UNIT I
INTRODUCTION TO MANAGEMENT
Concept
The management is a particular kind of movement fundamentally dependable to complete things through others. All administrative capacities are general and all chiefs in any field of human endeavors play out that common place administrative capacities independent of what they are overseeing. One approach to dissect the management is to think as far as what a supervisor does. Utilizing this methodology, we can show up at the management cycle which depicts crafted by any director. A portion of the basic meaning of the management given by popular essayists and masterminds are: According to Harold Koontz and Heinz Weihrich, Management is the way toward planning and keeping up a climate in which people, cooperating in gatherings, proficiently achieve chosen points. As indicated by Kreitner, "The board is the way toward working with and through others to accomplish authoritative goals by proficiently utilizing restricted assets in the evolving climate.
Management can be defined as the process of administering and controlling the affairs of the organization, irrespective of its nature, type, structure and size. It is an act of creating and maintaining such a business environment wherein the members of the organization can work together, and achieve business objectives efficiently and effectively.
Management acts as a guide to a group of people working in the organization and coordinating their efforts, towards the attainment of the common objective.
In other words, it is concerned with optimally using 5M’s, i.e. men, machine, material, money and methods and, this is possible only when there proper direction, coordination and integration of the processes and activities, to achieve the desired results.
Some of the common definition of management given by famous writers and thinkers are:
According to Harold Koontz and Heinz Weihrich, Management is the process of designing and maintaining an environment in which individuals, working together in groups, efficiently accomplish selected aims.
According to Robert L. Trewelly and M. Gene Newport, Management is defined as the process of planning, organising, actuating and controlling an organisation’s operations in order to achieve coordination of the human and material resources essential in the effective and efficient attainment of objectives.
According to Kreitner, “Management is the process of working with and through others to effectively achieve organisational objectives by efficiently using limited resources in the changing environment.
According to George R Terry, Management consists of planning, organising, actuating and controlling, performed to determine and accomplish the objectives by the use of people and resources.
Levels of Management
Top-Level Management: This is the highest level in the organizational hierarchy, which includes Board of Directors and Chief Executives. They are responsible for defining the objectives, formulating plans, strategies and policies.
Middle-Level Management: It is the second and most important level in the corporate ladder, as it creates a link between the top and lower-level management. It includes departmental and division heads and managers who are responsible for implementing and controlling plans and strategies which are formulated by the top executives.
Lower Level Management: Otherwise called as functional or operational level management. It includes first-line managers, foreman, supervisors. As lower-level management directly interacts with the workers, it plays a crucial role in the organization because it helps in reducing wastage and idle time of the workers, improving the quality and quantity of output.
Nature
The nature of management can be explained as under:
Functions
Functions of Management
Coordination is an important feature of management which means the integration of the activities, processes and operations of the organization and synchronisation of efforts, to ensure that every element of the organization contributes to its success.
Managerial skills and competencies
Being a manager is a tough job, but being a great one is even tougher. Just consider the array of knowledge and skills it takes to deal with a variety of people, tasks and business needs.
Here are the skills that a manager has to acquire:
1. Building good working relationships with people at all levels.
The most important management skill, the survey found, is the ability to build good relationships with people at all levels. For example, an approach to relationship building focuses on creating "high-quality connections" through respectful engagement.
2. Prioritizing tasks effectively for yourself and your team.
All of us have a huge number of things that we want to do or have to do. The demands can often seem overwhelming, to us and the members of our team. This is why prioritization is the second most important management skill.
3. Considering many factors in decision-making.
We've all seen how bad decisions can be when they're rushed or when financial concerns are the only criteria used. This is why it pays to use a formal, structured process to think a problem through thoroughly, including analyzing risk and exploring ethical considerations. The ORAPAPA framework—which stands for Opportunities, Risks, Alternatives and Improvements, Past Experience, Analysis, People, and Alignment and Ethics—is a good example.
4. Knowing the key principles of good communication.
Management is about getting things done by working with people. You can do this only if you communicate effectively. This is where the 7 C's of Communication—clear, concise, concrete, correct, coherent, complete, courteous—can help you get your message through more clearly.
5. Understanding the needs of different stakeholders and communicating with them appropriately.
As you spearhead bigger projects, it becomes increasingly important to manage the many different groups of people who can support or undermine the work you do. This is where it's important to develop good stakeholder analysis and stakeholder management skills.
6. Bringing people together to solve problems.
It's often tempting to try to solve problems on your own. But there are very many reasons why it pays to bring together a team of experienced people. Gathering people for brainstorming sessions is a good start, but it also pays to understand structured problem-solving processes, know how to facilitate meetings well and be skilled in managing group dynamics.
7. Developing new ideas to solve customers' problems.
A vast number of products and services now sell based on customer ratings and reviews. To get top reviews, you need to provide something that meets the needs of customers exceptionally well. Approaches like design thinking and ethnographic research can help you develop highly satisfying products, and customer experience mapping can help you deliver a satisfying customer journey.
8. Cultivating relationships with customers.
The way you do this depends on whether you serve consumer or business markets. When you're dealing with consumers, you'll get great insights into customer groups by segmenting your market and by developing customer personas representing these different segments.
9. Building trust within your team.
When people don't trust one another in a team, they waste a huge amount of time politicking. By contrast, people in trusting teams work efficiently and well, and they can deliver wonderful results. To build trust, you need to lead by example, communicate honestly and openly, get to know individuals as people, avoid blame, and discourage behaviors that breach trust.
10. Using emotional intelligence.
All managers need emotional intelligence to be effective. This means having the self-awareness, self-control, motivation, empathy and social skills needed to behave in a mature, wise, empathetic way with the people around you. Emotionally intelligent managers are a joy to work with, which is why they attract and retain the best people.
Key Takeaways:
Classical approach
Classical management theory is based on the belief that workers only have physical and economic needs. It does not take into account social needs or job satisfaction, but instead advocates a specialization of labor, centralized leadership and decision-making, and profit maximization.
Designed solely to streamline operations, increase productivity and enhance the bottom line, this idea arose in the late 19th century and gained prominence through the first half of the 20th century. While not widely subscribed to in modern times, this theory offers some principles that remain valid, to an extent, in small business settings in regards to manufacturing.
Concepts of the Ideal Workplace
The theory outlines an ideal workplace as one that rests on three main concepts:
The autocratic leadership model is the central part of classical management theory. In this system, there is no need to consult large groups of people for decisions to be made. A single leader makes a final decision and it is communicated downward for all to follow. This leadership approach can be beneficial when decisions need to be made quickly by one leader, rather than a group of company officials.
Strengths of the Theory
While not typically used in today’s workplaces, the classical management theory does have some strong points. They include:
Flaws in the Model
When the theory is put into action, companies can see their production numbers increase. There are, however, some flaws that make this particular management model less than attractive in workplaces. These pitfalls include:
The classical management theory can help streamline manufacturing operations where high productivity is a must. However, it fell out of favor after the rise of the human relations movement, which sought to gain a better understanding of the human motivation for productivity. Although some of its facets are viable for certain circumstances, this theory generally does not translate well to workplaces today.
Scientific management – F. W. Taylor’s contribution
One of the earliest of these theorists was Frederick Winslow Taylor. He started the Scientific Management movement, and he and his associates were the first people to study the work process scientifically. They studied how work was performed, and they looked at how this affected worker productivity. Taylor's philosophy focused on the belief that making people work as hard as they could was not as efficient as optimizing the way the work was done.
In 1909, Taylor published "The Principles of Scientific Management." In this, he proposed that by optimizing and simplifying jobs, productivity would increase. He also advanced the idea that workers and managers needed to cooperate with one another. This was very different from the way work was typically done in businesses beforehand. A factory manager at that time had very little contact with the workers, and he left them on their own to produce the necessary product. There was no standardization, and a worker's main motivation was often continued employment, so there was no incentive to work as quickly or as efficiently as possible.
Taylor believed that all workers were motivated by money, so he promoted the idea of "a fair day's pay for a fair day's work." In other words, if a worker didn't achieve enough in a day, he didn't deserve to be paid as much as another worker who was highly productive.
With a background in mechanical engineering, Taylor was very interested in efficiency. While advancing his career at a U.S. steel manufacturer, he designed workplace experiments to determine optimal performance levels. In one, he experimented with shovel design until he had a design that would allow workers to shovel for several hours straight. With bricklayers, he experimented with the various motions required and developed an efficient way to lay bricks. And he applied the scientific method to study the optimal way to do any type of workplace task. As such, he found that by calculating the time needed for the various elements of a task, he could develop the "best" way to complete that task.
These "time and motion" studies also led Taylor to conclude that certain people could work more efficiently than others. These were the people whom managers should seek to hire where possible. Therefore, selecting the right people for the job was another important part of workplace efficiency. Taking what he learned from these workplace experiments, Taylor developed four principles of scientific management. These principles are also known simply as "Taylorism".
Four Principles of Scientific Management
Taylor's four principles are as follows:
Critiques of Taylorism
Taylor's Scientific Management Theory promotes the idea that there is "one right way" to do something. As such, it is at odds with current approaches such as MBO (Management By Objectives), Continuous Improvement initiatives, BPR (Business Process Reengineering), and other tools like them. These promote individual responsibility, and seek to push decision making through all levels of the organization.
Classical organization theory- Henry Fayol’s principles
Fayol was an engineer who worked his way up to become manager of the Compagnie de Commentry-Fourchambault-Decazeville mining company in France, at the tail end of the industrial revolution. Under his watch, the struggling firm prospered.
He wrote, "When I assumed the responsibility for the restoration of Decazeville, I did not rely on my technical superiority... I relied on my ability as an organizer [and my] skill in handling men."
Fayol's 14 Principles of Management identified the skills that were needed to manage well. As well as inspiring much of today's management theory, they offer tips that you can still implement in your organization. Fayol also created a list of the five primary Functions of Management, which go hand in hand with the Principles.
It was the reality of Fayol's day-to-day managing, seeing what worked and what didn't, that informed his 14 Principles of Management. By focusing on administrative over technical skills, the Principles are some of the earliest examples of treating management as a profession. They are:
Neo classical- Human relations approach - Elton Mayo’s Hawthrone experiment.
The Neo-Classical approach was evolved over many years because it was found that classical approach did not achieve complete production efficiency and workplace harmony. Managers still encountered difficulties and frustrations because people did not always follow predicted or rational patterns of behaviour.
Thus, there was increased interest in helping managers deal more effectively with the ‘people side’ of their organisation. The neo-classical theory reflects a modification over classical theories.
The neo-classical approach recognizes the primacy of psychological and social aspects of the workers as an individual and his relations within and among groups and the organisation. It gained importance after the World War I, particularly in the wake of the “Hawthorne experiments” at Western Electric Company by Elton Mayo 10 during 1924 to 1932. Elton Mayo is generally recognized as the father of the Human Relations Movement.
The basic features of neoclassical approach are:
(i) The business organisation is a social system.
(ii) Human factor is the most important element in the social system.
(iii) It revealed the importance of social and psychological factors in determining worker productivity and satisfaction.
(iv) The behaviour of an individual is dominated by the informal group of being a member.
(v) The aim of the management is to develop social and leadership skills in addition to technical skills. It must be done for the welfare of the workers.
(vi) Morale and productivity go hand-to-hand in an organization.
Hawthorne Experiment:
A famous series of studies of human behaviour in work situations was conducted at the Western Electric Company from 1924 to 1933. In 1927 a group of researchers led by Elton Mayo and Fritz J. Roethlisberger and Dickson at the Harvard Business School were invited to join at Western Electric’s Hawthorne plant near Chicago. The studies began as an attempt to investigate the relationship between the level of lighting in the workplace and the productivity of workers.
The initial experiment carried out over a period of three years sought to determine the effects of different levels of illumination on worker’s productivity. The results of the experiments were ambiguous. When the test group’s lighting conditions were improved, productivity tended to increase just as expected, although the increase was erratic.
But there was a tendency for productivity to continue to increase when the lighting conditions were made worse, besides lighting was influencing the worker’s performance, as the work group was not able to maintain relationship between illumination and productivity.
In the second set of experiments, a smaller group of six female telephone operators was put under close observation and control. Frequent changes were made in working conditions such as hours of work, lunch break, rest periods, etc.
Again the results were ambiguous, as performance tended to increase even when the improvements in working conditions were withdrawn. It was found that socio-psychological factors exercised a greater influence on productivity and working conditions.
The third set of experiment attempted to understand how group norms affect group effort and output. It was noted that the informal organisation of workers controlled the norms established by the groups in respect of each member’s output. The researcher concluded that informal work groups have a great influence and productivity.
In the subsequent experiments, Mayo and his associates decided that financial incentives, when these were offered, were not causing the productivity improvements. The researchers concluded that employees would work harder if they believed management was concerned about their welfare, and supervisors paid special attention to them. This phenomenon was subsequently labelled as the Hawthorne Effect.
These findings concerning human behaviours at work focused on the worker as an individual and considered the importance of caring for his feelings and understanding the dynamics of informal organisation of workers. The view point of Hawthorne Effect thus gave birth to human relations movement and provided the thrust toward democratization of organizational power structures and participative management. It ushered in an era of organizational humanism.
Human Relations Approach:
Hawthorne experiment led to the development of human relations approach. It revealed the importance of social and psychological factors in determining workers, productivity and satisfaction. This movement is marked by informal grouping, informal relationship and leadership Pattern of communication and philosophy of industrial humanism.
The values of human relation are exemplified in the work of Douglas McGregor and A. H. Maslow. Human relation approach is a social psychological approach and suggests business enterprise is a social system in which group norms play a significant role.
Financial incentive was less of a determining factor on a workers output than were group pressure and acceptance and the concomitant security. It ushered an era of organisational humanism. Managers would no longer consider the issue of organisation design without including effects on work groups, employees’ attitudes, and manager-employee relationships.
Elton Mayo, Mary Parker Follett and Douglas McGregor, Roethlisberger, Dickson, Dewey and Lewin, etc., were the main contributors that led to the development of Human Relations Movement.
The human relations movement marked by the following factors:
Contributions of Human Relations Approach or Hawthorne Studies:
The human relations proposed the following points as a result of their findings of the Hawthorne experiments:
1. Social System:
The organisation in general is a social system composed of numerous interacting parts. The social system defines individual roles and establishes norms that may differ from those of the formal organisation.
The workers follow a social norm determined by their coworkers, which defines the proper amount of work, rather than try to achieve the targets management thinks they can achieve, even though this would have helped them to earn as much as they physically can.
2. Social Environment:
The social environment on the job affects the workers and is also affected by them. Management is not the only variable. Social and psychological factors exercise a great influence on the behaviour of workers. Therefore, every manager should adopt a sound human approach to all organizational problems.
3. Informal Organization:
The informal organisation does also exist within the framework of formal organisation and it affects and is affected by the formal organisation.
4. Group Dynamics:
At the workplace, the workers- often do not act or react as individuals but as members of groups. The group determines the norms of behaviour for the group members and thus exercises a powerful influence on the attitudes and performance of individual workers. The management should deal with workers as members of work groups rather than as individuals.
5. Informal Leader:
There is an emergence of informal leadership as against formal leadership and the informal leader sets and enforces group norms. He helps the workers to function as a social group and the formal leader is rendered ineffective unless he conforms to the norms of the group of which he is supposed to be in-charge.
6. Communication:
Two-way communication is necessary because it carries necessary information downward for the proper functioning of the organisation and transmits upward the feelings and sentiments of people who work in the organisation.
It will help in securing workers cooperation and. participation in the decision-making process. Workers tend to be more productive when they are given the opportunity to express their feelings, opinions and grievances. This also gives them psychological satisfaction.
7. Non-Economic Rewards:
Money is only one of the motivators, but not the sole motivator of human behaviour. The social and psychological needs of the workers are very strong. So, non-economic rewards such as praise, status, inter-personal relations, etc., play an important role in motivating the employees. Such rewards must be integrated with the wages and fringe benefits of the employees.
8. Conflicts:
There may arise conflicts between the organizational goals and group goals. Conflicts will harm the interest of workers if they are not handled properly. Conflicts can be resolved through improvement of human relations in the organisation.
Criticism of Human Relations Approach:
The human relations approach has been criticized on the following grounds:
1. Lack of Scientific Validity:
The human relation drew conclusions from Hawthorne studies. These conclusions are based on clinical insight rather than on scientific evidence. The groups chosen for study were not representative in character. The findings based upon temporary groups do not apply to groups that have continuing relationship with one another. Moreover, the experiments focused on operative employees only.
2. Over-Emphasis on Group:
The human relations approach over-emphasizes the group and group decision-making. But, in practice, groups may create problems for the management and collective decision-making may not be possible.
3. Over-Stretching of Human Relations:
It is assumed that all organizational problems are amenable to solutions through human relations. This assumption does not hold good in practice. The satisfied workers may not be more productive workers.
4. Limited Focus on Work:
The human relations approach lacks adequate focus on work. It puts all the emphasis on interpersonal relations and on the informal group. It tends to overemphasize the psychological aspects at the cost of the structural and technical aspects.
5. Over-Stress on Socio-Psychological Factors:
The human relations approach undermines the role of economic incentives in motivation and gives excessive stress on social and psychological factors. If the wages are too low, the employees will feel dissatisfied despite good interpersonal relations at the work place. Thus, it may be said that the human relations approach seeks to exploit the sentiments of employees for the benefit of the organisation.
6. Negative View of Conflict between Organizational and Individual Goals:
It views conflict between the goals of the organisation and those of individuals as destructive. The positive aspects of conflicts such as overcoming weaknesses and generation of innovative ideas are ignored.
Managers began thinking in terms of group processes and group rewards to supplement their former concentration on the individual worker. The study of human behaviour and human interactions has assumed much significance as a result of this approach.
No doubt, this approach has provided many new ideas in managing the organisation, but this is not free from certain limitations – Human relations approach cannot be treated as complete package to deal with human being effectively, because no attempt had been made for studying and analyzing human behaviour systematically and scientifically.
The human relations approach undermines the role of economic incentives in motivation and gives excessive stress on social and psychological factors. In actual practice, financial incentive plays a crucial rule to motivate employers. The human relations approach presented a negative view of conflict between organisational and individual goals.
It views these conflicts as destructive. The positive aspects of conflicts such as overcoming weaknesses and generation of innovative ideas are ignored. The human relation drew conclusions from Hawthorne experiments which were clinical based, rather than scientific.
The experiments focused on a particular group chosen for study which did not represent the entire work force. The human relations approach did not give adequate focus on work. It puts all the emphasis on interpersonal relations and on the informal group. It tends to overemphasize the socio-psychological aspects at the cost of structural and technical aspects.
The human relations approach over emphasized on group Dynamics. But in actual practice, group and group norms, in formal process exercise a light influence in organisation functioning.
Key Takeaways:
Peter Drucker’s Dimensions of Management
Many past management theorists coined terms and concepts that oppose contemporary management styles. But Peter Drucker, hailed as the father of modern management, formulated a theory that is still used today.
Drucker believed that managers should, above all else, be leaders. Rather than setting strict hours and discouraging innovation, he opted for a more flexible, collaborative approach. He placed high importance on decentralization, knowledge work, management by objectives (MBO) and a process called SMART.
To lead your team to success while supporting and encouraging each individual, consider channeling Drucker's approach. Here's how to implement his management theory.
While it's important that employees respect you as their manager, they shouldn't feel that they're below you. Every worker should have the opportunity to speak up and share ideas with their team, whether it's during staff meetings or one-on-one conferences.
When workers are treated as equals, they're more confident and motivated in their work, which benefits the company as much as it benefits them. Talk to each employee as though their role is as necessary as yours (because it is), and remind them that they have a say in the organization.
2. Encourage collaboration.
Collaboration is a crucial part of every organization. Rather than pitting employees against each other, or fostering an environment where employees keep to themselves, urge them to work together by sharing ideas, tips and guidance.
This doesn't mean your employees shouldn't work individually, but they shouldn't feel like they can't ask for help or inspiration from others. Your staff should feel like a team, and you should serve as their coach.
3. Increase efficiency.
To ensure you're continuing to prioritize productivity, utilize the concept of MBO, a process that calls for workers of all levels to work together to reach a common goal. There are five steps to MBO:
These goals should be SMART, or specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-oriented. Call your team together and discuss your SMART goals to ensure everyone is on the same page and understands their part in the overall objectives of the organization.
4. Boost innovation.
You want your workers to be confident and willing to take risks. Create an innovative atmosphere and lead by example, showing your employees that mistakes are not shortcomings.
If your team sees that you're human, that effort does not always lead to success, they'll feel more comfortable risking failure. Be transparent with them, support their ideas and never punish creativity.
Drucker's management theory embodies many modern concepts, including the following:
Indian Management Thoughts - Origin & Significance of Indian Ethos to Management
The simple meaning of ‘Ethos’ is, the guiding principles of a person, group or of an organization. ‘Ethos’ is a set of beliefs, ideas, etc., about social behavior and relationship of a person or group.
Indian ethos refers to the principles of self-management and governance of society, entity or a system by wisdom as revealed and brought-forth by great scriptures like Veda, Upanishads, Gita, Mahabharata, Bible and Quran. This wisdom has evolved through the old practices of Indian mystics, philosophers and religious ‘gurus’, and is now found to have profound implications for self-management and good governance of the society and business environment.
The ancient guiding principles thus, is a good pathway for:
1. Self-purification and Self-development.
2. Individual growth and welfare.
3. Collective growth and welfare.
4. Team spirit and Teamwork.
5. Autonomous management, minimum control and supervision.
6. Manager acts as a Mentor.
7. Self-motivation.
8. Perfection.
9. All round happiness and prosperity.
10. Skills and values.
11. Conflicts resolved by mutual understanding.
According to Swami Vivekananda, “Indian ethos serves ideas of honesty, integrity and morality”. Indian ethos basically is based on our social structure, culture and religions.
Moreover, our Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, Bhagwad Gita and Ramayana have also contributed to create and develop the holistic and value added aspects in the Indian Ethos.
Bhagwad Gita focuses on doing our provided duty. We should use our judgment and conduct our duties with highest attention. Gita tell us that, we should do our jobs without thinking of the reward in return. That means, perform our work diligently for the organization and results will follow.
The valuable and pioneering aspects of Indian ethos are as follows:-+
1 Know Oneself,
2 Purification of Mind,
3 Humanity,
4 Mutual Trust,
5 Self Introspection,
6 Intuition,
7 Value Oriented Services,
8 Spirit of Sacrifice,
9 Unity in Diversity,
10 Peace,
11 Team Spirit,
12 Self Realization,
13 Co-operation,
14 Self Management,
15 Happiness,
16 Means are Equally Important.
Role of Indian Ethos in Management
Organizations following, Indian ethos consider humanity as supreme. This provides a strong bond with internal as well as external customers, resulting in improved performance. Indian ethos focuses on, if a person is good, then the whole world is good. Any organization which follows the above ethical thought automatically gets converted into an ethical organization, with less conflicts and hindrances. Indian ethos impacts the performance of business while sacrificing individual desires.
Self-motivation and self-development helps a lot in the development of business and its quality. Indian ethos helps in problem solving and develops self-reliability. The process of management involves four aspects; maximum utilization of resources, leading with efficiency, materializing the organizational goals towards effectiveness and value addition to the world through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). All these aspects are possible only in a healthy environment. Ethics and ethical behavior are the main ingredients of healthy management.
Our ancient wisdom literature in the Vedas, Vedanta, Upanishads, Ramayana, Mahabharata Bhagawad Gita or the Arthashastra are a storehouse of comprehensive and powerful philosophy to be applied in all ages for the benefit of mankind. Since Indian Philosophy extols unity amidst all diversities, belief in tolerance, quest for freedom, we can become better performers by imbibing knowledge from these scriptures on the art of management.
Key Takeaways:
References-
