Week 1 - The Management Process
*Purpose of the unit is to provide a comprehensive overview of contemporary business management
principles and their applications in modern business*
The Management Functions
Managers and Management
- Multiple changes and crises > place pressure on management organisations
- Globalisation of economies
- Technological innovations
- Democratisation
- Rectification of social imbalances
➢ Managers are tasked with adapting to changes and need to keep pace with new
developments and enhancements
➢ Due to Covid-19 new business models and technology have been implemented (such
as the e-business model)
- Greater diversity in the workplace creates new dynamics
- Managers need to do and produce more with less resources / fewer inputs
- Managers have to embrace change, enabling a collaborative and enabling workplace
Netflix case study
When you are a successful company, others are bound to follow and copy you
➢ Currently Netflix is under pressure from other streaming competitors
- Managers directly impact performance of organisations, as they’re responsible for entrenching
the values, beliefs, and norms of top management while ensuring sustainability
Management and the Management Process
Netflix case study
Managers in that organisation were able to manage the company through many changes, adapting
business models and thriving in spite of challenges.
➢ We need to follow some of these actions
What is management?
- The process of working with and through others to achieve an organisational objective
- They need to do this as efficiently and effectively as possible
6 components of management
1. Management is a process
What does the management process consist of?
- Set of interrelated activities (mangement functions)
- Repetitive process: planning > organising > leading > control
➢ They can happen at the same time or repeat during the various stages of the
management life cycle
★ Strategic plans by top management, ranging from short to long term. Need to cascade
down into the organisation and becoming tactical plans, which are constructed and
, executed by functional managers. Next level is operational plans, which are executed
by lower management and supervisors of teams.
★ Organising involves allocating the right resources to achieve organisational
objectives. The right resources needed to do the right jobs at the right time. Managers
need to match resource needs with the available resources.
★ Managers work with people who need to be led. We do this by inspiring them to
perform the actions needed to meet the set goals and plans. Managers need to
collaborate with their superiors, groups, etc. to attain the necessary goals. Managers
need to influence and use their power to inspire employees to execute the plans that
will lead to accomplishing organisational goals. Objectives need to be communicated
by managers as part of the leading function.
★ Managers need to ensure that organisation is following the right course, and the
control function allows them to measure and identify deviations from those plans.
They can take action to rectify where they have gone off what was planned.
2. Working with and through others
- If teams do not work together to achieve their goals, they will likely fail. Management
is a social process in which people work together to build a product or deliver a
service.
- Products/services cannot be produced by individuals, but need to be produced by
teams working together
- Managers need to work with and through others, and with the organisation itself, to
get things done and to meet the organisational objectives.
3. Achieving organisational goals and objectives
- Objective is to meet the end goal or target
- Whenever setting objectives, we need to break down all the actions required to
achieve it
- Organisations set objectives to meet their strategic goals
- Goals need to be SMART
- Clarity of these goals is important so that all participants can understand them and
management activities can be coordinated so that objectives can be reached
4. Balancing effectiveness and efficiency
- Role of a manager is to balance effectiveness with efficiency when working with
resources, especially costly ones like people
Effectiveness vs Efficiency
- Effectiveness is when organisation formulates and achieves appropriate goals or they
are doing the right things.
- Using skills and talents allows efficiency. Producing maximum output with minimal
resources spent and wastage
- If the ratio between benefits and costs were favourable, we would not take
too long or spend too much - efficiency.
5. Making the most of scarce resources
- Raw materials, skilled labour, and capital
- Note that not all resources are scarce (e.g. seeds in fruit pips to grow new fruit)
- Managers are the custodians of scarce resources, and their job is to make sure that
they are used productively
★ Resources are needed to achieve what the organisation needs to develop,
manufacture, or deliver. They are the inputs used by the organisation, guided by
managers, to produce the output
*Purpose of the unit is to provide a comprehensive overview of contemporary business management
principles and their applications in modern business*
The Management Functions
Managers and Management
- Multiple changes and crises > place pressure on management organisations
- Globalisation of economies
- Technological innovations
- Democratisation
- Rectification of social imbalances
➢ Managers are tasked with adapting to changes and need to keep pace with new
developments and enhancements
➢ Due to Covid-19 new business models and technology have been implemented (such
as the e-business model)
- Greater diversity in the workplace creates new dynamics
- Managers need to do and produce more with less resources / fewer inputs
- Managers have to embrace change, enabling a collaborative and enabling workplace
Netflix case study
When you are a successful company, others are bound to follow and copy you
➢ Currently Netflix is under pressure from other streaming competitors
- Managers directly impact performance of organisations, as they’re responsible for entrenching
the values, beliefs, and norms of top management while ensuring sustainability
Management and the Management Process
Netflix case study
Managers in that organisation were able to manage the company through many changes, adapting
business models and thriving in spite of challenges.
➢ We need to follow some of these actions
What is management?
- The process of working with and through others to achieve an organisational objective
- They need to do this as efficiently and effectively as possible
6 components of management
1. Management is a process
What does the management process consist of?
- Set of interrelated activities (mangement functions)
- Repetitive process: planning > organising > leading > control
➢ They can happen at the same time or repeat during the various stages of the
management life cycle
★ Strategic plans by top management, ranging from short to long term. Need to cascade
down into the organisation and becoming tactical plans, which are constructed and
, executed by functional managers. Next level is operational plans, which are executed
by lower management and supervisors of teams.
★ Organising involves allocating the right resources to achieve organisational
objectives. The right resources needed to do the right jobs at the right time. Managers
need to match resource needs with the available resources.
★ Managers work with people who need to be led. We do this by inspiring them to
perform the actions needed to meet the set goals and plans. Managers need to
collaborate with their superiors, groups, etc. to attain the necessary goals. Managers
need to influence and use their power to inspire employees to execute the plans that
will lead to accomplishing organisational goals. Objectives need to be communicated
by managers as part of the leading function.
★ Managers need to ensure that organisation is following the right course, and the
control function allows them to measure and identify deviations from those plans.
They can take action to rectify where they have gone off what was planned.
2. Working with and through others
- If teams do not work together to achieve their goals, they will likely fail. Management
is a social process in which people work together to build a product or deliver a
service.
- Products/services cannot be produced by individuals, but need to be produced by
teams working together
- Managers need to work with and through others, and with the organisation itself, to
get things done and to meet the organisational objectives.
3. Achieving organisational goals and objectives
- Objective is to meet the end goal or target
- Whenever setting objectives, we need to break down all the actions required to
achieve it
- Organisations set objectives to meet their strategic goals
- Goals need to be SMART
- Clarity of these goals is important so that all participants can understand them and
management activities can be coordinated so that objectives can be reached
4. Balancing effectiveness and efficiency
- Role of a manager is to balance effectiveness with efficiency when working with
resources, especially costly ones like people
Effectiveness vs Efficiency
- Effectiveness is when organisation formulates and achieves appropriate goals or they
are doing the right things.
- Using skills and talents allows efficiency. Producing maximum output with minimal
resources spent and wastage
- If the ratio between benefits and costs were favourable, we would not take
too long or spend too much - efficiency.
5. Making the most of scarce resources
- Raw materials, skilled labour, and capital
- Note that not all resources are scarce (e.g. seeds in fruit pips to grow new fruit)
- Managers are the custodians of scarce resources, and their job is to make sure that
they are used productively
★ Resources are needed to achieve what the organisation needs to develop,
manufacture, or deliver. They are the inputs used by the organisation, guided by
managers, to produce the output
