Since they were created, management and work organisation have been wide-spreadly used in variety of circumstances, business negotiations in particular. Over the last century, several famous theorists have contributed their own approaches of what is meant by such complex items management and organisation (management theory and practice, 4th edition, G.A.Cole, P3). Meanwhile, confusion arose by variety of concepts in different theories.
For instance, the classic definition of management states it is an activity, but the statement is not accepted by most of the modern writer (G.A.Cole, P3). In my essay, I am going to withdraw the definition of management at first by considering the most basic thought, which most of the theorists share in common. The interpretation of key elements will be added to deconstruct the complex. Then, a synopsis of work organisation will be carried out, as well as its comprehension.
In the early twenties, most of the theory writers had been influenced deeply by Adam Smith and F.W.Taylor’s scientific management approach, so Henri Fayol came out with his classic definition, which tends to be more specific about command and control (G.A.Cole, P3). At the time when neo-humanist of Herzberg and McGregor became popular and practical, the importance of motivation and coordination between staff and manager is emphasised. However, in 21st century when technology and efficiency have been improving with passing days management is more likely to be a balance of all sorts, in order to overcome obstacles caused by technological changes. Following definition is the opinion of G.A.Cole in Management Theory and Practice, and it is the one, which I consider is the most basic but appropriate definition of a modern term of ‘management’:
“Management is a process which enables organisations to achieve their objectives by planning, organising and controlling their resources, including gaining the commitment of their employees.” G.A.Cole, 3 From the definition, we can divide three main natures of management- process, content and control; this is mentioned in the book called Management an Introduction by Boddy and Paton. “Management relates to all activities of the organisation and is undertaken of the organisation and is undertaken at levels of the organisation. Management is not a separate, discrete function…”— Management and Organisation Behaviour, Laurie J Mullins.
As a content of organisation, a role of management is setting up the goals (objectives). To plan strategies to achieve the goals is also a part of management function. If we suppose objectives as a whole is a goal and an organisation is a team, then the process show how to lead the team to score the goal is management and the coaches are the managers who apply the theory into practice. The way of putting strategies into action is to organise, to direct, to lead and control.
Control, in a more literature way, is a culture of management. It sounds cruel, but it is the most important components in overall managing activities. It enables management to know if some corrective action is needed to meet the objectives and plans. At the very beginning, control was purely power culture in Taylor’s theory; employers used it as a tool to maintain the maximum output of an employee. It was known as a supervising system.
However, in a modern organisation, control is no longer purely power play or monitoring performance, it is more likely to be management of all types of resources within a production line. In order for a business to make profit, it is important to ensure the right quality of goods are produced at the right time at the right cost and with the right quality. Be more specific, managing resources is the way of making sure the appropriate amount of input are ordered for production line, and the most efficient method is used to provide high quality product, and a right range of goods are produced on time.
Overall management in operation is to maximise the profit and minimise the cost in production line. In this case, management is a tactic that provides the players the information of the most appropriate technique and timing; hence the team can achieve a maximum number of goals within a given period of time. In other words, management raise the competitiveness of a team, consequently the firm become economic of scale and the profit is maximised.
“…The process agenda refers to how it (management) does it…” (Boddy and Paton, 15). As a process, management helps an organisation to achieve its pre-set objective or targets. Process agenda is the most important feature of management, because without processing the objective in practical there is no meaning of the existence of an organisation. Process component includes three actions: “Managing diverse stakeholder interests, involving others in decision making and communicating”
