NATURE OF MANAGEMENT

1
NATURE OF MANAGEMENT

• Watson (1994) - ensuring that the resources under
  control are appropriately directed
• Brech (1975) - a social process entailing the
  responsibility for the effective and economical
  planning and regulation of the operations of an
  enterprise, in fulfilment of given purposes or
  tasks
• Stewart (1986) - deciding what should be done and
  then getting other people to do it
• Drucker (1979) managers perform 3 tasks
  - fulfilling the specific purpose and mission
  of the organisation making work
  productive and the worker achieving
  and managing social impacts and social
  responsibilities

2
CLASSICAL (FUNCTIONAL) APPROACH

• Fayol (1949) - POC3 managers plan-organise-c
  ommand-coordinate-control
• Brech plan-control-coordinate-motivate
• Mahoney, Jerdee and Carroll (1963, 65) Penfield
  (1975) PRINCESS model - plan-represent-investi
  gate-negotiate- coordinate-evaluate-supervise-st
  aff
• Drucker managers - set objectives-organise-mo
  tivate-measure and control-develop people

3

• Should managers be engaged in these
  activities? Fayol (1949), Urwick (1952)
  concluded that success in these activities is
  related to managerial success, a view also
  supported by Gillen and Carroll
  (1985) Stagner (1969) - time spent on planning
  is related to managerial skills
• However, since the 1970s, the POC3 approach has
  been called into question, notably
  by Mintzberg Kotter Stewart
• based on behaviour observation studies

4

• Mintzberg (1970, 71, 73, 75)
• Study of CEOs, and review of other observational
  studies
• Mgt. Work characterised by brief episodes,
  involving internal and external sources, of
  varying importance and relevance is dominated by
  verbal communication (mostly telephone or ad hoc
  meetings), and managers receive more information
  than they disseminate
• Identified 10 Managerial Roles
• Interpersonal figurehead - leader -
  liaison
• Informational monitor - disseminator -
  spokesman
• Decisional entrepreneurial - disturbance
  handler - resource allocator - negotiator

5

• Stewart (1976), in a similar study, identified 4
  types of management jobs
• hub - which involve much contact with
  subordinates, peers and supervisors
• peer dependent - frequently found on the boundary
  between jobs / units
• man management - traditional superior -
  subordinate supervision
• solo

6

• Kotter (1982) - Management Networks
• Based on an in-depth survey of 15 successful
  general managers found large proportion
  of time spent interacting with others,
  internally and externally this provides
  information and facilitates dissemination of
  information topics covered include those
  relevant to formal task agendas and also
  managers own personal goals and agendas
• This process results in the creation of
  managerial networks which are used to
  facilitate both agendas to gather relevant
  information to implement agendas
• Kotter contends that the quality of management
  networks influences management performance

7

• Criticisms of observation approach
• lacks specificity
• fails to examine relationships between role
  performance and unit success
• sample size
• measures of time do not indicate importance of
  the task, or amount accomplished
• managers surveyed often atypical
• focus is not on the REASONS for the observed
  behaviours
• Carroll and Taylor (1968)
• managerial work is largely mental and not
  directly observable
• observing physical manifestations tells very
  little

8

• Carroll and Gillen (1987)
• managers work from a goal agenda
• have tentative plans about how to get there
• these change with new information and environment
  changes
• detailed planning is constrained by
  interdependencies and other constraints
• must also be concerned about other managers goals

9

• reciprocity is needed to achieve work agenda
• organisation imposes core responsibilities and
  tasks
• organisation imposes a framework of controls and
  coordination
• manager has own agenda, independent of the
  organisation
• SO - manager must allocate time to

10

• organisations formal plans and goals
• goals and plans of others in the organisation
• own plans and goals
• In addition, he / she has to find time for
  opportunities and threats which arise both
  internally and externally