General Management Theory
scientific management: lower levels
General Management: broader theories for all levels of manangement
Henri Fayol
General Management Theory
1. Engineer, manager of large French mining business
2. Basic functions of a manager (where we got the 4 functions of management)
A. Panning
B. Organizing
C. Commanding
D. Coordinating
E. Controlling
3. Management- a 'process'
4. 'Universality' of management principles
5. skill to be learned-not an inherent talent
6. Look at organization from top down, not shop level up like Taylor
Chester Barnard
General Management Theory
1. Bell Telephone
2. Manager's Key Tasks:
A. Cooperation
B. Common purpose
C. Communication
D. Goals
E. Motivation
3. The function of the excutive
Hawthorne Effect
A. Attention- benefits
B. Improperly designed study
-workers not motivated solely by $
Personal, social factors affect motivation
-need to study quality of supervision and management
-need to study informal work groups and their influence on employee motivation and productivity
Triangular Management
-Three approaches to solve a management problem
A. Classical- scientific management problem
B. Behavioral- human side
C. Management Science- operations research- computer analysis of complex problems
Objectives
-Goals, targets, desired end results
-A specific commitment to achieve a measurable result within a given time frame
Objectives are important because
1. Targets
2. Guide for decision making
3. Measurement of performance evaluation
4. Encourage commitment
5. Source of motivation
6. Guide for efficiency
source of motivation
management cannot make you do something, you have to want something to achieve it
personal objectives
goals of individuals within the organization. Many personal goals will not be identical with goals of organization
Areas of businesses it is important to set objectives
Many groups (internal & external) influence a firm- firm usually has many objectives and many types of objectives to work on. The managers in a business should have a balancing act to be able to set objectives to improve a business
Mission Statement
specifies key organizational values and helps define the organizations special place in the economy or culture. Focus point for planning.
Why is the mission statement important in the organization
It is constantly revised and states what the purpose of the company is
Planning
the process of
A. Determining Objectives
B. Setting up the courses of action (plans) needed to obtain these goals
Why do planners need to be Reactive
if something happens in the internal or external environment make sure to act responsibly
Contingency Plans
means pursuing goals, bridging the gap between org's current state & future desired state. Determine what might happen in the future if certain actions are followed
Planning is so important because
1. helps enterprises succeed
2. provides direction & a sense of purpose
3. helps managers cope with change & future
4. employee involvement
Managers resist spending time on the planning function because:
1. many functions
2. immediate problems
3. hard work/ time
4. measure results
5. thinking/ paper work
Strategic
long range or long term plans, plans that deal with more than 1 year into the future, middle to upper management
tactical
short term or range planning, plans for current operating year, lower, middle & upper levels of management
The Planning Process
1. Stating Organizational Objectives
2. List alternative ways of reaching organizational objectives
3. developing premisis upon which each alternative is based
4. choose the best alternative for reaching objectives
5. develop plans to pursue chosen alternative
6. put plans into action- implement
7. evaluate- control
internal and external environments are important to planners because:
they take advantage of opportunities and protect the organization
Top managements primary responsibilities in relation to planning are
final responsibility and fire-fighting.
Qualities of a good planner
someone already with the company & experience in the industry you're hiring for & has conceptual skills (Big Picture) and looks closely at internal and external environment
Characteristics of a good plan
dealing with the past & present, forecast-prediction of the future, rational or real information, plans should be in writing & very specific, and plans must list strengths and how to over come weakness
Types of decisions primarily handled by each level of management
Top- non-routine
Middle- routine
Middle- non-routine
Lower- routine
Decision-making process
1. Awareness of a problem
2. State the problem
3. Develop alternatives
4. Evaluate Alternatives
5. Choose & implement the best decision
6. Evaluate the decision
Complete Certainty
Decision makers know exactly what the outcome of their decision will be (no risk)
Risk Condition
Decision makers have some idea of what the outcome will be about their alternative decisions
Advantages of Group decision making
-more knowledge about the problem
-different points of view on the problem
-more alternatives identified
-better understanding of the problem
-greater acceptance on final decision