Principles of Management

An Essential Course in BBA – About the Course and Introduction to

Management
Session 1
Dr Aditi Naidu
Course Description
• The course intends to provide familiarization with the basic concepts
applied in contemporary management practice and many of the
concepts learnt will form the foundation for subsequent courses in
strategy, operations and HRM in subsequent semesters. It would give
adequate opportunities to students to understand the topics within
planning, decision-making, leadership, coordination, controlling and
change management. The course intends to provide a holistic
perspective of the business world through the lens of management
practices, principles and processes.
Learning Objectives: What would be your
Take Away
1. The course will familiarize students with the various management &
business concepts.
2. The course will provide a base and help students understand how
management theories are applied and implemented in business
3. The course will help students understand and apply the concepts
and develop skills within management as a discipline
Brief contents of the course:
• Management: Meaning and Characteristics, Functions of Management
• Levels of Management
• Management Skills
• Managerial Roles
• Management – Art or Science? Qualities of an Effective Manager
• Evolution of Management Thought: Taylor, Fayol, Hawthorne, Porter, Prahlad,
etc.
• Managerial functions
• Decision making
• What do Managers do? What are their major tasks? : READING 1
From Reading 1: The day in the life of a
manager
• Daily tasks, weekly tasks, monthly tasks
• Keeps direct contact with team – communication
• Encourages generation of new ideas.
• Keeping track of work in progress
• Meeting to plan the week, assign tasks, review results or project status of previous week to check, setting priorities
for going forward
• Managing finances- collecting information and keeping himself informed about the financial performance of the firm
• Coordinating with accountancy firm and bank advisor
• Talk to team leaders
• Billing clients
• Pay employees on time
• Controlling budgets
• Making new cash projections
• Send necessary information for tax payment
Who is a Manager?
• A manager is someone who coordinates and oversees the work of
other people so organisational goals can be accomplished.

Management involves coordinating and overseeing the work

activities of others , so their activities are completed effectively and
efficiently.
Management-Definition
• The term ‘manage’ is derived from the Italian word, ‘maneggaire’
which literally means ‘to handle’.
• The basic objective of management is handling people or a situation
for achievement of certain goals
• Management is the process of designing or maintaining an
environment in which individuals, working together in groups,
efficiently accomplish selected aims. (Koontz and Weihrich, 2008)
• Management is the art of getting work done through others. (Follett)
Characteristics of Management
• A goal oriented process:
• Management aims to achieve economic and social objectives by directing group efforts towards achievement of pre-
determined goals. For example, if the objective of a company is to sell 1000 computers then manager will plan the
course of action, motivate all the employees and organise all the resources keeping in mind the main target of selling
1000 computers.
• Universal:
• Management is a universal phenomenon. The use of management is not restricted to business firms only it is
applicable in profit-making, non-profit-making, business or non-business organisations; even a hospital, school, club
and house has to be managed properly. Concept of management is used in the whole world whether it is USA, UK or
India.
• An Integrative Process:
• As a process, management involves integration of different functions, techniques and practices through which a
manager coordinates the activities of the other people.
• A system of authority:
• Management is a rule making and rule –enforcing body of an organization. Managers decide on, make and plan rules,
plans, policies, strategies which is implemented throughout the organisation
• A Discipline:
• Management is a systematic and organized body of knowledge and a discipline with
different specializations such as marketing, financial management, human resource
management, etc.
• A Profession:
• Management is an applied and skill based practice which is taken up as a profession by
trained managers.
• A Group of People:
• Management is also referred to as a group of individuals who are responsible for
getting things done through others, Thus, all individuals in an organization who
exercise managerial responsibility on people and resources make up the management
of the organization.
• A group activity:
• Management always refers to a group of people involved in managerial
activities. The management functions cannot be performed in isolation.
Each individual performs his/her role at his/her status and department,
and then only management function can be executed
• Dynamic:
• Management has to make changes in goal, objectives and other
activities according to changes taking place in the environment. The
external environment such as social, economical, technical and political
environment has great influence over the management
• Multi-dimensional:
• Management does not mean one single activity but it includes various
tasks , functions and activities.
• A Continuous Process:
• Management is a continuous or never ending function. All the
functions of management are performed continuously, for example
planning, organising, staffing, directing and controlling are performed
by all the managers all the time. Sometimes, they are doing planning,
then staffing or organising etc. Managers perform ongoing series of
functions continuously in the organisation.
• Intangible:
• Management function cannot be physically seen but its presence can
be felt. The presence of management can be felt by seeing the
orderliness and coordination in the working environment.
Objectives of Management
•1 Attaining goal of business
•2 Optimum utilizing of recourses
•3 Integration and coordination
•4 Effective motivation and leadership
What do managers do? Or Why are Managers
important?
1. Organisations need the managerial skills and abilities to accomplish
organizational goals.
2. Managers are needed now more than ever in organisations facing an
even more uncertain, challenging and complex environment.
3. Managers are important to organisations as they are critical to get
things done. Managers are responsible for production, hiring people,
managing finances and marketing the products or services of an
organization.
4. Studies show that managers have a substantial role in how employees
work based on the quality of the supervision provided by managers.
• At the most fundamental level, management is a discipline that
consists of a set of five general functions: planning, organizing,
staffing, leading and controlling.
1. Planning
2. Organising
3. Staffing
4. Directing
5. Controlling
1. Planning:
• Primarily refers to deciding what needs to be done by the organisation-i.e. setting organizational goals and deciding
how the goals are to be achieved. It essentially involves setting a plan to achieve pre-determined organizational
goals
2. Organizing:
• Involves diving the work determined in the stage of planning across different teams of people or departments.
Organising also refers to designing the structure of the firm including decisions such as what departments will exist
and how they will be related to other departments
3. Staffing:
• Involves recruitment and selection of the right employees to carry out tasks in the organisation
4. Directing:
• Involves guiding employees towards the accomplishment of predetermined goals by providing direction and
through motivation of employees.
5. Controlling:
• Determining whether goals set in planning have been achieved or not and if not, taking corrective actions.