How Can the Study of Management Help Students in Their Future Professional Career - Essay Example

?How Can The Study Of Management, As Exemplified By The Introduction To Management Module, Help In Their Future Professional Career? Table of Contents Nature of Management 3 Historical and Socio-Cultural Perspectives 4 Socio-Cultural Context 7 Application of the Decision Making Principle 7 Organisational Behaviour (OB) Model 9 Conclusion 11 References 12 Bibliography 14 Nature of Management The term ‘Management’ can be defined in a number of ways as there is no hard and fast definition of management. The various definitions of the term ‘management’ include decision oriented decision, function oriented definition, people oriented definition and production oriented definition. In general terms, management can be comprehended as the process that involves numerous aspects such as the planning along with staffing, controlling, organising and directing the activities of the human for the purpose of achieving the stipulated objectives of the organisation. It is worthy of mentioning that there has been transformation in the study as well as the application of the techniques of the management for the purpose of managing the concerns of the organisation. Furthermore, there has been transformation in the assistance to the grounds of management. It is because of this reason that the characteristics of the management has been described as ‘vibrant nature of the principles, multi-disciplinary, management as a profession, relative but not absolute principles, management: science or art and universality of the management’ (Covey, n.d.). It can be stated that the term management is generally multidisciplinary by its nature. This reveals that although management has been drawn as a separate concept and discipline, it tends to extract knowledge and concepts from numerous disciplines as well. Therefore, the ideas and concepts that have been drawn from the numerous disciplines are integrated together and thus a newer concept is presented that can be utilised for the purpose of managing the organisation. Principles tend to be the primary truth, thus establishing the cause and effect relationships of function. On the basis of the integration the management tends to frame principles that are generally flexible by nature. Since the field of management is undergoing numerous changes, therefore the older principles are being changed with the newer ones and thus nothing tends to remain permanent in the field of the management. The management principles need to be applied according to the requirement of the organisation since they tend to be relative concepts. It is worthy of mentioning that each of the organisation tends to be different in comparison to other because of the timing, place as well as the socio-cultural factors. However, the individuals working in a same organisation may also differ. Therefore, it is vital to apply a particular management principle according to the prevailing condition and context. There has been disagreement regarding whether the management is science or art. It can be stated that management is both science as well as art (Covey, n.d.). Historical and Socio-Cultural Perspectives It is worthy of discussing the ways through which the needs of the management development are being met with the assistance of the historical views of management. It has been a well known fact that the management institutes that exist today were not in existence until the 1920s and the Second World War. Therefore, it can be understood that the management institutes tend to be at the early stages of development. The establishment of the management schools in the developing countries is a recent phenomenon. In adherence to the well known fact that management is a profession, it was realised that the skills, the knowledge and the capabilities can be gained by a person systematically. However, before realising this fact, on-the-job management was learned. The process of learning was referred to as school of hard knocks. There was a belief that the managers are born and not made. This was evident from the fact that the task of management were handed over from father to the son. The education for the managers of the future took numerous forms, thus making the system of education complex. After a short period, the emergence of entrepreneurs because of their innovative ideas and efforts were sought. They learnt to manage because of necessity. The approach was suitable and satisfactory in those times. Since the product, market as well as the geography started to grow and diversify, the old ways of recruiting the managers became outdated and thus new ways were stimulated. The best way to recruit the top management was to put them at specialised task a step down, so that they can get an overall knowledge regarding the management. A person may be skilled at one job, however may be weak at others. After a certain period of time the diversification of the businesses gave rise to the new channels of the on-the-job development for managers since the companies were split into divisions. The work of the divisional general manager had become a vital point for those people who were moving on to the top level. Although satisfactory, the method was not perfect since it restricted the experience at the divisional level to one particular sector while the job of the top management required more breadth and diversity. Therefore, because of this reason the numerous modes of the management development have been initiated that includes the formal education at the commencement of the managerial career and also at the numerous later stages. It further includes a properly designed assignment so that the candidate can be provided with the opportunity to develop to a greater extent (Prokopenko & International Labour Office, 1998). Socio-Cultural Context The goals of education and the means of achieving them needs to be assessed in times of rapid social, political and economic changes. The question that needs to be emphasised has been related to the uncertainties as well as demand triggered by the globalisation and the growing importance of the knowledge economy. When the circumstances seem to be stable, then they can be achieved by means of traditions. However, the era of 21st century is not perfectly stable and thus in such times the vision of education tends to appear from the cultural shock. Education is concerned with the development of the mind. It is the culture through which the minds of the individuals can be developed (Wells & Claxton, n.d.). Application of the Decision Making Principle It can be stated that the function of the decision making is considered to be the most significant aspect at the organisational levels. The importance of making the decisions involving the staffs as well as other resources can be stated as one of the major characteristics of the management. Different kinds of decisions are generally made at different levels of the management. The importance of the decision can be evaluated according to the resources as well as the time that has been committed by the participant in the decision making process. A number of the decisions are such that they tend to affect the small segment or only at the individual level while others may tend to affect the organisation as a whole. At times, the decisions may be unalterable since they tend to create new situations. Therefore, the extent of flexibility depends upon the commitment that can also be utilised for the purpose of measuring the importance of the decision. The other most vital aspect to be evaluated is the degree of the uncertainty and the risk interconnected with the decision which affects the individual as well (Liebler & McConnell, 2004). Organisational Behaviour (OB) Model Source: (Robbins, 2009). The model that has been suggested above is a concept of the reality and represents real world phenomenon. The model has four basic levels of analysis and thus states that as a person moves from the individual level to the organisational level, he adds to the understanding of how one behaves in the organisation. The level as described at the OB model has been similar to the concept of the building blocks where each level is constructed at the previous level. Similarly the group concept arises out of the foundation that has been laid at the individual level. It is well known fact that an individual tends to have different characteristics and thus enters into the organisation with the characteristic that impacts his/ her behaviour at work. The four individual level variables that tend to impact the behaviour of the employees are learning, individual decision making, perception and motivation. When the formal structures are added to the previous based knowledge regarding the group related and individual related behaviour, organisation behaviour tends to be more sophisticated. It is the design of the formal organisation, the organisations related human resource policies and the internal cultures that has an impact upon the effectiveness of the organisation (Robbins, 2009). The group structures, reward allocation for the members, the strategies as well as the leadership are also the inputs of the OB model (Gist & Et. Al., n.d.). Conclusion Management has been a multidisciplinary concept that has been derived from numerous disciplines. Since the technology is expanding and the scopes for the students are huge, the concept of management can be considered to be one of the important factors that can assist in the development of a student’s career path. The various aspects of the management such as decision making ability, organisational behaviour and the business environment tend to have an impact upon the performance of a firm. Management prepares the students for the highest level in the organisation by inculcating the necessary skills and abilities. Thus, by opting for management as a subject, the student can definitely enhance their professional career (Supe, 2011). References Covey, S., No Date. Definition, Nature, Scope and Role of Managers. Presentation. [Online] Available at: http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/rai.jeetendra-224007-nature-scope-management-product-training-manuals-ppt-powerpoint/ [Accessed July 5, 2011]. Gist, M. E. & Et. Al., No Date. “Organizational Behavior: Group Structure, Process, and Effectiveness”, Journal Of Management. Liebler, J. G. & McConnell, C. R., 2004. Management Principles For Health Professionals. Jones & Barlett Learning. Prokopenko, J. & International Labour Office, 1998. Management Development: A Guide For the Profession. International Labour Organisation. Robbins, S. P., 2009. Organisational Behaviour: Global And Southern African Perspectives. Pearson South Africa. Supe, A., 2011. Importance of Management Training Courses in Health and Hospital management. Tata Institute of Social Sciences. [Online] Available at: http://shss.tiss.edu/index.php/blog/importance-of-management-training-courses-in-health-and-hospital-management-.html [Accessed July 5, 2011]. Wells, G. & Claxton, G., No Date. Introduction: Sociocultural Perspectives on the Future of Education. Content. [Online] Available at: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/content/BPL_Images/Content_store/Sample_chapter/0631223304/001.pdf [Accessed July 5, 2011]. Bibliography Carlson, M. S., 1998. A Model for Improving a Group Effectiveness. ElectronicVersion. [Online] Available at: http://sogpubs.unc.edu/electronicversions/pg/carlson2.htm [Accessed July 5, 2011]. Greenhaus, J. H. & Et. Al., 2009. Career Management. SAGE. Menon, N. A. 7 Et. Al., 2009. Meaning & Importance of Management. Scribd. [Online] Available at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/19839222/Importance-of-Management [Accessed July 5, 2011]. Ogilvie, J. R., 2005. CLEP Principles of Management: The Best Test Preparation for the CLEP. Research & Education Association. Robbins, S. P. & Coutler, M., 2009. Management 9th Edn. Pearson Education India. Singla, R. K., 2009. Business Management. FK Publication. Read More