Management Fundamentals Overview
Management Fundamentals Overview
MODULE I: INTRODUCTION
Management
In today‘s tough and uncertain economy, a company needs strong managers to lead its staff
toward accomplishing business goals. But managers are more than just leaders — they‘re
problem solvers, cheerleaders, and planners as well. And managers don‘t come in
one-size-fits all shapes or forms. Managers fulfil many roles and have many different
responsibilities at each level of management within an organization. In this chapter, you
not only discover those roles and functions, but you also find out the truth about several
common misconceptions about management.
―Management‖ (from Old French management ―the art of conducting, directing‖, from
Latin manuagere ―to lead by the hand‖) characterizes the process of leading and directing
all or part of an organization, often a business, through the deployment and manipulation
of resources (human, financial, material, intellectual or intangible)
Definition of Management
Nature of Management
The principles, concepts and techniques of management have changed over the period of
time. Various contributions to the field of management have changed its nature. The
nature of management can be described as follows:
1) Multidisciplinary: Management is multidisciplinary. It draws freely ideas and concepts
from the disciplines like economics, sociology, psychology, statistics, operations
research etc. Management integrates the ideas taken from various disciplines and
presents newer concepts which can be put into practice. The integration of these ideas
is the major contribution of management.
2) Dynamic nature of principles: A principle is truth which establishes cause and effect
relationships of a function. Principles are developed by integration of ideas from
various disciplines supported by practical evidence. These principles are flexible and
change with the environment in which organization works. Continuous researches are
being carried on to establish new principles; many older principles are changed by new
principles. There is nothing permanent in management.
3) Relative not absolute principles: Management principles are relative and not absolute.
They must be applied according to the need of the organization. Each organization is
different from other. The principles of management should be applied in the light of
prevailing conditions.
4) Management – science, art or profession: Management is perhaps the only subject in
academics which enjoys the distinction of being a science as well as an art and a
profession. This is so because the contributions in the evolution of this subject have
come from all the directions— artists, social scientists, economists, engineers,
administrators, and practicing managers. Management is an art because it requires the
creativity and subjective skills of a manager like the communication skills, negotiation
skills, motivational skills, etc. Every individual manager has his own personal
traits—attitude, ethics, values and style, which constitute an art form. Management is
also a science as it requires a systematic study based upon scientific methods to analyze
business problems and to find optimal solutions. Management is undoubtedly one of
the most sought after professions, which is evident from the immense achievements of
successful managers in creating new enterprises, growing existing enterprises, and the
lucrative pay packages offered by organizations worldwide to its managers.
5) Universality of management: Management is universal phenomena. Thoughuniversal yet
management principles are not universally applicable but are to be modified according
to the needs of the situation.
Characteristics of Management
The critical analysis of the above definitions, the following characteristics of management
evolve.
1) Management is a continuous process: The process of management consists of planning,
organizing, directing and controlling the resources to ensure that resources are used
to the best advantages of the organization. A single function alone cannot produce the
desired results. Management involves continuous planning, organizing, directing and
controlling.
2) Management is an art as well as science: Management is an art in the sense of possessing
managing skill by a person. Management is science because certain principles, laws
are developed which are applicable in place where group activities are coordinated.
This will be discussed in detail later in this chapter.
3) Management aims at achieving predetermined objectives: All organizations have
objectives that are laid down. Every managerial activity results in achievement of
these predetermined objectives.
4) Management is a factor of production: An enterprise produce goods or services using
resources like land, labour, capital, machines etc. These resources themselves cannot
realize the organizations goals. The goals are achieved when these are effectively
coordinated by the entrepreneur. In case of small enterprises an individual can do
such type of job where as in large enterprises the coordination job is done by
management. Therefore, management is a factor of production.
Production: This is generally put under production manager and he is responsible for all
production related activities. This area has a number of activities, few of them are given
below:
1) Purchasing: This is related with the purchase of various materials required by the
organization. Purchasing involves procuring right quantity of materials at the right
quality, at the right time and at the right price from the right supplier.
2) Materials management: This involves storing of materials, issue of materials to
various departments.
3) Research and Development: It deals with improving the existing products and process
and developing new products and process.
Marketing: This area involves the distribution of organizations‘ products to the buyers.
The sub-activities are:
1) Advertising: Involves giving information about products to buyers. 2) Marketing
research: It is related with the systematic collection, analysis of data relating to the
marketing of goods and services.
3) Sales management: It involves management efforts directed towards movement of
products and services from producers to consumers.
Finance and accounting: It deals with intelligent investment of financial resources and
record-keeping of various transactions. The various sub-functions are 1) Financial
Accounting: Deals with record keeping of various transactions. 2) Management
Accounting: Deals with analysis and interpretation of financial records so that
management can take certain decision.
3) Costing: It deals with recording of costs, their classification and analysis for cost
control.
4) Investment Management: Takes care of how financial resources can be invested in
various alternatives to maximize returns.
5) Taxation: Deals with various direct and indirect taxes to be paid by the organization.
Personnel: It deals with the management of human resources with the following sub
activities:
1) Recruitment and Selection: It deals with recruitment and selection of employees. 2)
Training and Development: It deals with training of employees and making them
more efficient.
3) Wage and Salary Administration: Deals with fixing of salaries, job evaluation,
promotion, incentives etc.
4) Industrial Relations: Deals with maintenance of good employee relations.
The term administration and management are used synonymously. Some writers urge
that running of a business requires skills, which is known as management and functioning
of government departments and non-profit institutions requiring skill is known as
administration.
Administration is the force which lays down the object for which an organization and its
management are to strive and the broad policies under which they are to operate. An
organization is the combination of the necessary human beings, materials, tools,
equipment, working space, and appurtenances (accessories) brought together in
systematic and effective correlation, to accomplish some desired object. Management is the
force which leads guides and directs an organization in the accomplishment of the
predetermined object.
Following table shows the distinction between administration and management.
Role of Management
A manager performs planning, organizing, directing and controlling to achieve the
organizational objectives. It has been questioned whether these functions provide an
adequate description of the management process. As against these management
functions Henry Mintzberg has defined the role of managers to identify what managers
do in the organizations. Mintzberg has identified ten roles of manager which are classified
into three broad categories as shown in fig.
CSE Dept. JNNCE 7
Management Entrepreneurship & Cyber Law 17CS51
Interpersonal role: This role is concerned with his interacting with people both
organizational members and outsiders. There are three types of interpersonal roles: 1)
Figure head role: In this role manager has to perform duties of ceremonial nature such as
attending social functions of employees, taking an important customer to lunch and so on.
2) Leader role: Manager‘s leader role involves leading the subordinates motivating
and encouraging them.
3) Liaison: In liaison role manager serves as a connecting link between his
organization and outsiders. Managers must cultivate contacts outside his vertical
chain to collect information useful for his organization.
Information roles: It involves communication. There are three types of informational
roles:
1) Monitor: In his monitoring role, manager continuously collects information about
all the factors which affects his activities. Such factors may be within or outside
organization.
2) Disseminator: In the disseminator role, manager possesses some of his privileged
information to his subordinates who otherwise not be in a position to collect it. 3)
Spokesperson: As a spokesperson manager represents his organization while
interacting with outsiders like customers, suppliers, financers, government and other
agencies of the society.
Decisional roles: Decisional role involves choosing most appropriate alternative among all
so that organizational objectives are achieved in an efficient manner. In his decisional role
manager perform four roles:
1) Entrepreneur: As an entrepreneur, a manager assumes certain risks in terms of
outcome of an action. A manager constantly looks out for new ideas and seeks to
improve his unit by adopting it to dynamic environment.
2) Disturbance handler: In this role manager works like a fire-fighter manager contains
forces and events which disturb normal functioning of his organization. The forces
and events may be employee complaints and grievances, strikes, shortage of raw
materials etc.
3) Negotiator: In his role of negotiator, manager negotiates with various groups in the
organization. Such groups are employees, shareholders and other outside
agencies.
4) Resource allocator: Disposing the available resources in the organizational project
according to requirement.
Levels of Management
People in an organization are arranged in an hierarchy and they all have the relationship
of superior-subordinates. Every manager in an organization performs all
five management functions. The relative importance of these functions varies alongthe
managerial levels. There may be as many levels in the organization as the number of
superiors in a line of command. Some of these levels are merged into one on the basis of
nature of functions performed and authority enjoyed. E.F.L. Brech has classified
management levels into three categories – Top Management, Middle Management and
Supervisory/Lower Level as shown in fig
The process of dividing authority & responsibility among the various executives is called
the creation of level of management.
ship quality of output & overall success of the organization very much dependent on the
hard labor, discipline, loyalty of the personal at this level of management
Functions of supervisors:
a. To issue order & instructions to the workers & to supervise & control their work. b.
To plan activities of the section.
c. To assign jobs to the workers.
d. To direct & guide the workers about work procedure.
e. To arrange for the necessary tools, equipment, material etc.
f. To solve the problems of workers
g. To maintain discipline among the workers & to develop them the right approach to
work.
h. To inform the management about the problems of workers which are not solved at this
level?
i. To maintain good human relations.
j. To build a high group morale among workers.
Not everyone can be a manager. Certain skills, or abilities to translate knowledge into
action that results in desired performance, are required to help other employees become
more productive.
These skills fall under the following categories:
Technical: This skill requires the ability to use a special proficiency or expertise to perform
particular tasks. Accountants, engineers, market researchers, and computer scientists, as
examples, possess technical skills. Managers acquire these skills initially through formal
education and then further develop them through training and job experience. Technical
skills are most important at lower levels of management.
Interpersonal/ Human relations: This skill demonstrates the ability to work well in
cooperation with others. Interpersonal skills emerge in the workplace as a spirit of trust,
enthusiasm, and genuine involvement in interpersonal relationships. A manager with
good interpersonal skills has a high degree of self awareness and a capacity to understand
or empathize with the feelings of others. Some managers are naturally born with great
interpersonal skills, while others improve their skills through classes or experience. No
matter how human skills are acquired, they‘re critical for all managers because of the
highly interpersonal nature of managerial work.
Conceptual: This skill calls for the ability to think analytically. These skills enable
managers to break down problems into smaller parts, to see the relations among the
parts, and to recognize the implications of any one problem for others. As managers
assume ever higher responsibilities in organizations, they must deal with more ambiguous
problems that have long term consequences. Again, managers may acquire these skills
initially through formal education and then further develop them by training and job
experience. The higher the management level, the more important conceptual skills
become.
Although all three categories contain skills essential for managers, their relative
importance tends to vary by level of managerial responsibility. Business and management
educators are increasingly interested in helping people acquire technical, human, and
conceptual skills, and develop specific competencies, or specialized skills
Development has emerged as a powerful & innovative force on which the today‘s society
depends for material support from an unrecognized situations in the past one or two
centuries. This is the area of management which is responsible for undertaking activities
such as industrial & technical surveys, taking up research work, suggesting ways & means
for innovations for reacting the taken up for improving methods of production, finding
out best ways of doing things, raising productivity in the firm. The innovative methods of
production & marketing will help the firm to grow. Seventeen and eighteen centuries had
seen industrial revolution. Lots of inventions & new technologies had emerged. The
importance of management was focused division of lab our concept was evolved
importance of planning was identified. But the management on a separate field of study
had emerged only durum‘s early 20th century when new industrial era began. Business
organizations had a stage shift from ownership towards joint stock companies. As an
answer to the problems like insufficient system, inefficiency of lab our & discrepancy in
wage payment, management has been recognized as a separate & important fie d of study.
Subsequently, management has evolved as a specific discipline of study & practice. The
evolution of management can be divided in to two parts early management approach &
modem management approach.
of scientific management and has laid down the following principles of scientific
management.
1. Time and motion study: started time and motion study under which each motion of job
was timed out with the help of stop watch of doing job was found and shorter and
fewer motions were developed and amongst these the best job was found which
replaced the old rule of thumb knowledge of the workman.
2. Differential payment: new payment plan called the differential piece work was
introduced which was linked incentives with production. under this plan a worker
received low piece rate if he produced the standard number of pieces and high rate if
he surpassed the standard which would motivate the workers to increase production.
3. Drastic reorganization and supervision: introduced two new concepts separation of
planning and doing and functional foremanship. Taylor suggested that the work
should be planned by the foreman and not by the worker and there should be as
foreman as there are special functions involved in doing a job and each of these
foreman should give orders to the worker on his specialty.
4. Scientific recruitment and training: Taylor emphasized the need for scientific selection and
development of the worker. He says that management should develop and train every
worker to bring out his best facilities and enable him to do a higher, more interesting
and more profitable class of work than he has done in past.
5. Intimate and friendly cooperation between the management and the workers: Taylor argued
that both the management and the workers both should try to increase production
rather than quarrel over profits which would increase the profits to such an extent
that labour and management would no longer have to competefor them and should
sow common interest in increasing productivity.
Administrative Management:
Henry Fayol is considered as the father of administrative principles. Was a French
mining engineer turned a leading industrialist and a successful manager. Provided a
broad analytical framework of the process of administration.
everybody which requires managers to be free from all prejudices, personal likes or
dislikes.
12) Stability of tenure of personnel: Is necessary to motivate workers to do more and better
work and they should be assured security of job by management which if not
provided they have fear of insecurity of job, their morale will be low and they cannot
give more and better work.
13) Initiative: Means freedom to think out and execute a plan which when provided to
the employees leads to innovation which is the landmark of technological progress.
Initiative is one of the keenest satisfactions for an intelligent man to experience and
hence mangers are required to give sufficient scope to show their initiative.
14) Esprit de corps: Means team spirit which should be created b y the management
among the employees and is possible only when all the employees pull together as a
team and there is scope for realizing the objectives of the concern and there should
be harmony and unity among the staff which is a great source of strength to the
undertaking which could be achieved through avoiding divide and rule motto and
use of verbal communication and written communication to remove
misunderstandings.
Contributions:
1. Fayols principles met with wide spread acceptance among writers on management
and among managers and managers themselves.
2. Drawing inspiration from Fayol a new school of thought known as the Management
Process School came into existence.
Limitations:
1. Fayols principle of specialization lead to the following dysfunctional consequences:
a) Leads to the formation of small work groups with norms and goals with each
individual carrying out his own assigned part without bothering about the
overall purpose of the organization as a whole.
b) Results in the dissatisfaction amongst workers as it does not provide them the
opportunity to use all their abilities.
c) Results in the dissatisfaction amongst workers as it does not provide them the
opportunity to use all their abilities.
2. One of the findings un Fayols principles is that there is nothing in Fayols writings to
indicate which is the proper one to apply like for example the principle of unity of
command and the principle of unity of specialization or division of labour cannot
be followed simultaneously. In this way many of these principles are full of
contradictions and dilemmas.
3. Fayols principles are based on a few case studies only and have not been tested
empirically and whenever tested have fallen like autumn leaves.
4. These principles are often stated as unconditional statements of what should be
done in all circumstances when what is needed are conditional principles of
management.
5. The principles of Fayol such as the principles specialization, chain of command,
unity of direction and span of control result in the mechanistic organizational
structures which are insensitive to employees Social and psychological needs.
6. These principles are based on the assumption that the organization are closed
systems but in reality organizations are open systems and hence the rigid
Bureaucracy
German scientist Max Weber is considered to be the father of Bureaucracy. Made a
study on various business and government organizations and distinguished three
types of administration on amongst them. Leader oriented tradition oriented and
bureaucratic.
a. Leader oriented: Administration is one in which there is no delegation of
management functions and all employees serve as loyal subjects of a leader. b.
Tradition oriented: all managerial positions are handed down from generation to
generation and who are you rather than what you can do becomes the primary
function.
c. Bureaucratic oriented: is based on the persons demonstrated ability to hold the
position and no person can claim particular position either because of his loyalty
to the leader or because the position has been traditionally held by members of h
family and the people earn positions because they are presumed to be best capab
of filling them.
2. Buck passing: In situations where there are no rules, employees are afraid of taking
decisions independently and may be punished for wrong decisions and therefore
either shift decisions to there or postpone them which results in the increase of
office work and leads to Parkinson‘s disease.
3. Categorization of queries: Probable queries coming from outside are generally classified
in advance into a few broad categories and answer for each category are prepared in
advance. On receiving the query the employees job is to simply determine its
category and tick the reply applicable to that category
4. Displacement of goals: Very common phenomena in bureaucratic organization and
takes place when an organization substitutes for its legitimate goals some other goal
which it was not created, for which resources were not allocated to it and which it is
not known to serve.
5. No right of appeal: The clients the bureaucratic organization feel dissatisfied
because they have no right of appeal
6. Neglect of informal groups: Forms informal groups which play an important role in the
organization which has lead to the development of group dynamics which are
ignored by the bureaucratic organization.
7. Rigid structure: precise description of roles and over conformity of rules make
bureaucratic structures rigid which work well in stable environments but do not
work well in today‘s organizational flexible structures which require constant
mentoring, collection of information and changing of job descriptions and roles of
the employees.
8. Inability to satisfy the needs of the mature individuals: A mature individual wants
independence, initiative, self-control, opportunity to use his all skills and
information to plan his future which is not provided as the hierarchy and control
features work against this organization.
Planning
―Planning is deciding in advance what to do, how to do it, when to do it and who is to do
it. It bridges the gap from where we are and to where we want to go. It is in essence the
exercise of foresight‖.
―Planning is that function of the manager in which he decides in advance what he will
do. It is a decision making process of a special kind. It is an intellectual process in which
creative mind and imagination are essential‖.
Nature of Planning
1) Planning is the beginning of the process of management: A manager must plan before he
can possibly organize, staff, direct or control. Planning sets all other function into
action. Planning is the most basic function of management. Planning is a rational
approach for defining where one stands, where one wants to go in future and how to
reach there.
2) Planning is an intellectual process: Planning requires manager to think before acting. It is
thinking in advance. It is planning by planning managers of organization decides
what is to be done, when it is to be one, how it is to be done, and how has to do it.
Decision making is an integral part of planning. It is the process of choosing among
alternatives. Obviously, decision making will occur at many points in the planning
process.
Without planning, business decisions would become random, ad hoc choices. Planning is
important because of the following reasons.
1) Minimizes risk and uncertainty: By providing a more rational, fact-based procedure for
making decisions, planning allows managers and organizations to minimize risk and
uncertainty. Planning does not deal with future decisions, but in futurity of present
decisions. If a manager does not make any provision for the replacement of plant and
machinery, the problems he will have to face after ten years can well be imagined. The
manager has a feeling of being in control if he has anticipated some of the possible
consequences and has planned for them. It is like going out with an umbrella in cloudy
weather. It is through planning that the manger relates the uncertainties and
possibilities of tomorrow to the facts of today and yesterday.
2) Leads to success: Planning does not guarantee success but studies have shown that, often
things being equal, companies which plan not only outperform the non planners but
also their past results. This may be because when a businessman‘s actions are not
random arising as mere reaction to the market place Planning leads to success by
doing beyond mere adaption to market fluctuations. With the help of a sound plan,
management can act proactively and not simply react. It involves to
attempt to shape the environment on the belief that business is not just the creation of
environment but its creator as well.
3) Focus attention on the organizations goals: Planning helps the manger to focus attention
on the organizations goals and activities. This makes it easier to apply and coordinate
the resources of the organization more economically. The whole organization is forced
to embrace identical goals and collaborate in achieving them. It enables the manager
to chalk out in advance an orderly sequence of steps for the realization of
organizations goals and to avoid needless overlapping of activities.
4) Facilitates control: In planning, the manager sets goals and develops plans and to
accomplish these goals. These goals and plans then become standards against which
performance can be measured. The function of control is to ensure that activities
conform to the plans. Thus control can be exercised only if there are plans.
5) Trains executives: Planning is also an excellent means for training executives. They
become involved in the activities of the organization and the plans arouse their
interest in the multifarious aspects of planning.
Types of Plans
Planning can take many forms and styles in practice. Planning can be comprehensive or
limited in scope. There are organizations that plan to the last detail. Others rest content,
simply broad targets for the next financial period.
∙ Strategic plan: Strategic planning sets future directions of the organization in which it
wants to proceed in future. It involves deciding what the major goals of the entire
organization will be and what policies will guide the organization in its pursuit of
these goals. Strategic planning involves a time horizon of more than one year and for
most of the organization it ranges between 5 and 10 years. Examples of strategic
planning may be diversification of business into new lines, planned grown rate in sales
etc.
∙ Tactical plan: Tactical planning involves deciding specifically how the resources of the
organization will be used to help the organization achieve these strategic goals. for
example if the organization has prepared a ten-year strategic plan which envisages a
profit rate of 25% on capital employed in the tenth year, it also necessary to prepare a
more detailed tactical plan for the next year, with a specific target of 10% on the
capital employed.
1 Decides the major goals and policies Decides the detail use of resources
of allocation of resources to achieve for achieving these goals.
these goals.
∙ Operational Plan: Plans aimed at supporting the implementation of tactical plans and
achievement of operational goals. Such plans clearly specify the things needed to be
done in the short run, in order to achieve the operational goals. These plans are
developed by lower level managers after consulting the middle managers. The time
period of operational plans is less than one year, such as few months, weeks or even
days. The success of strategic and tactical plans depends upon the achievement of
operational goals.
Specific plans: Those plans which are clearly defined and leave no room for
interpretation are called specific plans. Such plans require specific stated objective
and do not contain ambiguity. Specific plans require clarity and a sense of
predictability that often do not exist therefore they are not preferable.
∙ Hierarchy of Plans:
Plans are arranged in a hierarchy within the organization as shown in the figure
below:
At the top of this hierarchy stand objectives. Objectives are the broad ends of the
organization which are achieved by means of strategies. Strategies in their turn are
carried out by means of the two major groups of plans: single use plans and standing
plans. Single use plans are developed to achieve a specific end and when the end is
reached the plan is dissolved. The two major types of plans are single use plans are
programmers and budgets. Standing plans on the other hand are designed for
situations that recur often to justify the standardized approach. For example, it would
be inefficient for a bank to develop a single use plan for processing a loan application
for each new client. Instead it uses one standing plan that anticipates in advance
whether to approve or turn down the request based on the information furnished,
credit rating, etc. the major types of plans are policies, procedures methods and rules.
Each type of plan is described in detail as follows.
Objectives: Objectives are the goals of the organization which the management wishes
the organization to achieve. These are the end points or pole-star towards which all
business activities like organizing, staffing, directing and controlling are directed. Only
after having defined these end points the can determine the kind of organization the kind
of personnel and their qualifications, the kind of motivation, supervision and direction
and the control techniques which he must employ to reach these points. Objectives are
the specific targets to be reached by an organization. They are the translation of the
organization‘s mission into concrete terms against which the results can be measured.
Example: University decision to admit a certain number of students or the hospitals
decision to admit a certain number of indoor patients.
1) Objectives are multiple in numbers: Implies that every business enterprise has a package
of objectives set out in various key areas. There are eight key areas in which objectives
of performance and results are set which are (i) market standing (ii) innovation (iii)
productivity (iv) physical and financial resources (v) profitability (vi) Manager
performance and development (vii) worker performance (viii) attitude and public
responsibility.
2) Objectives are either tangible or intangible: for some objectives such as in the areas of
market standing, productivity, and physical and financial resources there are
quantifiable values available. Other areas of objectives are not readily quantifiable and
are intangible, such as manager‘s performance, workers morale, public responsibility
etc.
3) Objectives have priority: Implies that at one particular given point of time, the
accomplishment of one objective is relatively more important than others. Priority of
goals also says something about the relative importance of certain goals regardless of
time. For example, the survival of organization is necessary condition for the
realization of other goals. The establishment of priorities is extremely important in
that resources of any organization must be allocated by rational means.
4) Objectives are generally arranged in a hierarchy: This means that we have corporate
objectives of the total enterprise at the top, followed by divisional or departmental
objectives, then each section and finally individual objectives. Objectives at all levels
serve as an end and as a means.
5) Objectives sometimes clash with each other: The process of breaking down the enterprise
into units requires that objectives be assigned to each unit. Each unit is given the
responsibility of attaining an assigned objective. The process of allocating objectives
among various units creates the problem of potential goal conflict and sub
optimization on; where in achieving the goals of one unit may put in risk of achieving
the goals of the other.
Requirements of sound objectives:
1. Objectives must be clear and acceptable: The objectives must be clear and
understandable amongst people which could be achieved by unambiguous
communication, should be compatible with their individual goals.
2. Objectives must support one another: Objectives could interlock or interfere with one
another which require the need for coordination and balancing the activities of the
entire organization, otherwise its members may pursue different paths
making it difficult for the manager to achieve the company‘s overall objectives. 3.
Objectives must be precise and measurable: An objective must be spelled out in precise,
measurable terms the reasons for which being
∙ The more precise and measurable the goal, the easier it is to decide the way of
achieving it.
∙ Precise and measurable goals are better motivators of people than general goals. ∙
Precise and general goals make it easier for lower level managers to develop their
own plans for actually achieving these goals.
∙ It is easier for managers to ascertain whether they are succeeding or failing if
their goals are precise and measurable.
4. Objectives should always remain valid: Means that the manager should constantly
review, reassess and adjust them according to the changed conditions. Advantages
of objectives: The following are the benefits of objectives
1) They provide a basis for planning and for developing other type of plans such as
policies, budgets and procedures.
2) They act as motivators for individuals and departments of an enterprise imbuing
their activities with a sense of purpose.
3) They eliminate haphazard action which may result in undesirable consequences. 4)
Facilitate coordinated behavior of various groups which otherwise may pull in
different directions.
5) Function as a basis for managerial control by serving as standards against which
actual performance can be measured.
6) They facilitate better management of the enterprise by providing a basis for leading,
guiding, directing and controlling the activities of people of various departments. 7)
Lessen misunderstanding and other conflict and facilitate communication among people
by minimizing jurisdictional disputes.
Standing plans:
Policies: A policy is a general guideline for decision making which sets up boundaries
around decisions including those that cannot be made and shutting out those that cannot.
A policy can be considered as a verbal, written or implied overall guide setting up
boundaries that supply the general limits and the direction in which, managerial action
takes place Policies suggest how to do the work. They do not dictate terms to subordinates
and provide only a framework within which the decisions must be made
Advantages of policies:
1) Classification on the basis of sources: three types originated, appealed, implied and
imposed policies
a) Originated policies: Are usually established formally and deliberately by top
managers for the purpose of guiding of actions of their subordinates and also their
own. These policies are set out in print and embodied in manual.
b) Appealed policies: Are those which arise from the appeal made by a subordinate to
his superior regarding the manner of handling a given situation and comes into
existence because of the appeal made by the subordinate to the supervisor.
c) Implied policies: are also policies which are stated neither in writing nor verbally.
Such policies are called implied policies. Only by watching the actual behavior of
the various superiors in specific situations can the presence of implied policy is
ascertained.
d) Externally imposed policies: are the policies which are imposed on thebusiness by
external agencies such as government trade associations, and trade unions.
Example: policy dictated by the government law.
2) Classification on the basis of functions: on the basis of business functions, policies may be
classified into production, sales, finance, and personnel policies. Every one of these
functions has number of policies. For example: Sales function may have policies
relating to market.
a) Production function: may policies relating to the method of production, output,
inventory, research.
b) Finance function: may have policies relating to capital structure, working capital,
internal financing etc.
3 Are generally broad and allow Are specific and do not show latitude.
some latitude in decision making
4 Are often established without Are always established after
any study or analysis thorough study and analysis of work
Advantages and
limitations of procedures:
Advantages:
1. They indicate a
standard way
of performing a
task which
ensures a high level of
uniformity in
performance
in the enterprise.
2. They result in work
simplification
and elimination of
unnecessary
steps and
overlapping.
3. They facilitate the
executive
control over
performance
b y laying down the sequence and timing of each task, executive‘s dependence on the
personal attributes of his subordinates is reduced.
4. They enable employees to improve their efficiency by providing them with knowledge
about their entire range of work.
Limitations:
1. By prescribing one standard way of performing a task, they limit the scope for
innovation or improvement of work performance.
2. By cutting across department lines and extending into various other departments, they
sometimes result in duplication, overlapping and conflict.
These limitations can be overcome if the management reviews and appraises the
procedures periodically with an intention to improve them.
Rules: Are detailed and recorded instructions that a specific action must or must not be
performed a given situation. In sanctioning overtime to workmen, in regulating travelling
allowances, in sanctioning entertainment bills and in other similar matters a
uniform way of handling them or dealing with case has to be followed which are all covered
by the rules of the enterprise. They make sure that the job is done in the same manner
every time bringing uniformity in efforts and results.
Programmes: Programmes are precise plans or definite steps in proper sequence which
need to be taken to discharge a given task. Programmes are drawn in conformity with the
objectives and are made up of policies, procedures, budgets etc. The essential ingredients
of every programme are time phasing and budgeting. This means that the specific dates
should be laid down for the completion of the each successive stage of a
programme. A provision should also be made in the budget for financing the programme.
Often a single step in
a programme is
set up as a project.
Budgets: A budget is a
financial and/or
quantitative statement
prepared prior to a
definite period of
time, of the policy
perceived during that
period, for the purpose of
obtaining a given
objective. Budgets are
plans for a future period
of time containing the
statements of the
expected results in
numerical terms that is
rupees, man hours
Product units and so
forth. The important
budgets are sales budget, revenue budgets, cash budget and expense budget.
Advantages:
1. Budgets are useful for the enterprise and are expressed in numerical terms, facilitate
comparison of the actual results with the planned ones and thus serve as control
device for measuring performance.
2. They help in identifying and removing the dead heads of expenditure.
Steps in planning:
3. Deciding the planning period: It is the next task once the upper level managers have
selected the basic long term goals and the planning premises. Business plans are made
in some instances once for a year and plans are made for decades based on some logic
and future thinking. The factors which affect the choice of period are:
∙ Lead time in development and commercialization of new product: Example: Heavy
engineering manufacturing company wanting to start a new project should have a
planning period of five years.
∙ Time required to recover capital investments or the pay-back period: It is the number of years
over which the investment outlay will be recovered or paid back. Example: machine
investment Rs.10 lakhs cash inflow Rs.2 lakhs/year then the payback period is 5 years
∙ Length of commitments already made: plan period should be as long as possible to enable
the fulfillment of commitments already made.
4. Finding alternate courses of action: The fourth step of planning is to find the alternate
courses of action. Example: securing the technical knowhow by engaging a foreign
technician or by training staff abroad.
5. Evaluating and selecting the alternate courses of action: After selecting the alternate
courses selection the best course or course of action with the help of quantitative
techniques and operations research.
6. Developing the derivative plans: Once plan formulated, its broad goals must be
translated on day to day operations of organization Middle level managers must
draw up the appropriate plans, programmes and budgets for their sub-units which
are described as derivative plans.
7. Measuring and controlling the process: Plan cannot be run without monitoring its
progress. The managers must check the progress of their plans.
Decision making
Decision is a choice made between available alternatives. Decision Making is the process
of developing and analyzing alternatives and choosing from among them. The
decision-making has the following factors.
∙ Decision-making implies that there are various alternatives and the most desirable
alternative is chosen to solve the problem.
∙ Existence of alternatives suggests thatthe decision-maker has freedom to choose an
alternative of his
liking.
∙ Decision-making
like any other
managerial process is goal oriented. It implies that the decision maker attempts to
achieve some results through decision making.
Organizing
An organization can be defined as a social unit or human grouping deliberately
structured for the purpose of attaining specific goals. An organization can also be defined
as the process of identifying and grouping of the work to be performed, defining and
delegating responsibility and authority and establishing relationships for the purpose of
enabling people to work most effectively together in the accomplishment of their
objectives.
Nature of Organization
1. People: An organization basically consists of group of people who form the dynamic
human element of the organization i.e. an identifiable group of people contributing
their efforts towards the attainment of goals.
5. Environment:
Organizations are
part of the larger environment and hence they are influenced by the external
environment.
6. Division of work: The total work of an organization is divided into smaller activities in
the form of different functions & sub [Link] helps in nurturing and growing
special skills and talents by the virtue of division of labour
Purpose of Organization
2. To allocate authority and responsibility: It specifies who is to direct whom and who is
accountable for what results. The structure helps the organization members to know
what his role is and how it relates to others role.
4. To create proper balance: Organization structure creates the proper balance and
emphasis of activities. People responsible for the enterprise success might be placed
higher in the organization.
Types of Organization
1. Formal organizations: are officially formed with definite structure which describes
authority and responsibility, relationship and behaviour of organizational
members.
2. Informal organization: do not have any official recognition and they are formed due to
the social interaction needs of the people resulting in different types of social
networks. Found in all formal organizations where people come together and form
social groups for various reasons like common interests, friendship or affiliation,
satisfaction of emotional needs.
The following common types of organization find a place in the structure of internal
organization.
1. Line organization
It is the basic framework for the whole organization. It represents a direct vertical
relationship this which authority flows. This is the simplest & oldest turn as chain of
command or
scalar principle.
This is a vertical
structure one
person delegate‘s
authority to his
subordinate &
who in turn delegates
to his subordinate &
so on. This form of
organization is
followed in
military
establishments.
The modern
organizations do
not entirely rely on
line organization.
The advantages of line
organization are
1. Simplicity
2. Quick decision
and speed of action.
3. Unity of control.
4. Clear division of
authority and responsibility.
5. Discipline and better coordination
6. Direct communication.
The disadvantages of line organization are
1. The organization is rigid and inflexible
2. Being an autocratic system, managers may become dictators and not leaders. 3.
There is scope of favour-ism and nepotism.
4. Red-tape and bureaucracy.
5. Lack of specialization.
2. Functional Organization
In functional organization the specialists are made available in the top positions
throughout the enterprise. It confers upon the holder of a functional position, a limited
power of command over the people of various departments concerning their function.
Functional authority remains confined to
Advantages:
1. People get an opportunity to better understand each other‘s problems and move
towards organizational goals.
2. Provide a forum for the pooling of knowledge and experience of many persons of
different skills, ages and backgrounds which helps in improving the quality of
decisions.
3. Provide an opportunity to many persons to participate decision-makingprocess. 4. Are
excellent means of transmitting information and ideas, both upward and downward
5. Contribute indirectly to their training and viewpoints.
6. Are impersonal inaction and hence their decisions are generally unbiased and are
based on facts and there is no fear of single individual taking a decision. Weaknesses:
1. Committees keep up minutes and waste hours by setting up a committee which takes
a longer time to get
action than from an
individual manager. 2.
If wrong decision
taken, no member can
be individually
blamed which
encourages
different levels. On the other hand, a Wide Span of Control for the same number of
Employees, means a ―Flat Organization‖ with fewer Management Levels between Top &
Bottom Levels.
In the
figure shown above, the Relationships between Span of Control & Organization Levels are
shown. A Wide Span of Control is associated with Few Organization Levels; a Narrow
Span contains Many Levels.
Advantages of MBO
1) Integration of individual and organizational goals.
2) Results in development and utilization of human resources,
3) Improvement in productivity
4) Improved communication between superiors and subordinates. 5)
Motivates subordinates at lower levels as they are also part of goal setting 6)
Increases commitment towards goals
7) Helps in performance appraisal
8) Helps to achieve clarity of goals.
responsibility as possible to those who below them stepping in only when it is absolutely
[Link] policy focuses on those issues or events in which there is a deviation from
the established standard. Management spends its valuable time on important strategic
issues. Attention is given only when there is a deviation.
Benefits of MBE
• This approach reduces the frequency of decision making by top management. •
Top management can concentrate on important things.
• It allows lower manager to take decisions.
• It is necessary in big organizations.
Staffing
The function of staffing is defined as Filling and keeping filled various positions in the
organization structure. This includes identifying work force requirements, inventorying
the people available, recruiting, selecting, placing, training, promoting, apprising etc…
Recruitment:
It is defined as the process of identifying the sources for prospective candidates and to
stimulate them to apply for the jobs or the generating of the applications or applicants for
specific positions or the process of attracting potential employees to the company. The
management should have a proper plan of recruitment regarding the quantity and quality
of personnel required and the time when it is needed. . It is a linking activity that brings
together those offering jobs and those seeking jobs. Recruitment refers to the attempt of
getting interested applicants and providing a pool of prospective employees so that the
management can select the right person for the right job from this pool. The various
sources of recruitment are divided into two categories:
∙ Internal Sources.
∙ External Sources.
Internal sources: involve transfer and promotion. Transfer involves the shifting of an
employee from one job to another. Many companies follow the practice of filling higher
jobs by promoting employees who are considered fit for such positions. Filling higher
positions by promotion motivates employees, boots employee‘s morale.
External sources
Selection
The process of selection leads to employment of persons having the ability and
qualifications to perform the jobs which have fallen vacant in an organization. It divides
the candidates into two categories; those will be offered employment and those who will
not be. The basic purpose of the selection process is choosing right type of
candidates to man various positions in the organization. In order to achieve this purpose,
a well, organized selection procedure involves many steps and at each step more and
more information is obtained about the candidates.
1) Application bank: Filling the application blank by the candidate is the first step in
which the applicant gives relevant personal data such as qualification, experience,
firms in which he has worked.
2) Initial interview: Selected personnel based on the particulars furnished in the
application blank are called for the initial interview by the company Which is the most
important means of evaluating the poise or appearance of the candidate.
3) Employment tests: Are used for the further assessment of the candidate of his
nature and abilities certain tests are conducted by the company.
These are:
i. Aptitude test: is used in finding out whether a candidate is suitable for clerical
or a mechanical job which helps in assessing before training as how well the
candidate will perform the job.
ii. Interest test: is used to find out the type of work in which the candidate has an
interest.
iii. Intelligent test: used to find out the candidates intelligence and candidates
mental alertness, reasoning ability, poor of understanding are judged. iv. Trade or
performance achievement test: this test is used to measure the
candidate‘s level of knowledge and skill in the particular trade or occupation
in which all he will be appointed, in case he is finally selected. in this test the
candidate is asked to do a simple operation of the proposed job. Example: A
candidate for a driver may be asked to drive to test his driving proficiency, a
typist may be asked to type out some letters to find out his speed and
efficiency.
v. Personality test: is used to measure those characteristics of a candidate which
constitute his personality. e.g self
confidence,temperant,initiative,judgement,dominance,integrity,originality.
personlaity tests are very important in the selection process.
4) Checking references: used to know about the important personal details about the
candidate, his character, past history his background verified from the people
mentioned in the application after selection and found satisfactory at the interview.