Chapter1 Introduction to Management Process

What is management?
In our society, we see that important work is done by individuals with titles such as
restaurant managers, production manager, marketing manager, dean, mayor etc. These
individuals work in different types of organizations with different purposes but they all
have one thing in common: they practice management. Our society depends on goods and
services provided by the organizations these individuals manage.
So what does management mean? -The American Heritage Dictionary of the English
Language defines management as The act, manner, or practice of managing; handling,
supervision, or control or The person or persons who control or direct a business or
other enterprise.
Another definition of management is The process undertaken by one or more persons to
co-ordinate the activities of other persons to achieve results not attainable by one person
acting alone
Yet another perspective defines management as A set of activities (including planning
and decision making, organizing, leading and controlling) directed at an organizations
resources (human, financial, physical and information) with the aim of achieving
organizational goals in efficient and effective manner
Nature of Management
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

It is purposeful
It makes things happen
It is an activity, not a person or a group of persons
It is accomplished by, with and through the efforts of others
It is intangible

There are four primary views of management. Although none of these views is the
correct view of management because when taken individually, none of them can
encompass full meaning of management, yet they all give a different perspective on this
important part of modern life. Let us explore each view briefly:
1. Management is a Process
Have you ever said, this is a well managed organization or it was a very
mismanaged meeting? These statements imply that management is some type of
work or set of activities. And sometimes these activities are performed quite well and
sometimes not so well.
So now we can safely infer that management is a process involving certain functions
and activities that the managers perform.

2. Management is a Discipline
Classifying management as a discipline implies that it is an accumulated body of
knowledge that can be learned. It is a subject with principles, concepts and theories. A
major purpose of studying management is to apply these principles, concepts and
theories at the right time and under right circumstances to produce desired results.
3. Management is a Human Activity
The word management used in the context of human activity refers to the people
who engage in the process of management. Managers are the people primarily
responsible for seeing that the work gets done in an organization.
This perspective also emphasizes the importance of the employees whom the
managers work with and manage in order to accomplish the organizations objectives.
People are the organizations most important asset. For an organization to be
successful, there is a need for a strong, mutually satisfying partnership between
managers and the people they manage.
4. Management is a Career
A career is an individually perceived sequence of attitudes and behaviors associated
with work related experiences and activities over the span of a persons life. In
todays competitive business environment, there are numerous opportunities for
people pursuing careers in management. The managers need to constantly learn new
skills and update their understanding of their business and the industry to keep up
with the growing competition.
Functions of Management
The management process is a complex set of activities and can be easily understood when
described in terms of series of functions making up the whole process. The main
functions of management can be identified as Planning, Organizing, Staffing and
Controlling that are linked together by Leadership.
Planning determines what results the organization will achieve, Organizing specifies
how it will achieve the results Staffing determines who will achieve the desired results
and Controlling determines whether results will be achieved. Through these functions
managers exercise Leadership.
Let us now look briefly into these functions.
1. Planning: Planning is concerned with the future impact of today's decisions. It is the
fundamental function of management from which the other four stem. It is an ongoing
process of developing the business' mission and objectives and determining how they will
be accomplished. Planning includes the broadest view of the organization. The different
levels of planning for an organization are defined as follows:

Vision: Nonspecific directional and motivational guidance for the entire organization.
Top managers normally provide a vision for the business. It is the most emotional of
the four levels in the hierarchy of purposes.
Mission: An organization's reason for being. It is concerned with scope of the
business and what distinguishes this business from similar businesses. Mission
reflects the culture and values of top management.

Objectives: They refine the mission and address key issues within the organization
such as market standing, innovation, productivity, physical and financial resources,
profitability, management and worker performance and efficiency. They are expected
to be general, observable, challenging, and untimed.

Goals: They are specific statements of anticipated results that further define the
organization's objectives. They are expected to be SMART: Specific, Measurable,
Attainable, Rewarding, and Timed.

Tactics: Development of tactics is a fifth level of planning. Tactics, the most specific
and narrow plans, describe who, what, when, where and how activities will take place
to accomplish a goal.

Examples of planning are strategic planning, business planning, project planning, staffing
planning, advertising and promotions planning, etc.
2. Organizing :It is establishing the internal organizational structure of the organization.
The focus is on division, coordination, and control of tasks and the flow of information
within the organization. It is in this function that managers distribute authority to
jobholders. This function creates a structure of task and authority relationships to achieve
the objectives set in the planning function. Ideally, in developing an organizational
structure and distributing authority, managers' decisions reflect the mission, objectives,
goals and tactics that grew out of the planning function. Specifically, they decide:
3.Controlling: The actions and decisions that the managers undertake to ensure that
actual results are consistent with the desired results define the controlling function. It
requires three elements:
a. Established standards of performance,
b. Information that indicates deviation between actual performance and the
established standards; and
c. Action to correct performance that does not meet standards.
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The control process is cyclical which means it is never finished. Controlling leads to
identification of new problems that in turn need to be addressed through
establishment of performance standards, measuring performance etc.

Control is both anticipatory and retrospective. The process anticipates problems

and takes preventive action. With corrective action, the process also follows up on
problems.

Ideally, each person in the business views control as his or her responsibility. The
organizational culture should prevent a person walking away from a small, easily
solvable problem because "that isn't my responsibility." In customer driven businesses,
each employee cares about each customer. Simply speaking, management control makes
sure the organization stays on path that was planned for it.
4.Leading: It is an interpersonal influence directed toward the achievement of a goal or
goals. It can also be defined as a dynamic relationship based on mutual influence and
common purpose between leaders and collaborators in which both are moved to higher
levels of motivation and moral development as they affect real, intended change. The
purpose of leading is to channel the behavior of all personnel to accomplish the
organization's mission and objectives while simultaneously helping them accomplish
their own career objectives. The leading function gives the manager an active rather than
a passive role in employee performance, conduct and accomplishments. Managers
accomplish their objectives through people. The leading function gives managers a
second responsibility: helping people in the organization accomplish their individual
career goals. Organizations do not succeed while their people are failing. Helping people
in the organization with career planning and professional development is an integral part
of the directing function.