A Brief History Of Management Theory

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Principle of Management - Assignment

Assignment: Management Concept

Name: Mujhahid KHETOO

Course: BCA

Module: Principle of Management

Year/Sem: 1st Year/Sem 3

Table of Content

Contents

1.0 A Brief History of Management Theory

Management, as a practical, every day activity, originated as far back as man in his hunter-gatherer phase, organising effective ways of achieving collective goals in a highly co-ordinated manner.

The linguistic origins of the word "Management" lie in the Latin word for "hand". In the sixteenth century, management had come to mean the act of controlling ("bringing to hand") a horse or a wild animal. Ever since, the word has had strong connotations of control.

Management, as a theoretical discipline, dates back only to the end of the nineteenth century, when the first large industrial companies were founded, and the pressing problems of coordinating and controlling large numbers of people in the pursuit of a common set of goals first became apparent.

At about the same time, the first business schools were established in the United States to develop a normative theory of organizational administration.

A theory of management was felt to be necessary if the workplace were to be efficient and effective. Good theories, by linking causes to effects to yield a predictive model, can dramatically enhance the efficacy of practice.

Management will be worthy of being called a profession only if it is based on a reliable and well-validated theory; and a field of study will be deemed theoretical only it yields law-like generalizations that relate particular forms of practice to calibrated levels of performance.

The ideal model is either engineering or medicine. Management theorists have attempted to create a set of organisational principles that would stand to management practice much as physics relates to engineering or biology to medicine. Over the last century or so, many theoretical approaches have been adopted to make sense of organisational behaviour, particularly the manner in which they are effectively administered.

2.0 Functions of Management

Managers just don't go out and haphazardly and perform their responsibilities; good managers discover how to master four basic functions: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.

2.1 Planning:

Planning means looking ahead and jotting down future series of actions to be followed. It is a preparatory step. It is a methodic activity which determines when, how and who is going to perform a job. Planning is a detailed programme regarding future courses of action. It is right to say "Well plan is half done". Therefore planning takes into consideration available & prospective human and physical resources of the organisation so as to get effective co-ordination, contribution & perfect adjustment. It is the basic management function which includes formulation of one or more detailed plans to achieve optimum balance of needs or demands with the available resources.

According to Urwick, "Planning is a mental predisposition to do things in orderly way, to think before acting and to act in the light of facts rather than guesses". Planning is deciding best alternative among others to perform different managerial functions in order to achieve predetermined goals. According to Koontz & O’Donell, "Planning is deciding in advance what to do, how to do and who is to do it. Planning bridges the gap between where we are to, where we want to go. It makes possible things to occur which would not otherwise occur".

Steps involved in planning: -

Establishment of objectives

Establishment of Planning Premises

Choice of alternative course of action

Formulation of derivative plans

Securing Co-operation

Follow up/Appraisal of plans

2.2 Organizing:

Organizing is another function in management which comes after planning. It is a function in which the synchronisation and combination of human, physical and financial resources takes place. All these three resources are important to get results. Therefore, organisational function helps in achievement of results which in fact is important for the functioning of a concern. According to Chester Barnard, "Organising is a function by which the concern is able to define the role positions, the jobs related and the co-ordination between authority and responsibility. Hence, a manager always has to organise in order to get results.

A manager performs organizing function with the help of following steps:-

Identification of activities - All the activities which have to be performed in a concern have to be identified first. For e.g., making sales, record keeping, preparation of accounts, quality control, inventory control, etc. All these activities have to be grouped and classified into units.

Departmentally organising the activities - The manager tries to combine and group similar and related activities into units or departments. This organisation of dividing the whole concern into independent units and departments is known as departmentation.

Classifying the authority - Once the departments are made, the manager likes to classify the powers and its extent to the managers. This activity of giving a rank in order to the managerial positions is called hierarchy. The top management is into formulation of policies, the middle level management into departmental supervision and lower level management into supervision of foremen. The clarification of authority helps in bringing efficiency in the running of a concern. This helps in achieving efficiency in the running of a concern. This helps in avoiding wastage of time, money, effort, in avoidance of duplication or overlapping of efforts and this helps in bringing smoothness in a concern’s working.

Co-ordination between authority and responsibility - Relationships are established among various groups to enable smooth interaction toward the achievement of the organizational goal. Each individual is made aware of his authority and he/she knows whom they have to take orders from and to whom they are accountable and to whom they have to report. A clear organizational structure is drawn and all the employees are made aware of it.

2.3 Leading:

A manager needs to do more than just plan, organize, and staff his team to achieve a goal. He must also lead. Leading involves motivating, communicating, guiding, and encouraging. It requires the manager to coach, assist, and problem solve with employees.

Leadership involves: -

Establishing a clear vision,

Sharing that vision with others so that they will follow willingly,

Providing the information, knowledge and methods to realize that vision, and 

Coordinating and balancing the conflicting interests of all members and stakeholders.

A leader steps up in times of crisis, and is able to think and act creatively in difficult situations. Unlike management, leadership cannot be taught, although it may be learned and enhanced through coaching or mentoring. Someone with great leadership skills today is Bill Gates who, despite early failures, with continued passion and innovation has driven Microsoft and the software industry to success. 

2.4 Controlling:

Controlling involves verifying whether everything occurs in conformities with the plans adopted, instructions issued and principles established. Controlling ensures that there is effective and efficient utilisation of organisational resources so as to achieve the planned goals. It consists of measuring the deviation of actual performance from the standard performance, discovers the causes of such deviations and helps in taking corrective actions.

According to Brech, "Controlling is a systematic exercise which is called as a process of checking actual performance against the standards or plans with a view to ensure adequate progress and also recording such experience as is gained as a contribution to possible future needs."

According to Donnell, "Just as a navigator continually takes reading to ensure whether he is relative to a planned action, so should a business manager continually take reading to assure himself that his enterprise is on right course."

Two basic purposes of Controlling:

Facilitates co-ordination

Helps in planning.

Features of Controlling:

Controlling is an end function- A function which comes once the performances are made in conformities with plans.

Controlling is a pervasive function- which means it is performed by managers at all levels and in all type of concerns.

Controlling is forward looking- because effective control is not possible without past being controlled. Controlling always looks to future so that follow-up can be made whenever required.

Controlling is a dynamic process- since controlling requires taking reviewal methods; changes have to be made wherever possible.

Controlling is related with planning- Planning and Controlling are two inseparable functions of management. Without planning, controlling is a meaningless exercise and without controlling, planning is useless. Planning presupposes controlling and controlling succeeds planning.

3.0 Roles performed by managers

A manager wears many hats. Not only is a manager a team leader, but he or she is also a planner, organizer, cheerleader, coach, problem solver, and decision maker — all rolled into one. And these are just a few of a manager's roles.

In addition, managers' schedules are usually jam-packed. Whether they're busy with employee meetings, unexpected problems, or strategy sessions, managers often find little spare time on their calendars. (And that doesn't even include responding to e-mail!)

In his classic book, The Nature of Managerial Work, Henry Mintzberg describes a set of ten roles that a manager fills. These roles fall into three categories:

Interpersonal: This role involves human interaction.

Informational: This role involves the sharing and analyzing of information.

Decisional: This role involves decision making.

The table below contains a more in-depth look at each category of roles that help managers carry out all five functions described in the preceding "Functions of Managers" section.

Mintzberg's Set of Ten Roles

Category

Role

Activity

Informational

Monitor

Seek and receive information; scan periodicals and reports; maintain personal contact with stakeholders.

Disseminator

Forward information to organization members via memos, reports, and phone calls.

Spokesperson

Transmit information to outsiders via reports, memos, and speeches.

Interpersonal

Figurehead

Perform ceremonial and symbolic duties, such as greeting visitors and signing legal documents.

Leader

Direct and motivate subordinates; counsel and communicate with subordinates.

Liaison

Maintain information links both inside and outside organization via mail, phone calls, and meetings.

Decisional

Entrepreneur

Initiate improvement projects; identify new ideas and delegate idea responsibility to others.

Disturbance handler

Take corrective action during disputes or crises; resolve conflicts among subordinates; adapt to environments.

Resource allocator

Decide who gets resources; prepare budgets; set schedules and determine priorities.

Negotiator

Represent department during negotiations of union contracts, sales, purchases, and budgets.

4.0 Skills needed by managers

Not everyone can be a manager. Certain skills, or abilities to translate knowledge into action that results in desired performance, are required to help other employees become more productive. These skills fall under the following categories:

4.1 Technical: This skill requires the ability to use a special proficiency or expertise to perform particular tasks. Accountants, engineers, market researchers, and computer scientists, as examples, possess technical skills. Managers acquire these skills initially through formal education and then further develop them through training and job experience. Technical skills are most important at lower levels of management.

4.2 Human: This skill demonstrates the ability to work well in cooperation with others. Human skills emerge in the workplace as a spirit of trust, enthusiasm, and genuine involvement in interpersonal relationships. A manager with good human skills has a high degree of self-awareness and a capacity to understand or empathize with the feelings of others. Some managers are naturally born with great human skills, while others improve their skills through classes or experience. No matter how human skills are acquired, they're critical for all managers because of the highly interpersonal nature of managerial work.

4.3 Conceptual: This skill calls for the ability to think analytically. Analytical skills enable managers to break down problems into smaller parts, to see the relations among the parts, and to recognize the implications of any one problem for others. As managers assume ever-higher responsibilities in organizations, they must deal with more ambiguous problems that have long-term consequences. Again, managers may acquire these skills initially through formal education and then further develop them by training and job experience. The higher the management level, the more important conceptual skills become.

Although all three categories contain skills essential for managers, their relative importance tends to vary by level of managerial responsibility.

Business and management educators are increasingly interested in helping people acquire technical, human, and conceptual skills, and develop specific competencies, or specialized skills, which contribute to high performance in a management job. Following are some of the skills and personal characteristics that the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) is urging business schools to help their students develop.

Leadership — ability to influence others to perform tasks

Self-objectivity — ability to evaluate yourself realistically

Analytic thinking — ability to interpret and explain patterns in information

Behavioral flexibility — ability to modify personal behavior to react objectively rather than subjectively to accomplish organizational goals

Oral communication — ability to express ideas clearly in words

Written communication — ability to express ideas clearly in writing

Personal impact — ability to create a good impression and instill confidence

Resistance to stress — ability to perform under stressful conditions

Tolerance for uncertainty — ability to perform in ambiguous situations