CHAPTER 1:

MANAGEMENT:
SCIENCE, THEORY AND
PRACTICE

Module 1: MANAGEMENT: SCIENCE, THEORY AND PRACTICE (MGA) 1|P age

Objectives:
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:

1. Explain the nature and purpose of management;

2. Know the concept of Organization;
3. Understand that management, applies to all kinds of organization and to
managers at all organizational levels;
4. Define the managerial functions of planning, organizing, staffing, directing
and controlling;
5. Identify the different roles perform by managers in the organization; and
6. Know the skills required to become an effective manager.

INTRODUCTION:

One of the most important human activities is managing. Managing is an

increasingly important activity in today’s complex society. Ever since people began
forming groups to accomplish their aims, they could not achieve as individuals,
managing has been essential to ensure the coordination of individual efforts. Our
society breeds more and more organizations everyday. In each of these organizations,
managing is an essential activity. The task of managers has been rising in importance.
Managers constantly need to plan, organize, direct and control operations to ensure
that organizations accomplish their goals. There is, and will continue to be a demand
for managers to do these jobs.

Managerial jobs differ, not all managers perform exactly the same activities or
face the same problems. These differences are to be expected. Organizations like
McDonald’s Hamburger chains and San Miguel Corporations and the like,
manufacture or sell products. Some provide services like hospitals, government
agencies, accounting firms, schools and churches.
Since management is not a closed system, all managers deal and interact with
different environments – economic, technological, social, political, legal and ethical –
in which they operate.

Despite the aforementioned differences, all managerial jobs share certain

features. To discover these, we will examine some of the more recent definitions of
management as given by the authorities in this field.

ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT

The principles of management is practiced in an organization, whether formal

or informal, private or government, for profit or non-profit, small, medium or large,
single proprietorship, partnership, or corporation whether domestic or national,
subsidiary or affiliated, regional, multinational or global. The application of the
principles of management, though, may differ in application to a particular
organization.

Drucker observes that “concern with management and its study began with
the sudden emergence of large organizations – business, governmental civil service,
the large standing army – which was the novelty of the late 19th-century society.”

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 Again, Drucker debunks the wrong assumptions that “There is – or there must
be – one right organization” which has dominated management thinking from the
very beginning more than a century ago. By now, however, it has become clear that
there is no such thing as one right organization. There are only organizations, each
of which has distinct strengths, distinct limitations and specific applications. It is a
tool for making people productive in working together. As such, a given organization
structure fits certain tasks in certain conditions and at certain times.

Concept of Organization

Management exists to achieve the goals of an organization through its four

functions of planning, organizing, leading and controlling while applying resources
with efficiency and effectiveness. So what is an organization?

1. Organization is a system designed to achieve a goal driven by or based on

human needs;
2. Organization is a social entity that is goal directed and deliberately structured;
3. Organization consists of two or more persons engaged in a systematic effort
to produce goods and services;
4. An organization is any collection of people and activities formed for a specific
purpose. Organization may refer to business, company, corporation,
enterprise or firm;
5. Organization is any structured system, including a hierarchy of authority,
chain of command and responsibility, and definition of particular roles and
tasks. Or alternatively, the process of organizing people and equipment to
carry out tasks efficiently and effectively.

MANAGEMENT: A DEFINITION

Terry and Rue (1982) defined management as “a process or form of work that
involves the guidance and direction of a group of people toward organizational goals
or objectives.” and controlling the efforts of organization members and of using all
other organizational resources to achieve stated organizational goals.”

Koontz, O’Donnel, and Weihrich (1980) point out that “management is the
establishment of an environment for group effort in such a way that individuals will
contribute for group objectives with the least amount of such inputs as money, time,
effort, discomfort and materials.

Johnson and Stenson (1978) defined management as the “process of working

with and through other people to accomplish organizational goals.”

Robbins and Coulter (2001) refers management as the process of coordinating

and integrating work activities so that they are completed efficiently and effectively
with and through other people.

EFFICIENCY is a vital part of management. It refers to the relationship between inputs

and outputs. If you can get more output from the given input, you have increased
efficiency. Similarly, if you can get the same output from input, you also have
increased efficiency. Because managers deal with scarce input resources – mainly
people, money and equipment – they are concerned with the efficient use of these
resources. Management therefore, is concerned with minimizing resource costs. From

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this perspective, efficiency is often referred to as “doing things right” – that is not
wasting resources.

However, it’s not enough simply to be efficient. Management is also concerned

with completing activities so that organizational goals are attained; that is,
management is concerned with EFFECTIVENESS. When managers achieve their
organizational goals, we say they are effective. Effectiveness is often described as
“doing the right things – that is, those work activities that will help the organization
reach its goals. Whereas efficiency is concerned with the means of getting things done,
effectiveness is concerned with the ends, or attainment of organizational goals.

Based on the above definitions of management, certain features emerge:

1. Management is a process (a systematic way of doing things)

2. It utilizes resources efficiently.
3. It gets things done through and with others.
4. It achieves a stated goal.

Considering all these variables, we can therefore define management as the

process by which a manager of an organization efficiently utilizes resources to
achieve its overall goals at minimum cost and maximum profit. Collectively,
according to Lorenzana, Carlos (2003) the term management refers to the group of
people who are responsible and accountable for directing the workforce and seeing
to it that the organization meets its organizational goals or objectives.

MANAGEMENT: ART AND SCIENCE

Is management an art? Or a science? Some management authorities regard

management as an art because it involves the “proficiency in the practical application
of knowledge acquired through the study, experience and observation.” It also
involves the application of skills and techniques to achieve desirable results.

On the other hand, management scholars regard management as a science,

since it is a body of knowledge dealing with a body facts or truths systematically
arranged and showing the operation of acceptable standard and laws.

Managing as practice is an art, organized knowledge about management

is a science.

MANAGEMENT: FUNCTIONS AND PROCESSES

Specifically, what is management? Are there certain functions that all

managers perform regardless of whether they are company presidents, managers of
departments or supervisors of operative employees.

If one looks closely at managers at work, he can see that fundamentally, managers
are all performing or should be performing the same activities during the time they
are actually managing rather than doing work similar to that done by those under
them. These activities are called “functions of management” or referred to as “Process

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Approach to Management” by Koontz O’Donnel. According to this view, managers
perform the following five (5) essential functions:

1. PLANNING. This is the process of setting the objectives to be accomplished

by an organization during a future time period and deciding on the methods
of reaching them.
2. ORGANIZING. It is the process of identifying, subdividing, grouping, assigning
and coordinating activities and providing the necessary authority to carry out
the activities.
3. STAFFING. It is the process of recruitment, selection, assignment and
development of the various kinds of human resources required by the
organization.
4. DIRECTING. The process of communicating with and influencing subordinate
towards the achievement of organizational goals.
5. CONTROLLING. The function of monitoring performance and undertaking
corrective actions to ensure the attainment of predetermined goals and
objectives of the organization.

MANAGER

Manager is another widely used term. We limit the use of the word “manager”
to refer to persons who are responsible for directing the activities of other people.
Although people manage materials, machines, and other physical processes,
managers are persons who have responsibility for the activities of other people in an
organization. Hence, the president of a business firms is a manager, university
president is a manager, and a general commanding troops is also a manager, so are
lower level personnel who heads a subunits in such organization. All of them are
responsible for the activities of the people whom they direct.

There are some ways of classifying managers in organizations. There is

particularly for traditionally structured organizations – that is, those with deliberate
work arrangement or structures shaped like a pyramid that reflects the fact that the
number of employees is greater at the bottom than at the top. As shown in Figure 1-
2, we typically describe managers as either first-line, middle or top in this type of
organization. Identifying exactly who the managers are in these organizations isn’t
difficult, although you should be aware that managers may have a variety of titles.

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 Top
Managers

Middle Managers

First-Line Managers

Non-Managerial Employees

Figure 1. ORGANIZATIONAL LEVELS

First-Line Managers are the lowest level of management and are often called
supervisors. In a manufacturing plant, the first line (or lowest level of management)
manager may be called a foreman.

Middle Managers include all levels of management between the supervisory level and
the top level of the organization. They may have titles such as department or agency
head, project leader, plant manager, unit chief, dean, bishop or division manager.

Top Managers are responsible for making organizations – wide decisions and
establishing the policies and strategies that affect the entire organizations. These
individuals typically have titles such as executive vice president, president, managing
director, chief operating officer, chief executive officer or chairman of the board.

The following are some successful managers you may know: Steve Jobs at
Apple Computer; Bill Ford Jr., at Ford Motor Corporation; Bill Gates of Microsoft;
George W. Bush, President of the United States; our very own Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
is a group of companies; Socorro Ramos of National Bookstore is also a manager.
Middle level managers and first line supervisors also make important contributions
to the goal of their organizations.

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TYPES OF ROLES OF MANAGERS

1. INTERPERSONAL ROLES. This classification is subdivided into three types:

Figurehead Role – The role which is assumed by managers when they

represent their respective units in the outside world in ceremonial and civic
activities.

Leadership Role – the role played by managers when they initiate and
coordinate activities in their units.

Liaison Role – they are needed by unit’s heads when they interact with persons
in other units within and outside the organization.

2. INFORMATIONAL ROLE. This is divided into the following subtypes:

Monitor Role – Since information flow from various parts of the organization,
both in the upper and the lower levels, converge in a managers office and this
allows him to monitor activities occurring outside his office.

Disseminator Role – Managers have a key role in transmitting and

disseminating such information to other parts of the organization.

Spokesperson Role – The manager’s position in the organization requires

them to represent and speak for their units, vis-à-vis other units of the
organization and outsiders.

3. DECISIONAL ROLE. This consist of the following four types:

Entrepreneurial Role – As managers, he plays a key role in the identification

of new opportunities and the development of those into new products,
services, methods or activities within their organizations.

Problem Solver – Managers are called upon to identify solutions and to take
action to overcome the continuous stream of problems which crop up in the
day to day operation of the institution.

Resource Allocator – Managers exercise a key role in the distribution of funds,

personnel, materials and other organizational resources among competing
users in the organization.

Negotiator – Managers are frequently involved in negotiation activities which

have a key impact on the performance of their units.

THE SKILLS OF MANAGER

Since managers have varied nature of activities to perform, it is to be expected

that they would need equally varied capabilities and skills. It is however, possible to
classify the range of capabilities and skills required of managers into four types.
These are:

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 1. Technical Skills – This is the knowledge and proficiency in activities involving
methods, know-how, procedures and processes. It involves working with tools
and specific techniques to achieve the desire results.
2. Human or Interpersonal Skills – This is the ability to work with people. It is
cooperative effort. The need to be skilled in human relations and the creation
of work environment in which people feel secure and free to express their
opinions.
3. Conceptual Skills – this is the ability to see the overall picture, to identify
important elements in a situation, and to understand the relationships among
the elements.
4. Design Skills – this is the ability to solve problems in different ways that will
benefit the organization. Managers must have the skill of being able to design
a workable solution to the problem in the light of the existing realities they
face.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Reference:
Flores, Marivic F., Macalinao, Eloisa M., Serrano, Angelita C., Ducut, Rodolfo, Lapaz,
Fundamentals of Management (Theories and Practices and Cases)

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 Republic of the Philippines
PRESIDENT RAMON MAGSAYSAY STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Accountancy and Business Administration

MODULE 1: MANAGEMENT: SCIENCE, THEORY AND PRACTICE

Name: Score:
Year and Course: Date:

A. Learning Exercises:

1. From the various definitions of management given by some of the authorities

in the field, what four managerial features emerge?
2. Define the term management.
3. Discuss briefly the five functions of management.
4. Is management a science or an art? Justify your answer.
5. What are the different skills that a future manager should have? Discuss each
skill?

B. Question to Answer

1. The President of a medium-sized manufacturing company is due for

retirement in 3 months. The Board of Directors of the company is considering
the next highest ranking manager, the Senior Vice President, as possible
replacement for the President. The Senior Vice President is a corporate lawyer
who joined the company 10 year previously and assisted the President in the
external affairs area, e.g. dealings with government tariff and regulator bodies,
suppliers, and some government accounts. What are the pros and cons of
appointing this person as president?
2. Is it necessary for a person to start at the lowest levels of an organization and
gradually move upwards to become an effective chief executive in that
organizations?
3. Is the President of a country a manager? Choose a particular president and
discuss how such a person is or is not a manager.

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