Chapter one
Over view of management
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Definitions of Management
There is no single, comprehensive and universally
accepted definition of management. This holds
true due to the following major reasons among
others:
• Different scholars view management from
different perspectives
• It has many areas of applications. It is applied in
profit, not for profit, private, government, social
and business organizations.
• Management as a discipline is recent in origin and
hence there are a number of theories being added
to the field.
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cont’d
• It is so broad that is difficult to encompass all
its aspects in a single definition.
• It has undergone changes because of the
developments in behavioral science and
quantitative techniques.
• There are different approaches to management,
definitions change as the environment changes.
The environment of an organization changes
due to changes in the political, social,
economic, ethical and others factors.
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The following are among the most widely accepted definitions
of management:
• Management is … the organ of society speciafically charged with
making resources productive - Peter Drucker
• Management is the process of designing and maintaining an
environment in which individuals, working together in groups,
efficiently accomplish selected aims - Koontz and Weihrich.
• Management is a distinct process of planning, organizing,
actuating and controlling, performed to determine and accomplish
stated objectives with the use of human beings and other
resources - Terry and Franklin.
• Management is the art of getting things done through people
effectively and efficiently - Mary Parker Follett.
 Effectiveness: is a way that produces a desired result.
 Efficiency: is being capable of achieving the desired result
with the minimum use of resources like time, effort and so on4

Significance of Management
 Encourages Initiative: do the right thing at the right
time without being told or influenced by the superior.
The employees should be encouraged to make their
own plans and also to implement these plans.
 Encourages Innovation: Innovation brings new
ideas, new technology, new methods, new products,
new services, etc. This makes the organization more
competitive and efficient.
 Facilitates Growth And Expansion: Management
makes optimum utilization of available resources.
This results in growth, expansion and diversification
of the organization.
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Cont’d
 Improves Life Of Workers: Management shares some of its
profits with the workers. It provides the workers with good
working environment and conditions. It also gives the
workers many financial and non-financial incentives.
 Improves Corporate Image: If the management is good,
then the organization will produce good quality goods and
services. This will improve the goodwill and corporate
image of the organization.
 Motivates Employees: Management motivates employees
by providing financial and non-financial incentives. These
incentives increase the willingness and efficiency of the
employees. This results in boosting productivity and
profitability of the organization.
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Cont’d
 Optimum Use of Resources: It makes optimum (best) use
of these resources. This brings best results to the
organization.
 Reduces Wastage: Management reduces the wastage of
human, material and financial resources. Wastage is reduced
by proper production planning and control. If wastage is
reduced then productivity will increase.
 Increases Efficiency: Efficiency is the relationship between
returns and cost. Management uses many techniques to
increase returns and to reduce costs. Higher efficiency
brings many benefits to the organization.
 Improves Relations: Management improves relations
between individuals, groups, departments and between
levels of management. Better relations lead to better team
work. Better team work brings success to the organization.
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Cont’d
Reduces Absenteeism and Labor Turnover:
Absenteeism means the employee is absent
without permission. Labor turnover means the
employee leaves the organization. Labor
absenteeism and turnover increases the cost
and causes many problems in the smooth
functioning of the organization.
Encourages Team Work: Management
encourages employees to work as a team. It
develops a team spirit in the organization. This
unity brings success to the organization.
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An Overview of Managerial Functions
Management functions are the activities that
managers are supposed to perform as result of
the position held in the organization.
Regardless of the type and size of firms, all
managers have certain basic functions-
planning, organizing, staffing, leading and
controlling.
The scope and nature of these functions vary
from one management level to another and
from firm to firm.
these functions are briefly described below.
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A. Planning:
Planning is the first and foremost function in
management. Also it is one of the fundamental and
pervasive of all functions.
Planning is a process of establishing goals and a
suitable course of action for achieving these goals.
It is a decision making process that determines what to
do, how to do it, why it is done, when it is to be done,
by whom it is to be done and with what resources.
It serves as a bridge that connects the present with the
future as; in planning what should be done in the
future is determined today.
It is a conscious determination of future actions.
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B. Organizing
 Organizing is the process of distributing the
work among the group members and
establishing the relationships b/n them.
 It involves identification of activities to be
carried out, grouping these activities into
working units, assignment of responsibilities
to each unit with corresponding authority.
 It is also the process of combining and
integrating resources for achieving the
objectives.
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C. Staffing
 Staffing is the process of ensuring that employees are
recruited, selected, trained, and developed, and rewarded
for successful accomplishment of goals.
 It is a continuous and vital function of management which
involves filling and keeping filled positions in a given
organizational structure.
 It is placing right person for right position.
D. Leading/Directing
Leading involves directing, influencing and motivating
employees to perform essential tasks.
Leading is the action or implementation phase which
emanates from the planning and organizing steps.
Leading encompasses three essential elements: motivation,
leadership and communication and main function of
leading is producing other leaders by being role model.
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E. Controlling
Controlling is the measuring and correcting of
activities of subordinates to ensure that events
conform to plans or set standards. It measures
performance against goals and plans.
Controlling function involves the following
elements;
• Establishing standards of performance
• Measuring current performance
• Comparing performance to the established standards
• Taking corrective actions, if deviations are detected.
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Management Levels and Types of Managers
• Although all managers may perform the same
basic duties and play similar roles, the nature and
scope of their activities differ from level to level.
• Here level refers to hierarchical arrangements of
managerial positions in an organization.
• The number of managerial levels in an
organization depends on the size of the
organization. The larger the size, the more will be
the number of levels and the smaller the
organization in size, the fewer will be its levels.
• In most organizations, however, there are three
distinct levels as depicted in the figure below.
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Level of management graphically
Top level
Middle level
First line/Lower level
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1. First Line/ Lower Level Managers
• First Line/ Lower Level Managers are managers
who are responsible for the work of operating
employees only and do not supervise other
managers.
• They are the lowest level of management in the
organizational structure.
• Typical titles in this level include office managers,
section chief, superintendents, foremen, chief
clerks, supervisors and the like.
• First line managers often called ‘supervisors’.
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Duties and responsibilities of first line managers
Planning of day to day activities
Assigning operating employees to specific
tasks
Keeping a watch on workers’ performance
Sending reports and statements to superiors
Maintaining close and personal contact with
workers
Issuing instructions at the work place,
following up, motivating and evaluating
workers.
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Middle Level managers
• Middle Level managers are managers who direct the activities
of lower level managers and sometimes extend to supervision
of operating employees.
• The middle managers are known in many organizations as the
department managers, plant managers, or directors of
operations.
Duties and Responsibilities of Middle Level managers
 Acting as intermediary between top and first line managers
 Translating long term plans into medium term plans
 Developing specific targets in their areas of responsibility
 Coordinating inputs, outputs and productivity of operating
level managers
 Developing specific schedules to guide action and facilitate
control 18

Top Level Managers
 Top Level Managers are responsible to the overall management of the
organization.
 They establish operating policies and guide the organization’s interactions
with its environment. Typical titles include chief executive officers (CEOs),
president, senior vice president, general manager and the like.
Duties and Responsibilities of Top Level managers
• Establishing broad objectives and designing major strategies and polices
for the achievement of long term objectives
• Providing effective organizational structure that ensures integration
• Providing overall leadership, direction and making overall control of the
organization
• Dealing with external parties such as the government, community,
businesses by representing the organization
• Analyzing the changes in the external environment and responding to them.
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Managerial Roles and Skills
A. Managerial Skills
• Regardless of the level of management, managers
ought to possess and seek to further develop many
critical skills.
• Skill is an ability or proficiency in performing
particular task.
• Management skills are learned and developed.
• There are three managerial skills, such as:
1. Technical skills
2. Human skills
3. Conceptual skills
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1. Technical skills
• Technical Skill is the ability to use specific
knowledge, techniques, and resources in performing
works.
• It is knowledge and proficiency design & use
methods, processes, and procedures.
• it involves working with tools and specific machines.
• Normally technical skills are more important at lower
level of management and its importance decreases as
we go up the ladder.
• This usually includes specialized knowledge and the
ability to perform with that specialty
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2. Human skill
 Human skill is the ability to work with people.
 It is cooperative effort, team work and creation of an
environment in which people feel secured and free to express
their opinions.
 It is also the ability to resolve conflict.
 Generally, human skill is the skill to motivate and create
enthusiasm/eagerness in the minds of followers. Because
managers must accomplish much of their work through the
efforts of other people, their ability to work with, motivate,
counsel and understand others is most important.
 Therefore, this skill is equally essential at all levels of
management. 22

3. Conceptual skill
• Conceptual skill is the ability to see the “big picture”, to
recognize significant element in a situation and to
understand the relationship among elements.
• These skills are the abilities needed to view the
organization from a broad perspective and to see the
interrelationships among its components.
• Therefore, they are more important to top level executives
than to middle managers and supervisors.
• To conceptualize requires imagination, broad knowledge,
and the mental capacity to conceive abstract ideas.
• Conceptual skills are important in strategic planning.
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The relationship between management levels and skills
Top
middle
Lower
Conceptual skills
Human skills
Technical skills
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B. Managerial Roles
• One of the most frequently cited studies of
managerial roles was conducted by Henry
Mintizberg.
• He stated that managers perform ten different
but closely related roles and he categorized
them into three broad groups.
1. Interpersonal role
2. Informational role
3. Decisional role
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1. Interpersonal role
• There are three interpersonal roles such as
figurehead, leader and liaison roles.
• These roles grow from the manager’s formal
authority and focus on interpersonal
relationships.
• These roles require interaction with others in
regular basis.
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A. Figurehead role
 This role is played by managers who are required to perform
duties of ceremonial and symbolic in nature.
 It is the most basic and the simplest of all managerial roles. A
president who greets a touring dignitary/notable, a mayor who
presents a key of the city to a local hero, the supervisor who
attends the wedding of a machine operator, a sales manager
who takes an important customer to lunch, and a manager who
presents certificates to outperforming employees all are
performing ceremonial duties important to the organization’s
image and success.
 While these duties may not seem important, they are expected
of managers as they signify management’s concern for
employees, customers and to the society at large.
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B. Leadership Role
 the leadership role involves responsibility for directing
and coordinating the activities of subordinates in order
to accomplish organizational objectives.
 Some aspects involve motivating subordinate to meet
the organization’s goals and relate to creating a vision
that a company’s employees identify with.
C. Liaison Role
 There internal and external liaison role
 this role refers to dealing with people outside the
organization such as clients, government officials,
customers and suppliers; it is called external liaison role
 It also refers to dealing with managers in other
departments, staff specialists, and other department’s
employees; it is called internal liaison role
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2. Informational role
• Effective managers build networks of contacts for
sharing information. Because of these contacts,
managers emerge as the nerve center system of their
organization.
• The following three roles describe the informational
aspects of managerial work:
I. Monitor role
 This role involves seeking out, receiving and
screening information. Just as a radar unit scans the
environment, managers scan their environment for
information that may affect their organization.
 The information received is oral-gossip or hearsay,
formal meetings.
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II. Disseminator role
 Here the manager shares information with
subordinates and other pertinent members.
 Sometimes the manager may pass along special or
‘privileged’ information to certain subordinates who
would not originally have access to it
 In practice, passing information along subordinates is
often difficult and time consuming. Therefore, a
manager must decide which and how much
information will be useful.
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III. Spokesperson Role
• In the spokesperson role managers transmit
information to others, especially those outside
the organization.
• The manager is a person who speaks for his or
her work unit/organization or to people outside
the work unit.
• Here the manager represents the unit to other
people.
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3. Decisional Role:
• Decisional roles are managers use information
to make decisions about when and how to
commit their organization to new objectives
and actions.
• Decisional roles are perhaps the most
important of the three categories of roles.
• Managers are the core of the organization’s
decision making system as they play the
following four decisional roles:
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• Entrepreneurial Role - this role involves designing and
initiating planned changes in order to improve the
organization’s position. Managers play this role when
they initiate new projects, launch a survey, test a new
market, or enter into new business.
• Disturbance Handler Role: this role is played by
managers when they deal with problems and changes
beyond their immediate control. Typical problems
include labor strikes, bankruptcy of major suppliers, or
breaking of contracts by customers. Sometimes
disturbances may arise because a poor manager
ignores the situation until it becomes a crisis. However,
even good managers cannot possibly anticipate all the
consequences of their decisions or control the actions
of others.
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• Resource Allocator Role: this role is about choosing among
competing demands for money, equipment, personnel, and
other’s demand on manager’s time. What portion of the
budget should be earmarked for advertising and what
portion for improving an existing product line? Should the
firm add a second shift or pay overtime to handle new
orders? Whether to automate certain plants or close others
requires performing such a role.
• Negotiator Role: closely linked to the resource allocator
role is the negotiator role. In this role managers meet and
discuss their differences with individuals or groups for the
purpose of reaching an agreement. Negotiations are an
integral part of a manager’s job. They are especially tough
when a manager must deal with others like unions and
political action groups who do not share the manager’s
objectives.
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Universality of Management
• Universality of management refers to the transferability
of its principles, techniques, functions and skills from one
time, place or job to the other.
• All these management practices are equally practicable
and applicable everywhere in the world irrespective of
the nature of the job, differences in customs, habits and
social laws.
• Managerial functions and techniques can be practiced in
every organized effort. Whether it is a business, shop,
industry, government office, education institutions, social,
profit making and non-profit making organizations,
management principles, functions and techniques are
profitability and productively applied.
• A successful manager of a company or a field can be
equally successful in the other. That is why a manager of
a company can be safely transferred from one
department, company or are to another.
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Is Management Science, Art or Profession
 The question whether management is a science, art or
profession is put to debate quite frequently. There are
arguments on both sides.
Is management is science?
 Properties of Science: Science is a systematized body
of knowledge based on certain principles, capable of
general application.
 This knowledge is obtained through the process of
observation, experimentation and testing.
 Science thus has four elements:
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A. Systematic body of knowledge: it is
systematized in the sense that it is based on the
cause and effect relationship between different
variables.
B. Scientific Inquiry: Scientific inquiry is unaffected
by the personal likes and dislikes of a scientist.
C. Experimentation: The principles of science are
derived after repeated observations and
experiments.
D. Universal truths: Scientific principles represent
basic truths; they are developed after a series of
experiments. They can be applied in all
situations and at all times.
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• Therefore management is science because it has
the characteristics of science namely:
a) Systematic body of knowledge: Management is distinct
discipline. It has a number of principles which can be
studied and put to application.
b) Management is a social science: Management is
a social science, as it deals with human behavior
about which little is known at present. As we all
know, it is not possible to study human behavior
under controlled laboratory conditions.
c) Management is an inexact science: Management
is not an exact science like physics, chemistry or
biology. It can offer only flexible guidelines that
would be of use in solving problems.
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 Is Management Art?
 Art is the use of know-how and skills like any other art such as
music, painting, sculpture, etc.
 Art is the application of science in practice
Management is an art because of the following reason
Use of knowledge: Just as doctor uses the science of medicine
while diagnosing and treating the patients, a manager uses
the knowledge of management theory while performing the
managerial function.
Creative art: Management is creative like any other art. It
combines human and non -human resources in a useful way
so as to achieve results.
Personalized: Like any other art, management is personalized
activity. Every manager has his own way of managing things
and people, based on his knowledge and experience.
Constant practice: Managers learn from mistakes. The
application of managerial principles over a period of time
enables them to tackle difficult problems with confidence.
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• Management is thus, an art as well as a
science.
• The art of management is as old as civilization
but the science of management is young and
developing.
• Both are complementary and mutually
supportive.
• Managers need to acquire the knowledge of
management principles and practice in order
to be successful.
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Is management is profession?
• Over the last few decades, factors such as
growing size of business units, competition,
and separation of ownership from
management have led to an increased
demand for professionally qualified managers.
• The tasks of management have become quite
specialized.
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Characteristics of a Profession
• Well-defined body of knowledge: A profession must have a
systematic body of principles, techniques and skills.
• Formal education and training: Everybody cannot enter a
profession. An individual can enter a profession only after
acquiring knowledge and skills through formal education and
training.
• Minimum Qualification: An individual can enter a profession
after obtaining a degree or diploma from recognized colleges,
universities or institutes.
• Representative body: A representative body of professionals
exists to regulate and develop the professional activities.
• Service above self: a profession must be committed to service.
• Ethical code of conduct: Members of a profession are expected
to follow the code sincerely and honestly.
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Characteristics of management
Management is purposeful
Management makes things happen
Management is an activity
Management is accomplished by, with and through the
efforts of others
Management is associated with the efforts of a group
Management is aided by the computer
Management applies to any kind of organization
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