⇒ increase in efficiency
b. industrial revolution – the beginning of 20th century
i. machine power
ii. mass production
iii. efficient transportation
⇒ the size of companies increased and management of large companies
required certain managerial skills.
c. managerial revolution – 30’s – 70’s of 20th century
i. United States
NYSE crash in 1939
F.D.R.’s New Deal - stock market reform
the emergence of corporations
ii. Europe
after WW II
nationalization of companies
⇒ the need for professional managers.
⇒ the division of ownership and management executive.
d. current trends and issues – since 1970’s
i. economic integration
ii. globalization
iii. turbulence
iv. customer’s market → change and innovation
The evolution of management schools of thought

(also see next page)
The evolution of the way people were thinking about management was happening with
respect to the changes in overall economic environment. That is why it is important to take
the historical background into consideration to fully understand the meanings, strengths and
weaknesses of particular concepts, notions and theories.
Classical Approaches
- basic assumptions about people: perfect rationality, responsiveness to economic
incentives
- main focus: management of work / activities (simplification, norms, planning),
administration (Fayol’s principles), bureaucracy (Max Weber)
Behavioral Approaches
- basic assumptions about people: responsiveness to other then economic incentives
(social relationships, group pressure), search for personal fulfillment
- main focus: people’s actions and their groundings (motivation, psychology, sociology,
anthropology), relationships among people (Hawthorne studies)
Management Science
- main focus: productions and operations management, new more sophisticated methods
(mainly mathematical)
CLASSICAL APPROACHES BEHAVIOURAL APPROACHES MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
(HUMAN RESOURCES APPROACH)
Scientific Management Human Relations Approach Operations / Productions Management

- the use of scientific methods to define - concentration on the social environment - quantitative
“one best way” for a job to be done - managers should recognize the need of - analytical
- concentration on the physical environment employees for recognition and social - modeling / experimenting
of the job acceptance - techniques to improve decision making
- concept of “economic man” - satisfied worker will be more productive
- Frederick Taylor - Abraham Maslow (hierarchy of needs)
- Frank + Lilian Gilbreth - Douglas Mc Gregor (theoreis X and Y)
- Henry Gannr (Gannt chart)
Classical Organization Theory Behavioral Science
- principles of management - concept of “social man”
- functions of management - scientific approach to study human
- theory of bureaucracy behavior (psychology, sociology)
- concept of work as a means to fulfill
human needs (which are more complex
than jus economic)
- Henri Fayol - Victor Vroom (motivation theory)
- Max Weber - Frederick Herzberg (motivation theories)
SYSTEMS APPROACH
- a theory that sees an organization as a set

of interrelated and interdependent parts
- open vs. closed systems
- Chester Barnard
CONTINGENCY APPROACH
- recognizing and responding to situational

variables as they arise: organization size,
routine ness of technology, environmental
uncertainty, individual differences
Assignment 1
Review questions for Lesson 1:
1. What are the functions of management and how do these help to achieve results?
2. What are the managerial roles? Discuss the interaction between them.
3. How did the Industrial Revolution increase the need for a formal theory of management?
4. What was the Managerial Revolution? Why and when did it happen?
5. What is globalization and what consequences does it have for modern management?
6. Briefly describe the evolution of the discipline of management. What is the primary contribution of
each of the approaches?
7. Why is there no one best way to manage?
In case you are not sure about the answers, see:

Reading for Lesson 1:
ROBBINS, S. P. Management. 4th ed. New Jersey : Prentice Hall, 1994. (ORG 126)
Chapter 1, pp. 1 – 18
Chapter 2, pp. 27 - 54

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ZHMANE – Lecture 1

Lecture notes - Lecture 1

3. discipline = accumulated body of knowledge that can be learned. Management is a

The Managerial Process – management functions

Planning Organizing Controlling GOALS

Historical background of the evolution of management

The evolution of management schools of thought

Scientific Management Human Relations Approach Operations / Productions Management

- a theory that sees an organization as a set

- recognizing and responding to situational

In case you are not sure about the answers, see:

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