COMP 101 Lecture 1: managing-organisations-people-notes
Managing Organisations and People – MGMT1001
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PART 1 – INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION TO ORGANISATIONS AND MANAGEMENT
WHAT IS AN ORGANISATION?
Organisation happens when people work together to achieve a desired goal. It has a distinct purpose,
includes people and has deliberate structure.
Example: schools, businesses, and government departments
Characteristics of organisations:
Size (small, medium, large)
Industry (consumer goods, finance, service, telecommunication…)
Ownership type (sole trader, company (private/public), membership, Not For Profit)
Owner domicile (local, national, international)
Location
Physical environment (open plan, personal office)
Remuneration and benefits (yearly bonus, share options, employee discount, other benefits)
An organisation…
Has:
Is:
Exists:
Purpose, objectives, goals
Structure, rules and boundaries
People
Action designed to achieve the goals
Future
oriented
Part of an
open system
Independently of the
people within them – they
„go on‟ while members
change
The context of organisations and management today
Technological change – new products, new ways of doing things, outsourcing and off shoring
International division of labour
Changing conception of time and space
Changing demographics
Societal, economic, global and technological changes have created an environment in which successful
organisations must embrace new ways of getting their work done.
Examples: more sustainable organisational practices, global economic, social and environmental
challenges, and the changing employee expectations.
Common characteristics of organisations
1. Distinct purpose – this refers to the set of goals the organisation hopes to accomplish
2. People – working together helps achieve business goals
3. Deliberate structure – the simple network that allows members to do their work. The structure may
be open and flexible
The nature of an organisation is changing; it is no longer a structure with clear identifiable division,
departments and work units. Today‟s organisations have a flatter, networked structure that relies on
flexible arrangements, employee work teams, open communication systems (2-ways) and supplier
alliances.
The changing organisations
Traditional organisation
New contemporary organisation
Stable
Inflexible
Job focused
Work is defined by job positions
Individual oriented
Permanent jobs
Command oriented
Managers always make decisions
Rule oriented
Relatively homogenous workplace
Hierarchical relationships
Dynamic
Flexible
Skills focused
Work is defined in terms of tasks to be done
Team oriented
Temporary jobs
Involvement oriented
Employees participate in decision making
Customer oriented
Diverse workforce
Flexible working hours
WEEK 1: T1
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Managing Organisations and People – MGMT1001
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WEEK 2: T2
WHY ARE MANAGERS IMPORTANT?
1. Organisations need their managerial skills and abilities more than ever in uncertain, complex and
chaotic times. As organisations deal with today‟s challenges – the worldwide economic climate, the
risks of global warming, changing technology, and ever-increasing globalisation – managers play
an important role in identifying critical issues and crafting responses
2. They are critical to getting things done. Managers are to ensure that all the employees are doing
their jobs, so that the organisation can achieve its purpose
3. The Gallup Organisation has found that the most important variable in employee productivity and
loyalty is the quality of the relationship between employees and their direct supervisors
WHO ARE MANAGERS?
Manager – someone who coordinates and oversees the work of other people so that organisational goals
can be accomplished. A manager‟s job is about helping others do their work and achieve goals.
It is easier to classify managers in traditionally structured organisations, i.e. those with deliberate work
arrangement or structures shaped like a pyramid, reflecting the fact that the number of employees is
greater at the bottom than at the top.
First-line managers – the lowest level of management and manage the
work of non-managerial employees who are directly involved with producing
the organisation‟s products or servicing the organisation‟s customers. They
have titles like supervisors, shift managers, office manager, team leaders
and forepersons.
Middle managers – include all levels of management between the first-line
level and the top level of the organisation. They manage the work of first-
line managers and may have titles like regional manager, department head,
project leader, store manager, dean and division manager.
Top managers – are responsible for making organisation-wide decisions and establishing the goals and
plans that affect the entire organisation. They typically have titles such as managing director, Chief
Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Operating Officer and chairman of the board. They are involved in creating
and implementing broad and comprehensive changes that affect the entire organisation.
However, not all organisations use a traditional structured pyramid. Some organisations are more flexible
and loosely configured, with work being done by ever-changing teams of employees who move from one
project to another.
WHAT IS MANAGEMENT?
Management – is the process of coordinating and overseeing the work activities of others so that their
activities are completed efficiently and effectively
Managers cannot do what they want anytime, anywhere or in any way; management involves ensuring
work activities are completed efficiently and effectively by the people responsible for doing them.
Management is concerned with being efficient and effective when completing activities so that
organisational goals are attained.
Efficiency – doing things right, or getting the most output from the least amount of inputs. This is
concerned with the means of getting things done
Effectiveness – doing the right tings, or completing activities so that organisational goals are attained.
This is concerned with the ends (result), or the attainment of organisational goals
Management must be concerned about getting activities completed and meeting organisational goals
(effectiveness), and doing them as efficiently as possible.
The aim of management
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TIMELINE OF MANAGEMENT THEORY
Scientific management
Fredrick W. Taylor (1856-1915) is best known for defining the techniques of scientific management
The systematic study of relationships between people and tasks for the purpose of redesigning the
work process to increase efficiency.
Increasing specialisation and the division of labour – the production process would become more
efficient
Managers should scientifically select and train, teach and develop workers (the right person for the
right job)
Clear rules and responsibilities between management and employees
Is the invention of scientific management a good thing?
o Good for consumers and CEO
o Bad for employees
Taylor believed that if the amount of time and effort that each worker expended to produce a unit
of output (a finished good or service) could be reduced by increasing specialization and the division
of labour, then the production process would become more efficient.
4 principles of „Scientific management‟:
o Develop a science for each element of the job, which replaces the old „rule of thumb‟
method
o Managers should scientifically select and then train, teach and develop workers
o Managers should actively cooperate with the workers to ensure all work is being done in
accordance with the principles of the science developed
o An almost equal division of the work and the responsibility should be between the
management and the workers
The Scientific-Technical Revolution and it‟s effects on organisations and management
o The ideas and methods of Scientific Management were what the Americans‟ manufacturing
industries needed in that era
To extend the transformation of craft work (human as the agent) to mechanisation
and transformation
o Rise of factory system of production
Growth in number of employees
Increasing use of technology in production
Rise of „corporations‟ meaning owners did not necessarily work in the organisation
(e.g. the typical share-holder)
o Key features/ developments
Specialisation of labour and the „production line‟
Systematic study of work tasks to create rules or „one best way‟ of performing each
task
Focus on both job design and organisational structures and administration
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Document Summary
Chapter 1 introduction to organisations and management. Organisation happens when people work together to achieve a desired goal. It has a distinct purpose, includes people and has deliberate structure. Has: (cid:120) (cid:120) structure, rules and boundaries (cid:120) (cid:120) action designed to achieve the goals. Independently of the people within them they. Technological change new products, new ways of doing things, outsourcing and off shoring. International division of labour (cid:120) (cid:120) (cid:120) changing conception of time and space (cid:120) changing demographics. Societal, economic, global and technological changes have created an environment in which successful organisations must embrace new ways of getting their work done. Examples: more sustainable organisational practices, global economic, social and environmental challenges, and the changing employee expectations. The nature of an organisation is changing; it is no longer a structure with clear identifiable division, departments and work units.
