Chapter 1 Introduction to Principles of Management

Thomas Edison once quipped, “There is a way to do it better—find it.” This simple challenge is at the heart of the study and practice of management. Most of us have pondered better ways to manage others at work or considered ways to manage tasks better at home. As you’ve visited or worked at restaurants, coffee shops, schools, or other organizations—and talked with friends and family in numerous settings—it’s likely you’ve encountered many instances where different personal interactions would have led to better experiences.

The study of management focuses on a number of skills that are critical to business success. For example, a recent article by Forbes magazine noted a number of skills that managers desperately need but often lack. Examples include writing and presentation skills, problem-solving skills, teamwork, creativity, empathy, time management, resilience, and other skills associated with effective leadership. These kinds of “soft skills” are critically important to employers, and demonstrating skills such as effective communication through body language, highlighting the ability to process feedback by nodding, and other active listening activities, and asserting strategic thinking in an interview such as proactively learning key facts about a potential employer is key to successfully landing a job. By simply reading the first paragraph of this chapter you have, at some level, managed a soft skill such as the challenge of time management and procrastination that plagues many individuals (especially if you are taking a largely self-paced or online class). The need for managerial talent is so large that a study by Burning Glass Technologies estimated 1.3 management or supervisor roles available for every worker. Despite the vast need for such managerial talent, scholars that study organizational readiness The expectations surrounding future organizational life based on cultural influences from childhood.  examined over 50 Disney films and found that common themes of manipulation and deception often paint managers in a bad light, creating potential biases against management positions. Whether you’re a Disney villain plotting a scheme of world domination or a benevolent social entrepreneur hoping to change the world for good, you need strong management skills to master organizational challenges continually.

Management is the art and science of managing others. Knowledge of management will help you identify and develop the skills to better manage your career, relationships, and the behavior of others in organizations. A manager’s primary challenge is to solve problems creatively, and managementThe art and science of accomplishing individual and organizational goals through the efforts of individuals and groups using planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. often refers to “the art of getting things done through the efforts of other people.” The principles of managementThe concepts managers use in an effort to accomplish management goals. are the means by which you work to accomplish tasks through others individually, in groups, or in organizations. Formally defined, the principles of management are the activities that “plan, organize, and control the operations of the basic elements of [people], materials, machines, methods, money, and markets, providing direction and coordination, and giving leadership to human efforts, so as to achieve the sought objectives of the enterprise.” For nearly a century, principles of management have been discussed using the P-O-L-C framework, which refers to the management functions of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. While managers do not necessarily spend all their time managing, everyone employed in an organization is affected by management principles, processes, policies, and practices. Consequently, finding a “way to do it better” is a challenge that helps all individuals to meet their personal and professional goals. Challenges often begin with the tendency we all have to procrastinate when beginning a project, paper, or other task. And, the complexities of management often involve nuanced and sometimes poorly understood interactions between employees and managers. For example, a recent study noted that pretending to enjoy your manager’s “dumb jokes” can lead to lower job satisfaction and even emotional exhaustion! Other management challenges involve potential interactions between workers and customers (such as the debate over the potential merits of tipping). The study of management explores how individuals might effectively explore such challenges common to the workplace as well as to daily life.