MANAGEMENT

Other Managerial Functions

There are some more managerial functions other than the five most important elements discussed above. Motivating, actuating and leading are already mentioned as sub-functions of directing. In addition, communicating, delegating, coordinating, reporting, budgeting, innovating, influencing, representing, etc., are often mentioned as managerial functions.

Coordinating

This is the process of linking several activities to achieve a functional whole in the organisation. In other words, it is the process of ensuring that persons who perform interdependent activities work together in a way that contributes to overall goal attainment. Coordinating is the management of interdependence in a work situation. It is much more than just cooperation and it involves an information giving function.

Communicating

Communicating is the transfer of information, ideas, understanding or feeling between people. In other words, it is the process of passing information and understanding from one person to another. It needs no further emphasis amongst library and information people. Communication is an all-pervasive phenomenon. Even though it may be outside the scope of this unit, you may note that there are many obstacles or barriers to effective communication.

Reporting

It has already been said that reporting is converse of directing. Reporting serves the purpose of keeping authorities and the public at large informed about the performance, achievements and shortfalls for a specific period. This function not only helps with a healthy self assessment but also by maintaining good public relation.

Budgeting

The budget is one of the plan documents. It is a statement of planned allocation of resources expressed in financial or numerical terms. Budgeting includes financial planning, accounting and controlling. Budgeting techniques and budget preparation are discussed in greater detail in Units 10 and 11.

Innovating

As every organisation has to constantly grow bigger and better, innovation becomes an important function of a manager. Innovation means creating new ideas which may either result in the development of new products or finding the new user for the old ones.

Representing

Today’s manager is required to spend a part of his time representing his organisation before various outside groups (stake holders) like Government officials, labour unions, financial institutions, suppliers, customers, etc.                           

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT

Taylor’s Principles The fundamental principles that Taylor saw underlying the scientific approach to management may be summarised as follows:

• Replacing rules of thumb with science (organised knowledge);

• Obtaining harmony in group action, rather than discord;

• Achieving cooperation of human beings, rather than chaotic individualism;

• Working for maximum output, rather than restricted output; and

• Developing all workers to the fullest extent possible for their own and their company’s highest prosperity.     

Fayol’s Principles Noting that the principles of management are flexible, not obsolete and must be usable regardless of changing and special conditions, Fayol listed fourteen principles based on his experience. They are summarised below:

• Division of work:

 Specialisation allows workers and managers to acquire an ability, sureness, and accuracy which will increase output. More and better work will be produced with the same effort.

• Authority:

The right to give orders and the power to exact obedience are the essence of authority. Its roots are in the person and the position. It cannot be conceived of apart from responsibility.

• Discipline:

 Discipline is composed of obedience, application, energy, behaviour and outward marks of respect between employers and employees. It is essential to any business. Without it no enterprise can prosper. It is what leaders make it.

 • Unity of command:

For any action whatsoever, an employee should receive orders from one superior only. One person, one boss. In no case is there adaptation of a social organism to a duality of command.

• Unity of direction:

One head and one plan should lead a group of activities. It is necessary that all sing the same objective and that is one head, one plan.

• Subordination of individual interest to general interest:

The interest of one person or group in a business should not prevail over that of the organisation.

 • Remuneration of personnel:

 The price of services rendered should be fair and should be satisfactory to both employees and employer. A level of pay depends on an employee’s value to the organisation and on factors independent of an employee’s worth - such as cost of living, availability of personnel and general business conditions.

• Centralisation:

 Everything that serves to reduce the importance of an individual subordinate’s role is centralisation. Everything that increases the subordinate’s importance is decentralisation. All situations call for a balance between these two positions.

• Scalar chain:

The chain formed by managers from the highest to the lowest is called a scalar chain or chain of command. Managers are the links in the chain. They should, communicate to and through the links. Links may be skipped or circumvented only when superiors approve and a real need exists to do so.

• Order:

 This principle is the simple advocacy of a place for everyone, and everyone in her/his place; a place for everything, and everything in its place. The objective of order is to avoid loss and waste.

 • Equity:

Kindliness and justice should be practised by persons in authority to extract the best that their subordinates have to give.

• Stability of tenure of personnel:

Reducing the turnover of personnel will result in more efficiency and fewer expenses.

 • Initiative:

People should be allowed the freedom to propose and to execute ideas at all levels of an enterprise. A manager who is able to permit the exercise of initiative on the part of subordinates is far superior to one who is unable to do so.

 • Esprit De Corps:

 In unity there is strength. Managers have the duty to promote harmony and to discourage and avoid those things that disturb harmony.

Techniques of Scientific Management –

Taylor's contribution to the development of scientific management was recorded in his papers. Of these early ones are A Piece -Rate System, Shop Management, and The Art of Cutting Metals.

A Piece -Rate System Taylor's first paper on Piece-Katc system was considered a?; an outstanding contribution to the principles of wage payment. He proposed anew system consisting of three parts:

 (a) observation and analysis of work through time study to set the 'rate' or standard,

(b) a 'differential rate' system af piece work, and

 (c) 'paying men and not positions'.

Shop Management.

 In his second paper on Shop Management  he discussed at length workshop organisation and management. He focused attention, in this paper, on his philosophy of management as given below:

• The objective of management must be to pay high wages and nave low unit production costs to achieve the increased industrial efficiency.
• Management has to apply scientific' methods of research and experiment to the management problems.
• Standardisation of working conditions and placing the workers on the basis of scientific criteria. Management must give formal training to workers and specific instructions to perform the prescribed motions with standardised tools and materials.
• Friendly cooperation between workers and management on the basis of scientific system of labour organisation.
• Taylor wanted to develop a new and total concept of management. He advocated that, the  traditional managers, should develop a new approach and change to a rnore comprehensive and  broader view of their jobs incorporating the elements of planning, organising and controlling

Time and Motion Study

In his other experiments he studied through motion and time study and analyzed how the workers handled materials, machines and tools, arid developed a coordinated system of shop management. Taylor set out to determine scientifically the ability of workers in dealing with equipment and materials and this approach led to the true beginning of scientific management. In the development of his shop system Taylor wished to know that until optimum conditions, how long a man or a machine would or should take to perform the given task, in a specified process, using specified materials and methods. He used scientific fact-finding methods to determine empirically the right ways to perform tasks with the help of stop watch. ' Taylor also recognised the need for scientific method of selecting the right men for the right jobs considering their initial qualifications and potential for further learning, he wanted effective supervision of a worker and his working conditions after placing the worker in the right place: Taylor wanted to lay down the foundation for sound personnel management i.e. to match the worker's abilities to the job.

Functional Foremanship

Foreman is the lowest ranking manager and the highest ranking worker. He is the pivot around whom revolves the entire production planning, implementation and control. Thus, Taylor concentrated on improving the performance of this role in the factory set-up. In fact, he identified a list of qualities of a good foreman/supervisor and found that no single person could fit them all. This prompted him to suggest functional foremanship through eight persons. Taylor advocated separation of planning and execution functions. This concept was extended to the lowest level of the shop floor. It was known as functional foremanship. Under the factory manager there was a planning incharge and a production incharge. Under planning incharge four personnel namely instruction card clerk, route clerk, time and cost clerk and a disciplinarian worked. These four personnel would draft instructions for the workers, specify the route of production, prepare time and cost sheet and ensure discipline respectively. Under Production incharge, personnel who would work were speed boss, gang boss, repair boss, and inspector. These respectively were responsible for timely and accurate completion of job, keeping machines and tools etc., ready for operation by workers, ensure proper working condition of machines and tools and check the quality of work. Functional foremanship is an extension of the principle of division of work and specialization to the shop floor.

Method Study

The objective of method study is to find out one best way of doing the job. There are various methods of doing the job. To determine the best way there are several parameters. Right from procurement of raw materials till the final product is delivered to the customer every activity is part of method study. Taylor devised the concept of assembly line by using method study.

Fatigue Study

A person is bound to feel tired physically and mentally if she/he does not rest while working. The rest intervals will help one to regain stamina and work again with the same capacity. This will result in increased productivity. Fatigue study seeks to determine the amount and frequency of rest intervals in completing a task.

Barnard’s Principles

In determining that the task of executives (by which he meant all kinds of managers) was one of maintaining a system of cooperative effort in a formal organisation, Barnard addressed herself/himself first to the reasons for, and the nature of, cooperative systems. The logic of her/his analysis can be seen in the following steps. Physical and biological limitations of individuals lead them to cooperate, to work in groups; while the basic limitations are physical and biological, once people cooperate, psychological and social limitations of individuals also play a part in inducing cooperation. The act of cooperation leads to the establishment of a cooperative system in which physical, biological, personal, and social factors or elements are present. S/he also makes the point that the continuation of cooperation depends on effectiveness (does it accomplish the cooperative purpose?) and efficiency (does it accomplish the purpose with a minimum of dissatisfaction and costs to cooperating members?).

Any cooperative system may be divided into two parts: “organisation” which includes only the interactions of people in the system, and other elements.

Organisations can in turn be divided into two kinds: the “formal” organisation which is that set of consciously coordinated social interactions that have a deliberate and joint purpose, and the “informal” organisation which refers to those social interactions without a common or consciously coordinated joint purpose. The formal organisation cannot exist unless there are persons who

 (a) are able to communicate with one another,

(b) are willing to contribute to group action, and

 (c) have a conscious common purpose.

 Every formal organisation must include the following elements:

(a) a system of functionalisation so that people can specialise (that is, various forms of departmentalisation),

(b) a system of effective and efficient incentives that will induce people to contribute to group action,

(c) a system of power (authority) which will lead group members to accept the decisions of executives, and

(d) a system of logical decision making. The executive functions enter the process through the work of the executive in integrating the whole and in finding the best balance between conflicting forces and events.