UNIT 2 – HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

CHAPTER 3 – MANAGEMENT

Management is the organisation and coordination of the activities of a business in

order to achieve defined objectives. A manager is responsible for setting
objectives, organising resources and motivating staff so that the organisations
aims are met. A manager is someone who gets things done.

Traditional manager functions: these various management duties and tasks can be
categorised into four basic functions which are:
(a) Planning (b) Organising (c) Directing (d) Controlling

THE ROLE OF MANAGERS

1. ACCORDING TO FAYOL
Henri Fayol (1841–1925) was a French mining engineer. He developed a theory of
business administration and published his ideas in his book, Industrial and General
Administration, originally published in France in 1916. He defined five functions of
management which focus on the relationship between employees and managers.

FUNCTIONS OF MANAGEMENT.
1. Planning is the ongoing process of developing the business' mission and
objectives and determining how they will be accomplished. Planning requires
management to evaluate where the company is currently and where it would like to
be in the future. Planning may involve a variety of tasks, including:
 establishing objectives or targets for the business.
 gathering together forecasts of key data, such as costs and revenues.
 drawing up plans for functional areas within the business such as finance, human
resources or marketing – these plans should fit together to help the business
achieve its objectives.
 estimating the likely resource needs for any proposed plans. Planning includes
both the broadest view of the organization, e.g., its mission, and the narrowest,
e.g. a tactic for accomplishing a specific goal.

Planning helps managers to (i) reduce the chance of projects failing in the future.
(ii) Highlight problems and encourage managers to develop solutions.
(iii) Ensure that managers have the resources they need.
(iv) Overcome emergencies or crises – these are called contingency plans.
to cover the consequences if a bid made to operate mobile

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2. Organizing is establishing the internal organizational structure of the
organization, maintaining relationships, as well as allocate necessary resources. The
focus is on division, coordination, and control of tasks and the flow of information
within the organization. It is in this function that managers distribute authority to
job holders. Managers divide the work into manageable activities and select staff
to perform them.

3. Directing this is guiding, leading and overseeing of employees to ensure that the
organisational goals are being met. It involves influencing people's behavior through
motivation, communication, group dynamics, leadership and discipline. The purpose
of directing is to channel the behavior of all personnel to accomplish the
organization's mission and objectives while simultaneously helping them accomplish
their own career objectives.

4. Coordinating activities – as the average size of business units increases –

especially true for multinationals – the need to ensure that consistency and
coordination between different parts of each firm increases. The goal of each
branch, division, region and even all staff must be welded together to achieve a
common sense of purpose. It will help the business avoid duplication of tasks.

5. Controlling is a process of establishing performance standards based on the

firm's objectives, measuring and reporting actual performance, comparing the two,
and taking corrective or preventive action as necessary. It is management’s
responsibility to appraise performance against targets and to take action if
underperformance occurs. It helps in proving feedback when things keep going
right

2. ACCORDING TO MINTZBERG
To carry out the key functions of management, managers have to
undertake many different roles. Henry Mintzberg, identified ten roles common to
the work of all mangers. These are divided into three groups:
(i) Interpersonal roles: dealing with and motivating staff at all levels of the
organisation.
(ii) Informational roles: acting as a source, receiver and transmitter of
information.
(iii) Decisional roles: taking decisions and allocating resources to meet the
organization’s objectives.

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(a) Define the term ‘management’. [2]
(b) State two functions of a manager. [2]
(c) Briefly explain two of Mintzberg’s roles of management. [3]
(d) Analyse how a business might use Mintzberg’s roles of management. [8]
(e) ‘An effective manager must perform all of Mintzberg’s roles of management. ’Do you agree with this
statement? Justify your view. [20]

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THE CONTRIBUTION OF MANAGERS TO BUSINESS PERFORMANCE
There are many elements of the work of managers which can impact on the
performance of the business.
(a) Managers play an important role in setting objectives and monitoring the
actions taken to achieve these. Setting objectives which are appropriate and
achievable is an important part of business success.
(b) Effective managers also monitor the progress of the business towards its
objectives, ensuring, for example, that sufficient resources are available to
employees.
(c) Managers who can recognise and respond appropriately to the needs and
abilities of their workforce are more likely to achieve success. If managers achieve
the right balance between the use of authority and freedom for employees, the
workforce, and hence the organisation, is likely to perform better.
(d) Effective managers will use their experience and skills, as well as data, to make
good-quality decisions.

MANAGEMENT STYLES.
management style refers to the way in which managers take decisions and communicate
with their staff. There are a number of styles of leadership:
1. Autocratic.
This is often referred to as an authoritarian leadership style. Autocratic leaders take
decisions on their own with no discussion. They set business objectives themselves, issue
instruction to workers and check to ensure that they are carried out. There is no
delegation or minimal delegation if any. Communication is top-down (one- way
communication), with no opportunity for feedback to the leader.

Motivation levels are likely to be low, so supervision of staff will be essential. Decisions
made do not have staff input which may be helpful. It can cause much resentment and
frustration amongst the workforce.
Possible application includes: in the armed forces and police – since orders may need to be
issued quickly with immediate response. In times of crisis such as an accident, leaders may
have to take full charge and issue orders to reduce the unfortunate consequences of the
incident.

2. Democratic.
This involves managers and leaders taking into account the views of the workforce before
making a decision. Communication will be two-way and with every opportunity to respond to
and initiate discussion. Managers using this approach will need good communication skills
themselves to be able to explain issues clearly and to understand responses from the

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workforce. Full participation in the decision making is encouraged leading to a better final
decision. Information is given to staff to allow full participation.
This can lead to increased levels of morale and motivation amongst the work force,
workers feel more committed to ensuring that decisions that they have influenced are put
into effect successfully. However, it can also result in far more time being taken to
achieve the results since many people are involved in discussing the decision make it
unsuitable in some situations. In addition some issues are too sensitive to be discussed in a
meeting e.g. job losses, development of new products, etc.

3. Laissez-faire.
Workers are allowed to carry out tasks and take decisions themselves within very broad
limits. This is an extreme version of democratic management. There will be very little input
from management into the work to be undertaken by subordinates. This style could be
particularly effective in the case of research or design teams. This is where employees
are given set objectives, and then they have to decide how best to achieve them using the
available resources. This method of leadership can result in high levels of enthusiasm for
the task in-hand, but it can at times rely too much on the skills of the workforce.
Furthermore, leaving workers to their own devices with little direction or supervision
might lead to a lack of confidence, poor decisions and poor motivation as they are never
sure if what they are doing is “right”.

4. Paternalistic
These managers listen, explain issues and consult with workers, but do not allow them to
take decisions. The paternalistic manager decides what is best for the
business and the workforce, but delegation of decision-making is unlikely.

This style could be suitable in a business with unskilled, untrained or newly appointed
workers. Paternalistic managers often develop very loyal subordinates
because subordinates feel protected and cared for. However, it may lead to the
demotivation of more experienced workers who would prefer to be given responsibility for
decision-making and opportunities for participation. It does not encourage employees to
use their creative and imaginative skills, nor encourage the use of initiative. This can mean
that the business does not make the most effective use of the human resources that it
has available.

Conclusion on management style.

When looking at 'the best' or 'most appropriate' style of leadership in a particular
situation, remember that this will depend on:
 The attitude of managers or the management culture – this will be influenced by the
personality and business background of the managers. E.g. whether they have always
worked in an autocratically run organisation.
 The amount of time available for consultation and participation.

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  The importance of the issue under consideration.
 The skills and experiences of the workers being led as well as the degree of
responsibility that they are prepared to take on.

There is no right or wrong way of managing people, but there is always an appropriate style
for any situation.
(a) Analyse the difference between autocratic and laissez-faire leadership. [8]
(b) ‘A democratic style of leadership is the most effective leadership style for a manufacturing business in a
very competitive industry.’ Discuss this view. [12]
(c) Discuss which leadership style is likely to be the most effective for a large clothing manufacturer. [12]
(d) Discuss the view that the ability to motivate others is the most important quality of an effective business
leader. [12]
MCGREGOR'S THEORY X AND THEORY Y.
A theory of motivation based on management perceptions of worker attitudes in the
workplace. Theory X managers are authoritarian and assume that employees need to be
supervised. Theory Y managers assume that employees seek recognition and praise for
their contributions and achievements.
Theory X: McGregor's term for describing managers that perceive their employees in
a pessimistic way; i.e., subordinates need constant supervision, prefer to be told what to
do, avoid work if they can, and do not seek any responsibility.
If a manager believes that all workers behave in a Theory X way, there will be control,
close supervision and no delegation of authority. The workers, as a result of this approach,
will certainly not enjoy their work and may indeed try to avoid it and fail to contribute in
any meaningful way.
Theory Y: Is an optimistic management stance towards worker attitudes; Theory Y
managers believe that employees do have initiative, workers enjoy work, are creative,
willing to take active part in contributing ideas and solutions to work-related problems and
like taking responsibility at work. This may lead to greater delegation, training for
managers to encourage delegation and to improve two-way communication.

In reality, most managers will have views somewhere between these two extremes.
Workers will behave in a particular way as a result of the attitudes management have
toward them.
(a) Explain the differences between McGregor’s ‘Theory X’ and ‘Theory Y’. [8]
(b) Explain the usefulness for a business leader of McGregor’s classification of leadership styles
(theory X and theory Y). [8]
(c) Discuss the significance of McGregor’s leadership styles for managers in a hospital. [12]
References:
1. P. Stimpson and A. Farquharson (2021) Cambridge International AS and A-level Business 4th edition Cambridge university
press.
2. M. Surridge and A. Gillespie (2021) Cambridge International AS and A-level Business 2nd edition by Hodder education.
3. I. Marcouse, A. Hammond, N. Watson (2019) Pearson Edexcel A-level Business by Hodder education.
Compiled by J. Musyoka.

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