MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS AND THE MANAGER’S JOB

Management can only achieve their goals and objectives by the coordinated effort of their
members and it is the task of management to get work done through other people. Management
is fundamental and central to the effective operation of work organisations. Management cannot
be a separate department like Finance or Marketing as it is common to all other functions.

Definition

Management is about changing behaviour of people and making things happen. It is about
developing people, working with them, reaching objectives and achieving results. The
success or failure of management is attributable to the manager. Management may be
defined as a process of achieving organisational objectives, within a changing
environment, by balancing efficiency, effectiveness and equity, obtaining the most from
limited resources and working with and through people.

Common activities of management may be classified into six categories:

i. Technical (production, manufacturing and adaptation)

ii. Commercial (buying, selling, exchange and market information)
iii. Financial (obtaining capital and making optimum use of available funds)
iv. Security (safeguarding property and persons)
v. Accounting (information on the economic position, stocktaking, balance sheet, costs,
statistics, etc) and
vi. Managerial.

The managerial activity is divided into five elements of management i.e. planning, organising,
coordinating, leading and controlling. These managerial activities are discussed below.

i. Planning
In their managerial functions, planning tends to be the starting point at all times. Planning
may be defined as to foresee, examining the future, deciding what needs to be achieved
and developing a plan of action.

Planning involves the setting of objectives (what to do), formulation of a strategy (how to
do) and implementation of strategy (when, whom) to achieve the set objectives.

The planning process is best done through the participation of all key players in the
organisation to ensure ownership of the plan.
ii. Organising
Organising involves the analysis of activities, identifying decisions and relationships
required in the organisation, classifying and dividing work, creating the organisation
structure and selecting staff to implement management strategies. Organising may also be
seen as a provision of material and human resources and building of the structure to carry
 out the activities of the organisation.

Organising is an essential ingredient of management as it is very important that whatever

you want to do, it is properly organised or arranged. Once things are properly organised or
arranged, it becomes easier to implement and ensure that organisational objectives are
achieved.

iii. Coordinating
Coordination involves the unifying and harmonisation of all activities and effort of the
organisation to facilitate its work and success. It involves balancing and maintaining the
team by ensuring a suitable division of work and seeing that the tasks are performed in
harmony and not in conflict. Through this function, the manager creates reporting
relationships vertically and facilitates communication relationships horizontally.

Iv. Leading
Leading is the creation of an organisational climate, in which, people work willingly and
effectively thus inspiring morale among employees. An essential part of management is
coordinating the activities of people and guiding their efforts towards the goals and
objectives of the organisation. This involves the process of leadership and choice of an
appropriate form of action and behaviour.

Leadership is a central feature of organisational performance. A manager will not be able

to single-handedly carry out all programmes of the organisation and requires the support
of other people in the organisation. The ability to lead people, or inspire and influence
others to the desired direction for the achievement of objectives is one of the greatest
challenges of leadership. Through effective motivation and communication, a manager
creates a team out of people responsible for various jobs.
v. Controlling
After planning, organising and coordinating the various work processes, it is important that
an evaluation is undertaken to compare actual performance against the set standards. This
comparison will ensure satisfactory performance and progress and this record can be used
as guide for future operations. Once deviations from set standards have been detected, they
are reported to those people in the organisation with the mandate to institute corrective
action. Where people feel that the assumptions no longer make sense, a review of these
assumptions may be necessary. The same goes for people’s behaviour. If it is found to be
contrary to the set behavioural standards, corrective action must be taken to rectify the
situation.

The continuous monitoring and evaluation of the plan enables management to detect any
deviations from standard and institute timely corrective measures to ensure that the
organisation maintains its focus on the mission.

MANAGEMENT SKILLS AND THE ROLE OF A MANAGER

In understanding the importance of management skills and the role of a manager, it

would be important to understand why organisations need managers. Henry Mintzberg
suggested six reasons why organisations need managers as follows
 i. To ensure the organisation serves its basic purpose - the efficient production of goods
and services;

ii. To design and maintain the stability of the operations of the organisation;

iii. To take charge of strategy-making and adapt the organisation in a controlled way to
changes in its environment;

iv. To serve as the key informational link between the organisation and the environment;
and

v. As formal authority to operate the organisation's status system.

a) Managerial skills or qualities

The managerial skills or qualities of a manager shall revolve around people (human and social)
skills, technical skills or competence and conceptual skills irrespective of whether the
organisation is private or public. No single skill mentioned here can make a manager effective.
Instead, it is the combination of these skills, in various proportions that make a manager
effective. As a manager climbs the organisational ladder, a greater proportion of emphasis is
likely to be placed on conceptual skills and proportionately less of technical competence. The
human and social skills remain very important at every level of the organisation.
i. Technical Competence/Skills relate to the application of specific knowledge,
methods and skills to implement various tasks. This type of skill is very important for
those at supervisory levels and responsible for day-to-day operations like an Assistant
Accountant, human resources officer, sales manager, workshop foreman etc.
ii. Social and human (people) Skills refer to interpersonal relationships in working with
and through other people and exercise of judgement. A manager requires excellent
people management skills to secure the effective use of human resources of the
organisation. The leadership style of a manager has an effect on team work and the
attainment of coordination among staff. The suitability of the management styles will
have a bearing on the willingness of staff to do what the manager wants.
iii. Conceptual Skill or ability is required in order to view the complexities of the
operations of the organisation as a whole including external factors. This involves
decision-making skills.

b) The role of a Manager

The work of the manager is varied and fragmented and is greatly influenced by the following
factors.

i. The nature of the organisation, its philosophy, objectives and size;

ii. The type of structure;

iii. Activities and tasks involved;

iv. Technology and methods of performing work;

v. The nature of people employed; and

vi. The level in the organisation at which the manager is working.

Empirical evidence from the study of Chief Executive Officers of medium to large
organisations, Henry Mintzberg has equated the functions of a manager to the managerial
roles since the managers in organisations have formal authority. These managerial roles
may be categorised into three groups, namely interpersonal roles, informational roles and
decisional roles.

Interpersonal Roles are relations with other people arising from the manager's status and
authority.

i. Figurehead role - most basic and simple managerial role is being the public face of an
organisation. The manager is a symbol and represents the organisation in matters of
formality, ceremonial nature, signing documents, etc.

ii. Leadership role is one of the significant roles and it permeates all activities of a
manager. Due to the formal authority vested in the manager, there is responsibility for
staffing, motivation and guidance of employees.

iii. Liaison role involves relationships that the manager develops within and outside the
organisation thus linking the organisation to its environment.

Informational Roles relates to the sources and communication of information arising

from the manager's interpersonal roles.

iv. Monitor Role identifies the manager in seeking and receiving information. The
information enables the manager to develop an understanding of the working of the
organisation and its environment.
v. Disseminator Role involves the manager in transmitting external information through
the liaison role into the organisation, and internal information through the leader role
between the subordinates, which information may be factual or value judgement.
vi. Spokesman Role involves the manager as formal authority in transmitting information
to the people outside the unit such as Board of Directors, or other superiors and general
public.

Decisional roles involve the making of strategic organisational decisions on the basis of the
manager's status and authority, and access to information.
 vii. Entrepreneurial Role is the manager's function to initiate and plan controlled change
through exploiting opportunities or solving problems and taking actions to improve the
existing situation.
viii. Disturbance Handler Role involves the manager in reacting to involuntary situations
and unpredictable events. The manager takes action to deal with unpredictable events.
ix. Resource Allocator Role involves the manager in using formal authority to decide
where effort will be expended and making choices on the allocation of resources such
as money, time, material and staff. The Manager decides the programming of work and
maintains control by authorising important decisions before implementation.
x. Negotiator Role is participation in negotiation activity with other individuals or
organisations e.g. trade unions, suppliers or customers.

THEORIES OF MANAGEMENT

CLASSICAL APPROACH OR THEORY

Introduction
The classical theory of management was promoted by early management thinkers like
Frederick Taylor with his scientific management and Henri Fayol with his principles of
management. The classical theorists thought of an organisation in terms of its purpose
and formal structure. The focus is largely on the need to plan the work, stating the
technical requirements, principles of management and the assumption of rational and
logical behaviour.
Under this approach, a clear understanding of the purpose of an organisation is seen as
essential to understanding how the organisation works and how its methods of working
can be improved. Setting objectives lead to the clarification of purposes and
responsibilities at all levels of the organisation and to the most effective structure.

The classical approaches place its attention on the division of work, the clear definition of
duties and responsibilities, and maintaining specialisation and coordination. Emphasis is
on a hierarchy of management and formal organisational relationships.
Two most publicised classical management approaches are the scientific management and
the bureaucratic organisations.

i. Scientific Management
Many classical writers were concerned with the improvement of management as a means
of increasing productivity through the technical structuring of the work organisation and
provision of monetary incentives as a motivator for higher levels of outputs.
Frederick W Taylor (1856 - 1917) promoted the idea of scientific management approach
focusing largely on working methods by which people should undertake their jobs. He
 believed that work processes could be analysed into discrete tasks and that by scientific
method, it was possible to find the one best way to perform each task. He was concerned
with finding more efficient methods and procedures for coordination and control of work.
He developed a number of principles to guide management, namely:

a) The development of a true science for each person's work;

b) The scientific selection, training and development of the workers;
c) Cooperation with the workers to ensure that work carried out in the prescribed
way;
d) The division of work and responsibility between management and the
workers.

The central theme of Taylor's work was not inefficiency but the need to substitute
industrial welfare by industrial harmony.
Taylor sought to do this through:
a) Higher wages from increased output;
b) The removal of physical strain from doing work the wrong way;
c) Development of the workers and the opportunity for them to undertake tasks
they were capable of doing; and
d) Elimination of the boss by the duty of management to help the workers.

The scientific management was criticised for its simplification of work making the jobs
boring, repetitive and requiring little skill to do. Further studies revealed that the scientific
method gave high levels of uncontrolled power to the production managers/supervisors.
Despite the criticism, scientific management has justified managerial control over the
production process and removed decision making from employees and from owners as
well. This approach diminished the direct involvement of owners or shareholders in day-
today decision making. The scientific management theory has contributed to the modern
management by such practices as works study, organisation and methods, payment by
results, management by exception and production control

ii. Bureaucracy
A bureaucracy is a form of structure you find in many large-scale organisations. Max
Weber, a German sociologist believed that the definition of tasks and responsibilities
within the structure of management gave rise to a permanent administration and
standardisation of work procedures notwithstanding changes in the actual holders of
office. This is particularly true for very large organisations and public service institutions
like government ministries, cabinet office, etc. Bureaucratic organisations apply to certain
structural features of formal organisations. Bureaucracy has tended to be criticised to
connote red tape and rigidity. However, government departments can only efficiently
operate if they followed the bureaucratic principles, as a form of introducing/ maintaining
order and rationality into social life.

Main Characteristics of Bureaucracies

Weber did not define bureaucracy but attempted to identify the main characteristics of this
type of organisation. He emphasised on the importance of administration based on
expertise (rules of experts) and administration based on discipline (rules of officials).

The characteristics of a bureaucratic organisation included the following:

a) The tasks of the organisation are allocated as official duties among
positions.
b) There is an implied clear-cut division of labour and a high level of
specialisation.
c) A hierarchical authority applies to the organisation of offices and
positions.
d) Uniformity of decisions and actions is achieved through formally
established systems of rules and regulations. Together with authority, this
enables the coordination of various activities within the organisation.
e) An impersonal orientation is expected from officials in their dealings with
clients and other officials. This meant to promote rational judgements by
officials in their performance of their duties.
f) Employment by the organisation is based on technical qualifications and
constitutes a lifelong career for the officials.

R Stewart in his reality of management summarised the main features of bureaucracy as

specialisation, hierarchy of authority, systems of rules and impersonality.

Criticism/Disadvantages of Bureaucracy
i. The over-emphasis on rules and procedures, record keeping and
paperwork may become more important in its own right than as a means
to an end.
ii. Officials may develop a dependence upon bureaucratic status, symbols
and rules.
iii. Initiative may be stifled and when a situation is not covered by complete
set of rules or procedures, there may be a lack of flexibility or adaptation
to changing circumstances.
iv. Position and responsibilities in the organisation can lead to officious
bureaucratic behaviour. There may also be a tendency to conceal
administrative procedures from outsiders.
v. Impersonal relations can lead to stereotyped behaviour and a lack of
responsiveness to individual incidents or problems.
vi. Bureaucracies provide safe haven where managers can hide from
responsibility and avoid being held accountable for errors of judgement or
problems they created or failed to solve.

Evaluation of Bureaucracy

i. Bureaucracies come through increasing size and complexity of

organisations and associated demand for effective administration.
ii. It has given emphasis to the careful design and planning of organisation
structure and definition of individual duties and responsibilities.
iii. An effective organisation is based on structure and delegation through
different layers of the hierarchy.
iv. Greater specialisation and expertise and technical knowledge highlighted
the need for laid-down procedures.
 v. However, increased changes in the external environment, de-layering of
organisations, empowerment, and greater attention to meeting the needs of
customers have increased the need for flexibility.

PRINCIPLES AND ELEMENTS OF MANAGEMENT

Henri Fayol made a contribution to the management theory by advocating for principles
of management. The management principles must be flexible and adaptable to changing
circumstances. These principles may be influenced by the organisation structure in which
the process of management takes place. Fayol identified the following 14 principles of
management.

i. Division of work. The objective is to produce more and better work from the
same effort and the advantages of specialisation.

ii. Authority and responsibility. Responsibility is the corollary of authority.

Whenever authority is exercised, responsibility follows. The application of
sanctions is essential to good management and it is needed to encourage useful
actions and to discourage their opposite.
iii. Discipline is essential for the efficient operation of the organisation. Discipline is
in essence the outward mark of respect for agreements between the organisation
and its members.
iv. Unity of Command. In any action, the employee should receive orders from
one superior only, if not the authority is undermined and discipline, order and
stability is threatened. Dual command is a perpetual source of conflict.

v. Unity of direction. In order to provide for unity of action, coordination and

focusing of effort, there should be one head and one plan for any group of
activities with the same objective.
vi. Subordination of individual interest to the general interest. The interest of
the organisation should dominate individual or group interests.

vii. Remuneration of Personnel. Remuneration should as far as possible satisfy

both the employee and the employer. Methods of work can influence the
organizational performance and it should be fair and should encourage keenness
by rewarding well-deserved effort.
viii. Centralisation is always present to some extent in any organisation. The extent
of centralisation is a question of proportion and will vary with a particular
organization
ix. Scalar Chain. The chain of superiors from the ultimate authority to the lowest
ranks should be clearly outlined. Respect for line of authority must be reconciled
with activities, which require urgent action and some measure of initiative at all
levels of authority.

x. Order. This includes material and social order. Material order is required for the
avoidance of loss with each item placed at the appointed place. In social order,
there should be an appointed place for each employee and each employee in
 his/her appointed place.
xi. Equity. There should be equity and equality of treatment in dealing with
employees throughout all1evels of the scalar chain.
xii. Stability of tenure of personnel. Generally, prosperous organisations have stable
managerial personnel, but changes of personnel are inevitable and stability of
tenure is a question of proportion.
xiii. Initiative. This represents a source of strength for the organisation and should be
encouraged and developed. Tact and integrity are important to promote initiative
and to retain respect for authority and discipline.
xiv. Esprit de corps should be fostered, as harmony and unity among members of the
organisation is a great strength in the organisation. The principle of unity of
command should be observed to avoid the dangers of divide and rule of one's own
team and abuse of written communication.

HUMAN RELATIONS SCHOOL

While the classical approaches focused on the structure and the formal organisation, the
human relations school approach focused on the social factors of work and the behaviour
of employees within the organisation.
The Hawthorne Experiments
The most famous works under this approach was the Hawthorne experiments of
Elton Mayo at the Western Electric Company in USA (1924 -32). The four main
phases of the Hawthorne experiments were as follows:
 The illumination experiment
 The relay assembly test room
 The interviewing programme
 The bank wiring observation room

i. The illumination Experiments

The experiment was initially testing the validity of the classical approach using
the scientific management style with the effects of the intensity of heat on
workers’ productivity. The workers were divided into two groups thus the
experimental group and the control group. There was no conclusion on this
experiment on the possible relationship between the level of lighting and
productivity. In some cases, productivity improved when the conditions were
made much worse. This simply means that the level of production was
influenced by factors outside the physical conditions of work.

ii. The relay assembly test room

In the relay assembly test room, the work was boring and repetitive. A team
was created that had a mixer of friends and in some cases merely co-workers.
The researchers divided the experiment into 13 periods during which the
 workers were subjected to a series of planned and controlled changes to their
conditions of work, such as hours of work, rest pauses and provision of
refreshments.

During the experiments, the observer adopted a friendly approach, consulting

with the workers, listening to their complaints and keeping them informed of
the experiment. There was a general increase in production. The researchers
concluded that extra attention given to the workers and the apparent interest in
them shown by management was the main reason for higher productivity.
iii. The interviewing programme
The preceding phases of the experiment drew attention to the effect of supervision
on worker's productivity. Under this phase, the research sought to establish the
feelings of workers towards their supervisors and the general conditions of work
through a large interviewing programme. Initially the interviewers formulated a
structured questionnaire focused on the views of workers on their jobs. The
questionnaires produced limited information and the workers talked about other
issues other than supervision and immediate working conditions.

The style of interviewing was changed with and introduced more non-directive
and open-ended questions. The interviewers set out to be friendly and sympathetic
and adopted an impartial, non-judgmental approach and concentrated on listening.
This approach produced some very valuable information of the workers' views on
supervision, working conditions, company itself, management, work group
relations and matters outside the work such as family life and views on society.
Many workers welcomed the opportunity of having someone to talk to about their
feelings and problems. This experiment led to an impetus to the development of
the human resource management and use of counselling interviews and the need
for management to listen to the workers feelings and problems. Being a good
listener is still very important in today's management thinking.

iv. The bank wiring observation room

This experiment involved the observation of 14 men working in the bank wiring
room. The results revealed that men tended to form informal working groups,
with subgroups or cliques with natural leaders emerging with the consent of other
members. The group formed its own social relationships with group norms of
what constituted a proper behaviour. The group controlled output levels despite
the availability of financial incentives for more output. The group pressure on
individual workers was stronger than the management financial incentives.

Evaluation of the Human Relations School

This approach has been subjected to severe criticism as follows:

a. The Hawthorne experiments have been criticised on their methodology, and on

the failure of the investigators to take sufficient account of environmental factors.

b. The human relations advocates were criticised for the adoption of a management
perspective, their unitary frame of reference and their oversimplified theories.
 c. It was insufficiently scientific, took a narrow view and ignored the role of the
organisation itself in how society operated.
Importance of the Hawthorne Experiment
a. They did develop new ideas concerning the importance of work groups and
leadership, communications, output restrictions, motivation and job design.

b. They placed emphasis on the importance of personnel management and gave

impetus to the work of the human relations writers.

c. They undoubtedly marked a significant step forward in providing a further

insight into human behaviour at work and the development of management
thinking.

CONTEMPORARY CONTINGENCY THEORY OF MANAGEMENT

The classical approach suggested one best form of structure and placed emphasis on general
sets of principles while the human relationships approach gave little attention at all to the
structure.

The contingency approach renewed the importance of structure as a significant influence on

organisational performance. Contingency approach assumes that there is no one optimum
state. The approach for instance states that the structure of organisation and its success are
dependent thus contingent on the nature of tasks, with which it is designed to deal with and
the nature of environmental influences.

The most appropriate structure and system of management will always depend upon
contingencies of the situation for a particular organisation. The approach argues that
managers should not seek to suggest one best way to structure or manage the organisations
but should provide insights into the situational and contextual factors, which influence
management.