Chapter 1: Management Overview

In management there are functions, levels, roles, and skills all great managers need to understand.

The basic functions of management are planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling. One function that may not be clear to many is staffing. It is carried out by first determining the organization's need for people. Then staffers do appraising, recruiting, etc. Another is controlling. Controllers simply prevent, identify, and correct deviations made from the guidelines.

As you can imagine, the levels of management include top, middle, and first-line. The first line managers manage workers, and they are being transformed into team leaders and team facilitators. Middle managers may or may not be needed. They are essential if an organization is in the process of radical organizational change. Otherwise, they are eliminated to reduce costs and increase response communication time within management, (more horizontal organization allows workers to me more directly involved with decision making process of top management). Furthermore, the board of directors are not included; they appoint key members to top management.

At each level of management, managers carry out he same functions; however, a different time/depth is spent into each function. Management can also take on several specific roles, which can be grouped into three categories:
1. interpersonal : ie. figure head, liason, leader
2. informational : ie. monitor, disseminator*, spokesperson
3. decisional : ie. disturbance handler, negotiator, entrepreneur
In interpersonal roles, managers must actively make interactions every day. Informational managers gather information and relays it to colleagues. And decisional managers safeguard the resources.

* A disseminator is a managerial role involving sharing information about the company with followers. (Think of company reps and promoters on campus).

Managerial skills are divided into three main categories:
1. Technical : ability to use tools, techniques.
2. Human : ability to interact and communicate
3. Conceptual : ability to view the big picture, to deal with ideas and abstractions, and to diagnose and solve problems
A lot of this can be related to the ECE coursework we did. (Think of ECE classes when we had to apply procedures for analysis to different circuits, to present our analysis to colleagues and make sure everyone knows the material, and when we had to efficiently study for the final exams by relating every idea with the big picture).

Remember, a manager's job is more of an art than a science. They are interdependent (meaning they are not only autonomous, but also they require sufficient input, attention, and guidance from superiors to be effective), proactive information seekers, and they benefit in an organization more through collaboration and cooperation than from competition with each other.

Advice:
- Long term success in an organization is attained by doing the two following things:
 1. Stick to values and 2. Create systems that encourages employees to act in parallel to those values.
- A person who refuses to accept responsibility lacks ethical armor to stand against temptation.
- Those in new positions tend to fail in 18 months because

1. uncertain of boss's expectations (poor communication)
2. unable to make tough decisions (study up on ethics)
3. being unable to build partnerships with subordinates and peers (leadership)
4. lacking political savvy (human skills)

Definitions:
CRM - Customer relationship management. Software that manages every point of contact with customer.
human skills - ability to interact and communicate. This includes being sensitive to different cultures, and to be able to understand an relate with others.

People to know:
Peter Drucker
John Kotter
Henry Mintzberg

Resources:
- EEOC: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- AMA: American Management Association: Leadership Development and Management training
- A Manager's Job: Folklore and Fact by Henry Mintzberg (Ask me for a copy)