A. Do pre-reading tasks before each abstract, then read and translate the abstracts about the basics of management.

What do you think management is?

1 Management is a universal phenomenon. All organizations - business, political, cultural or social are involved in management because it is the management which helps and directs the various efforts towards a definite purpose. According to Harold Koontz[7], “Management is an art of getting things done through and with the people in formally organized groups. It is an art of creating an environment in which people can perform and individuals can co-operate towards attainment of group goals”. According to F.W. Taylor[8], “Management is an art of knowing what to do, when to do and see that it is done in the best and cheapest way”.

Management is a purposive activity, and the goals vary from one enterprise to another. For one enterprise it may be launching of new products by conducting market surveys and for other it may be profit maximization by minimizing cost.

Management can be defined in detail in some categories - Management as an Activity, Management as a Group, Management as a Science, Management as an Art etc.

Can you add two more categories filling the missing letters?

Let’s consider some of the categories stated above.

What kind of Activities does M include? What activities do you consider to be the most important responsibility of a manager at any level?

2 Like various other activities performed by human beings such as writing, playing, eating, cooking etc., management is also an activity because a manager is one who accomplishes the objectives by directing the efforts of others. According to Koontz, “Management is what a manager does”.

Management as an activity includes informational activities, decisional activities, inter-personal activities.

Informational activities.In the functioning of business enterprise, the manager constantly has to receive and give information orally or in written. A communication link has to be maintained with subordinates as well as superiors for effective functioning of an enterprise.

Decisional activities.Practically all types of managerial activities are based on one or the other types of decisions. Therefore, managers are continuously involved in decisions of different kinds since the decision made by one manager becomes the basis of action to be taken by other managers. E.g. Sales Manager is deciding the media and content of advertising.

Inter-personal activities.Management involves achieving goals through people. Therefore, managers have to interact with superiors as well as the sub-ordinates. They must maintain good relations with them. The inter-personal activities include dealing with the sub-ordinates and taking care of the problem.

Do you think M as a Group refers to all managers taken together or only the top management?

3 Management as a group refers to all those persons who perform the task of managing an enterprise. When we say that management of ABC & Co. is good, we are referring to a group of people those who are managing. Thus as a group technically speaking, management will include all managers from chief executive to the first-line managers (lower-level managers). But in common practice management includes only top management i.e. Chief Executive, Chairman, General Manager, Board of Directors etc.

Management as a group may be looked upon in 2 different ways:

o All managers taken together.

o Only the top management.

The interpretation depends upon the context in which these terms are used. Broadly speaking, there are 3 types of managers:

o Patrimonial / Family Managers: Those who have become managers by virtue of their being owners or relatives of the owners of company.

o Professional Managers: Those who have been appointed on account of their specialized knowledge and degree.

o Political Managers / Civil Servants: Those who manage public sector undertakings.

Managers have become a part of elite group of society as they enjoy higher standard of living in the society.

4 The above mentioned points clearly reveal that management combines features of both science as well as art. It is considered as a science because it has an organized body of knowledge which contains certain universal truth. It is called an art because managing requires certain skills which are personal possessions of managers. Science provides the knowledge and art deals with the application of knowledge and skills.

The old saying that “Managers are Born” has been rejected in favor of “Managers are Made”. It has been aptly remarked that management is the oldest of art and youngest of science. To conclude, we can say that science is the root and art is the fruit.

Look through this mini-text and fill in the gaps.

5 The term “… … …” refers to a line of demarcation between various managerial positions in an organization. The number of … in … increases when the size of the business and work force increases and vice versa. The … of … determines a chain of command, the amount of authority and status enjoyed by any managerial position. The … of … can be classified in three broad categories:

o Top level / Administrative level

o Middle level / Executory

o Low level / Supervisory / Operative / First-line managers.

Who does each management level comprise?

6 Top Level of Managementconsists of board of directors, chief executive or managing director. The top management is the ultimate source of authority and it manages goals and policies for an enterprise. It devotes more time on planning and coordinating functions.

Middle Level of Management

The branch managers and departmental managers constitute middle level. They are responsible to the top management for the functioning of their department. They devote more time to organizational and directional functions.

Lower Level of Management

Lower level is also known as supervisory / operative level of management. It consists of supervisors, foreman, section officers, superintendent etc.

What are the main activities performed by each management level?

What M level do these three sets of activities belong to?

What is the degree of administration and management at different levels?

7 Practically, there is no difference between management & administration performed by the different levels of management. Every manager is concerned with both – administrative management function and operative management function. However, the managers who are higher up in the hierarchy denote more time on administrative function and the lower level denote more time on directing and controlling worker’s performance i.e. management.

Do you know any M functions? What do they imply?

8 The most widely accepted functions of management are Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing and Controlling. For theoretical purposes, it may be convenient to separate the function of management but practically these functions are overlapping in nature i.e. they are highly inseparable. Each function blends into the other and each affects the performance of others.