The Managerial Process

Chapter 1
The Administrative Office Management
Function
 The nature of the background and role of administrative
office management makes it the most logical of all
organizational areas to have responsibility for the
management of the organization information.
 Increasingly, the administrative office management
function and administrative office managers are being
recognized and credited for their contribution to
organizational success.
Cont….
 Administrative office management has a significant
impact on employees throughout the organization.
 One way it impacts on employees and perhaps the
most significant way is that enables them to enhance
their productivity.
 In addition to relieving employees of responsibility
for certain task, this position helps them maximize
the efficiency of another design tasks.
Cont…..
 The current practice of centralizing many of the
office functions and services found in the modern
organization has added a new perspective to the
administration office management function.
 In the early days of office management , only a few
function were centralized.
 Today, administrative office management has a
significant impact on virtually every function in the
organization.
A Career In Administrative Office
Management
 Paralleling the rapid growth in organizational
information and the emerging knowledge
management thrust is the increased number of
career opportunities in administrative office
management.
 Manager are readily discovering that effective way
for their organizations to become more profitable
is to scrutinize closely the cost of their office
operations.
Cont…..
 Administrative office management is generally
considered to be within the middle-
management level of the organizational
hierarchy.
 In some organizations, especially in larger
organization, administrative office
management typically is an important
component of one of the functional areas, such
as the administrative services area.
Cont…..

Example : A vice president of administrative service

(or vice president with some other similar title) is
likely to be responsible for the area, and several
middle-level managers are likely to report to this
individual.
Hierarchical Structure of Administrative Office
Management
The Administrative Office Manager
 Administrative office managers have several
important job responsibilities within each of the
five basic management functions of planning,
organizing, staffing, leading and controlling.
Responsibilities

 Directly supports, activates and is responsible

for the work of others
 The people who managers help are the ones
whose tasks represent the real work of the
organization
Managers
Levels of management
 Board of directors make sure the organization is
run right
 Top managers are responsible for performance of
an organization as a whole or for one of its major
parts
 Middle managers oversee large departments or
divisions
 Team leaders supervise non-managerial workers
Management levels in a typical
business and non-profit organizations
Managers Cont…..

Types of managers
• Line managers are responsible for work activities that
directly affect organization’s outputs
• Staff managers use technical expertise to advise and
support the efforts of line workers
• Functional managers are responsible for a single area of
activity
• General managers are responsible for more complex units
that include many functional areas
• Administrators work in public and nonprofit organizations
Managers Cont…..

Managerial performance and accountability

 Accountability is the requirement to show
performance results to a supervisor
 Effective managers help others achieve high
performance and satisfaction at work
Managers Cont…..

Managerial performance and accountability

 Accountability is the requirement to show
performance results to a supervisor
 Effective managers help others achieve high
performance and satisfaction at work
Managers Cont…..

Quality of work life (QWL)

 An indicator of the overall quality of
human experiences in the workplace
Managers Cont…..

QWL indicators:

• Fair pay
• Safe working conditions
• Opportunities to learn and use new skills
• Room to grow and progress in a career
• Protection of individual rights
• Pride in work itself and in the organization
Managers Cont…..

The organization as an upside-down pyramid

 Each individual is a value-added worker
 A manager’s job is to support workers’ efforts
 The best managers are known for helping and supporting
 Customers at the top served by workers who are supported by
managers
The organization viewed as an upside-down pyramid
The Management Process
 Managers achieve high performance for their organizations
by best utilizing its human and material resources
 Management is the process of planning, organizing, Staffing,
leading, and controlling the use of resources to accomplish
performance goals
 All managers are responsible for the five functions
 The functions are carried on continually
The Management Process
 Mintzberg’s 10 Managerial Roles
Characteristics of Managerial Work
 long hours
 intense pace
 fragmented and varied tasks
 many communication media
 filled with interpersonal relationships
Managerial Agendas and Networks

 Agenda setting
 Develops action priorities for accomplishing
goals and plans
 Networking
 Process of creating positive relationships with
people who can
help advance agendas
 Social capital
 Capacity to get things done with help
The Evolution of Management Theory
 An understanding of the evolution of
management theory is essential for a complete
appreciation of the managerial process.
 The administrative office management area is
firmly grounded in the theory of management
that has evolved during the last 100 .years
Scientific Management
 Defined by Frederick Taylor, late 1800’s.
 The systematic study of the relationships
between people and tasks to redesign the
work for higher efficiency.
 Taylor sought to reduce the time a worker spent
on each task by optimizing the way the task was
done.
Administrative Management Theory
 Focused on the firm as a whole or total entity
rather than on specific isolated functions.
 During the movement, the following specific
management function were identified : planning,
organizing, commanding, coordinating and
controlling.
Cont…..
 Seeks to create an organization that leads to
both efficiency and effectiveness.
 Max Weber developed the concept of
bureaucracy.
 A formal system of organization and
administration to ensure effectiveness and
efficiency.
 Weber developed the Five principles shown in
Figure 2.2.
 Bureaucratic Principles
Figure 2.2

Written rules

System of task A Bureaucracy Hierarchy of

relationships should have authority

Fair evaluation
and reward
Key points of Bureaucracy
Authority is the power to hold people accountable for
their actions.
Positions in the firm should be held based on
performance not social contacts.
Position duties are clearly identified. People should
know what is expected of them.
Lines of authority should be clearly identified.
Workers know who reports to who.
Rules, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), &
Norms used to determine how the firm operates.
 Sometimes, these lead to “red-tape” and other
problems.
Fayol’s Principles
 Henri Fayol, developed a set of 14 principles:
1. Division of Labor: allows for job specialization.
 Fayol noted firms can have too much specialization
leading to poor quality and worker involvement.
2. Authority and Responsibility: Fayol included both
formal and informal authority resulting from special
expertise.
3. Unity of Command: Employees should have only one
boss.
4. Line of Authority: a clear chain from top to bottom of
the firm.
5. Centralization: the degree to which authority rests at
the very top.
6. Unity of Direction: One plan of action to guide the
organization.
7. Equity: Treat all employees fairly in justice and respect.
8. Order: Each employee is put where they have the most value.
9. Initiative: Encourage innovation.
10. Discipline: obedient, applied, respectful employees needed.
11. Remuneration of Personnel: The payment system contributes to
success.
12. Stability of Tenure: Long-term employment is important.
13. General interest over individual interest: The organization
takes precedence over the individual.
14. Esprit de corps: Share enthusiasm or devotion to the
organization
 Behavioral Management
• Focuses on the way a manager should
personally manage to motivate employees.
• Mary Parker Follett: an influential leader in
early managerial theory.
– Suggested workers help in analyzing their jobs for
improvements.
– The worker knows the best way to improve the job.
– If workers have the knowledge of the task, then they
should control the task.
 The Hawthorne Studies
• Study of worker efficiency at the
Hawthorne Works of the Western Electric
Co. during 1924-1932.
– Worker productivity was measured at various levels
of light illumination.
– Researchers found that regardless of whether the
light levels were raised or lowered, productivity
rose.
• Actually, it appears that the workers
enjoyed the attention they received as part
of the study and were more productive.
 Theory X and Y
• Douglas McGregor proposed the two
different sets of worker assumptions.
 Theory X: Assumes the average worker is lazy, dislikes
work and will do as little as possible.
• Managers must closely supervise and control through
reward and punishment.
 Theory Y: Assumes workers are not lazy, want to do a
good job and the job itself will determine if the worker
likes the work.
• Managers should allow the worker great latitude, and
create an organization to stimulate the worker.
 Theory X v. Theory Y

Theory X Theory Y
Employee is lazy Employee is not
lazy
Managers must
closely supervise Must create work
setting to build
Create strict rules initiative
& defined
rewards Provide authority
to workers
 Theory Z
• William Ouchi researched the cultural
differences between Japan and USA.
– USA culture emphasizes the individual, and managers tend to
feel workers follow the Theory X model.
– Japan culture expects worker committed to the organization
first and thus behave differently than USA workers.
• Theory Z combines parts of both the USA and
Japan structure.
– Managers stress long-term employment, work-group, and
organizational focus.
 Management Science
• Uses rigorous quantitative techniques to
maximize resources.
Quantitative management: utilizes linear programming,
modeling, simulation systems.
Operations management: techniques to analyze all
aspects of the production system.
Total Quality Management (TQM): focuses on
improved quality.
Management Information Systems (MIS): provides
information about the organization.
 Organization-Environment Theory
• Considers relationships inside and outside
the organization.
– The environment consists of forces, conditions, and
influences outside the organization.
• Systems theory considers the impact of
stages:
Input: acquire external resources.
Conversion: inputs are processed into goods and services.
Output: finished goods are released into the environment.
 Systems Considerations
• An open system interacts with the
environment. A closed system is self-
contained.
– Closed systems often undergo entropy and lose the
ability to control itself, and fails.
• Synergy: performance gains of the whole
surpass the components.
– Synergy is only possible in a coordinated system.
The Organization as an Open System

Input Stage Conversion Output

Stage Stage
Raw
Materials Machines Goods
Human skills Services

Sales of outputs
Firm can then buy inputs
 Contingency Theory
• Assumes there is no one best way to manage.
– The environment impacts the organization and
managers must be flexible to react to environmental
changes.
– The way the organization is designed, control systems
selected, depend on the environment.
• Technological environments change rapidly,
so must managers.
 Structures
• Mechanistic: Authority is centralized at the
top. (Theory X)
– Employees closely monitored and managed.
– Very efficient in a stable environment.
• Organic: Authority is decentralized
throughout employees. (Theory Y)
– Much looser control than mechanistic.
– Managers can react quickly to changing environment.