DiMS 1020 Class Notes

Foundation of Management
 Unit One: Explaining the Nature of
Management
1. Introduction to management and organization
Defining Management
• The process of getting things done through other people. It is about
deciding what to do and then getting it done through people.
• A process of working with different resources to accomplish
organizational goals
Henri Fayol defined management as a process of forecasting,
planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating ad controlling
Functions of management
• Planning-involves specifying goals to be achieved, deciding on
appropriate course of action to be taken to achieve those goals. The
result is an organizational strategy
• Organizing –involves assembling and coordinating the human,
financial, physical and other resources needed to achieve goals. It
involves specifying responsibilities and grouping them into work
units so as to come up with an organizational structure
• Leading-involves stimulating people to high performance. It
involves directing, motivating and communicating with people.
• Controlling-It involves monitoring progress and implementing
changes and correcting deviations to ensure that results conform
with plans

Is management a science, profession or an art?

Management is a science because it uses methods of science for
making decisions and evaluating subsequent courses of action
Management is a profession. The Oxford Advanced learner’s
dictionary of current English defines management as an occupation,
especially one requiring advance education and special training
Management is an Art. An art is something in which imagination and
personal test are important than exact measurement and calculation.

Who is a Manager?
A person who accomplishes his /her work primarily by directing the
work of others
In an organization, management is used as a noun to designate a
group of managers and to describe the process of management.
Management Levels
There are three levels of management
a) Top management level (Strategic)
Senior Executives responsible for overall management and long term
planning
They deal with external relations
b) Middle management level (Tactical)
Responsible for translating general goals developed by strategic managers
into specific objectives and activities
They coordinate various resources
c) Lower management level (Operational level)
These are first Line managers who supervise the operations of the
organization. This level provides the link between management and non-
managerial employees
Management Skills
To be effective, managers need to possess technical, interpersonal and
conceptual skills.
a) Technical skills
These relate to the technical competence in the aspects of business
that need managing
They involve an understanding of a proficiency in a specific activity that
involves methods, processes, procedures or techniques e.g. ability to
operate a machine
b) Interpersonal skill
These relate to a manager’s ability to work effectively as a team
member and to build cooperative effort in the unit. Communication skills
are an important component of interpersonal skills.
c) Conceptual skills
The ability to see the organization as a total entity. It involves recognizing how the
various units of the organization depend on one another and how changes in any
one part affects all the others.
It includes visualizing the relationship of the individual business to the industry.
Other skills necessary to managerial success include leadership, diagnostic and
political skills

Roles performed by Managers

Henry Mintzberg described managerial behavior as coming into three groups which
he categorized as follows:
a) Interpersonal roles
These are roles dealing with the maintenance of relationships with others within and
outside the organization. These include the following sub roles:
• Figurehead: a manager undertakes formal representational and symbolic duties
e.g. representing the organization at some function
• Leader: dealing with relationships with subordinates by motivating,
communicating, coaching, counselling etc
• Liaison: the role dealing with contacts with others outside the work
unit for assistance and information
b) Informational roles
These are roles dealing with the gathering and provision of information
within and outside the organization.
• Monitor: this involves seeking and receiving information, developing
systems that measure the units overall performance, talking with
group members about progress on assigned tasks etc
• Disseminator: this involves distribution of information through out
the organization and externally
• Spokes person: this involves formally providing information on
behalf of the work unit and the organization
c) Decision roles: these are roles dealing with organizational and
operational problems and difficulties. These include the following sub
roles:
• Entrepreneur: it involves getting in activities outside the the unit
that could result in performance improvements within the manager’s
unit, reading trade publications and professional journals, talking
with customers in order to keep abreast of changing needs and
requirements.
• Disturbance handler: this involves participating in grievance
resolution within the unit, resolving complaints from customers and
superiors, resolving problems about work flow and information
exchange with other units
• Resource allocator: this involves distributing and arranging use of
resources
• Negotiator: this involves representing unit/ organization in
negotiations within and outside the organization respectively