What is Management?

Management is organizing and coordinating organizational activities to achieve defined objectives. 

Managers are the people responsible for making that happen. One clear distinction to be made is that managers plan, organize, direct, control, and guide the work of others, while employees perform the actual work. 

Managers are considered effective if they achieve their goals, and efficient if they do it with a minimal amount of resources.

Regardless of where they work or the size of their company, all managers follow a specific management process and perform the same functions in doing their jobs. 

This process consists of five crucial functions that are carried out in a defined sequence to achieve goals and objectives. 

Planning, organizing, staffing, leading and controlling.

Planning

The purpose of planning is to set goals and objectives and devise ways to achieve them. Goals must be set first. A good example from real life is planning a trip. First, you decide where you want to go, the goal, and then you decide how you're going to get there, the plan. 

Planning produces policies, standard operating procedures, regulations and rules. For supervisors, the outcomes of planning include operating schedules, quality specifications, budgets, timetables, and deadlines. 

Without planning, supervisors and organizations have no direction, no idea what to do, no standards to meet, no targets, and no pathway for achieving anything. The old saying, failing to plan is planning to fail, is absolutely true.

Organizing

Organizing is how supervisors set themselves up for success. 

Through organizing, managers analyze and arrange the pattern of work relationships so as to meet organizational goals. 

During the organizing process, managers coordinate employees, resources, policies, and procedures that facilitate the goals identified in the plan. The end goal is to establish the organizational structure of the department and divide work into jobs. 

The manager is organizing when he/she is: establishing a structure of working relationships that will allow his staff to interact and cooperate to achieve organizational goals.

Staffing

The goal of staffing is to obtain the best available people for the organization and to develop the skills and abilities of those people. It's all about putting the right people in the right jobs.

 With the right training supervisors first, figure out how many and what kinds of employees the department will need to carry out its work. 

Then they interview, select, and train people who appear to be the most suitable to fill the open jobs. If this is done right, the organization will have the best possible chance for success.

Leading

Leading moves an organization forward. Leading is the process of influencing and supporting others to follow you and to do the things that need to be done willingly.

 Supervisors lead by providing employees with motivation, communication, and direction. Leading drives the success of an organization more than any other function. Without good leadership, objectives and goals will not be achieved.

Controlling

Once plans are set in motion, supervisors keep an eye on how well they are working through controlling. 

Controlling is the process by which supervisors measure results and compare them to standards, analyze deviations from standards, and take action to put results back on track. 

Basically, they figured out whether anything is going wrong and if so, they fix it. Controlling is closely linked to planning because control actions are guided by the goals established through planning

Basic Principles of Management

Henry Fayol, also known as the ‘father of modern management theory’ gave a new perception of the concept of management. He introduced a general theory that can be applied to all levels of management and every department. 

The Fayol theory is practiced by managers to organize and regulate the internal activities of an organization. He concentrated on accomplishing managerial efficiency.

The principles of management are the essential, underlying factors that form the foundations of successful management. According to Fayol in his book General and Industrial Management (1916), there are 14 'Principles of Management'. 

1.    Division of Work - According to this principle the whole work is divided into small tasks. The specialization of the workforce according to the skills of a person, creating specific personal and professional development within the labor force and therefore increasing productivity; leads to specialization which increases the efficiency of labor.

2.    Authority and Responsibility - This is the issue of commands followed by responsibility for their consequences. Authority means the right of a superior to give enhanced orders to his subordinates; responsibility means an obligation for performance.

3.    Discipline - It is obedience, proper conduct in relation to others, respect of authority, etc. It is essential for the smooth functioning of all organizations.

4.    Unity of Command - This principle states that each subordinate should receive orders and be accountable to one and only one superior. If an employee receives orders from more than one superior, it is likely to create confusion and conflict.

5. Unity of Direction - All related activities should be put under one group, there should be one plan of action for them, and they should be under the control of one manager.

6.    Subordination of Individual Interest to Mutual Interest - The management must put aside personal considerations and put company objectives first. Therefore the interests of goals of the organization must prevail over the personal interests of individuals.

7.    Remuneration - Workers must be paid sufficiently as this is a chief motivation of employees and therefore greatly influences productivity. The quantum and methods of remuneration payable should be fair, reasonable, and rewarding of effort.

8.    The Degree of Centralization - The amount of power wielded by central management depends on company size. Centralization implies the concentration of decision-making authority at the top management.

9.    Line of Authority/Scalar Chain - This refers to the chain of superiors ranging from top management to the lowest rank. The principle suggests that there should be a clear line of authority from top to bottom linking all managers at all levels. The popular name for this principle is "The Chain of command".

10. Order - Social order ensures the fluid operation of a company through the authoritative procedure. Material order ensures safety and efficiency in the workplace. Order should be acceptable and under the rules of the company.

11. Equity - Employees must be treated kindly, and justice must be enacted to ensure a just workplace. Managers should be fair and impartial when dealing with employees, giving equal attention towards all employees.

12. Stability of Tenure of Personnel - Stability of tenure of personnel is a principle stating that in order for an organization to run smoothly, personnel (especially managerial personnel) must not frequently enter and exit the organization.

13. Initiative - Using the initiative of employees can add strength and new ideas to an organization. Initiative on the part of employees is a source of strength for organization because it provides new and better ideas. Employees are likely to take greater interest in the functioning of the organization.

14. Esprit de Corps/Team Spirit - This refers to the need of managers to ensure and develop morale in the workplace; individually and communally. Team spirit helps develop an atmosphere of mutual trust and understanding. Team spirit helps to finish the task on time.