Management and Science - Coursework Example

Running heading: Management and science Management and science Name: Tutor: Course: Date: Management basically refers to the act and attitude of being in charge of responsibilities of controlling other people or activities. Management comprises of planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling an organization with the aim of accomplishing a set of common goals. Management can also be expressed as an activity that controls and monitors workers in any organization with the target of achieving some desired goals set by the firm ( Gold , 2001 pp 34). With the changing time, management has also evolved. This is as a result of decentralization in the model of the organization where management has evolved resulting in some alterations, in the duty of management. Nowadays, management mainly focuses on facilitating the activities of the workers rather than controlling them as was the norm in earlier days. Proper management is best tool to ensure productivity in an organization or a company. A manager’s functions include; planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling. Planning is the first component of management and it involves the development of goals and objections in an organization. Before planning, a manager needs to be aware of the on goings in the external and internal business environment. It is also mandatory that he forecast likely future conditions. This help in ensuring that the plan put in place is sufficient to cover all the organization’s needs. Next, a strategy is put in place on how those objectives will be accomplished. The objectives usually originate from the organization’s visions and future aspirations. The planning process should be well coordinated and requires the contribution and participation of everyone in the organization. Finally, planners should review the success of their plans to ensure everything is working well (Ibid, pp 46). Organizing on the other hand is the second component after planning is complete. It generally involves providing capital, staff and resources for the running of the organization. It not only refers to people but also it involves the available resources and ensuring they are well distributed throughout the relevant sectors in the organization. Managers need to decide the best way of utilizing the available resources. Moreover, it involves the most effective way to departmentalize jobs into their respective departments for efficiency. Generally, the organizational structure fully depends on the number of employees in an organization. Staffing involves the recruitment, hiring and training of personnel. It aims at ensuring that all the fields in the organization are filled and with people who are qualified. It is also responsible for ensuring that workers have favorable working conditions for all workers in the organization (Hill, 2009 pp 89). Directing involves making decisions pertaining to the running of the business and issuing orders directives to employees. It also involves channeling the workers energy and expertise into achieving the business objectives and at the same time assisting them to achieve their own personal career objectives (Ibid, pp 92). Controlling is the last duty in management. It des not refer to managers manipulating the behavior of their employees; rather it refers to work related activities. It therefore involves looking out for errors and weaknesses in the system of the organization by monitoring and controlling feedback. This is done to ensure all activities conform to the plans policies and directives as set up by the management. It is also done to ensure performance does not deviate from the organizations standards. Organization also involves monitoring the progress of the firm and ensuring that the goals set are being met. And where an error is identified, corrective and preventive measures should be implemented. For a manager to effectively control, he requires the have a clear understanding of the organizations plans that highlight the organizations standards and objectives. In order to be successful in business, it is important that there is proper management. The management is vital as it is concerned with decision making and the general running of the business. The management is central to all business operations. There are various schools of any business needs to determine the school of thought that it chooses to follow. (Hodgetts 2003, pp 112) Science on the other hand is the organization of knowledge so as to come up with testable predictions and explanations. Scientific management was initially established by Fredrick Taylor. This was as represented in the scientific school of thought. The concept of scientific management took an important shift during the industrial revolution that led to the development of machinery to be used in production. The scientific approach was intended to bring about organization efficiency. Scientific management erupted at a time when America was undergoing tremendous developments. As a result, there were numerous activities that needed to be dealt with. There was need to come up with a plan on how to manage all the activities that were now seemingly impossible. It was then that Taylor came up with certain measures on how to increase efficiency at the work place. He came up with the ideas of fragmentation, standardization and conceptualization. This was so as to eliminate idleness at the work place and utilization management other employees. (Dalkir 2007, pp79) However, there are some factors that have prevented management from becoming an exact science. For example, the criticism of Taylor’s scientific management concept. His theory was criticized based on his assumption that the only motivational factor for the worker is the money factor. Contrary to this assumption, studies had indicated that workers were more willing to work when given managerial attention and not the money that they were paid. Also, his beliefs that these assumptions would lead to industrial harmony was greatly rejected by the Marxists theorists. (Slattery 2003, pp115) Another factor that contributed to the prevention of management into an exact science is the other schools of management theory. These schools of thought had something to offer an eventually, they were more profound as they had a comparison in their provisions and stipulations. These schools of thoughts were therefore predominant and this overshadowed scientific management. This had a great impact on the path that management theory seemed to take over the years. Leadership and management may appear to have the same meaning, but this is not the case. For effective management, one requires leadership skills in order to gain confidence and trust from the people served. As the proverbs goes, unity is strength”, the same applies to people working together in achieving the same goal. A barrier is anything that obstructs or hinders the union or progress of something. Culture on the other hand, refers to a process of socializing that entails all the rules, assumptions, norms, regulations and mindsets that are common to a group of people. These rules govern and determine how the individual in that group lives and interacts with other people. Cultural barriers are those barriers that arise as a result of the different cultures that exist in a certain locality. Some of the most common barriers to conducting business include; misunderstanding body language of different people, lack of trust between individuals of different cultures, different religious beliefs hence different perspectives of looking at things and differences in social habits between people of different cultural backgrounds. A good and successful leader should also be decisive in his entire decision making process. This goes hand in hand with self confidence even in the most difficult situations. This helps to instill confidence in the subordinates even when things are tough. A leader should also exercise humility and should occasionally take some time off to socialize with his followers in order to maintain a good working relationship with them. He should be able to work under pressure as showing any signs of weakness to his competitors would negatively impact the progress of the firm. A good leader will have some interest in the happenings both inside and outside so that they can effectively analyze the competition, as well. (Gold &Bratton 2001, pp 26) In any working environment, there are some established rules of effective working. These rules are implemented so as to ensure that the set goals and objectives are achieved in the business. One of the main reasons why these rules exist is so as to guide individuals. These guidelines help the different individuals to coordinate activities among themselves so as to achieve the expected results. Since the working environment consists of many personalities, they operate as a team. Within the team, there are established rules on how the team operates. This is extremely vital since it helps in attainment of the set goals. It also prevents random decisions. For the team to be successful in its undertakings, they should embrace effective communication between themselves. This ensures that each person is aware of their responsibility in the team. It also gives room for reinforcement of team-based innovations. Within the team, tasks must be shared out in accordance to established personal skills and abilities. This ensures that the person who is best skilled in a certain field carries out the particular task on behalf of the team. This ensures that each individual is at ease while carrying out these activities. This largely enhances effective working. Therefore, the team must come up with a way of establishing each person’s expertise. This could be achieved through the implementation of a performance evaluation system. This would enable any organization or team to make decisions on who should carry out which activity on behalf of the team. This greatly contributes to effective working and team building. (Hill & Jones 2009, pp175) A good manager should be knowledgeable and competent so that he can effectively influence and direct his subordinates. He must strive to practice integrity and honesty always. This is because a manager and should be a role model to the rest by exercising good values and ethics. Moreover, manager should be courageous and not afraid to take the initiative. He should be a go- getter and should grab opportunities as they arise rather than sit waiting for them to drop on his lap. This will help him to push the organization to a higher level and he will always be one step ahead. He also ought to possess good and fluent communication skills. This is to allow him to communicate his business ideas clearly to his subordinate, for implementation. Motivation skills are also important for a manager to possess at all times. This is because he will constantly need to motivate demoralized workers into continuing to work. A good manager needs to constantly motivate his team to put more effort in their expertise in order to complete a task successfully. (Clark 2009, pp86) A good and successful manager should also be decisive in his entire decision making process. This goes hand in hand with self-confidence even in the most difficult situations. This helps to instill confidence in the subordinates even when things are tough. A manager ought to employ unpretentiousness and should sporadically take some time off to mingle with his supporters in order to maintain a good working relationship with them. He should be able to work under pressure as showing any signs of weakness to his competitors would negatively impact the progress of the firm. A good manager will have some interest in the happenings both inside and outside so that they can effectively analyze the competition as well. (Hajdini 2010, pp 102) No manager is expected to possess all of these traits however they can acquire them through training and discipline. A good leader needs to have the capacity to make and develop a team of people and lead them effectively to achieving the business goals. Nevertheless, there are so many known traits of a good manager in books and other sources that cannot all be exhausted. The crucial factor in picking a manager besides the academic credentials is choosing someone who can be a leader and someone who has proved their commitment to the organization. |This can be established by reviewing their work record while in a junior position. For example, someone who was lazy and did not yield good results as an assistant manager cannot be expected to start working when they are promoted irrespective of their academic credentials. Therefore, managers are people who can take the company to the next step at all cost. (Huber 2006, pp 90) From the analysis above, it is evident that the fact that management did not develop to be an exact science led to many changes in the concepts of management theory. This is mainly based on the role of managers in different types of organizations. Managers tend to approach management from the other schools of management theory rather than a scientific point of view. This is because managers tend to be more concerned with attainment of the set goals and objectives rather than how they were achieved. There are more concerned with maximization of employees to maximize profit. Therefore, whether management becomes a science is largely dependent on the practices that managers choose to implement. The only important thing to them is their accomplishment of their functions and the set goals and objectives of their firms. Bibliography Clark, C. 2009. Creative nursing leadership and management. Jones & Bartlett Learning. Dalkir, K. 2007, Knowledge management in theory and practice, Butter-worth-Heinemann, Boston. Hajdini, I. 2010. Innovation Management: The Leadership Role of the CEO: Case Studies: Yahoo and Google. GRIN Verlag. Hill, C. & Jones, G. 2009, Strategic Management Theory: An Integrated Approach, Cengage Learning, New York. Huber, D. 2006. Leadership and nursing care management. 3rd ed. Elsevier Health Sciences. Hodgetts, M. 2003. Management Theory and practice.Saunders Canada Slattery, M. 2003. Key ideas in sociology, Nelson Thomes, New York. Gold, J &Bratton, J.2001. Human Resource Management: Theory and practice. Routledge, London Read More