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Learning Objectives:

By the end of this topic, participants should be able to:

 Define Management.

 Explain the difference between management and leadership.

 Explain the functions of management.

 Discuss the principles of management

Introduction

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Not unexpectedly, the variety of approaches to the theoretical
background of management has produced a number of versions of what is
meant by such key words as ‘management’ and ‘organisation’. This
paper looks at the most typical interpretations of such words and offers
some explanation

The meaning of management

There is no generally accepted definition of ‘management’ as an activity,

although the classic definition is still held to be that of Henri Fayol.

‘To manage is to forecast and plan, to organise, to command, to

coordinate and to control.’ H Fayol
(1916)

Management is a social process... the process consists of ...planning,

control,

coordination and motivation.

E F L Brench (1957)

Someone defined management as the process of acquiring and combining

human, financial, and physical resources to attain the organisation’s
primary goal of producing a product or service desired by some segment
of society. This process is essentially of the functioning of all
organisations – profit or non profit; essential resources must be acquired
and combined in some way to produce an output.

‘Deciding what should be done and getting others to do it.’ Rosemary

Stewart

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Sensible working arrangements Mary Parker Follet

Working with and through other people

Mintzberg has attempted to move away from this generalised approach

towards a more detailed and behaviour oriented analysis of what
managers actually do. Mintzberg highlights key roles that seem to appear
regularly in a manager’s job. He describes these roles as ‘ organised sets
of behaviours identified with a position’ and gathers them into three main
grouping:

Interpersonal Informational roles Decisional roles

Figure Head Monitor Entrepreneur

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Leader Disseminator Disturbance Handler

Liaison Spokesman Resource Allocator

Negotiator

Differences between management and leadership

LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

At times management and leadership are seen as synonymous. There is,

however, a difference between the two and it does not follow that very
leader is a manager.

Management is more usually viewed as getting things done through other

people in order to achieve stated organizational objectives. The manager
may react to specific situations and be more concerned with solving
relatively short-term problems. Management is regarded as relating to
people working within structured organisations and with prescribed roles.
To people outside of the organization the manager might not be seen in a
leadership role.

On the other hand, leadership’s emphasis is on interpersonal behaviour in

a broader context. It is often associated with the willing and enthusiastic
behaviour of followers. Leadership does not necessarily take place within
the hierarchy structure of the organization. Many people operate as
leaders without their role ever being clearly established or defined. A
leader often has sufficient influences to bring about long-term changes in
people’s attitudes and to make change more acceptable.

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Distinction between Leadership and Management: Distinction between
Leadership and Management Leaders take a personal and active interest
in achieving goals whereas managers tend to play a relatively passive role
in accomplishing the goals. Managers need power to be entrusted to them
by the organization to deal with people. Leaders have power within
themselves and the required drive to lead people and motivate them to
work enthusiastically towards achieving goals. Managers limit their
interactions with people to the minimum extent required to carry out their
managerial responsibilities. Leaders interact with people frequently and in
a more natural way. In the process they inspire people, motivate them
and lead them.

Leadership and management must go hand in hand. They are not the

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same thing. But they are necessarily, and complimentary. Any effort to
separate the two is likely to cause more problems than it solves.

In his 1989 book “On Becoming a Leader,” Warren Bennis composed a list
of the differences:

Leader Manager
innovates administers
An original copy /imitates
Focuses on people Focuses on systems and
structure
Inspires trust Relies on control
Has long-range perspectives Has short-range perspective
Ask what and why Ask how and when
Eye is on the horizon Eye always is on the bottom line
Challenges the status quo Accepts status quo
Is his/her own person Classic good soldier
Does the right thing Does things right

Organisation

‘Organisations are systems of inter-dependent human beings.’ Pugh

(1990)

A group (of two or more people who are) working together towards a
common goal or objective over a certain period of time.

Management is not an activity that exists in its own right. These activities
have generally been grouped in terms of planning, organising, motivating
and controlling activities.

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The process of Management

As Drucker (1955) first put it, over forty years ago management is
concerned with the ‘systematic organisation of economic resources’ and
its task is to make these resources productive. Management is a
description of a variety of activities (functions) carried out by those
members of organisations whose role is that of a ‘manager,’ i.e. someone
who either has formal responsibility for the work of one or more persons in
the organisation, or who is accountable for specialist advisory duties in
support of key management activities. These activities have generally
been grouped in terms of planning, organising, motivating and controlling
activities.

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The grouping of management activities (functions) can be summarised
as follows:

Planning Deciding the objectives or goals of the organisation and

preparing how to meet them.

Planning is an activity which involves decisions about ends (organisational

aims/objectives), means (plans/strategies), conduct (policies) and results
(outcomes). It is an activity which takes place against a background of:

1. The organisation’s external environment, and

2. The organisation’s internal strengths and weaknesses.

Planning can be long-term, as in strategic and corporate

planning, or short-term, as in the setting of annual departmental
budgets, work plans etc. Long-term usually implies a time-horizon of
about five years, although this may be ten or twenty years in certain
industry (e.g. oil extraction, pharmaceuticals etc). Short-term can be any
period from immediate future (crisis management) up to about one year.

Organising determining activities and allocating

responsibilities
for the achievement of plans; coordinating activities and responsibilities
into appropriate structures.

Plans have to be put into operation. This involves detailed organisation

and coordination of tasks and the human and material resources needed
to carry them out. A key issue here is that of formal communication.

Motivating meeting the social and psychological needs of

employees in the fulfilment of organisational goals.

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The motivating activities of managers, however, are essentially practical
in their intent for, in setting plans and executing them, managers have to
gain the commitment of their employees. This is primarily a question of
leadership, or style of management.

Controlling monitoring and evaluating activities, and

providing corrective mechanisms.

It has to be recognised that these traditional groupings – the POMC

approach- are the ones chosen to represent the framework for this paper.
It is appreciated that they do not tell the whole story about what
constitutes management, but they are a convenient way of describing
most of the key aspects of the work of managers in practice.

Controlling

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Controlling activities are concerned essentially with measuring progress
and corrective deviations. The basic functions of control are:

 to establish standard of performance

 to measure actual performance against standards

 to take corrective measures where appropriate.

Control activities acts as the feedback mechanism for all managerial

activities. Their use is, therefore, crucial to the success of
management.

Fayol’s principles of management

1. Division of Labour

Reduces the span of attention or effort for any one personal for any
one person or group. Develops practice and familiarity.

2. Authority

The right to give (lawful) orders. Authority should not be considered

without reference to responsibility.

3. Discipline

Outward marks of respect in accordance with formal or informal

agreements between firm and its employees.

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4. Unity of command

One man one superior

5. Unity of direction

One head and one plan for a group of activities with the same
objective.

6. Subordinate of individual interest to the general interest

The interest of individual or one group should not prevail over the
general good.

7. Remuneration

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Pay should be fair to both the employee and firm

8. Centralisation

Is always present to a greater or lesser extent, depending on the

size of company and quality of its managers.

9. Scalar chain

The line of authority from top to bottom of the organisation.

10. Order

A place for everything and everything in its place; the right man in
the right place.

11. Equity

A combination of kindliness and justice towards employees.

12. Stability of tenure of personnel

Employees need to be given time to settle into their jobs,

even though this may take a length period in case of
managers.

13. Initiative

Within the limits of authority and discipline, all levels of staff

should be encouraged to show initiatives.

14. Esprit de corps

Harmony is the great strength to the organisation; teamwork

should be encouraged.

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 • In your opinion, are the 14 principles of management advocated by
Henri Fayol still relevant in the today’s 21st century of modern
management? Discuss.

Relevance of Fayol’s Principles of Management

Fayol’s General Principles have been adopted by the later followers of the
classical school such as Urwick and Brech. Present theorist, however,
would not find much of substance in these precepts. From our present
day view point, the following general comments may be made:

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1. The reference to division of work, scalar chain, unity of command
and centralisation, for example are descriptive of the kind of
formal organisation that has come to be known as
bureaucracy. Fayol’, in true classical fashion, was emphasising
the structural nature of organisation.

2. Issues such as individual versus general interests, remuneration

and equity were considered very much from the point of view of
a paternalistic management. Today’s questions concerns
fairness, or the bona fide conflict of interest between
groups, have to be worked out between management and
organised labour, often with third party involvement by
the State.

3. Although emphasising the hierarchical aspects of the business

enterprise, Fayol was well aware of the need to avoid an
excessive mechanistic approach towards employees. Thus
reference to initiative and esprit de corps indicated his sensitivity
to people’s needs as individuals and as groups. Such issues are
of major interest to theorists of today, the key difference being
that whereas Fayol saw these issues in the context of a rational
organisation structure, the modern organisation
development specialist sees them in terms of adapting
structures and changing people’s behaviour to achieve
the best fit between organisation and its customers.

4. Fayol was the first to achieve a genuine theory of management

based on a number of principles which could be passed on to
others. Many of these principles have been absorbed into
modern organisations. Their effect on organisational
effectiveness has been subject to increasing criticism
over the last twenty years, however, mainly because such
principles were not designed to cope with modern
conditions of rapid change, flatter structures, and

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 increased employee participation in the decision process
of the organisation.

References:
• Bennett. R, (1991) Management, Pitman Publishing, Singapore
• Cole, G.A., (2000) Management Theory and Practice,
Continuum, London, UK

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