PRINCIPLES OF

MANAGEMENT BM101
NOTES

INTRODUCTION

MANAGEMENT AS A FIELD OF STUDY

The practice of management goes back thousands of

years, but it was only at about the same time as the
Industrial Revolution (mid 1700s) that people started
to study management. It was during the Industrial
Revolution that manufacturing shifted from a
household setting to a factory setting and that people
started to realize the importance of human beings in
producing products. The individuals that headed
organizations (the designated managers) realized
that they depended on human resources within
organizations to provide the goods and services
customers sought and that they should treat them in a
certain way.

WHAT IS MANAGEMENT?
A managers primary challenge is to
solve problems creatively, and you
should view management as the art
of getting things done through the
efforts
of other
people. The
principles of management, then, are
the means by which you actually
manage, that is, get things done
through
othersindividually,
in
groups, or in organizations.

 Formally defined, the principles of

management are the activities that
plan, organize, and control the
operations of the basic elements of
[people],
materials,
machines,
methods,
money
and
markets,
providing direction and coordination,
and giving leadership to human
efforts, so as to achieve the sought
objectives of the enterprise.

WHAT IS A MANAGER?

Who Are Managers?

Learning Objectives
Know what is meant by manager.
Be able to describe the types of managers.
Understand the nature of managerial work.

The manager is a person who has been

appointed in a leading position with
associated power in the organization.

Types of managers
Top managers are responsible for developing
the organizations strategy and being a
steward for its vision and mission.
Functional managers are responsible for the
efficiency and effectiveness of an area, such as
accounting or marketing.
Supervisory or team managers are responsible
for coordinating a subgroup of a particular
function or a team composed of members from
different parts of the organization.

Management Functions
A managers primary challenge is to
solve problems creatively. While
drawing from a variety of academic
disciplines, and to help managers
respond to the challenge of creative
problem
solving,
principles
of
management
have
long
been
categorized into the four major
functions of planning, organizing,
leading, and controlling (the P-O-L-C

The P-O-L-C Framework

Management levels

 Top Management
Top mangers take responsibility for the overall
direction of an organization as presented in the
vision and mission statements. They have to
develop goals, policies and strategies for the
entire organization. Top managers are few in
number,
and
this
small
group
takes
responsibility for overall focused activities such
as strategic planning. Top managers spend
most of their day on planning and leading, with
a long-term and future oriented focus.
Most of their leading time is with key people,
organizations and other stakeholders outside
their own organizations.

 Middle Management
Middle managers usually act as department
heads, marketing or human resource
managers, or project managers for example.
These middle managers must have a good
understanding of the overall organizational
strategy as well as the implementation
thereof. They focus on tactical planning,
coordinating employee activities in order to
implement strategies, determining which
products or services to provide and deciding
how to market these products or services to
customers. middle managers supervise firstlevel managers and departments.

 First-level management
First-level managers are responsible for managing
the actual or physical implementation of all the
strategic and tactical plans communicated from top
to middle to first-level management. They take
responsibility for operational planning, which is
reflected in taking responsibility for the production
of goods or provision of services. Non-managerial
employees report to them and are responsible for
the basic process of production or service provision.
First-level managers in most organizations spend
little time with higher management or with people
from other organizations. Their focus is on specific
operational issues and they take responsibility for
their focus only.

 Managerial skills

 Management skills are essential for

managers in order to fulfill their roles as
managers who are responsible for the
planning,
organizing,
leading
and
controlling of resources. The three primary
skills needed to be an effective manager
are:
Conceptual
skills
include decisionmaking, problem solving and analytical
skills.
Human skills include communication and
negotiating skills.
Technical skills include administrative
and computer skills.

Changing roles of management and

managers
Managers are responsible for the
processes
of
getting
activities
completed
efficiently
with
and
through other people and setting and
achieving the firms goals through
the
execution
of
four
basic
management functions: planning,
organizing, leading, and controlling.
Both sets of processes utilize human,
financial, and material resources.

 According to Henry Mintzberg, to meet the many

demands of performing their functions, managers
assume multiple roles. A role is an organized set of
behaviors, and Mintzberg identified ten roles common
to the work of all managers. As summarized in the
following figure, the ten roles are divided into three
groups: interpersonal, informational, and decisional.
The informational roles link all managerial work
together. The interpersonal roles ensure that
information is provided. The decisional roles make
significant use of the information. The performance of
managerial roles and the requirements of these roles
can be played at different times by the same manager
and to different degrees, depending on the level and
function of management. The ten roles are described
individually, but they form an integrated whole.

The managerial roles

 Decisional roles

 Interpersonal role

 Informational role

CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE
MANAGERS
Having leadership with vision and the ability to sell their
dream (vision) to their subordinates in order for the
subordinates to make this dream (vision) a reality.
Acknowledging their dependence on others in order to get
co-operation from managers and employees to reach
goals and objectives.
Taking the responsibility to create favourable working
conditions under which employees will be will to
participate and develop the ability to be successful.
Being well informed about all information relating to
organizational activities (internally and externally) as well
as communicating the information to relevant employees.
The ability to use limited resources optimally in order to
be most effective and efficient in achieving set goals and
objectives in order to realize the vision.

 The ability to make good quality decisions under

conditions varying from known and well-defined
conditions to unknown and unique circumstances.
Continuous focus on the outcomes to be achieved
considering the vision, mission as well as the
goals and objectives of individuals, team,
departments and the greater organization.
Creating opportunities for all employees with
incentives
to
motivate
them
to
perform
maximally.
The ability to manage time in order to support
effective and efficient organizational processes.
Initiating and supporting employee participation
by means of self-management and continuous
learning,
decision-making,
creativity
and
entrepreneurial behaviour.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Give four examples of a managers responsibility regarding
human and financial resources.
Briefly explain the four primary management tasks.
Give a graphic presentation indicating the association between
different management levels, primary management skills and
primary management tasks.
Explain the essence of technical skills to manager.
Give four examples of secondary management skills for
effective organizing and leading.
Identify and briefly explain the four different roles indicating the
managerial decisional role.
Discuss the importance of entrepreneurial managerial role.
What makes a manager successful in the new millennium?
Discuss any two competencies needed by the modern manager.