Oromia state university

Department oof management

Course ; Introduction to management

Instructor: Asfaw D, (MBA)

1.1. DEFINITION OF MANAGEMENT

Different scholars from different

discipline view and interpret management
from their own angles
E.g.
 The economists consider management

as a resource like land, labor, capital

and organization.
The bureaucrats look upon it as a system

of authority to achieve business goals.

The sociologists consider managers as a

part of the class elite in the society.

SOME COMMON DEFINITIONS
1. Management is the process of coordinating all
resources through Planning, Organizing,
Staffing, Leading and Controlling to achieve
Organizational objectives.
2. Management is the art of getting things done
through other people by making work
environment conducive for others.
3. Management is the utilization of scientifically
derived principles to examine and improve
collective efforts.
4. Management is the process of attaining
organizational objective in an efficient and
effective manner through the five managerial
functions
DEFINITION------
 Efficiency is getting the most output from
the least amount of inputs in order to
minimize resource costs. Efficiency is often
referred to as ―doing things right.

 Effectiveness-is completing activities so

that organizational goals are attained and is
often described as ―doing the right
things.
 1.2. SIGNIFICANCE OF MANAGEMENT
Why do we study management ?
There are different reasons to study management. These
are:
 It is important for personal life.
 Management is universal: managers work in all types of

organizations, at all levels, and in all functional areas.

 Societies depend on organizations for the provision of

goods and services. .

 It affects the accomplishment of social, economic,

political and organizational goals

 managing has been essential to ensure the coordination

of individual efforts.
 the most common path to become successful manager

involves a combination of education and experience.

 Management is needed to coordinate and direct the

efforts of individuals, groups and the entire

organization to achieve desired objectives.
1.3 MANAGERIAL FUNCTIONS
Management functions are a set of
interrelated activities and sometimes called
management process.
They are five management functions:
 Planning:
Process of setting goals and choosing the
means to achieve those goals.
 Organizing:

Process of arranging and allocating work,

authority (the right to influence others) and
resource among organizations members so
that they can achieve organizations goals.
MANAGERIAL FUNCTIONS------

 Staffing:
Process of obtaining and maintaining capable and
competent candidates to fill all job position
(recruitment, selection, development, and retention
of employees)
 Leading:

Process of directing and influencing (the capacity to

affect other‘s action) organizational members to
achieve organizational goals. (guiding (directing),
influencing, and motivating employees to perform
(accomplish) essential tasks)
 Controlling:

Process of ensuring that actual activities conform

to planned activities.
MANAGEMENT PROCESS---
1.4 TYPES OF MANAGERS AND
LEVEL OF MANAGEMENT
Types of Managers
Manager?
are individuals who are responsible for the
work of the others. They are individuals in
an organization who direct activities of
others.
 In any organization managers may be
defined by whether they are general
managers or functional managers.
 In addition, managers are often designated
by their level in the organization i.e. top
level managers, middle level managers
LEVEL------
 Top managers: (CEOs, chief operating
officers, presidents, and vice-presidents)

They are responsible for the overall

coordination of the organization and for
directing the major activities of the
company‘s various divisions or units. Top
managers are ultimately responsible for the
success or failure of an organization
 Middle level managers:(Department
heads, division managers, personnel
directors, sales managers)
LEVEL-----
These individuals manage other
mangers and possibly other operative
employees and are typically
responsible for translating the goals set
by top management into specific details
that lower-level manager can perform.

 Lower Level Managers:(supervisors,

team leaders, and foremen)
They are responsible for directing the
day-to-day activity of operative
employees.
 LEVEL OF MANAGEMENT
Level of management is hierarchical arrangements of
managerial positions in an organization.

All organizations, except the very smallest, have three

levels of management:
 Top Level Management,

 Middle Level Management, and

 Lower Level Management.

1. TOP LEVEL MANAGEMENT
 As the name indicates they come at
the top of organizational hierarchy
 Responsible for the overall
management of organization
 They determine the form of an
organization and define its overall
character, mission & direction.
 They shape organizations goal and do
what is necessary on the highest
levels to achieve those goals.
 Top managers provide resources,
monitor progress and make strategic
decision.
TOP LEVEL MGT
 Officially represent the organization to
the external environment. They guide the
interactions with its environment.
 Top Management is composed of a
comparative small group of executives.
2. MIDDLE LEVEL MANAGEMENT
 As the name indicates they are positioned b/n Top
and Lower Level Management
 Occupy roles positional between first line and top-

level Management.
 Responsible for implementation of polices and

plans developed by top management.

 They are charged with integrating the activities of

different groups so that they operate in harmony.

 They transfer information and materials among

different groups and coordinate organization's

activities.
They supervise and coordinate the activities of
lower level mangers.
Serve as a link (bridge) between top management
and supervisory (operational or first line or lower
level) management.
3. LOWER LEVEL MANAGEMENT
 They are found at the bottom of
organization's hierarchy. Also called first
line, supervisory or operational level
management
 They are responsible for directly managing

operating (non- managerial) employees and

resources.
 They devote much portion of their time

on supervisory(day -to -day activities of

the organization).
 They are the only managers who do not

manage other managers.

 They comprise the largest managerial group

in most organization.
1.5 MANAGEMENT SKILLS AND ROLES
 A skill is an ability to translate action into
results
 Managers must possess skills. Skill can be
innate, but managers must also be able to
translate experience and learning into
action.
 There essential skills of managers:
technical, human, and conceptual.
MANAGERIAL SKILLS VS LEVEL OF
MGT
SKILL OF MANAGERS -------

 Conceptual skills: involves the ability of

managers to see the organization as a whole
(holistic manner) and understand and how its
parts depend on one other, and anticipating
how a change in any of its parts will affect the
whole.
 Very critical for top level management

 Human Skills: involve the ability of the

manager to work with, communicate with,

understand and motivate individuals and
groups in organizations.
 Equally necessary at all levels of management

 Technical Skills: refers to the knowledge to

perform specific tasks

 Highly important for first line management
MANAGERIAL ROLES
 There are ten specific roles performed by
managers which are included under three
categories:
 Interpersonal roles: Figure Head, Liaison,
Leader, Monitor
 Informational roles: Disseminator, Spokes
person, Entrepreneur
 Decisional roles: Disturbance Handler,
Resource Allocator, Negotiator
MNGRIAL ROLES -----
 Figure Head-performing
symbolic/ceremonial duties and representing
organizational unit in all matters of formality.
 Liaison-interacting with people both within

and outside organization.

 Leader- guiding, influencing & motivating

followers/subordinates.
 Monitor-gathering both internal and external

information
 Disseminator-transmitting information
internally within the organization.
MNGRIAL ROLES -----

 Spokes person-transmitting information

externally in to the organization
environment
 Entrepreneur- initiating changes to improve

organizational performance
 Disturbance Handler- dealing with
unforeseen events and crisis and giving
solution
 Resource Allocator-giving decision where

people, money, materials and information

should be allocated.
 Negotiator-bargaining with other various

individuals and representative of other

1.6 MANAGEMENT: SCIENCE OR ART?

Science is characterized by making

conclusions based on actual facts
and verifies knowledge through
cause-effect relationship.
 It can be generally learnt,

thought, and researched to know

the universal truth.
 Managers can work better by

using the organized knowledge

about management, and it is this
knowledge that constitutes a
science.
1.6 UNIVERSALITY OF
MANAGEMENT

management is universal for the following

reasons.
 All managers perform the five managerial

functions even if with different emphasis.

 It is applicable for all human efforts; be it

business, non-business, governmental, private.

It is useful from individual to institutional efforts.
 Management utilizes scientifically derived

operational principles.
 All managers operate in organizations with

specific objectives.
 Management, in all organizations, helps to

achieve organizational objectives.

 Art is characterized by using common
sense, personal feeling, beliefs, impulses,
etc.
 Management/Managing, like all other

practices-music composition,
engineering, accountancy or baseball- is
an art.
 It is know-how, skill or how to accomplish

the desired objectives with insufficient

data and information or when there is
limited use of secondary sources of
information.
 It is doing things in the light of realities

of a situation.
 Thus, management as a practice is an art;

the organized knowledge underlying the