Fundamental Management Principles & Managerial Roles

Programme & Course Context

• Programme Learning Outcomes (PLO)
  • $\text{PLO 1}$ – Apply knowledge & tools in functional areas of business, arts, social sciences.
  • $\text{PLO 3}$ – Demonstrate communication skills (individual & group).
  • $\text{PLO 4}$ – Implement critical-thinking & problem-solving in relevant fields.
• Course Learning Outcomes (CLO)
  • $\text{CLO 1}$ – Explain basic fundamentals of management principles & theories (Cognitive).
  • $\text{CLO 2}$ – Apply management principles & theories in business operations (Cognitive).
  • $\text{CLO 3}$ – Relate management principles in actual business environments (Affective).
• Mapping
  • All three CLOs map to multiple PLOs (A, M, N, S, etc.) with primary teaching via Lectures & Tutorials and assessment through Tests, Exams, Assignments, Presentations.

Rationale for Studying Management

• Helps you learn how to:
  • Deal with external organisations.
  • Relate to supervisors.
  • Interact with co-workers.
  • Manage yourself.
• Foundation for understanding planning, organising, leading, controlling in any workplace.

Course Overview by Management Function

• PLANNING
  • Introduction to Management; Classical & Contemporary Theories.
  • Planning Concepts; Strategic Management.
  • Individual & Group Decision-Making.
• ORGANISING
  • Organisational Culture & Structure.
  • Human-Resource Management (Recruitment focus).
• LEADING
  • Managing Individual Differences & Behaviours.
  • Motivation theories & applications.
  • Leadership & Power dynamics.
• CONTROLLING
  • Designing Successful Control Systems.

Learning Outcomes for This Topic

1. Explain management & the four management functions.
2. Describe the three levels of management.
3. Identify three types of managerial roles.
4. Distinguish the three principal managerial skills.

Definition of Management

• The pursuit of organisational goals efficiently & effectively, by integrating the work of people through planning, organising, leading, and controlling organisational resources.
  • Keywords: pursuit, integration, P-O-L-C, goals, resources.

Efficiency vs. Effectiveness

• Efficiency (Means)
  • Using resources (people, money, materials) wisely & cost-effectively.
  • Concerned with how work is done.
• Effectiveness (Ends)
  • Achieving desired results, making the right decisions, and carrying them out.
  • Concerned with what is accomplished.
• Examples
  • Online ticket system: Efficient (low staffing & time) but may be ineffective if UX frustrates customers.
  • Automated hotline: Same efficiency trade-off; effectiveness depends on customer satisfaction & problem resolution.
  • Burger King adding breakfast: An attempt to raise effectiveness (higher revenues via new market/time segment).
• Exam-type Q2 illustration
  • Two managers finishing projects on schedule (effective) but different budgets $\Rightarrow$ lower cost means greater efficiency.

The Management Process (P-O-L-C)

• Planning
  • Setting goals; deciding how to achieve them; forecasting; setting priorities.
• Organising
  • Arranging tasks, people, resources; designing structure; allocating authority.
• Leading
  • Motivating & influencing employees to work toward goals; communicating vision; handling conflict.
• Controlling
  • Monitoring performance, comparing with goals, taking corrective action.
• Daily Example
  • Laura runs a daily sales & expense report $\Rightarrow$ Controlling.

Levels of Management

• Top Managers
  • Long-term strategic decisions, establish objectives, policies, strategies.
  • Titles: CEO, President, Vice-President, General Manager.
  • Time horizon: $3{-}5$ yrs & beyond.
• Middle Managers
  • Implement top-level strategies, coordinate first-line managers.
  • Titles: Plant Manager, Regional Manager, Dean.
  • Time horizon: $6$–$24$ months.
• First-Line Managers
  • Daily operational decisions, supervise non-managerial staff.
  • Titles: Supervisor, Department Head, Team Leader.
  • Time horizon: daily/weekly.
• Quick-check Example
  • Judy supervising assembly line $\Rightarrow$ First-line manager.

Types of Organisations

• Profit: Generate $\text{profit}=\text{revenue}-\text{costs}$ by offering goods/services.
• Non-profit: Service provision; executives often called administrators; e.g., public universities, hospitals, Red Cross.
• Mutual-Benefit: Voluntary associations advancing member interests; e.g., trade unions, clubs, political parties.

Mintzberg’s Managerial Roles (3 Categories, 10 Roles)

• Interpersonal (Figurehead, Leader, Liaison)
  • Build relationships, represent organisation symbolically.
  • Examples: hosting visitors (figurehead), motivating subordinates (leader), networking across departments (liaison).
• Informational (Monitor, Disseminator, Spokesperson)
  • Handle information flow.
  • Examples: scanning media for trends (monitor), emailing policy updates (disseminator), press conferences (spokesperson).
• Decisional (Entrepreneur, Disturbance Handler, Resource Allocator, Negotiator)
  • Use information to make choices.
  • Examples: launching a new product (entrepreneur), settling labour disputes (disturbance handler), budgeting (resource allocator), mediating supplier contract (negotiator).

Expanded Illustrations for Roles

• Structured-question scenarios (UTAR president)
  • Advising deans on caution $\Rightarrow$ Main: Interpersonal – Leader; Sub-role: guiding & disciplining.
  • Graduation speech to public $\Rightarrow$ Informational – Spokesperson.
  • Staying alert to government policy $\Rightarrow$ Informational – Monitor.
  • Initiating Medical Faculty $\Rightarrow$ Decisional – Entrepreneur.
  • Attending official ceremonies $\Rightarrow$ Interpersonal – Figurehead.

Principal Managerial Skills

• Technical Skills
  • Job-specific expertise; crucial at lower levels where hands-on supervision occurs.
  • Examples: coding for IT supervisor, accounting rules for finance manager.
• Conceptual Skills
  • Analytical, big-picture thinking; vital for top management to align organisation with environment.
  • Involves systems thinking & synergy recognition.
• Human Skills (a.k.a. “Soft” or “Interpersonal” Skills)
  • Ability to work with, motivate, & understand others; equally important across ALL levels.
  • Includes communication, empathy, conflict resolution.
• Quiz Reminder
  • Skill important at every level $\Rightarrow$ Human skill.

Ethical, Philosophical & Practical Implications

• Managers balance efficiency (resource stewardship) with effectiveness (stakeholder value).
• Ethical leadership influences all three managerial roles: e.g., integrity in spokesperson role builds trust; fairness in resource allocation prevents conflict.
• Critical-thinking (PLO 4) links to conceptual skills; communication ability (PLO 3) underpins human skills.

Numerical & Statistical References

• Project cost comparison: $\text{RM }200\text{K}$ vs $\text{RM }300\text{K}$ illustrates $\frac{\text{lower cost}}{\text{same output}}$ $\Rightarrow$ higher efficiency.
• Budgeting & resource allocation employ quantitative tools (variance reports, ROI, break-even analysis) to feed controlling function.

Connections to Broader Curriculum

• Concepts feed directly into later course modules (strategy, HR, leadership).
• Understanding P-O-L-C today provides scaffolding for data-driven control systems and motivational theories covered later.
• Managerial roles framework will reappear when analysing leadership case studies and organisational communication flows.

Study Tips & Potential Exam Angles

• Memorise definitions but practice applying them in scenarios.
• Distinguish means vs. ends (efficiency vs. effectiveness) using cost-output logic.
• Map each managerial role to a concrete activity for rapid recall.
• Sketch a pyramid for levels of management and annotate typical decisions & time horizons.
• For skills, think “T-C-H ladder”: Technical (bottom), Human (across), Conceptual (top).
• Use PESTEL news scanning as an example of monitor role & conceptual skill synergy.