Mullins L.J. Management and organisational behaviour, Seventh edition
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The nature of management is variable. Management relates to all activities of the organ-
isation and is undertaken at all levels of the organisation. Management is not a separate,
discrete function. It cannot be departmentalised or centralised. An organisation cannot
have a department of management in the same way as it can have a department for
other functions, such as production, marketing, accounting, or personnel. Management
is seen best, therefore, as a process common to all other functions carried out within the
organisation. Management is essentially an integrating activity. (See Figure 6.2 and
recall also Figure 2.4, Chapter 2.)
The overall responsibility of management can be seen as the attainment of the given
objectives of the organisation. Naylor, for example, provides the following definition:
‘Management is the process of achieving organisational objectives, within a changing
environment, by balancing efficiency, effectiveness and equity, obtaining the most
from limited resources, and working with and through other people.’
13
Objectives are the desired end-results the organisation is striving to achieve. Within
the framework of objectives, policy provides the guidelines for the operations and
activities of the organisation. Clarification of objectives and policy is a prerequisite if
the process of management is to be effective. However, as Drummond, for example,
points out: ‘The fundamental problem of management is that organisational and indi-
vidual objectives differ. Whereas the organisation may be interested in maximising
output and minimising cost, the individual employee may have other priorities. The
problem for the organisation is how to eliminate opportunism.’
14
But what does the process of management actually involve, and what activities does
it encompass? Management is a complex and discursive subject. Despite the widespread
use of the term and the large amount written about the subject, it is not easy to find
agreement on a simple yet comprehensive definition of management or of a manager.
CHAPTER 6 THE NATURE OF MANAGEMENT
195
Managers and administrators now need to perform – quickly, effectively and efficiently.
Failure to do so will leave them, their bosses and their organisations exposed to criticism
and, more seriously to competition. So what are the biggest challenges of 21st century
administrative management? They are the:
■ effective management of information and communications;
■ effective management of people.
Both of these areas of professional challenge will be characterised by a permanent state of
change. So effective managers will need to be able to manage change; to be able to
manage information; and to manage information through people.
Professor Graham Robinson, Chief Executive Officer,
The Institute of Administrative Management
12
THE PROCESS OF MANAGEMENT
It is difficult to think of any aspect of the functioning of the organisation, or behaviour of
people, which does not concern, or relate back to, management in some way. For example,
even personality clashes between two individual members of staff could possibly be traced
back to management procedures for recruitment and selection, induction, socialisation
and training, delegation or the level and style of supervision. And clearly the personality
clashes are likely to affect the attitudes and work performance of the members concerned,
and also affect the morale of other staff.
Moreover, ‘management’ is not homogeneous. It takes place in different ways and
at different levels of the organisation. One approach, especially favoured by classical
writers, is to analyse the nature of management and to search for common activities (or
functions, or elements) applicable to managers in all organisations.
One of the first, and most widely quoted, analyses is that given by Henri Fayol, who
analysed the activities of industrial undertakings into six groups:
■ technical (production, manufacture and adaptation);
■ commercial (buying, selling, exchange and market information);
■ financial (obtaining capital and making optimum use of available funds);
■ security (safeguarding property and persons);
■ accounting (information on the economic position, stocktaking, balance sheet,
costs, statistics); and
■ managerial. (The term ‘management’ is a translation of the French term
‘administration’.)
15
The managerial activity is divided into five elements of management, which are
defined as: ‘to forecast and plan, to organise, to command, to co-ordinate and to con-
trol’. Fayol describes these elements as:
196
PART 3 THE ROLE OF THE MANAGER
Organisational processes and the execution of work
Systems of motivation,
job satisfaction
and rewards
Harnessing the
efforts of staff
Welding a coherent
pattern of work
activities
Improving the people–organisation relationship
The focus of management
Creating an organisational climate in which
people work willingly and effectively
Satisfying the needs
and expectations of
people at work
Achieving the goals
and objectives of
the organisation
Organisational performance and effectiveness
Figure 6.2 The central focus of management
Common
activities of
management
■ Planning (translated from the French prevoyer = to foresee, and taken to include
forecasting) – examining the future, deciding what needs to be achieved and devel-
oping a plan of action.
■ Organising – providing the material and human resources and building the struc-
ture to carry out the activities of the organisation.
■ Command – maintaining activity among personnel, getting the optimum return
from all employees in the interests of the whole organisation.
■ Co-ordination – unifying and harmonising all activities and effort of the organisa-
tion to facilitate its working and success.
■ Control – verifying that everything occurs in accordance with plans, instructions,
established principles and expressed command.
Fayol also suggests that a set of well-established principles would help concentrate gen-
eral discussion on management theory. He emphasises, however, that these principles
must be flexible and adaptable to changing circumstances. Fayol recognised that there
was no limit to the principles of management but in his writing advocated 14.
1 Division of work. The object is to produce more and better work from the same
effort, and the advantages of specialisation. However, there are limits to division of
work which experience and a sense of proportion tell us should not be exceeded.
2 Authority and responsibility. Responsibility is the corollary of authority.
Wherever authority is exercised responsibility arises. The application of sanctions is
essential to good management, and is needed to encourage useful actions and to
discourage their opposite. The best safeguard against abuse of authority is the per-
sonal integrity of the manager.
3 Discipline is essential for the efficient operation of the organisation. Discipline is
in essence the outward mark of respect for agreements between the organisation
and its members. The manager must decide on the most appropriate form of sanc-
tion in cases of offences against discipline.
4 Unity of command. In any action an employee should receive orders from one
superior only; if not, authority is undermined and discipline, order and stability
threatened. Dual command is a perpetual source of conflicts.
5 Unity of direction. In order to provide for unity of action, co-ordination and
focusing of effort, there should be one head and one plan for any group of activi-
ties with the same objective.
6 Subordination of individual interest to general interest. The interest of the
organisation should dominate individual or group interests.
7 Remuneration of personnel. Remuneration should as far as possible satisfy both
employee and employer. Methods of payment can influence organisational per-
formance and the method should be fair and should encourage keenness by
rewarding well-directed effort, but not lead to overpayment.
8 Centralisation is always present to some extent in any organisation. The degree of
centralisation is a question of proportion and will vary in particular organisations.
9 Scalar chain. The chain of superiors from the ultimate authority to the lowest
ranks. Respect for line authority must be reconciled with activities which require
urgent action, and with the need to provide for some measure of initiative at all
levels of authority.
10 Order. This includes material order and social order. The object of material order is
avoidance of loss. There should be an appointed place for each thing, and each
thing in its appointed place. Social order involves an appointed place for each
CHAPTER 6 THE NATURE OF MANAGEMENT
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PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT
198
PART 3 THE ROLE OF THE MANAGER
employee, and each employee in his or her appointed place. Social order requires
good organisation and good selection.
11 Equity. The desire for equity and for equality of treatment are aspirations to be
taken into account in dealing with employees throughout all levels of the scalar
chain.
12 Stability of tenure of personnel. Generally, prosperous organisations have a stable
managerial personnel, but changes of personnel are inevitable and stability of
tenure is a question of proportion.
13 Initiative. This represents a source of strength for the organisation and should be
encouraged and developed. Tact and integrity are required to promote initiative
and to retain respect for authority and discipline.
14 Esprit de corps should be fostered, as harmony and unity among members of the
organisation is a great strength in the organisation. The principle of unity of com-
mand should be observed. It is necessary to avoid the dangers of divide and rule of
one’s own team, and the abuse of written communication. Wherever possible
verbal contacts should be used.
A number of these principles relate directly to, or are influenced by, the organisation
structure in which the process of management takes place. Fayol’s set of principles can
be compared therefore with those given by Urwick and discussed in Chapter 15.
Relevance for the twenty-first century
In an article bringing together the thinking of senior members of the Institute of
Administrative Management, Moorcroft suggests that Fayol’s five elements of manage-
ment are still recognised as relevant and appropriate for the managers of today and
tomorrow. However, although some of the principles of management remain fresh and
relevant, at the start of a new millennium a new set of principles is needed to guide a
manager’s everyday actions. These ‘principles’ are not offered as an exclusive or author-
itative list but are proposed as a thought-provoking starting point to address the
management problems awaiting us in the new millennium.
16
(See Figure 6.3.)
1 Manage information through people.
2 Change is a constant, and must be managed.
3 Technology is the future.
4 Relationships matter.
5 Investment in training and development is important.
6 Measure only against the best.
7 The market is global.
8 Unity of direction is important.
9 Equity is expected.
10 Initiative is important.
Figure 6.3 Ten new principles for effective administrative management
(Reproduced with permission from Moorcroft, R. ‘Managing in the 21st Century’, Manager, The British Journal of Administrative
Management, January/February 2000, p. 10.)
Another well-known analysis is given by Brech who defines management as:
A social process entailing responsibility for the effective and economical planning and regulation
of the operations of an enterprise, in fulfilment of given purposes or tasks, such responsibility
involving:
(a) judgement and decision in determining plans and in using data to control performance and
progress against plans;
(b) the guidance, integration, motivation and supervision of the personnel composing the enter-
prise and carrying out its operations.
17
Brech identifies four main elements of management:
■ Planning – determining the broad lines for carrying out operations, preparing
methods by which they are carried out and setting standards of performance.
■ Control – checking actual performance against standards to ensure satisfactory
progress and performance, and recording as a guide to possible future operations.
■ Co-ordination – balancing and maintaining the team by ensuring a suitable divi-
sion of work and seeing that tasks are performed in harmony.
■ Motivation – or inspiring morale. Getting members of the team to work effectively,
to give loyalty to the group and to the task, to carry out their tasks properly, and to
play an effective part in the activities of the organisation. This general inspiration is
accompanied by a process of supervision or leadership to ensure the teams are carry-
ing out their activities properly.
Many other writers have provided an analysis of the elements of management. At first
sight these analyses may appear to differ in certain aspects, but on closer study they
show a basic similarity. Debate on the inclusion or exclusion of a particular element of
management tends to revolve round the use and interpretation of different terms, and
the emphasis which is placed upon them.
For example, what Fayol calls command – maintaining activity among personnel
and getting optimum return from employees – might be taken to mean what Brech
refers to as motivation – getting members of the team to work effectively and to carry
out properly the activities allocated to them. Brech does not use the term organising
but this appears to be covered under the headings of planning and co-ordination.
There are numerous other definitions of management. Many of these definitions reflect
the influence of a particular approach to management thinking. Simon, for example, sees
management as synonymous with decision-making.
18
Other examples include such defi-
nitions as ‘management is delegation’, or ‘the task of management is to create teams out
of individuals’. There are other definitions such as ‘the responsibility of management is
to achieve results’, or ‘management is the ordering and co-ordination of functions to
achieve a given purpose’, which tell us little about the actual process of management.
These definitions may all be correct as far as they go, but on their own are too narrow or
too vague to provide an adequate description of management.
Yet another approach to describing management is given by Drucker who identifies
three tasks, equally important, but essentially different, that have to be performed:
1 fulfilling the specific purpose and mission of the institution, whether business enter-
prise, hospital, or university;
CHAPTER 6 THE NATURE OF MANAGEMENT
MANAGEMENT AS A SOCIAL PROCESS
Other analyses
Particular
approaches to
management
THE TASKS AND CONTRIBUTION OF A MANAGER
199
200
PART 3 THE ROLE OF THE MANAGER
2 making work productive and the worker achieving;
3managing social impacts and social responsibilities.
19
Drucker then goes on to identify five basic operations in the work of the manager:
■ Sets objectives – determines objectives and the goals for each area of objectives, and
describes what needs to be done to achieve these objectives.
■ Organises – analyses the activities, decisions and relations required, classifies and
divides work, creates organisation structure, and selects staff.
■ Motivates and communicates – creates a team out of people responsible for various
jobs.
■ Measures – establishes targets and measurements of performance which focus on
both the individual and the organisation as a whole.
■ Develops people – directs, encourages and trains. How well subordinates develop
themselves depends on the way a manager manages.
These categories require a combination of analytical ability, synthesising ability,
integrity, human perception and insight, and social skill.
Drucker argues that the traditional definition of management based on the responsibil-
ity for the work of other people is unsatisfactory and too narrow, and emphasises a
secondary rather than a primary characteristic. There are people, often in responsible
positions, who are clearly ‘management’ but who do not have responsibility for the
work of other people.
A person’s function and contribution may be unaffected by the number of subordi-
nate staff. A ‘manager’ is someone who performs the tasks of management whether or
not he or she has power over others.
Who is a manager can be defined only by that person’s function and by the contribution he or
she is expected to make. And the function that distinguishes the manager above all others is the
function no one but the manager can perform. The one contribution a manager is uniquely
expected to make is to give others vision and ability to perform. It is vision and moral responsibil-
ity that, in the last analysis, define the manager.
20
The essential nature of managerial work is not easy to describe, therefore, as aspects
which are common in many applications escape us in others.
21
However, if we look at how people at work actually spend their time we should be
able to distinguish between those whose main occupation is the carrying out of dis-
crete tasks and the actual doing of work themselves; and those who spend
proportionally more of their time in determining the nature of work to be undertaken
by other people, the planning and organising of their work, issuing them with instruc-
tions and giving advice, and checking on their performance.
‘Managing’ and ‘doing’
By distinguishing ‘managing’ from ‘doing’ in this way we can see management as clari-
fying objectives and the planning of work, organising the distribution of activities and
tasks to other people, direction of subordinate staff and controlling the performance of
other people’s work. This provides us with a convenient description and summary
of managerial work as: clarification of objectives, planning, organising, directing
and controlling. (See Figure 6.4.)
Responsibility
for the work of
other people
ESSENTIAL NATURE OF MANAGERIAL WORK
The degree of emphasis given to these different activities may vary widely, however,
from one manager to another. Some managers are likely to spend more time on certain
activities than other managers. The application of these activities reflects a wide range
of management practice and managerial style.
The setting of objectives and formulation of policy takes place at different levels in the
organisation, but as part of the same process. The board of directors, or similar body,
establishes objectives and formulates policy (direction) for the organisation as a whole.
Management is responsible for the implementation of policy decisions and the execu-
tion of work designed to meet these objectives. However, it is not always easy to
distinguish clearly between policy and its execution (see the discussion on levels of
organisation in Chapter 15).
In the same way that the board of directors is concerned with planning, organisa-
tion and control as part of the responsibility for the operations of the organisation as a
whole, so the execution of policy will involve the manager in decision-making and the
clarification of objectives for subordinate staff. This will entail answers to such ques-
tions as: Exactly what is required? What activities are involved? What are the available
resources? What are the time scales? What standards are required and how is perform-
ance to be measured? What restrictions or limitations apply? Clarification of objectives
provides the basis for the planning and organisation of work, and the activities of staff.
CHAPTER 6 THE NATURE OF MANAGEMENT
201
Figure 6.4 Summary of essential nature of managerial work
Clarification of
objectives
Having already identified direction (of the organisation as a whole) as a responsibility
of the board of directors it is tempting to use the term ‘motivating’ instead of ‘direct-
ing’ in our definition of the activities of management. This would avoid possible
confusion over terminology: and motivation is perhaps a less emotive word. But is
motivating an adequate description? It is certainly part of the manager’s job to moti-
vate staff but it involves more than this. Subordinate staff also need development and
guidance. They need to be motivated to perform well in the right areas. The manager
has a responsibility to see that subordinate staff are effective as well as efficient. Their
efforts must be directed towards the achievement of given objectives in accordance
with stated policy.
As we have seen, ‘co-ordination’ is often included as one of the activities of manage-
ment. However, the harmonising of effort to meet objectives (co-ordination) is not so
much a separate activity; it is of a more general nature and involves all the activities of
management. Co-ordination, like communication and decision-making, is inherent in
the process of management. It permeates all the activities of management and is
descriptive more of how the work of the manager is carried out.
According to Kanter, good managers realise there are no simple answers to manage-
ment problems:
Managers means managing an entire context. If you strip out one element and apply one
methodology, it won’t work.
22
Despite the view expressed by Drucker on the tasks and contribution of a manager, one
of the most popular ways of defining management is that it involves getting work
done second-hand, that is through the efforts of other people. Managers are judged
not just on their own performance but on the results achieved by subordinate
staff. There are, then, many ways of looking at the meaning of management. The basic
criteria must be a compromise between the ideas of some of the more lucid writers on
the subject.
Stewart attempts to integrate the various definitions of management and summarises
the manager’s job, broadly defined as:
deciding what should be done and then getting other people to do it. A longer definition would
be concerned with how these tasks are to be accomplished. The first task comprises setting
objectives, planning (including decision-making), and setting up formal organization. The
second consists of motivation, communication, control (including measurement), and the devel-
opment of people. The two tasks are separated for convenient analysis, but in practice they may
often overlap.
23
The definition of management as ‘getting work done through the efforts of other
people’ may not perhaps meet all criteria, or satisfy everyone’s perception of the nature
of managerial work. It does, however, have the advantage of simplicity and focuses on
what in reality is at the heart of effective management.
The ‘Roles and Individual Management Model’ of IBM are given in Management
in Action 6.1 at the end of this chapter.
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PART 3 THE ROLE OF THE MANAGER
Direction and
motivation
Co-ordination
THE EFFORTS OF OTHER PEOPLE
Managing means leading, making things happen through people: for me that is relevant to
all levels of management, not just the top management.
Sir Peter Parker
24
In Chapter 4 we discussed the distinction between production and service organisations.
In addressing the question ‘what is the nature of management in service industries?’,
Jones suggests that implicit in the question is the fundamental assumption that managers
of services face different problems and act differently from other managers. However,
Jones acknowledges that this assumption is contentious. Even where there is agreement
that services are in some way different, there is no agreement on the cause or importance
of this difference.
25
On a similar theme, the managerial task of running (for example) a
hospitality unit can be seen as a set of systems and processes common to managing any
organisation.
26
There is, however, a continuing debate about whether hospitality man-
agement, for example, is the same as or different from other management.
27
In order to operate effectively, service industries need management in the same way
as any other industry. Both require attention to the same general problems of manage-
ment. (See also the discussion on management in public and private sector organisations
in the following section.) The open systems model applies in exactly the same way to
service organisations as to any other business organisation. Increasing attention is being
given to the applications of general management theory within the service industry and
to the links between management in service and other industries.
28
The systems approach and contingency theory, discussed in earlier chapters,
also serve to illustrate both differences and common features in the nature of
management in work organisations.
The increasing scale of privatisation (discussed in Chapter 4) and the general move-
ment of major organisations away from local authority jurisdiction and towards greater
responsibility for managing their own affairs have led to blurring of the traditional dis-
tinction between private and public sector management. Divisions between the two
sectors are increasingly being broken down. There is, for example, a growing recogni-
tion that the duties and responsibilities of local government staff may satisfy the
definition of a manager. The changing structure of local government and the creation
of larger, all-purpose bodies will further enhance the corporate importance of man-
agers. It is understandable, therefore, why there is a popular debate about the extent of
the ‘generic’ nature of management, and the manner in which organisations in the pri-
vate and public sectors are structured and managed.
29
There are perceived differences between management in the private and public sectors.
These differences arise from particular features of public sector organisations. For
example:
■ aims concerned with providing a service for, and for the well-being of, the commu-
nity rather than just of a commercial nature;
■ the scale, variety and complexity of their operations;
■ the tendency for them to be subject more to press reports on their activities;
■ the political environment in which they operate, and in the case of local government,
for example, the relationship between elected members and permanent officers;
■ high levels of statutory controls, legislation and ministerial guidance;
■ the generally high level of trade union involvement;
■ the difficulties in measuring standards of performance of services provided com-
pared with profitability;
CHAPTER 6 THE NATURE OF MANAGEMENT
MANAGEMENT IN SERVICE INDUSTRIES
MANAGEMENT IN PRIVATE ENTERPRISE AND PUBLIC SECTOR
ORGANISATIONS
Perceived
differences
203
■ the demand for uniformity of treatment and public accountability for their opera-
tions; and
■ the tendency towards more rigid personnel policies, for example specific limitations
on levels of authority and responsibility, fixed salary gradings based on general pay
scales, long-term career structures and set promotion procedures.
A number of these features frequently combine to result in increased bureaucracy
within public sector organisations.
The same general problems of management
Both private enterprise and public sector organisations, however, face the same general
problems of management. Both are concerned with, for example:
■ the efficiency and effectiveness of their operations;
■ the clarification of aims and objectives;
■ the design of a suitable structure; and
■ carrying out essential administrative functions.
Basic principles of management apply in any series of activities in any organisation.
The common activities and concerns of management apply to a greater or lesser extent
in both private enterprise and public sector organisations. For example, as Robinson
points out:
Innovation in industry and commerce is a given. In local government organisations some may
find it a more curious concept. But this simplistic, stereotypical view of management is wrong.
Managers must manage professionally in whatever sector they function – or leave themselves
vulnerable to the threats in an increasingly global and competitive environment. This applies to
managers of public sector organisations as well as to private sector managers – and survival for
many will be dependent upon the effective management of change and innovation.
30
Based on an analysis of management development in central and local government,
Bourn suggests management as a set of interrelated activities:
1 forecasting, setting objectives and planning;
2 the definition of problems that need to be solved to achieve these objectives;
3 the search for various solutions that might be offered to these problems;
4 the determination of the best or most acceptable solutions;
5 the securing of agreement that such solutions should be implemented;
6 the preparation and issue of instructions for carrying out the agreed solutions;
7 the execution of the solutions;
8 the devising of an auditing process for checking whether such solutions are prop-
erly carried out and, if they are, that they do in fact solve the problems for which
they were devised;
9 the design, introduction and maintenance of the organisational structures which
are most appropriate for these activities;
10 the selection, training, development and management of the appropriate staff.
31
Clearly, this set of activities is of equal relevance to management in business organisa-
tions, and can be seen as an extension of the generalised definition of clarification of
objectives, planning, organising, directing and controlling suggested above. Although
greater emphasis might be placed on certain activities this analysis helps demonstrate
the degree of commonality between the basic process of management in both private
and public sector organisations.
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PART 3 THE ROLE OF THE MANAGER
Set of
interrelated
activities