Chapter 1 MANAGING AND PERFORMING VLE
Chapter 1 MANAGING AND PERFORMING VLE
Chapter 1 MANAGING AND PERFORMING VLE
1
INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Management as an Art
The personal ingenious and imaginative power of the manager lends management the
approach of an art. This creative power of the manager enriches his performance skill. In fact, the art
of managing involves the conception of a vision of an orderly whole, created from chaotic parts and
the communication and achievement of this vision. Managing can be called "art of arts" because it
organizes and uses human talent, which is the basis of every artistic activity.
Management as a Science
Management is a body of systematized knowledge accumulated and established with
reference to the practice and understanding of general truth concerning management. It is true that
the science underlying managing is not as accurate or comprehensive as physical sciences (such as
chemistry or biology) which deal with non-human entities. The involvement of the human angle
makes management not only complex but also controversial as pure science. Nevertheless, the
study of the scientific elements in management methodologies can certainly improve the practice of
management.
1. Planning and Decision Making - In its simplest form, planning means setting an
organization’s goals and deciding how best to achieve them. Decision making, a part of the
planning process, involves selecting a course of action from a set of alternatives. Planning
and decision making help managers maintain their effectiveness by serving as guides for
their future activities. In other words, the organization’s goals and plans clearly help
managers know how to allocate their time and resources.
2. Organizing - Once a manager has set goals and developed a workable plan, his or her next
management function is to organize people and the other resources necessary to carry out
the plan. Specifically, organizing involves determining how activities and resources are to be
grouped.
3. Leading. The third basic managerial function is leading. Some people consider leading to be
both the most important and the most challenging of all managerial activities. Leading is
the set of processes used to get members of the organization to work together to further
the interests of the organization.
4. Controlling - The final phase of the management process is controlling, or monitoring the
organization’s progress toward its goals. As the organization moves toward its goals,
managers must monitor progress to ensure that it is performing in such a way as to arrive at
its “destination” at the appointed time.
Figure 1.4 shows differences in managerial activities by hierarchical level. Senior executives
will devote more of their time to conceptual issues, while front-line managers will concentrate their
efforts on technical issues. For example, top managers rate high on such activities as long-range
planning, monitoring business indicators, coordinating, and internal consulting. Lower-level
managers, by contrast, rate high on supervising because their responsibility is to accomplish tasks
through rank-and-file employees. Middle managers rate near the middle for all activities. We can
distinguish three types of managerial skills:
1. Technical skills. Managers must have the ability to use the tools, procedures, and
techniques of their special areas. An accountant must have expertise in accounting
principles, whereas a production manager must know operations management. These
skills are the mechanics of the job.
2. Human relations skills. Human relations skills involve the ability to work with people
and understand employee motivation and group processes. These skills allow the
manager to become involved with and lead his group.
3. Conceptual skills. These skills represent a manager’s ability to organize and analyze
information in order to improve organizational performance. They include the ability to
see the organization as a whole and to understand how various parts fit together to
work as an integrated unit. These skills are required to coordinate the departments and
divisions successfully so that the entire organization can pull together.