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Rationale Teaching and Learning Resources Introduction to Management Managing in Turbulent Times The Evolution of Management Thinking   The Environment of Management The Environment and Corporate Culture Managing in a Global Environment Ethics and Social Responsibility Managing Small Business Start Ups   Planning Managerial Planning and Goal Setting Strategy Formulation and Implementation Managerial Decision Making   Organizing Designing Adaptive Organizations Managing Change and Innovation Human Resource Management Meeting the Challenge of Diversity   Leading Dynamics of Behavior in Organizations Leadership Motivation Communication Teamwork   Controlling The Importance of Control Information Technology and E-Business Operations and Service Management   Case Studies Related Workshops Business Communications Diversity Introduction to IT Operations and Service Management Organisational Behaviour Strategios   Learner Support Career Direction Graduate Services International Student Services Study Abroad Management of Learning Online Libraries Study Skills   Recommended Texts Resources Assignments, Assessments Assessment Regulations   Learning Centres Economics Centre Education, Staff Development and Teacher Training Centre Entrepreneur Centre Financial Centre Foundation Study Centre Higher Qualifications Centre HR Centre IT Centre Language Centre Management and Leadership Development Centre Management Centre Marketing Centre MBA Centre Postgraduate Centre Research Centre Undergraduate Centre

 

Management

 

Rationale

 

 

 

Management characterises the process of leading and directing all or part of an organisation (often a business) through the deployment and manipulation of resources (human, financial, material, intellectual or intangible). The word "manage" comes from the Italian maneggiare, which in turn derives from the Latin manus, hand.

 

 

Mary Parker Follett, who wrote on the topic in the early twentieth-century, defined management as "the art of getting things done through people". One can also think of management functionally, as the action of measuring a quantity on a regular basis and of adjusting some initial plan; or as the actions taken to reach one's intended goal. This applies even in situations where planning does not take place. From this perspective, management consists of five functions:

1. planning
2. organizing
3. leading
4. co-ordinating
5. controlling.

 

Some people, however, find this definition, while useful, far too narrow. The phrase "management is what managers do" occurs widely, suggesting the difficulty of defining management, the shifting nature of definitions, and the connection of managerial practices with the existence of a managerial cadre or class.

One habit of though regards management as equivalent to "business administration", although this then excludes management in places outside commerce, as for example in charities and in the public sector. Nonetheless, university departments which teach management usually get called "business schools".

Speakers of English may also use the term "management" as a collective word describing the managers of an organization, for example of a corporation.

• Historical development
  • 19th century
  • 20th century
  • 21st century
• Nature of the work
• Notes and References
• Areas of management

 

See also

• Adhocracy
• Administration
• Corporate governance
• Design management
• Engineering management
• Futures Studies
• Knowledge visualization
• Leadership
• Management consulting
• Management development
• Management fad
• Management styles
• Management Technology
• Managerialism
• Managing upwards
• Micromanagement
• Middle management
• Music management
• Organizational studies
• Predictive analytics
• Public administration
• Scientific management
• Senior management
• Social entrepreneurship
• Virtual management
• Peter Drucker's management by objectives
• Eliyahu M. Goldratt's theory of constraints
• Pointy Haired Boss - negative stereotypes of managers
• Lists

 

 

Today's Videos

• Connect with us on http://www.youtube.com/finntrack
• Google's Playlists

 

 

Teaching and Learning Resources

• Learning Environment
• Learning Contents
• Teaching Strategies

 

 

Click on titles

 

Introduction to Management

Tutorials

• Managing in Turbulent Times
• The Evolution of Management Thinking

 

Readings

Management in all business areas and organizational activities are the acts of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives. Management comprises planning, organizing, staffing, leading or directing, and controlling an organization (a group of one or more people or entities) or effort for the purpose of accomplishing a goal. Resourcing encompasses the deployment and manipulation of human resources, financial resources, technological resources, and natural resources.

 

 

Because organizations can be viewed as systems, management can also be defined as human action, including design, to facilitate the production of useful outcomes from a system. This view opens the opportunity to 'manage' oneself, a pre-requisite to attempting to manage others

Management can also refer to the person or people who perform the act(s) of management.

 

History Theoretical scope Nature of managerial work Historical development Early writing Sun Tzu's The Art of War Niccolò Machiavelli's The Prince Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations 19th century 20th century 21st century Management topics Basic functions of management Formation of the business policy How to implement policies and strategies Where policies and strategies fit into the planning process Multi-divisional management hierarchy Areas and categories and implementations of management   See also References   External links

 

 

 

 

 

The Environment of Management

Tutorials

• The Environment and Corporate Culture
• Managing in a Global Environment
• Ethics and Social Responsibility
• Managing Small Business Start Ups

 

Readings

Organizational culture is an idea in the field of Organizational studies and management which describes the psychology, attitudes, experiences, beliefs and values (personal and cultural values) of an organization. It has been defined as "the specific collection of values and norms that are shared by people and groups in an organization and that control the way they interact with each other and with stakeholders outside the organization."[1]

This definition continues to explain organizational values, also known as "beliefs and ideas about what kinds of goals members of an organization should pursue and ideas about the appropriate kinds or standards of behavior organizational members should use to achieve these goals. From organizational values develop organizational norms, guidelines, or expectations that prescribe appropriate kinds of behavior by employees in particular situations and control the behavior of organizational members towards one another."[1]

Organizational culture and corporate culture are often used interchangeably but it is a mistake to state that they are different concepts. All corporations are also organizations but not all organizations are corporations. Organizations include religious institutions, not-for-profit groups, and government agencies. There is even the Canadian Criminal Code definition of "organized crime" as meaning "a group comprised of three or more persons which has, as one of its primary activities or purposes, the commission of serious offences which likely results in financial gain." Corporations are organizations and are also legal entities. As Schein (2009), Deal & Kennedy (2000), Kotter (1992) and many others state, organizations often have very differing cultures as well as subcultures. Corporate culture is the total sum of the values, customs, traditions, and meanings that make a company unique. Corporate culture is often called "the character of an organization", since it embodies the vision of the company’s founders. The values of a corporate culture influence the ethical standards within a corporation, as well as managerial behavior.[2]

Senior management may try to determine a corporate culture. They may wish to impose corporate values and standards of behavior that specifically reflect the objectives of the organization. In addition, there will also be an extant internal culture within the workforce. Work-groups within the organization have their own behavioral quirks and interactions which, to an extent, affect the whole system. Roger Harrison's four-culture typology, and adapted by Charles Handy, suggests that unlike organizational culture, corporate culture can be 'imported'. For example, computer technicians will have expertise, language and behaviors gained independently of the organization, but their presence can influence the culture of the organization as a whole.

 

Strong/weak cultures Typologies of organizational cultures Deal and Kennedy Charles Handy Edgar Schein Arthur F. Carmazzi Robert A. Cooke The Constructive Cluster The Passive/Defensive Cluster The Aggressive/Defensive Cluster Elements Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument Organizational culture and change Entrepreneurial culture Elements of Entrepreneurial Culture Critical views Organizational communication perspective on culture Schema Mergers, organizational culture, and cultural leadership   See also Notes References   External links

 

 

 

 

Planning

Tutorials

• Managerial Planning and Goal Setting
• Strategy Formulation and Implementation
• Managerial Decision Making

 

Readings

 

 

A plan is typically any procedure used to achieve an objective. It is a set of intended actions, through which one expects to achieve a goal.

 

Plans can be formal or informal:

1. Structured and formal plans, used by multiple people, are more likely to occur in projects, diplomacy, careers, economic development, military campaigns, combat, or in the conduct of other business. In most cases, the absence of a well-laid plan can have adverse effects: for example, a non-robust project plan can cost the organization time and money.[1]

2. Informal or ad-hoc plans are created by individuals in all of their pursuits.

3. The most popular ways to describe plans are by their breadth, time frame, and specificity; however, these planning classifications are not independent of one another. For instance, there is a close relationship between the short- and long-term categories and the strategic and operational categories.

 

It is common for less formal plans to be created as abstract ideas, and remain in that form as they are maintained and put to use. More formal plans as used for business and military purposes, while initially created with and as an abstract thought, are likely to be written down, drawn up or otherwise stored in a form that is accessible to multiple people across time and space. This allows more reliable collaboration in the execution of the plan.

• Plan topics
  • Planning
  • Methodology
• Examples of plans
• Quotations

 

See also

• Automated planning
• Critical path method
• PDCA
• PERT
• Planned unit development
• Roadmap
• Strategy
• Tactics
• References

 

 

 

 

 

Organising

Tutorials

• Designing Adaptive Organizations
• Managing Change and Innovation
• Human Resource Management
• Meeting the Challenge of Diversity

 

Readings

The Organizational Process

Organizing, like planning, must be a carefully worked out and applied process. This process involves determining what work is needed to accomplish the goal, assigning those tasks to individuals, and arranging those individuals in a decision-making framework (organizational structure). The end result of the organizing process is an organization — a whole consisting of unified parts acting in harmony to execute tasks to achieve goals, both effectively and efficiently.

 

 

 

A properly implemented organizing process should result in a work environment where all team members are aware of their responsibilities. If the organizing process is not conducted well, the results may yield confusion, frustration, loss of efficiency, and limited effectiveness.

In general, the organizational process consists of five steps (a flowchart of these steps is shown in Figure 1 ):

 

 

 

The organizational process

1. Review plans and objectives.

   Objectives are the specific activities that must be completed to achieve goals. Plans shape the activities needed to reach those goals. Managers must examine plans initially and continue to do so as plans change and new goals are developed.

2. Determine the work activities necessary to accomplish objectives.

   Although this task may seem overwhelming to some managers, it doesn't need to be. Managers simply list and analyze all the tasks that need to be accomplished in order to reach organizational goals.

3. Classify and group the necessary work activities into manageable units.

   A manager can group activities based on four models of departmentalization: functional, geographical, product, and customer.

4. Assign activities and delegate authority.

   Managers assign the defined work activities to specific individuals. Also, they give each individual the authority (right) to carry out the assigned tasks.

5. Design a hierarchy of relationships.

   A manager should determine the vertical (decision-making) and horizontal (coordinating) relationships of the organization as a whole. Next, using the organizational chart, a manager should diagram the relationships.

 

Read More ...

 

 

Change management is a structured approach to shifting/transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations from a current state to a desired future state. It is an organizational process aimed at helping employees to accept and embrace changes in their current business environment. In project management, change management refers to a project management process where changes to a project are formally introduced and approved.^[1]

 

Kotter ^[2] defines change management as the utilization of basic structures and tools to control any organizational change effort. Change management's goals is to minimize the change impacts on workers and avoid distractions.

• History
• Examples of organizational change

 

See also

• References

 

External links

• Managing Change Guide

 

 

Innovation is the creation of better or more effective products, processes, services, technologies, or ideas that are accepted by markets, governments, and society. Innovation differs from invention in that innovation refers to the use of a new idea or method, whereas invention refers more directly to the creation of the idea or method itself.

 

Etymology Inter-disciplinary views Society Business and economics Organizations Processes Sources of innovation Value of experimentation Goals/failures Diffusion Measures Organizational level Political level Indicators Measurement indices Global innovation index Government policies

 

 

See also

• References

 

External links

• Academic article on Being a Systems Innovator on SSRN
• "Communication on Innovation policy: updating the Union's approach in the context of the Lisbon strategy" – The European Commission.
• Commission proposes 2009 to become European Year of Creativity and Innovation – The European Commission.
• PRO-INNO Europe – Innovation policy analysis and development throughout Europe (Initiative of the European Commission).
• 12 Innovations that Changed the World
• Ulrich Hottelet: Invented in Germany - made in Asia , Asia Pacific Times, October 2007

 

 

Human resource management (HRM, or simply HR) is the management of an organization's human resources, or workers. It is responsible for the attraction, selection, training, assessment, and rewarding of employees, while also overseeing organizational leadership and culture, and ensuring compliance with employment and labor laws. In circumstances where employees desire and are legally authorized to hold a collective bargaining agreement, HR will typically also serve as the company's primary liaison with the employees' representatives (usually a labor union).

 

 

HR is a product of the human relations movement of the early 20th century, when researchers began documenting ways of creating business value through the strategic management of the workforce. The function was initially dominated by transactional work such as payroll and benefits administration, but due to globalization, company consolidation, technological advancement, and further research, HR now focuses on strategic initiatives like mergers and acquisitions, talent management, succession planning, industrial and labor relations, and diversity and inclusion.

Whereas in startup companies HR's duties may be performed by a handful of trained professionals or even by non-HR personnel, larger companies typically house an entire functional group dedicated to the discipline, with staff specializing in various HR tasks and functional leadership engaging in strategic decision making across the business. To train practitioners for the profession, institutions of higher education, professional associations, and companies themselves have created programs of study dedicated explicitly to the duties of the function. Academic and practitioner organizations likewise seek to engage and further the field of HR, as evidenced by several field-specific publications.

• History
  • Antecedent theoretical developments
  • Birth and evolution of the discipline
  • In popular media
• Practice
  • Business function
  • Careers
• Education
  • Higher education
  • Professional associations
• Publications

 

See also

• Organizational behavior
• Organizational theory
• References

 

 

Leading

Tutorials

Dynamics of Behavior in Organizations Leadership Motivation Communication Teamwork

 

Readings

Teamworking Skills

 

Exercise on team working skills The roles people play in meetings. What makes an effective team? Tips for group work exercises in selection centres Observer assessment form for group exercises

 

 

Leadership has been described as the "process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task."[1] Definitions more inclusive of followers have also emerged. Alan Keith stated that, "Leadership is ultimately about creating a way for people to contribute to making something extraordinary happen."[2] Tom DeMarco says that leadership needs to be distinguished from posturing.[3]

The following sections discuss several important aspects of leadership including a description of what leadership is and a description of several popular theories and styles of leadership. This article also discusses topics such as the role of emotions and vision, as well as leadership effectiveness and performance, leadership in different contexts, how it may differ from related concepts (i.e., management), and some critiques of leadership as generally conceived.

 

Theories Early history Rise of alternative theories Reemergence of trait theory Attribute pattern approach Behavioral and style theories Situational and contingency theories Functional theory Transactional and transformational theories Emotions Neo-emergent theory Environmental leadership theory Styles Kurt Lewin Autocratic or authoritarian style Participative or democratic style Laissez-faire or free rein style Performance Contexts Organizations Management Group leadership Primates Historical views Action oriented environments Titles emphasizing authority Critical thought Varieties of individual power   See also References Further reading   External links Groups that work

 

Workshop

• Organisational Behaviour
• Business Communications

 

 

Business Communication: communication used to promote a product, service, or organization; relay information within the business; or deal with legal and similar issues. It is also a means of relaying between a supply chain, for example the consumer and manufacturer.

 

Business Communication is known simply as "communications". It encompasses a variety of topics, including marketing, branding, customer relations, consumer behaviour, advertising, public relations, corporate communication, community engagement, research & measurement, reputation management, interpersonal communication, employee engagement, online communication, and event management. It is closely related to the fields of professional communication and technical communication.

In business, the term communications encompasses various channels of communication, including the Internet, Print (Publications), Radio, Television, Ambient media, Outdoor, and Word of mouth.

Business Communication can also refer to internal communication. A communications director will typically manage internal communication and craft messages sent to employees. It is vital that internal communications are managed properly because a poorly crafted or managed message could foster distrust or hostility from employees.^[1]

Business Communication is a common topic included in the curricula of Masters of Business Administration (MBA) programs of many universities. AS well, many community colleges and universities offer degrees in Communications.

There are several methods of business communication, including:

1. Web-based communication - for better and improved communication, anytime anywhere ...

2. video conferencing which allow people in different locations to hold interactive meetings;

3. e-mails, which provide an instantaneous medium of written communication worldwide;

4. Reports - important in documenting the activities of any department;

5. Presentations - very popular method of communication in all types of organizations, usually involving audiovisual material, like copies of reports, or material prepared in Microsoft PowerPoint or Adobe Flash;

6. telephoned meetings, which allow for long distance speech;

7. forum boards, which allow people to instantly post information at a centralized location; and

8. face-to-face meetings, which are personal and should be succeeded by a written followup.

Business communication is somewhat different and unique from other types of communication since the purpose of business is to make money. Thus, to develop profitability, the communicator should develop good communication skills. Knowing the importance of communication, many organisations train their employees in communication techniques.

• Types of business communication
• Top 6 Reasons for Business Communication Barriers
• Organizations
• References

 

 

Controlling

Tutorials

• The Importance of Control
• Information Technology and E-Business
• Operations and Service Management

 

Readings

 

What do you mean by Managerial Control?

Organizational Control Objectives

Simply put, organizational control is the process of assigning, evaluating, and regulating resources on an ongoing basis to accomplish an organization's goals. To successfully control an organization, managers need to not only know what the performance standards are, but also figure out how to share that information with employees.

 

Control can be defined narrowly as the process a manager takes to assure that actual performance conforms to the organization's plan, or more broadly as anything that regulates the process or activity of an organization. The following content follows the general interpretation by defining managerial control as monitoring performance against a plan and then making adjustments either in the plan or in operations as necessary.

The six major purposes of controls are as follows:

• Controls make plans effective. Managers need to measure progress, offer feedback, and direct their teams if they want to succeed.

• Controls make sure that organizational activities are consistent. Policies and procedures help ensure that efforts are integrated.

• Controls make organizations effective. Organizations need controls in place if they want to achieve and accomplish their objectives.

• Controls make organizations efficient. Efficiency probably depends more on controls than any other management function.

• Controls provide feedback on project status. Not only do they measure progress, but controls also provide feedback to participants as well. Feedback influences behavior and is an essential ingredient in the control process.

• Controls aid in decision making. The ultimate purpose of controls is to help managers make better decisions. Controls make managers aware of problems and give them information that is necessary for decision making.

Many people assert that as the nature of organizations has changed, so must the nature of management controls. New forms of organizations, such as self-organizing organizations, self-managed teams, and network organizations, allow organizations to be more responsive and adaptable in today's rapidly changing world. These forms also cultivate empowerment among employees, much more so than the hierarchical organizations of the past.

Some people even claim that management shouldn't exercise any form of control whatsoever, and should only support employee efforts to be fully productive members of organizations and communities. Along those same lines, some experts even use the word “coordinating” in place of “controlling” to avoid sounding coercive. However, some forms of controls must exist for an organization to exist. For an organization to exist, it needs some goal or purpose, or it isn't an organization at all. Individual behaviors, group behaviors, and all organizational performance must be in line with the strategic focus of the organization.

 

Read More ...

 

 

 

Information technology (IT) is concerned with technology to treat information. The acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications are its main fields.^[1] The term in its modern sense first appeared in a 1958 article published in the Harvard Business Review, in which authors Leavitt and Whisler commented that "the new technology does not yet have a single established name. We shall call it information technology (IT).".^[2] Some of the modern and emerging fields of Information technology are next generation web technologies, bioinformatics, cloud computing, global information systems, large scale knowledgebases, etc. Advancements are mainly driven in the field of computer science.

• Information
• Technology
• Technological capacity and growth

 

See also

• Information and communications technology (ICT)
• Information history
• Computer science
• References
• Further reading

 

External links

• The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL)

 

 

Electronic business, commonly referred to as "eBusiness" or "e-business", may be defined as the application of information and communication technologies (ICT) in support of all the activities of business. Commerce constitutes the exchange of products and services between businesses, groups and individuals and can be seen as one of the essential activities of any business. Electronic commerce focuses on the use of ICT to enable the external activities and relationships of the business with individuals, groups and other businesses [1].

 

 

Louis Gerstner, the former CEO of IBM, in his book, Who Says Elephants Can't Dance? attributes the term "e-Business" to IBM's marketing and Internet teams in 1996.

Electronic business methods enable companies to link their internal and external data processing systems more efficiently and flexibly, to work more closely with suppliers and partners, and to better satisfy the needs and expectations of their customers.

In practice, e-business is more than just e-commerce. While e-business refers to more strategic focus with an emphasis on the functions that occur using electronic capabilities, e-commerce is a subset of an overall e-business strategy. E-commerce seeks to add revenue streams using the World Wide Web or the Internet to build and enhance relationships with clients and partners and to improve efficiency using the Empty Vessel strategy. Often, e-commerce involves the application of knowledge management systems.

E-business involves business processes spanning the entire value chain: electronic purchasing and supply chain management, processing orders electronically, handling customer service, and cooperating with business partners. Special technical standards for e-business facilitate the exchange of data between companies. E-business software solutions allow the integration of intra and inter firm business processes. E-business can be conducted using the Web, the Internet, intranets, extranets, or some combination of these.

Basically, electronic commerce (EC) is the process of buying, transferring, or exchanging products, services, and/or information via computer networks, including the internet. EC can also be benifited from many perspective including business process, service, learning, collaborative, community. EC is often confused with e-business.

 

Subsets Models Classification by provider and consumer   See also References

 

 

 

 

Recommended Text

 

Management (with InfoTrac) 7th Edition Richard L. Daft - Vanderbilt University 0324317980 864 pages HB 8 1/2 x 11 © 2005 Check the availability and buy your books from our Bookshop.

 

Management: Principles and Practices for Tomorrow's Leaders Second Canadian Edition Gary Dessler, Frederick A. Starke Web Destinations   Check the availability and buy your books from our Bookshop.

 

 

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