Definition of Management

Effective management is the key to a better world, but mismanagement is a serious threat to our quality of life. Management or mismanagement – the choice is yours. A basic knowledge of management theory, research, and practice will help prepare for productive and gainful employment in a highly organized world in which virtually everything is managed. It is necessary to know the definition of this useful activity.

Management is the process of working with and through others to achieve organizational objectives effectively and efficiently in a changing environment. Another definition one can use is: Management is the process of coordinating the resources of an organization to achieve the primary organizational goals.

The first definition highlights effective and efficient use of limited resources. Distinguishing between effectiveness and efficiency is much more than exercise in semantics. The relationship between these two terms is important, and it presents managers with a never-ending dilemma. Effectiveness entails promptly achieving a stated objective. Efficiency balances the amount of resources used to achieve an objective against what was actually accomplished. Managers are responsible for balancing effectiveness and efficiency. Too much emphasis in either direction leads to mismanagement. On the one hand, managers must be effective, and those who are stingy with resources will not get the job done. On the other hand, managers need to be efficient by containing costs as much as possible and conserving limited resources. Managers who waste resources may get the job done, but they risk bankruptcy in the process. A balance between effectiveness and efficiency is the key to competitiveness today.

The second definition of management emphasizes the resources of an organization. Managers are concerned with the following main resources:

1) Material resources are physical materials and the equipment used by an organization to make a product. 2) The most important resources of any organization are its human resources – people. Some firms believe that their employees are their most valuable assets. 3) Financial resources are the funds the organization uses to meet its obligations to various creditors. 4) Finally, many organizations increasingly find they cannot ignore information. External environment – including the economy, consumer markets, technology, politics, and cultural forces – are all changing so rapidly that an organization that does not adapt will probably not survive. The four functions performed by management information technology are collecting data, storing and updating data, processing data, and presenting information.

Read the two definitions again and you will find the same phrase they both include: " to achieve organizational objectives/goals".

A goal is an end state (or long-term tasks) that an organization wants to achieve. Objectives are specific statements (or short-time tasks) detailing what the organization intends to accomplish within a certain period of time.

Organizational objectives or goals give purpose and direction to the management process, serve as measuring sticks for performance. Without those objectives and goals, the management process, like a trip without a specific destination, would be aimless and wasteful.

Although nearly all aspects of modern life are touched at least indirectly by the work of managers, many people do not really understand what the management process involves. Management is much more, for example, than the familiar activity of telling employees what to do. Management is a complex and dynamic mixture of systematic techniques and common sense. One can identify eight managerial functions: planning, decision making, organizing, staffing, communicating, motivating, leading, controlling.

Management is based on scientific theories and today we can say that it is a developing science. But knowledge of theories and principles does not provide practical results. It is necessary to know how to apply this knowledge. What is important to an organization is not the number of managers it employs but the ability of these managers to achieve the organization's goals, and this ability requires a great skill.

Ex. 3. Give English equivalents to the following:

a) работа (занятость), ограниченные ресурсы, отношения, бесконечный,

акцент (ударение), скупой, оборудование, обязательства (долг),

обработка данных, бесцельный, включать в себя, смешивание,

планирование, подбор кадров, мотивирование.

b) bad management, production, to give/supply, investigation, failure,

profitable, to modernize, to save, to comprise, task, (office) worker,

informing, guidance, to comprehend/realize, to demand.

Ex. 4. Fill in the gaps with the words given below:

1. A very large organization may employ many …, each responsible for

activities of one management area.

2. Practical application of … in the management area requires certain abilities

or skills.

3. This … is especially important for top managers because they have to solve

complex problems.

4. … utilization must not cause damage to people and environment.

5. Organizations are usually more successful when their activities are guided by

challenging and achievable ….

6. … is a sociable process.

7. Managerial … are general administrative duties that need to be carried out in

virtually all productive organizations.

8. How can we … the same value of output while reducing all our resource

input?

9. If the interpersonal … are good, a manager will be successful in getting a

support in the development and implementation of organizational plans.

10. The … that are entered into the system must be relevant, accurate, and

timely.

(management, ability, functions, objectives, knowledge, managers, achieve, relations, resource)

Ex. 5. Make the word – combinations:

1) managerial a) skills

2) to achieve b) process

3) emotional c) decisions

4) to motivate d) resources

5) management e) the causes

6) to determine f) technology

7) to identify g) problems

8) important h) functions

9) material i) employees

10) information j) goals or objectives

Ex. 6. Find in the text above the sentences with -ing words, define whether

they are: a) participle I; b)gerund; c)noun. Translate those sentences

into Russian.

Ex. 7. Make new words:

a) use the suffixes -al, -able/ible, -ful, -ve, -ic, -less to form as many adjectives as possible;

b) use the suffixes -tion/sion, -ment, -er/or, -ty, -ee, -ness to form as many nouns as possible;

to employ, to manage, to finance, to coordinate, to achieve, to use, to motivate, to inform, person, success, organization, to supervise, busy, to engage, function, to administrate, active, object, effect, value, to produce, to consume, weak, to use, to specify.

Ex. 8. Translate into English:

1. Менеджмент – это процесс координации ресурсов организации для

достижения организационных целей.

2. Компании считают все более важным собирать информацию о своих

конкурентах.

3. Мотивация представляет собой психологический процесс, который

придает поведению цель и направление.

4. Современный менеджер, желающий быть успешным, должен

демонстрировать концептуальные, технические и межличностные

способности и управленческие навыки.

5. Менеджеры осуществляют контролирующую функцию, сравнивая

желаемые результаты с действительными и принимая необходимые

корректирующие действия.

6. Принятие разумных и этичных решений в современном запутанном

мире – главная проблема (challenge) менеджмента.

7. Работодатели все больше полагаются на служащих, занятых неполный

рабочий день (part-time).

8. Организации хороши настолько, насколько люди, работающиe в них,

поэтому подбор кадров – важная часть менеджмента.

9. Управленческие роли – особые категории управленческого поведения,

которые можно разделить на межличностные, информационные и

связанные с принятием решений.

10. Менеджеры ответственны за создание возможностей служащим удовлетворять свои потребности в полной мере в качестве вознаграждения (reward) за свою работу и умения.

Ex. 9. Match the terms in A with their definitions in B:

Managerial Functions

1. Planning     2. Decision making   3. Organizing   4. Staffing   5. Communicating     6. Motivating     7. Leading   8. Controlling

a) is the primary management function, the formulation of future courses of action.   b) is checking to determine whether or not an organization is progressing towards its goals, and taking corrective action if it is not.   c) includes structural considerations such as the chain of command, division of labour, and assignment of responsibility.   d) implies the informing the employees of the technical knowledge, instructions, rules, and data required to get the job done.   e) is choosing among alternative sources of action required to carry out an activity.   f) is encouraging individuals to pursue collective objectives or goals by satisfying needs and meeting expectations with meaningful work and valuable rewards.   g) consists of recruiting, training, and developing people who can contribute to the organized effort.   h) means that managers become inspiring leaders by serving as role models and adapting their management style to the demands of the situation.

Ex. 10. Answer the questions:

1. What is management?

2. What does each definition highlight?

3. Why is a balance between effectiveness and efficiency important?

4. What main resources are managers concerned?

5. What common phrase does any definition of management include?

6. What is the difference between a goal and an objective?

7. How many functions should managers perform?

8. What is important to an organization?

Ex. 11. Explain what the statements mean:

1. Effective management is the key to a better world.

2. The relationship between effectiveness and efficiency is important and it presents managers with never-ending dilemma.

3. The most important resources of any organization are its people.

4. Many organizations find they cannot ignore information.

5. Without objectives and goals the management process would be aimless and wasteful.

6. Management is much more than the familiar activity of telling employees what to do.

7. Knowledge of theories and principles does not provide practical results.

Ex. 12. Speak in short on management using the following scheme:

1. Definition.

2. Effectiveness and efficiency.

3. Main resources.

4. Managerial abilities and skills.

5. Management functions.

Ex. 13. Read and translate the text:

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