Principles of Management Chapters 1-3

So attention, accounting majors: you don't have to be a manager, or aspire to be a manager, in order to gain something from a management course.

Although we'd like to think that all managers are good at what they do, you may have discovered through jobs you've had that managers can be good at waht they do or maybe no so good, or even good one day and no so good the next!

One thing, you need to understand is that all managers, Including those in organizations where you've worked and in other organizations, have important jobs to do.

And this book is about the work they do. In this chapter, we introduce you to managers and management: who they are, where they work, what management is, what they do, and why you should spend your time studying management

Our example illustrates a popular myth about the study of management. It's just common sense. Well, it's not! The study of management is filled with insights, based on extensive research, which are counterintuitive

And to reinforce this point, we open each chapter of this book with a finding from that chapter that runs counter to common sense.

Management myth debunked!

Anyone who works in an organization not just managers can gain insight into how organizations work and their boss's behavior by taking a course in management

Functions that we'll discuss in more detail in the next section. Efficiency, and effectiveness have to do with the work being done and how it's being done. Efficiency means doing a task correctly and getting the most output from the least amount of inputs.

Because managers deal with scarce inputs including resources such as people, money and equipment they're concerned with the efficeient use of those resources.

Middle managers may have such titles as department or agency head, project leader, unit chief, district manager, division manager, or store manger.

First-line managers are those individuals responsible for directing the day-to-day activities of nonmanagerial employees. First-line managers are often called supervisors, shift managers, office managersm department managers, or unit coordinators.

This distinction doesn't mean, however, that managers don't ever work directly on tasks. Some managers do have work duties not directly related to overseeing the activities of others.

For example, and insurance claims supervisor might process claims in addition to coordinating the work activities of other claims employees

Which will lead to increasing shareholder value! Achieving those goals is done by the people in an organization, which is the second comm characteristic of an organization. An organization's people make decisions and engage in work activities to make the desired goals a reality

For instance, at Disney, many employees work to create the content and experiences that are so important for the company's businesses. Others provide supporting services or interact with guests dirctly.

However, all managers share one common element: they work in an organizational setting. An organization is a deliberate arrangement of people brought together to accomplish some specific purpose.

For instance, your college or university is an organization as are the United way, your neighborhood convenience store, the Dallas Cowboys football team, fraternities and sororities, the Cleveland Clinic, and global companies like Nissan

That structure is the setting within which managers manage. Although managers work in organizations, not everyone who works in an organization is a manager.

For simplicity's sake we'll divide organizational members into two categories: nonmanagerial employees and managers. Nonmanagerial employees are people who work directly on a job or task and have no responsibility for overseeing the work of others.

Let's begin this chapter by debunking the above common-sense myth: this statement often surprises students majoring in subjects like accounting, finance, statistics, information technology, or advertising

Since they don't expect to be managers, they see spending a semester studying management as irrelevant to their career goals. Later in this chapter, we'll explain why the study of management is valuable to every student.

Is the managers job universal? PAGE 11

So far, we've discussed the manager's job as if it were a generic activity. if management is truly a generic discipline, then what a manager does should be

These and all organizations share three common characteristics, Goals, People, Structure. What three characteristics do all organizations share?

The first characteristic of an organization is that it has a distinct purpose, which is typically expressed as a goal or a set of goals. For example, Bob Iger, Walt Disney company's president and CEO, has said his company's goal is to create amazing family friendly entertainment and to provide customers extraordinary experiences

Finally, we'll wrap up the chapter by looking at some important factors that are reshaping the redefining management

WHO ARE MANAGERS AND WHERE DO THEY WORK? PAGE 5

Simply speaking management is what managers do. But that simple statement doesn't tell us much. A better explanation is that management is the process of getting things done, effectively and efficiently, with and through other people.

We need to look closer at some key works in this definition. A process refers to a set of ongoing and interrelated activities. In our definition of management, it refers to primary activities or functions that managers perform

Assume for a moment that it's your first day in an introductory phyisics class. Your instructor asks you to take out a piece of paper and "describe Newton's second law of motion"

What would your reaction be? I expect most students would response with something like " how would I know?" That's why your taking this course!

Now let's change the situation to the first day in an introductory management class. Your instructor asks you to write an answer to the question" what traits does one need to be an effective leader?"

When we've asked this question of students on the first day, we find that they're never at a loss for an answer. Everyone seems to think they know what makes a good leader

Managers want to minimize resource usage and thus resource costs. It's not enough, however, just to be efficient. Managers are also concerned with completing activities.In management terms, we call this effectiveness.

Whereas efficiency is concerned with the means of gettings things done, effectiveness is concerned with the ends or attainment of organizational goals. Effectiveness means' doing the right things" by doing those work tasks that help the organization reach its goals.

Finally, the third characteristic is that an organization is structured in some way that defines and limits the behavior oh its members. Disney, like most large organizations, has a fairly complex structure with different businesses, departments, and functional areas

Within that structure, rules, and regulations might guide what people can or cannot do, some members will supervise other members, work teams might be formed,, or job descriptions might be created so organizational members know what they're supposed to do.

A manager's job isn't about personal achievement it's about helping others do their work. That may mean coordinating the work of a department group, or it might mean supervising a single person.

It could involve a coordinating the work activities of a team with people from different departments or even people outside the organization, such as tempory employees or individuals who work for the organizations's suppliers.

What Titles do Managers have? Page 6. Identifying exactly who the managers are in an organization isn't difficult, but be aware that they can have a variety of titles.

Managers are usually classified as top, middle, first-line, or team leaders. Top managers are those at or near the top of an organization. They're usually responsible for making decisions about he direction of the organization and establishing policies and philosophies that affect all organizational members

Top managers typically have titles such as vice president, president-chancellor, managing director, chief operating officer, chief executive officer, or chairperson of the board.. Middle managers are those managers found between lowest and top levels of the organization

These individuals often manage other managers and maybe some nonmanagerial employees and are typically responsible for translating the goals set by top managers into specific details that lower-level managers will see get done.

The employees who ring up your sale at Home Depot, take your order at the drive-through at Jack in the Box , or process your course registration in your college's registrar's office are all non-managerial employees.

These nonmanagerial employees may be referred to by names such as associates, team members, contributors, or even employee partners. Managers, on the other hand , are individuals in an organization who direct and oversee the activities of other people in the organization soorganizational goals can be accomplished.

There's no pattern or prototype or standard criteria as to who can be a manager. Managers today can be under age 18 or over age 80. They may be women as well as men, and they can be found in all industries and in all countries.

They manage entrepreneurial businesses, large corporations, government agencies, hospitals, museums, schools, and not-for-profit enterprises. Some hold top-level management jobs while others are supervisors or team leaders.

We want to point out a special category of lower-level managers that have become more common as organizations have moved to using employee work teams to do work. These managers can best be described as team leaders.

This is individuals who are responsbible for managing and facilitating the activitites of a work team. Team leaders will typically report to a first-line manager