TopIc: managEment

Tasks: 1. Read the text.

2. Answer the questions:

Text

Management is the process by which human efforts are coordinated and combined with other resources to accomplish organizational goals and objectives. Management has been defined as “the art of getting things done through people” (Mary Parker Follett). Management requires an understanding of the economic principle of division of labor, which breaks tasks down into subtasks, and the coordination of effort, which reorganizes the subtasks in an efficient and effective whole.

Managers perform five basic functions: planning, organizing, directing, leading and controlling.

Planning is the means of coordinating an idea into a reality, that is, determining the goals and objectives of the organization and the means of attaining them. Planning involves making decisions about a course of action and establishing priorities relating to the action.

Organizing and directing an enterprise requires that managers establish patterns of relationships (structures, hierarchies) among people and other resources that work to produce an output or to accomplish a common goal or objective. Organizing and directing relate to the flow of work through the organization under guidance.

Leadership is required if organizational goals are not to be achieved. Leadership influences persons to act for a common end or purpose. The skill of the leader relates to his/her knowing the personality, character, wants of subordinates, behavior patterns, organizational requirements, and other factors.

Controlling is primary taking appropriate actions to ensure that organizational goals and objectives are planned and carried out (that is, that the firm attain maximum effectiveness).

Management by objectives (MBO) is a relatively recent innovation in management that often improves performance and morale. MBO involves the joint establishment of objectives and performance review procedures in an effort to improve productivity. This principle is based on the theory that people find satisfaction in their work and accept responsibility for their performance. To be effective, MBO should have the approval and commitment of top management and provide a means for participation by subordinates in the setting of objectives, a degree of self-determination in implementing plans, and a periodic review of performance.

Questions

1. What kind of process is management?

2. How has it been defined?

3. What does management require?

4. What basic functions do managers perform?

5. Can management do without planning? If not, why?

6. Is management connected with organizing and directing?

7. Does leadership play an important role in management?

8. What’s controlling in the context of management?

9. What’s management by objectives?

10. What principle is it based on?

11. What is it necessary to have for MBO to be effective?