introduction to management

Editor's Notes

• #3: Management is getting work done through others. Managers have to be concerned with efficiency and effectiveness in the workplace. Efficiency is getting work done with a minimum of effort, expense, or waste. Effectiveness is accomplishing tasks that help full organizational objectives, such as customer service and satisfaction.
• #5: Functions of management include planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. Planning is determining organizational goals and a means for achieving them. Organizing is deciding where decisions will be made, who will do what jobs and tasks, and who will work for whom in the company. Leading is inspiring and motivating workers to work hard to achieve organizational goals. Controlling is monitoring progress toward goal achievement and taking corrective action when progress isn’t being made. The textbook is organized based on the four management functions, as shown on this slide.
• #7: Meta-analysis, which is a study of studies, is helping management scholars understand how well their research supports management theories. Each meta-analysis reported in the "What Really Works?" section of this textbook is accompanied by an easy-to-understand statistic called the probability of success. The probability of success shows how often a management technique will work. Meta-analyses suggest that it’s wise to have job applicants take a general mental ability test. In fact, the probability of success, shown in graphical form on this slide, is 76 percent. This means that an employee hired on the basis of a good score on a general mental ability test stands a 76 percent chance of being a better performer than someone picked at random from the pool of all job applicants. So, chances are, you’re going to be right much more often than wrong if you use a general mental ability test to make hiring decisions.
• #9: Leading involves inspiring and motivating workers to work hard to achieve organizational goals.
• #12: There are four kinds of managers, each with different jobs and responsibilities.A discussion of managers follows on the following slides. The jobs and responsibilities of the four kinds of managers are summarized in Exhibit 1.3.
• #14: Top managers hold positions like the CEO, the COO, the CFO, and the CIO and are responsible for the overall direction of the organization.
• #16: Middle managers hold positions like plant manager, regional manager, or divisional manager. Note how middle managers’ responsibilities are influenced by those of top managers. Note also how their responsibilities are more narrowly focused than of top managers.
• #17: First-line managers are the only managers who don’t supervise other managers.
• #18: First-line managers hold positions like office manager, shift supervisor, or department manager. First-line managers are the only managers who don’t supervise other managers. They are closest to employees and have daily contact with employees.
• #19: This is a relatively new kind of management job that developed as companies shifted to self-managing teams, which, by definition, have no formal supervisor. Instead of directing individuals’ work, team leaders facilitate team activities toward goal accomplishment. They have less formal authority, so they lead more through relationships and respect.
• #21: Interpersonal Roles–interacting with others figurehead role: managers perform ceremonial duties leader role: managers motivate and encourage workers to accomplish organizational objectives liaison role: managers deal with people outside their units
• #22: Informational Roles–obtaining and sharing information monitor role: managers scan their environment for information, actively contact others for information disseminator role: managers share the information they have collected with their subordinates and others in the company
• #23: Decisional Roles–making good decisions entrepreneur role: managers adapt themselves, their subordinates, and their units to incremental change disturbance handler role: managers respond to pressures and problems so severe that they demand immediate attention and action resource allocator role: managers decide who will get what resources and how many resources they get negotiator role: managers negotiate schedules, projects, goals, outcomes, resources, and employee raises
• #24: Technical skills are the ability to apply the specialized procedures, techniques, and knowledge required to get the job done. Technical skills are most important for lower level managers, because these managers supervise the workers who produce products or serve customers. Team leaders and first-line managers need technical knowledge and skills to train new employees and help employees solve problems. Technical skills become less important as managers rise through the managerial ranks, but they are still important. Human skills, the ability to work well with others, are equally important at all levels of management, from first-line supervisors to CEOs. However, because lower level managers spend much of their time solving technical problems, upper level managers may actually spend more time dealing directly with people. Conceptual skills are the ability to see the organization as a whole, how the different parts of the company affect each other, and how the company fits into or is affected by its external environment. Conceptual skill increases in importance as managers rise through the management hierarchy. Managers typically have a stronger motivation to manage than their subordinates, and managers at higher levels usually have stronger motivation to manage than managers at lower levels. Furthermore, managers with stronger motivation to manage are promoted faster, are rated by their employees as better managers, and earn more money than managers with a weak motivation to manage.
• #26: Technical skills are the ability to apply the specialized procedures, techniques, and knowledge required to get the job done. Technical skills are most important for lower level managers, because these managers supervise the workers who produce products or serve customers. Team leaders and first-line managers need technical knowledge and skills to train new employees and help employees solve problems. Technical skills become less important as managers rise through the managerial ranks, but they are still important. Human skills, the ability to work well with others, are equally important at all levels of management, from first-line supervisors to CEOs. However, because lower level managers spend much of their time solving technical problems, upper level managers may actually spend more time dealing directly with people. Conceptual skills are the ability to see the organization as a whole, how the different parts of the company affect each other, and how the company fits into or is affected by its external environment. Conceptual skill increases in importance as managers rise through the management hierarchy. Managers typically have a stronger motivation to manage than their subordinates, and managers at higher levels usually have stronger motivation to manage than managers at lower levels. Furthermore, managers with stronger motivation to manage are promoted faster, are rated by their employees as better managers, and earn more money than managers with a weak motivation to manage.
• #27: Exhibit 1.6 lists the top 10 mistakes managers make. These mistakes make the difference between “arrivers”—managers who made it all the way to the top of their companies-- and “derailers”—managers who were successful early in their careers but were knocked off the fast track at the middle to upper management levels. Both groups were very similar and had enjoyed past success. The biggest difference between the two were how they managed people. Arrivers were much more effective in their interpersonal skills than were derailers. Derailers were insensitive to others by an abrasive, intimidating, and bullying management style Being cold, aloof, or arrogant Lacking concern for others Being overly political Use this fact to reinforce the importance of being able to manage people rather than just processes, when it comes to management effectiveness.
• #28: In the book Becoming a Manager: Master of a New Identity, Harvard Business School professor Linda Hill followed the development of 19 people in their first year as managers. Becoming a manager produced a profound psychological transition that changed the way these managers viewed themselves and others. Exhibit 1.7 describes the transition to management.
• #29: In a study by Stanford University professor Jeffrey Pfeffer, companies who used the management practices listed on this slide achieved financial performance that, on average, was 40 percent higher than that of other companies.
• #30: In using examples such as the “100 Best Companies to Work for in America,” you can emphasize how companies can secure a competitive advantage over others by how effectively they manage their people. These practices reflect how managers from companies such as these interact with their employees. Employee satisfaction is often translated into satisfied customers.