Introduction to Management

Hi guys, first of all I like to wish you all a Happy new year! I know we are all in to the month of March but it’s the first time we are meeting from vknow’s notez this  year.

So in this new year I thought of going to a whole new range of topics. We will leave Java and the technical stuff behind and try to focus on a few management concepts. but resp assured we will return to more technical topics soon 🙂

So before going to management concepts in detail lets try to understand what it really is;

Management is all about managing a a set of resources in a business firm or non-business organization. These resources can be material, people, machinery etc. Usually management is run by a board which includes the people on higher posts like manager, human resource executive, chief operating officer (COO), chief executive officer (CEO) etc.

Management helps to process, daily activities and future plans of the company or organization. The work steps involved in management process include planning, organizing, leading and controlling.

When we talk about management we always here the following terms frequently. So lets try to understand what these frequently used terms mean…

• Productivity

Productivity is the measure of how specified resources are managed to accomplish timely objectives as stated in terms of quantity and quality.

Productivity can also be defined as an index that measures goods and services relative to the input labour, materials, energy, etc. Therefore productivity can be summarized by the equation;

Productivity = Output / Input

Productivity can be increased by increasing the output or decreasing the input.

Organizations monitor productivity for strategic reasons such as corporate planning, organization improvement, or comparison to competitors. A productivity measure describes how well the resources of an organization are being used to produce output.

• Efficiency 

Efficiency measures how well a manger uses his resources to achieve the goals of the organization. Management places heavy focus on how to acquire the right team to perform tasks and achieve company’s goals.

For example, in human resource planning the project manager decides on the organizational structure and roles and responsibilities to complete project tasks, then, he obtains the right human resources according to the roles and responsibilities, and he decides on any training needs they may require  to complete the tasks.

• Effectiveness

Effectiveness measures the appropriateness of the goals that an organization is pursuing. This is a core measure in project management since it is all about applying knowledge and tools and techniques to achieve project goals.

Building and measuring effectiveness in a project starts during the planning phase. . Organizational effectiveness enables people to use their creativity, energy, and resources for the issues that really matter to the community. Achieving and sustaining organizational effectiveness is considered a main priority. All the employees in the company have a responsibility for contributing to the effectiveness of the company and specifically of their work areas. Therefore organizational effectiveness is about doing everything you know to do and doing it well.

• Goal

Goals are high level statements that provide a target for the organization There are seven types of goals in management. They are achievement goals, action goals, limit goals, rate goals, exclusion goals, layered goals and incredible goals.

Goal setting is the absolute first step in achieving business success. Organisational goals explain how an organisation intends to go about achieving its mission. Organisations often have more than one goal. It may be helpful to achieve their target very quickly and successfully. Goals are fundamental elements of organization. Generally goals are non-measurable.

For example, a car manufacturer might identify its mission as increasing market share and making a profit. Establishing goals of introducing a new model of car each year and providing the highest quality spare parts to customers will enable it to achieve that mission.

• Objectives

Goal statements are designed to be vague but an objective is not vague. They are lower level statements that describe the specific tangible products that have to be achieved. Objectives are SMART (Specific, measurable, attainable, Realistic and Time bound).

Objectives should refer to the deliverables of the goal. If you cannot determine what deliverables are being created to achieve the objective, then the objective may be written at too high a level. On the other hand, if an objective describes the characteristics of the deliverables, they are written at too low a level.