Presentation prepared by Alan Simon, University of Western Australia

Housekeeping Issues

Before we commence our subject, there are a number of administration issues that need to be taken care of:

• Subject Lecturer: Vasanthi Vijaya

- Office: SOBIZ

- Phone: 016-3112005

- Email: vasanthi.vijayavale@newinti.edu.my

Housekeeping Issues (cont'd)

• Tutorial Staff:– Ms Lim Con Nee

Housekeeping Issues (cont'd)

• Text:

Your text this semester is Davidson, P., Simon, A., Gottschalk, L., Hunt, J., Wood, G., and Griffin, R.,

Management: Core Concepts and Applications- Australasian Edition

John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd. Copyright 2006

OR

Management: Core Concepts and Skills,

Davidson, P., Simon,

Chapter 1 - Introduction to Management

• Learning objectives:– Describe the nature of management, define

management and managers, and briefly explain basic management functions; roles and skills in organisations.

– Justify the importance of history and theory to management and explain the evolution of management thought.

– Identify and describe contemporary management theoretical perspectives, issues and challenges.

Introduction to Managers in Organisations

Managers generally work in different types of organisations.

• An organisation is defined as a structured group of people working towards the organisation’s goals.

• Management helps the organisation achieve these goals through its resources, including its people.

• Organisations and the environment they are located in are ever changing, making the manager’s task complex.

Introduction to Management

• Management is a set of activities (including planning and decision making, organising, leading and controlling) directed at an organisation’s resources (human, financial, physical and information) to achieve organisational goals in an efficient and effective manner.

• A manager is a person whose primary responsibility is to carry out the management process.

What do you see as the major responsibilities of your role as a

manager?

Adam Laker, Executive Assistant Manager, Sofitel Hotel, Gold Coast

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Diagrammatic Summary of the Management Process

Management Functions

A useful acronym to aid memory is PLOC:

• Planning and decision making: determining courses of action

• Leading: envisioning and inspiring• Organising: coordinating activities and

resources• Controlling: monitoring and evaluating

activities

Diagrammatic Summary of the 4 Functions of Management

Kinds of Manager

Levels of management:• Top Managers — the relatively small group of

executives who manage the overall organisation• Middle Managers — usually the largest group

– Responsible for implementing plans of top managers

– Coordinate and supervise first-line managers

• First-line managers — supervise and coordinate the activities of operating employees

The responsibilities of top management

Kevin Graetz – Chief Executive Officer – Story Bridge Adventure Climb

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The role of top management in an SME manufacturing environment

Simon Bottomley, General Manager, HaveStock Manufacturing

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Kinds of Manager (cont’d)

Managers in the different areas of the organisation:

• Marketing Managers• Financial Managers• Human Resources Managers• Administrative Managers• Other Kinds of Managers

Diagrammatic Summary of Levels and Kinds of Managers

Managerial Roles & Skills

• Managerial roles — the behaviours and responsibilities associated with holding a position as manager.

• Mintzberg observed managers at work and identified 10 different roles they performed, which he grouped under the categories of interpersonal, informational and decisional roles.

Identify some of the roles performed by managers at Skyrail Rainforest Cableway

Footage courtesy John Campling

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The Three Interpersonal Roles

• The three interpersonal roles are:– Figurehead — typically ceremonial and symbolic– Leader — recruiting, training and motivating

employees– Liaison — coordinator or link between people or

groups

The Three Informational Roles

• The three informational roles are:– Monitor — actively seeks valuable information

from within and outside the organisation;– Disseminator — transmits information to internal

others;– Spokesperson — transmits information to

external others.

The Four Decisional Roles

• The four decisional roles are:– Entrepreneur — initiator of change and

innovation;– Disturbance handler — deals with problems;– Resource allocator — decides who gets what and

who works with whom;– Negotiator — internal or external negotiations on

behalf of the organisation.

Management Skills

• Robert Katz identified that managers at all levels require skills in three areas:– Technical skills relate to the specific kind of work

of the organisation;– Interpersonal skills are the ability to relate

effectively to individuals and groups;– Conceptual skills relate to the ability to think

abstractly and logically.

Other Management Skills

• Diagnostic and analytical skills - careful observation, understanding cause and effect relationships and visualising solutions

• Communication skills

• Decision-making skills - ability to recognise and define problems and opportunities (also to reframe problems), then select the best solution.

• Time management skills

What managerial skills are important at Skyrail Rainforest Cableway?

Footage courtesy John Campling

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Functions, Roles and Skills vary according to:

• Managerial hierarchy — Top, Middle or Functional manager

• Managerial Type — Professional, Technical or Lay manager

• Ownership — Employed or Shareholder or Sole Owner Manager

• Organisation Size — Big, Small-Medium, Micro• Organisation Phase — Start up, Growing, Declining• Industry Type — Service or Manufacturing• Country of operation

The Nature of Managerial Work

• A manager’s job is subject to :– Uncertainty and change;– Interruption;– Fragmentation;– Immense variety of tasks;– Unrelenting pace.

• It is a blend of science and art.

The Science of Management

• Many management problems can be approached scientifically:– Gather objective data and information;– Apply quantitative models and decision

techniques.

• This approach is applicable to routine and straightforward issues.

• The most important skills are technical and diagnostic skills.

The Art of Management

• Some issues and problems cannot be solved rationally.

• This is especially the case for non-routine and complex issues.

• To solve such problems managers may use intuition, experience, instinct and personal insight.

• The most important skills are conceptual and interpersonal skills.

Becoming A Manager

Experience + Education = Knowledge• Education:

– Formal tertiary level education;– High level management development within

corporations;– Short courses;– On-the-job training.

• Experience gained through meeting challenges in the workplace.