Management

Theories
Part I

July 24, 2021

Submitted to: Gloria Almarez Bumanglag

Aaron Dale N. Villanueva

anvillanueva.amlc@gmail.com
DEFINITION OF MANAGEMENT

Management is the art, or science, of achieving goals through people. Since managers also
supervise, management can be interpreted to mean literally “looking over” – i.e., making sure people
do what they are supposed to do. Managers are, therefore, expected to ensure greater productivity
or, using the current jargon, “continuous improvement”.
Operations management (OM) is the business function responsible for managing the process of
creation of goods and services. It involves planning, organizing, coordinating, and controlling all the
resources needed to produce a company’s goods and services. Because operations management is a
management function, it involves managing people, equipment, technology, information, and all the
other resources needed in the production of goods and services. Operations management is the
central core function of every company. This is true regardless of the size of the company, the
industry it is in, whether it is manufacturing or service, or is for-profit or not-for-profit.
I. Personality, Attitudes and Work Behaviors

Our personality is defined as a set of traits that can explain or predict a person’s behavior in
variety of situations. In other words, personality is a set of characteristics that reflect the way
we think and act in a given situation. Because of this, our personality has a lot to do with how
we relate to one another at work. How we think, what we feel, and our normal behavior
characterize what our colleagues come to expect of us both in behavior and the expectation
of their interactions with us.

Our attitudes on the other hand, are favorable or unfavorable opinions towards people,
things, or situations. Many things affect our attitudes, including the environment we were
brought up in and our individual experiences. Our personalities and values play a large role in
our attitudes as well. For example, many people may have attitudes toward politics that are
like their parents, but their attitudes may change as they gain more experiences. If someone
has a bad experience around the ocean, they may develop a negative attitude around beach
activities. However, assume that person has a memorable experience seeing sea lions at the
beach, for example, then he or she may change their opinion about the ocean. Likewise,
someone may have loved the ocean, but if they have a scary experience, such as nearly
drowning, they may change their attitude.

Work behavior is the behavior one uses in employment and is normally more formal than
other types of human behavior. This varies from profession to profession, as some are far
more casual than others. For example, an admin staff would usually have far more leeway in
their work than a lawyer. Your disposition, mood and feelings impact everything from your
ability to make effective decisions to the level of your creativity and ability to work well with
others. Inconsiderate behaviors such as rudeness and gossiping also interrupt the smooth
flow of the workplace. Your behavior may even affect whether you keep your job.
Transferring feelings to workplace behaviors affects your work performance.

A workforce that is motivated and engaged is typically a more effective and productive
workforce and, ultimately, more loyal to the organization. However, creating an environment
that fosters the right attitudes and optimal levels of employee investment can be a challenge
for management.

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II. History, Globalization, Values-based Leadership

Early Management Principles

Early management principles were born out of necessity. The most influential of these early
principles were set forth by Henri Fayol, which was one of the most influential contributors
to modern concepts of management, having proposed that there are five primary functions
of management: (1) planning, (2) organizing, (3) commanding, (4) coordinating, and (5)
controlling.

Planning Organizing Leading Controlling

1. Vision & Mission 1. Organization 1. Leadership 1. Systems/
2. Strategizing Design 2. Decision Making Processes
3. Goals& Objectives 2. Culture 3. Communication 2.Strategic Human
3. Social Networks 4. Group/Teams Resources
5. Motivation

Global trends affect both the style and the substance of management. As the world becomes
more global, managers find themselves leading workforces that may be distributed across
the country and the world. Workers are more educated, but more is expected of them.

Becoming More Global

We can now tap into more global suppliers and global talent. Whatever problem a manager
faces, someone in the world probably has the innovative products, the knowledge, or the
talent to address the problem. The Internet gives managers the tools to help problems find
solutions, customers find suppliers, and innovators find markets. The global problems we
face will require people to work together to solve them. Ideas need to be shaped and
implemented. Moving ideas around the world is a lot less costly and generates less
greenhouse gases than moving people and products around the world. Organizations and
social movements alike are using social networking to help people find others with the skills
and talents to solve pressing problems.

Developing Your Values-Based Leadership Skills

Managers face all kinds of issues in a workplace all the time. Ethical dilemmas can arise from
a variety of areas, such as:
 Advertising (desire to present your product or service in the best light)
 Sourcing of raw materials (does the company buy from a supplier who may be
underpaying their people or damaging the environment?)
 Privacy (should the company have access to private e-mails that employees write
on company time? or the Web sites they visit during work hours?)
 Safety (employee and community)
 Pay scales (relation of the pay of top executives to the rest of the company)
 Product pricing policies (variable pricing, discounts)
 Communication (with stockholders, announcements of plant closings, etc.)

It is easy to think that people who behave unethically are simply bad people or have a
character flaw. But in fact, it is often the situation or circumstances that create the ethical

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 pressures. A global study of business ethics, published by the American Management
Association, found that the main reasons for a lapse of ethics are:
1. Pressure to meet unrealistic business objectives/deadlines.
2. A desire to further one’s career.
3. A desire to protect one’s livelihood.

Ethical behavior among managers is even more important in organizations because leaders
set the moral tone of the organization and serve as role models. Ethical leaders build trust in
organizations. If employees see leaders behaving unethically, chances are the employees
may be less inclined to behave ethically themselves. Companies may have printed codes of
ethics, but the key standard is whether leaders uphold those values and standards. We tend
to watch leaders for cues on appropriate actions and behavior that the company expects.
Decisions that managers make are an indicator of their ethics. If the company says it cares
about the safety of employees but then does not buy enough protective gear for them, it is
not behaving in line with its code. Likewise, if managers exhibit unsafe behavior or look the
other way when employees act unsafely, their behavior is not aligned with their stated code.

III. Developing Mission, Vision and Values

The mission, vision, and values statements guide the behaviors of people in the organization.
But when the statements are not supported, people have no guidance.

The mission statement and vision statement are often confused, and many companies use
the terms interchangeably. However, they each have a different purpose. The vision
statement describes where the organization wants to be in the future; the mission statement
describes what the organization needs to do now to achieve the vision. The vision and
mission statements must support each other, but the mission statement is more specific. It
defines how the organization will be different from other organizations in its industry.

Because it is more specific, the mission statement is more actionable than the vision
statement. The mission statement leads to strategic goals. Strategic goals are the broad goals
the organization will try to achieve. By describing why the organization exists, and where and
how it will compete, the mission statement allows leaders to define a coherent set of goals
that fit together to support the mission.

The vision statement is a statement of an organization’s overarching aspirations of what it

hopes to achieve or to become. The vision statement does not provide specific targets. The
vision is a broad description of the value an organization provides. It is a visual image of what
the organization is trying to produce or become. It should inspire people and motivate them
to want to be part of and contribute to the organization. Vision statements should be clear
and concise, usually not longer than a short paragraph.

The values statement, also called the code of ethics, differs from both the mission and vision
statements. The mission and vision state where the organization is going (vision) and what it
will do to get there (mission). They direct the efforts of people in the organization toward
common goals. The values statement defines what the organization believes in and how
people in the organization are expected to behave with each other, with customers and
suppliers, and with other stakeholders. It provides a moral direction for the organization that

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 guides decision making and establishes a standard for assessing actions. It also provides a
standard for employees to judge violations.

Together, the mission, vision, and values statements provide direction for everything that
happens in an organization. They keep everyone focused on where the organization is going
and what it is trying to achieve. And they define the core values of the organization and how
people are expected to behave. They are not intended to be a straitjacket that restricts or
inhibits initiative and innovation, but they are intended to guide decisions and behaviors to
achieve common ends.

IV. Strategizing

Strategic planning processes is the first thing to do in a sequence of strategic management

whose goal is to introduce and implement the best strategy for the company. The starting
point for managers during strategic sessions involves preparing company mission and vision.

Strategizing should be an important part of the management of the company and must
consider the limitations imposed by:
 conflicting interests
 financial barriers
 resource constraints
 lack of information
 strategic potential
 lack of competence
 change in an environment
 competition

Manager thinking strategically highlights practical perspective of strategic planning and

organizational design. It is usually done by managers having expertise and interests that
strongly influence the nature of business strategy and organization. It should be noted that
strategizing is also performed by managers, management consultants, corporate planners,
professionals, etc. Among those disparate classes of actors involved in strategic planning
several strategic conversations takes place, which lead to common understanding and
creation of unique corporate strategy. Because of this, high level of communication skill is
needed during strategize session in every complex group of people.

V. Goals and Objectives

A goal is a specific target, an end-result or something to be desired. It is a major step in
achieving the vision of the organization
In the strategic planning context, a goal is a place where the organization wants to be, in
other words a destination. For example, a goal for a sporting organization might be to have
50 qualified and active coaches. An organization may set several goals that will outline a path
to achieving the vision. The goal of attaining 50 qualified and active coaches will be an
important step in achieving the vision of becoming most dynamic, most respected and best
achieved club in the district league.

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An objective measures change in order to bring about the achievement of the goal. There is
often much confusion between goals and objectives. Whereas a goal is a description of a
destination, an objective is a measure of the progress that is needed to get to the
destination. The following table serves to illustrate the difference between goals and
objectives.

Example Goal Example Objective

50 qualified and active coaches
Membership base of 500 persons
Profile in the community as a club of
excellence in health and safety
Achieve financial independence
Increase qualified/active coaches by 50% by
December 2021
Increase membership by 25% by December 2021
Reduce incidences of injury on the field by 50%
by December 2021
Increase membership by 25% by December 2021

An important principle in formulating objectives is that they should be specific, measurable,

achievable and have timelines associated. Words like increase and reduce indicate change.

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