Managers and You in the Workplace – Notes

🔹 History of Management

• Early Management Examples:

  • Egyptian pyramids & Great Wall of China showed large-scale management existed in ancient times.

  • Required organization, coordination, and oversight of thousands of workers.

• Adam Smith (1776) – The Wealth of Nations

  • Introduced division of labor (job specialization) → breaking down work into narrow, repetitive tasks to increase efficiency.

• Industrial Revolution (late 18th century)

  • Shift from human power to machine power. making it more economical to manufacture goods in factories.

  • Growth of factories increased

🔹 Major Approaches to Management

1. Classical Approach

   • Focus on efficiency, rationality.

   • Frederick Taylor was known as the father or management

   • Scientific Management: “one best way” for a job (Frederick W. Taylor, Frank & Lillian Gilbreth).

     • Taylor’s principles:

       1. Develop a science for each job element.

       2. Scientifically select, train, and develop workers.

       3. Cooperate with workers to ensure proper work.

       4. Divide responsibility between managers & workers.

     • Gilbreths developed “therbligs” (basic hand motions) to improve efficiency.

   • General Administrative Theory: Focus on describing what managers do and what makes for good management skills. (Henri Fayol, Max Weber).

     • Henri Fayol – Created fundamental rules of management that can be used in all organizational situations.14 Principles of Management (e.g., division of work, unity of command, equity, initiative).

     • REVIEW THE 14 PRINCIPLES

     • Max Weber – Bureaucracy: division of labor, hierarchy, detailed rules, and impersonal relationships.

2. Behavioral Approach

   • Organizational Behaviour: The study of the actions of people at work.

3. Quantitative Approach

   • Use of math, statistics, and quantitative techniques to improve decision-making.

4. Contemporary Approach

   • Integrates classical, behavioral, and quantitative insights to address modern challenges.

🔹 Managers and Organizations

• Definition of Manager: Someone who coordinates and oversees the work of others to ensure that organizational goals are met.

• Where Managers Work: In organizations ( which is an arrangement of people that work to accomplish a specific goal)

  Characteristics of Organizations

  1. Distinct purpose

  2. Deliberate structure

  3. People

Levels of Management

• Nonmanagerial Employees

• First-line Managers: Supervise non-managerial employees.

• Middle Managers: Manage first-line managers.

• Top Managers: Make organization-wide decisions, set strategies, goals.

🔹 Importance of Managers

• Critical in uncertain, complex, chaotic times.

• Ensure things get done efficiently and effectively.

• Directly affect employee productivity and loyalty.

🔹 Efficiency vs Effectiveness

• Efficiency: Doing things right (getting the maximum level of output out of the least amount of input) (max output, min input)

• Effectiveness: Doing the right things (achieving goals).

• Managers must balance both.

  LOOK AT PAGE 34

🔹 Functions of Management (Fayol’s framework)

1. Planning – setting/defining goals, establishing strategies to reach those goals, and developing plans of integration.

2. Organizing – arrange work, and resources to reach goals.

3. Leading – motivate, direct, and communicate with people (working with and through people to reach goals)

4. Controlling – monitor, compare, and correct performance.

🔹 Mintzberg’s Managerial Roles

• Roles are specific actions expected of a manager

• Interpersonal: Figurehead, leader, liaison.

• Informational: Monitor, disseminator, spokesperson.

• Decisional: Entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator, negotiator.

🔹 Katz’s Managerial Skills

• Technical Skills – job-specific knowledge & proficiency.

• Human Skills – ability to work with people.

• Conceptual Skills – ability to analyze and think abstractly.

📌 Skill Importance by Level:

• Top managers → conceptual skills most important.

• Middle managers → balanced mix.

• First-line managers → technical skills most important.

🔹 Challenges Facing Managers Today

1. Customer Focus – high-quality service is essential.

2. Technology – adopt and manage collaborative tools.

3. Social Media – manage online communication and branding.

4. Innovation – take risks, explore new ideas.

5. Sustainability – integrate environmental & social responsibility into strategy.

6. Employees – treating them well boosts productivity.

🔹 Universality of Management

• Needed in all types, sizes, and levels of organizations worldwide.

🔹 Work Reality

• In any career: you will manage or be managed.

🔹 Challenges of Being a Manager

• Can be thankless; includes clerical work.

• Frequent meetings and interruptions.

• Limited resources.

• Dealing with varied personalities.

🔹 Rewards of Being a Manager

• Create a productive work environment.

• Recognition, respect, and status.

• Attractive compensation (salary, bonuses, stock options).