c

Performance of management is necessarily a subject to its functions. Earlier management was

segregated into five functions which were-

o Planning

o Organizing

o Staffing

o Directing and

o Controlling.

With changing times and increasing business complexities, the functions of management also
increased and functions like reporting, co-ordinating, budgeting etc. was identified. Primarily,
this step was taken to ensure departmentalization of management functions so that
effectiveness and efficiency could be enhanced. However, different management thinkers
differ on the numbers of functions. Essentially a creative problem solving methodology, the
purpose of management is achieved through these functions. The basic objective of these
functions is maximum utilization of resources available at company's disposal so that
organization's mission and policies could be achieved in the best possible way.

As we delve deeper in every function, planning is the first function which is basically a
logical thinking process that decides what needs to be done in order to achieve organization's
goals and objectives. It focuses on the broader perspective of the business as well as taking
into consideration, the tactical methods to get the desired results.

Organizing is about setting up and maintaining the internal organizational structure in

accordance with objectives mentioned in planning stage. It also involves assigning tasks to
various individuals for the larger goal of organization's missions and objectives.

Staffing is the process of choosing right people for organization. It can be associated with
human resource management and involves recruitment, hiring, training and compensating the
workforce.

Directing is guiding people in the organization through the means of counselling, instructing,
motivating and various other modes of communication. It helps in channelizing the activities
and conduct of employees so that organizational goals can be accomplished.

Controlling is the sum total of process which ensures all the plans are executed and
implemented in the desired way. It also decides about whether some corrective and
preventive methods need to be taken. It is meant to ascertain problem areas and remedial
measures.
Apart from these, minor functions include reporting, budgeting and co-ordinating which are
designed to perform specific functions.

MBA in India and across the world is divided into different categories based on the
functional aspect. Some motivational short sayings or inspirational speeches can inspire you
to learn the progressive functions of management.
c

Frederic Taylor's 4 principles of management:

Develop a science for each element of an individual's work

Scientifically select, train and develop the worker

Heartily cooperate with the workers

Divide work & responsibility equally between managers & workers

Improve production efficiency through work studies, tools, economic

incentives
c

lanning is the management of the organization's future in an uncertain

environment.

Types of lans:

Strategic
Strategic plans are organizationwide, establish overall objectives, and position the
organization with relation to its environment.
Operational lans
Operational plans specify details on how individual objectives are to be achieved.
lans may be long-term or short-term, directional or specific.

Contingency factors in planning:

Organizational level
Life cycle of the organization
Environmental uncertainty
Length of future commitments.

Myths about lanning

lanning that proves inaccurate is a waste of management's time.

lanning can eliminate change.
lanning reduces flexibility.
 Division of Labour

Departmentalization
Specialization

Unity of Command
Line of command
One superior

Authority and Responsibility

Line and staff authority
Authority and power

Spans of Control
Levels of control
Centralization and decentralization

Contingency Factors
Environment and technology
Knowledge technology: task variability & problem analyzability
Management Theory's Role and Importance

Management theory is important because it is the study of how to make all the people in your
organization more productive. If you are self employed and have other working for you, or
you outsource certain jobs you are unable to do, then you know how hard it is to find
qualified competant professionals to provide you a service or work for you. You want to
maximize labor productivity and learning how to manage people is key.

My View: by Kayors

The key to business management is to maximise productivity. However, while management

theory does aim towards getting a group of entities to achieve a certain goal, it does not
necessarily achieve in making people more productive towards this cause.

Times are shifting rapidly and the loss of key gurus, like Peter Drucker, in recent times, bears
certain implications.

I believe the key contribution in having management theory lies in what has been achieved by
the differing schools of thought within our history. This may serve as a guide but one must
also bear in mind management is not just a science, but also an art.

There are many benefits to knowing management theory. First of all management theory
doesn't just teach someone how inspire employees to be more productive, it also shows
managers how to be good bosses. It is key for them to know how to deal with issues that may
happen in the workplace, they have to efficiently deal with these issues and simultaneously
maintain a stable or improving level of productivity. With management you have to balance a
multitude of tasks daily and being familiar with management theory can help greatly.

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c

Our Management Excel student:

c A manager who happens to manage a farm or horticultural business.

c A manager challenged to make efficient use of resources.
c A manager challenged with getting things done through people.
c A manager who has opportunity to use of all the tools of management that any other
manager uses.
c A manager who has a way of life like any other manager.

Management Excel is about changing people not about changing businesses. We change
people by helping them improve their management skills. Our expectation is that with these
tools, they are then likely to change their businesses.

Management

In Management Excel, we start with an assumption of the universality of management.

Management is management. Management is generic. Management principles are general
rather than specific to a type of firm or organization. However, management is universal only
if the manager has become familiar with the specific situation in which it is applied.
Production technology, customer characteristics and the culture of the industry are examples
of specifics that managers need to learn to be effective in applying their generic management
skills.

A definition: (1)

Management is creative problem solving. This creative problem solving is accomplished

through four functions of management: planning, organizing, leading and controlling. The
intended result is the use of an organization's resources in a way that accomplishes its mission
and objectives. (Figure 1.1, From Higgins, page 7)

In Management Excel, this standard definition is modified to align more closely with our
teaching objectives and to communicate more clearly the content of the organizing function.
Organizing is divided into organizing and staffing so that the importance of staffing in small
businesses receives emphasis along side organizing. In the management literature, directing
and leading are used interchangeably. (Note figure of Management Excel wheel)


 is the ongoing process of developing the business' mission and objectives and
determining how they will be accomplished. Planning includes both the broadest view of the
organization, e.g., its mission, and the narrowest, e.g., a tactic for accomplishing a specific
goal.


 is establishing the internal organizational structure of the organization. The focus
is on division, coordination, and control of tasks and the flow of information within the
organization. It is in this function that managers distribute authority to job holders.
!
 is filling and keeping filled with qualified people all positions in the business.
Recruiting, hiring, training, evaluating and compensating are the specific activities included
in the function. In the family business, staffing includes all paid and unpaid positions held by
family members including the owner/operators.


  is influencing people's behavior through motivation, communication, group
dynamics, leadership and discipline. The purpose of directing is to channel the behavior of all
personnel to accomplish the organization's mission and objectives while simultaneously
helping them accomplish their own career objectives.

    is a four-step process of establishing performance standards based on the firm's

objectives, measuring and reporting actual performance, comparing the two, and taking
corrective or preventive action as necessary.

Each of these functions involves creative problem solving. (Figure 4.2 from Higgins, page
118) Creative problem solving is broader than problem finding, choice making or decision
making. It extends from analysis of the environment within which the business is functioning
to evaluation of the outcomes from the alternative implemented.

An Important Qualification to Success

Management success is gained through accomplishment of mission and objectives. Managers

fail when they do not accomplish mission and objectives. Success and failure are tied directly
to the reasons for being in business, i.e., mission and objectives. However, accomplishing
mission and objectives is not sufficient. Success requires both effectiveness and efficiency.
Managers who accomplish their mission and objectives are said to be effective. Efficiency
describes the relationship between the amount of resources used (input) and the extent to
which objectives were accomplished (output). If the cost of accomplishing an objective is
prohibitive, then the objective is not realistic in the context of the firm's resources. Additional
planning is necessary.

Management Skills

Management Excel concentrates on building management skills. There are three basic
management skills: technical, human and conceptual. A technical skill is the ability to use
tools, techniques, and specialized knowledge to carry out a method, process, or procedure.
(Higgins, page 13) Much of the technology that farmers know and can use so well comes
under this management skill. Human skills are used to build positive interpersonal
relationships, solve human relations problems, build acceptance of one's co-workers, and
relate to them in a way that their behavior is consistent with the needs of the organization.
Conceptual skills involve the ability to see the organization as a whole and to solve problems
in a way that benefits the entire organization. (Higgins, page 15) Analytical, creative and
intuitive talents make up the manager's conceptual skills.

Introductory Management Excel programs (Managing for Success) pay little attention to
technical skills. Most managers in attendance have developed these skills far beyond their
human and conceptual skills. In some advanced Management Excel programs, e.g., animal
nutrition and financial management, the emphasis is on integration of technical, human and
conceptual skills rather than on a more traditional technical approach.

The relative importance of conceptual, human and technical skills changes as a person
progresses from lower, to middle, to top management. (Figure 1.4, Higgins, page 20)
Although all three management skills are important at all three levels of management,
conceptual skills become relatively more important at the top level of management. The
consistently high level of importance of human skills helps us understand why people
problems are so often cited as a core cause of business failure.

A Guarantee of Success?

Management Excel does not and can not guarantee management success. As excited as we
may be about the progress being made by some Management Excel graduates, the reality is,
"Sometimes the Dragon Wins!" (Note figure.) Both factors external to the firm uncontrollable
by managers and internal factors not perfectly controllable frustrate a manager's use of her or
his management skills. Nevertheless, Management Excel remains firmly grounded on the
teaching of five functions of management with the conviction that these functions define well
what it is a manager must do to maximize the chances of success.