WELCOME

MANAGEMENT

Introduction Management Theories Organisation's Environment Planning Organizing Leading Communication Motivation

A hearty welcome and a big Hi to all of you.

Before we actually begin with the main subject matter I thought it would be better to introduce to you some other relevant details about this subject. As you all know this subject is called Perspectives on Management (POM 1102). This course will give you an introduction to the various concepts and issues of modern management. It will address various theoretical frameworks for you to understand the management processes and functions in a comprehensive manner and to address the emerging complexities of management in the new millennium.

The core text for this subject is "Management (2003) - Robbins and Coulter". Apart from the core text there are various other management books, journals and websites that you can effectively make use of to enhance your knowledge. I shall also be providing you various handouts and articles that will assist you in understanding and analyzing the subject.

The assessment of this paper is divided into:

Attendance and participation 10%

Mid Term Exam 20%

Assignments and Quizzes 30%

Final Exam 40%

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TOTAL 100%

Further details about each of the above items will be provided to you as and when we approach them. However, do remember that a consistent performance is required throughout the course if you wish to achieve good grades. You must actively involve yourself in class discussions, presentations, case studies, home assignments etc. to get a thorough understanding of the subject and to support your answers with creative analysis and examples. I hope now you have a more clearer view of the subject and it's effort requirements.

To give you a holistic picture of the various chapters in the subject, I have prepared a route map of POM and a synopsis of the course contents which you can view at the end of this document.

If you need any assistance, regarding any aspect about the subject, at any time please feel free to contact me.

I expect you to put in sincere efforts towards this subject and at the same time I promise you that I will leave no stone unturned in making POM a most enjoyable and exciting experience.

Take care and keep smiling :-)

Mr. Kishore Kumar

Introduction

Simply stated management is the art of managing. When we take a closer look at management, however, we realize that it is not as simple as it appears. All businesses are run with the help of human beings and managing human beings, along with other resources, makes management a complex task.

Today, management has various scientific principles and it's techniques, skills etc. can be learnt through an appropriate business degree. However, it should also be remembered that management is also an art. Infact it is more of an art than a science. This is because though two people may be taught the same management principles, their application of the same principles may vary based on their own personalization. Thus two managers graduating from the same business school with the same grades may look at a business issue with diametrically opposite viewpoints. The art of management develops with experience and is also influenced by the imagination, creativity and entrepreneurial skills of the individual manager.

The complexities of modern management has led to the development of various levels and layers of management for efficient and effective management. Along with this is the growing importance for managers to be able to develop skills and qualities like:

· Good communication and social skills

· Analytical and critical approach

· Technical competence

· Tolerance for ambiguities and uncertainties

· Multi-cultural management skills

These and various other qualities help ensure that managers are able to do the right job at the right time which in turn can ensure the constant success of organisations. To make the management process smooth managers engage in a variety of functions which are broadly divided into Planning, Organizing, Leading and Controlling.

Management Theories

A theory helps us understand the relationship between two or more facts and thus provides the basis for decision making. Inorder to apply the various principles and techniques of management, it is essential that managers first understand the various theories that form the basis of management practice.

There are various management theories which have been developed by researchers over time. Even today the complexities of modern business practices and the changes brought about by global economics, technology etc have led to a redefinition of the business models. Some of the important management theories are listed below:

Scientific Management Theory - it sought to determine scientifically the best methods for performing tasks and managing people. The main contributor to this theory was F.W. Taylor.

Other proponents of this theory were Henry Gantt and The Gilberths

Classical Management Theory - it grew out of the need to manage complex organisations and includes 14 principles as laid down by Henri Fayol. Other contributors of this theory were Max Weber, Mary Parker Follett and Chester Bernard

Behavioral Management Theory: focuses on management by learning the behavior of human resources of an organisation. Contributors to this theory included Elton Mayo, Abraham Maslow and McGregor

Quantitative Management Theory: suggests the use of techniques like statistics, forecasting MIS etc.

Systems Theory: suggests that all organisations should function like an open system continuously evolving through feedback from environment.

Contingency Theory - apply appropriate management theory according to the situation being faced.

Modern Management Theory: focuses on aspects like corporate culture, social responsibility, "green" organisation, global environment, boundary-less management etc.

Organization's Environment

An organisation does not exist in a vacuum, it is surrounded by various external and internal stimuli that influence it's business activities.

The external environment factors include:

Social: culture, people's lifestyle, buying habits, role of men and women etc. and also the demographic factors like population mix, growth rate etc.

Legal: the various laws (mercantile law, labor laws etc) of the country in which the business operates.

Economic: wage levels, rate of inflation, economic growth, fiscal and monetary policy of the central bank etc.

Political: the type of government, political stability/instability etc.

Technological: the rate of technological advancement and infrastructure available in the country.

The internal factors include:

Employees, Shareholders, Suppliers, Distributors, Competitors, Customers and other Stakeholders that have a direct influence on the organisation.

Apart from the above mentioned forces there are also certain other factors which are more global in nature. These include the formation of regional blocs such as NAFTA, EU etc.

Today organisations also have to consider the impact of their operations on the natural environment and thus maintain a "clean and green" image.

Planning

Businesses exist in a dynamic environment and thus it becomes of utmost importance that organisational goals are achieved in a systematic manner. Inorder to ensure this organisations often set plans at various levels.

Planning reduces the risk of uncertainties and makes the choice between alternatives more simpler. Plans may be carried out for the whole corporation, a business division or even a particular department. Plans may be for a long or short period of time and may be used just once or repeatedly.

There are various steps in the planning process and these should be carried out appropriately inorder to remove any limitations.

An important concept linked to the process of planning is Decision making. Managers have to take various decisions to reach their organization's goals. A major decision is the formulation and implementation of strategy by identifying the opportunities and threats in the environment, and identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the organisation.

Organizing

To ensure that employees work effectively and efficiently managers have to create certain structures of working relationships between members and lay down lines of authority and responsibility. This process is termed as Organizing.

In the organizing process work is divided (and sub-divided) into appropriate structures depending on the size and type of operations, number of employees, locations, product divisions, etc.

Based on the structure a reporting relationship is established and decisions about centralization or decentralization of authority are made.

New developments in organizing focus on achieving maximum inter and intra-departmental coordination through the setting up of team structures, virtual structures, sub-system, structures etc.

Leading

Organisations are run by groups of people and a leader guides and influences the action of group members. Inorder to lead the group members a leader uses various types of power such as:

Legitimate power, Reward power, Coercive power, Expert power, Referent power, Information power.

The three major approaches to Leadership are:

The Trait Approach: leadership behavior is the entirety of the all the leadership traits (qualities) of the leader.

The Behavioral Approach: leadership is viewed in terms of leader's relative importance to the group members and the group tasks.

The Contingency Approach: leadership style that best helps achieve organisational goals may vary from situation to situation.

A leader' s responsibility is not merely restricted to the guidance and direction of the group members. He/She has to perform various other activities that help in building a healthy atmosphere in the organisation and makes the group cohesive.

These roles and responsibilities are not identical across the globe as leadership styles and patterns vary from culture to culture.

Communication

People communicate to share meaning by transmitting messages through an appropriate channel. Effective business communication skills are increasingly becoming important.

The communication process takes place in the interaction between a sender and a receiver. The sender, or the source of the message, initiates the process and sends the message to be transmitted by encoding it in the form of appropriate words, symbols etc. This encoded message is then passed through a channel of communication and reaches the receiver who decodes the message into meaningful information and understands it. However, the communication process doesn’t end here. It should be remembered that communication is a two-way process and communication can only be successful only when the receiver acknowledges the receipt of the message by giving a feedback to the sender. The entire communication process however suffers from various stimuli, both internal and external, called noise. Noise confuses, disturbs and interferes with the effectiveness of the communication process and thus should be minimized.

Communication may be formal or informal, oral or written, verbal or non-verbal.

Motivation

Inorder to get things done through other people they have to be encouraged to do it. This encouragement, in other words, is known as Motivation. People are motivated to perform a certain activity when they believe that performing that particular activity will lead to the satisfaction of their need.

Needs may be physiological or psychological and the motivation that encourages a person may be intrinsic or extrinsic.

Motivational Cycle: The motivational cycle begins when a need is felt and the person is motivated to perform a behavior which is instrumental (helpful) in reaching the goal that he desires. After reaching the goal he experiences relief as the need is satisfied. The cycle starts again when the same or a new need is felt.

Theories of Motivation

There are a number of theories that explain the various needs that motivate people. They also help understand what managers could do to motivate their staff. Some of the major motivation theorists are F.W.Taylor, Elton Mayo, McGregor, Sigmund Freud, Abraham Maslow, Clayton Alderfer, John W. Atkinson, Herzberg, B.F. Skinner etc.

Use of motivation

Managers should ensure that their employees are handsomely rewarded to keep them motivated. Various compensation programs such as Pay for Performance, Incentive Compensation Schemes (bonus pay, profit-sharing, gain sharing, employee stock ownership programs) etc may be implemented to motivate employees monetarily.

At the same time, however, it should be realized that there are a range of other needs that can motivate people and these should be considered by management too. These may involve various factors about the job itself such as the job design, job simplification, job rotation, job enlargement, job enrichment etc. Only the successful identification and satisfaction of all needs can ensure that employees are motivated towards the continued growth and success of the organisation.

Teamwork

Inorder to carry out the various management functions, managers often make use of a way of grouping people into small units which are called Teams. Organisations function with a common goal in mind and there should be a unity of direction and effort of the people working in an organisation. Inorder to promote this unity and to create a synergy in the organisation, employee's social needs are understood and their needs for affiliation are satisfied by the formation of various types of teams in the organisation.

Teams may be Formal (command team, committees, project teams) or Informal (friendship and interest groups).

Teams undergo various stages of development and when used constructively teams can be used to promote creativity and unity in an organisation and can help in the development of the entire organization's cohesiveness.

Today, teamwork is being promoted in most organisations because they permit faster decision making and facilitate cultural diversity in the workplace

Controlling

Managers use the process of controlling to ensure that the actual achievements conform to the planned business achievements.

The control process:

The first step in the control process is the setting up of standards of performance. The standards should be set in measurable terms such as in terms of physical units produced, costs, profit, time etc. The second step requires the measurement of the work actually done and the result achieved. Measurement of performance should be done in the same units as the set standards to make the comparison easier. Measurement of the actual performance may be at periodic intervals - weekly, monthly, quarterly or yearly. After measuring the performance we have to find out if there are any deviations, and moreover we also need to find out what are the causes of these deviations. These can be found out through a detailed analysis. The purpose of controlling is not merely to find out the causes of the deviations but also to adopt various remedial measures. Where the deviations cannot be rectified through managerial actions, the standards set may have to be revised to make them more realistic.

It should also be remembered that controlling should take place at all stages of the work process. Thus control can be more effective and timely when it is used before the process, during the process and after the work process. Moreover, controlling is not merely a function covering the blue collar workers, it is applicable even to review the performances of the management and in all types of organisations.

Techniques of Managerial Control

There are various techniques used by management to control the diverse activities of the organisation. These include statistical control reports, break-even analysis, PERT, CPM, Budgetary control etc.

Globalization

Today the national boundaries of the country no longer act as water tight containers. We are moving away from a market in which each national market is a distinct entity, isolated from each other by barriers of trade, barriers of distance, time and culture and towards a system in which national markets are merging into one huge global marketplace.

To survive gallantly in this ‘global village’ firms need to co-ordinate their marketing activities within the social, cultural, political, economic, technological, and legal constraints of the global environment. When going abroad organisations have to face a variety of stimuli in the external environment which differ from nation to nation. A key concern of international marketing strategist, therefore, is to decide the market entry strategies that it must adopt to meet the ‘global customer’ needs better than the competitors.

There are various reasons based on which a firm may decide to go international. In selecting a market entry mode a firm also has to consider it's volume of business, costs, flexibility, risks, investment payback period, product line, intensity of competition etc. Based on various decisions a firm may decide to go international in one or more of the following ways: exporting, licensing, franchising, joint venture, contract manufacturing, assembling, local production, acquisitions, strategic alliances.

Future of Globalization

Globalization has reduced the cultural differences between consumers and producers and is now bringing convergence of consumer tastes and preferences. Formerly protected markets have opened their doors in the form of economic integration like EU and NAFTA. Global communication networks, global media and the growth of global products are creating a worldwide culture. The IT revolution has also brought new challenges and opportunities by making the world an intricately connected web and thus increasing the real proximity between countries. Even though globalization today has become more complex and competitive it still offers the international manager various new possibilities that will continue to test them anew throughout the continued years of the new millenium.

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