Describe the relationship between budget and plan

 New small business owners may run their businesses in a relaxed way and may not see the need to budget. However, if you are planning for your business' future, you will need to fund your plans. Budgeting is the most effective way to control your cashflow, allowing you to invest in new opportunities at the appropriate time.

If your business is growing, you may not always be able to be hands-on with every part of it. You may have to split your budget up between different areas such as sales, production, marketing etc. You'll find that money starts to move in many different directions through your organisation - budgets are a vital tool in ensuring that you stay in control of expenditure.A budget is a plan to: 

·         control your finances

·         ensure you can continue to fund your current commitments

·         enable you to make confident financial decisions and meet your objectives

·         ensure you have enough money for your future projects

It outlines what you will spend your money on and how that spending will be financed. However, it is not a forecast. A forecast is a prediction of the future whereas a budget is a planned outcome of the future - defined by your plan - that your business wants to achieve.

Benefits of a business budget

·         manage your money effectively

·         allocate appropriate resources to projects

·         monitor performance

·         meet your objectives

·         improve decision-making

·         identify problems before they occur - such as the need to raise finance or cashflow difficulties

·         plan for the future

·         increase staff motivation

Describe the significance of accurate planning to modern business.

 As organization’s senior leadership sets goals for milestones to be reached, it is the responsibility of the management team to create initiatives to achieve these milestones. Each will yield an outcome and require a set of resources – it is these outcomes and resource requirements that need to be planned. For example, an organization that provides services is required to forecast the offerings demanded in the near future, and determine whether they are equipped to meet that need. “Will the sales force be able to effectively drive significant demand?” “Is the delivery capacity available to meet the anticipated demand that will be generated by the sales force?” These questions can only be answered once a sales plan has been created and compared to the staffing demand.These planning goals affect internal, external and financial decisions based upon the organization’s commitment to these objectives. Therefore, it is critical that these commitments are achieved and that the associated processes provide accurate results.Most planning processes have been an evolution within a company as organizations have grown. Typically, plans are created within spreadsheets and shared among a small number of those who direct the business. As organizations grow, their supporting infrastructure generally grows faster than the planning infrastructure since planning occurs once a year. As organizations mature, the planning processes required mature as well. However, the plans are still managed within spreadsheets

“Planning is looking Ahead & Control is looking back” - Comment

 Planning is Looking Ahead is true because it contributes heavily to success and gives us some control over the future. By, planning we set aside our tasks and deadlines so we can enlarge our mental focus and seeing the bigger picture. By, planning we can set our Personal or organizational goals and for this defiantly we have to look ahead. But, Planning is not ending with such strategies or guidelines. It has relation with Implementation and controls. Because plans are not always proceed as conceived. The control process measures progress towards goal attainment and indicate corrective action if too much deviation is detected. Controlling investigates whether planning was successful. Controlling referred to as terminal management function, takes place after the other functions have been completed. And for this process we have to look back and have to analyze the performance of our planning, organizing and leading. And therefore we have to look back also. So, yes we can say Control is looking back for Investigation, Analysis, and Understandings and for checking our effectiveness and efficiency.

State the importance of the control process in an organization

 There is a strong school of thought holding forth this premise: chaos does not actually exist. What passes for chaos, say some, is simply a lack of complete understanding of the contributing factors in a seemingly chaotic process. "No," say others, "chaos exists and can never be fully controlled nor completely understood." Take this old example. Pour a bucket containing 100 golf balls onto a gymnasium floor and predict the final resting place of each of the balls. "Impossible," say the chaotic theory proponents, "because the system at work (in this case, gravity, mass, variable air currents, floor surface, etc.), produces chaos, and things chaotic can never be accurately predicted." "Not so," say the anti-chaos zealots. "With enough data at hand, and understanding of the dynamic processes occurring, the path of each ball could be accurately predicted." Given my experience with the flight of golf balls, I tend to side with the chaos proponents on this one. Nevertheless, the following statements can be made with certainty: much of what passes for chaos in business today is not chaos at all. It is a failure to control processes that are imminently controllable. Which brings us to three absolutes:

1. Failure to control processes (whether or not you call it chaos), always results in defects and loss of quality.
2. Compromises in quality always result in customer dissatisfaction.

Customer dissatisfaction always results in the eventual failure of the product of any product or service

Briefly describe the steps of the basic control process

 Controlling is one of the managerial functions like planning, organizing, staffing and directing. It is an important function because it helps to check the errors and to take the corrective action so that deviation from standards are minimized and stated goals of the organization are achieved in a desired manner.

• Control is a continuous process
• Control is a management process
• Control is embedded in each level of organizational hierarchy
• Control is forward looking
• Control is closely linked with planning
• Control is a tool for achieving organizational activities

·    Control is an end process

The control process is a continuous flow in Taj between measuring, comparing and action. Naturally Taj follows the four steps in the control process: establishing performance standards, measuring actual performance, comparing measured performance against established standards, and taking corrective action. 

Step 1: Establish Performance Standards. Taj's Standards are created when objectives are set during the planning process. Its standard is a guideline established as the basis for measurement. It is a precise, explicit statement of expected results from a product, service, machine, individual, or organizational unit. It is usually expressed numerically and is set for quality, quantity, and time. Tolerance is permissible deviation from the standard. 

Step 2: Measure Actual Performance. Supervisors collect data to measure actual performance to determine variation from standard. Written data might include time cards, production tallies, inspection reports, and sales tickets. Personal observation, statistical reports, oral reports and written reports can be used to measure performance. Management by walking around, or observation of employees working, provides unfiltered information, extensive coverage, and the ability to read between the lines. While providing insight, this method might be misinterpreted by employees as mistrust. Oral reports allow for fast and extensive feedback.  

Step 3: Compare Measured Performance against Established Standards. Comparing results with standards determines variation. Some variation can be expected in all activities and the range of variation - the acceptable variance - has to be established. Management by exception lets operations continue as long as they fall within the prescribed control limits. Deviations or differences that exceed this range would alert the supervisor to a problem.  

Step 4: Take Corrective Action. The supervisor must find the cause of deviation from standard. Then, he or she takes action to remove or minimize the cause. If the source of variation in work performance is from a deficit in activity, then a supervisor can take immediate corrective action and get performance back on track. Also, the supervisors can opt to take basic corrective action, which would determine how and why performance has deviated and correct the source of the deviation. Immediate corrective action is more efficient; however basic corrective action is the more effective.

What are the requirement for effective control?

Tailoring controls to plans and positions:Control techniques should reflect the plans they follow, and reflect the place in the organization where responsibility for action lies. This enables managers to take action when controls differ from their plans. 

Tailoring controls to individual managers:When controls are tailored to individual managers, individual managers carry out their functions of control more effectively. The system of control shouldn't be too ambiguous to people who will utilize it. 

Making sure the control point up expectations at critical points:Controls that point out exceptions help managers detect areas that require attention. Its is best to look for exceptions at critical points, and the exception principle should be accompanied by principle of critical point control.

Seeking objectivity of controls: An objective, accuracy, and suitable standards are required for effective control technique. 

Ensuring flexibility of controls: Controls should remain in place despite unexpected plans, unforeseen circumstances, or outright failures. 

Fitting the control system to the organizational culture: Systems that fit within the organizational culture are deemed to do best. 

Achieving economy of controls: Control techniques are most effective when they achieve maximum output at minimum cost. 

Establishing controls that lead to corrective action:Controls are useful only if they can correct plans through better planning, organization, staffing

“Planning and control are Siamese twins” explain it.

 PPC comprise the planning, routing, dispatching in the manufacturing process sothat the movement of material, performance of machines and operation of labour however are subdivided and are directed and coordinated as to quantity, quality, time and place.Planning and control are two basic and interrelated managerial functions. They are sointerrelated that they can be and often are considered as being one function. Planning is the preparation activity while control is the post-operation function. Both of them are so closelyrelated that they are treated as Siamese twins. Planning sets the objectives, goals, targets onthe basis of available resources with their given constraints. Control is the integral part of effective planning. Similarly control involves assessment of the performance, suchassessment can be made effectively only when some standard of are set in advance. Planninginvolves setting up to such standard. The controlling is made by comparing the actual performance with these present standard and deviations are ascertained and analyzed. Production is an organised activity of converting raw materials into useful products but before starting that work of actual production, production planning is done in order toanticipated possible difficulties and decide in advance as to how the production should becarried out in the best and economical way.Since mere planning of production is not only sufficient, hence management takesall possible steps to see that project or plan chalked by the planning department are properlyadhered to and the standards set are attained in order to achieve it, control over production isexercised. The aim of production control is to produce the products of right quality, in rightquantity at the right time by using the best and least expensive methods.

What are the most commonly used tests in the selection process of managers?

 Examples of employment tests and other selection procedures, many of which can be administered online, include the following:

·         Cognitive tests assess reasoning, memory, perceptual speed and accuracy, and skills in arithmetic and reading comprehension, as well as knowledge of a particular function or job;

·         Physical ability tests measure the physical ability to perform a particular task or the strength of specific muscle groups, as well as strength and stamina in general;

·         Sample job tasks (e.g., performance tests, simulations, work samples, and realistic job previews) assess performance and aptitude on particular tasks;

·         Medical inquiries and physical examinations, including psychological tests, assess physical or mental health;

·         Personality tests and integrity tests assess the degree to which a person has certain traits or dispositions (e.g., dependability, cooperativeness, safety) or aim to predict the likelihood that a person will engage in certain conduct (e.g., theft, absenteeism);

·         Criminal background checks provide information on arrest and conviction history;

·         Credit checks provide information on credit and financial history;

·         Performance appraisals reflect a supervisor’s assessment of an individual’s performance; and

·         English proficiency tests determine English fluency.

Briefly discuss the different styles of decision making

 Intuitive Style: Some people are spontaneous by nature and like to decide “on the spot”. Experience and circumstances may sometimes support this type of problem solving approach. However, those who consistently use this style are – admittedly – comfortable with the “trial and error”, or “hit and miss” approach. 

Limited Procrastination Style: Not to be confused with never wanting to make a decision, this style involves the delaying of a decision until enough factors have been evaluated and/or enough time has gone by for the situation to stabilize. 

Systematic Style: Involves identifying and evaluating each possible course of action. Of all the decision making styles, this is obviously the most likely candidate for computer based decision making tools. 

Individualistic Style: Some individuals prefer to research and arrive at a decision on their own, without any active input from others. 

By Consensus Style: Applies to decisions that have to, or should preferably, be arrived at as a group.

How do the managerial skills differ in the organizational hierarchy?

 Organisations have usually three levels. Top management is connected with planning & strategy making for overall organisations & monitoring functional managers & their functions through control reports. Top management should know how to manage managers. Middle level management need to know how to manage their functions & use their functional skills & managerial skills to unify their activities to overall goal achievement of the organisations. Lower echelon of management should know how to use job .operational skills to manage their job/operations.Managerial skills at top level would be Managing the managers & at middle level managing the functional area & lower level managing the job.

As a manager describe when a plan considered an effective plan.

 Project managers can get a head start on success by creating a project planning guide that serves as a reference tool for current and future projects. The project planning guide should be company-specific, taking the organization’s size and standard processes into account, yet flexible enough to accommodate projects of varying size and scope. A project manager who is working for a small company and coordinating relatively few team members faces a far different task than one who is managing a large, complex project with man. An effective project planning guide should outline the questions that need to be answered at the outset in order to establish clear and measurable project goals and identify the budget and departmental resources required for its completion. Senior management plays an important role in the preliminary steps of a project, as these individuals must sign off on the project’s goals and objectives and allocate the necessary resources. It is the responsibility of the project sponsor to obtain executive-level buy-in, but a project manager will often assist in preparing the initial presentation or request.

“Every manager is a decision maker” discuss

 Decision making is a central aspect of virtually every management and business activity; important decisions are not only made by managers and entrepreneurs, but also by the consumers of their goods and services, and by their business rivals, partners and employees.  The ability to understand how decisions are made, and to predict, guide and improve those decisions, will be an invaluable part of every manager's toolbox.  It is this ability that will be developed in this course. Some decisions are impossible to make analytically, for lack of time, data, computational ability, or awareness. These are situations that could put decision makers at risk of falling into systematic biases and errors. The first part of this course will raise your awareness about these 'traps' with a view to becoming a better intuitive decision maker. Other decisions are made with and require extensive thought and analysis, as the stakes are high, there are multiple conflicting objectives to balance, and many sources of uncertainty about the future. To these decisions we will devote the second half of the course, where you will learn how to structure decision problems, identify relevant objectives and make trade-offs among them when objectives are in conflict with one another, as well as, represent and analyse the main uncertainties and risks involved in a decision.

What are the skills and interpersonal characteristics that a managers has to possess?

 Managers need various skills ranging from technical to design to be effective. The relative importance of these skills varies according to the level in the organization. In addition, analytical and problem-solving abilities and certain personal characteristics are sought in managers. Analytical and problem solving abilities: One of the frequently mentioned skills desired of managers is analytical and problem solving ability. In other words, managers must be able to identify problems, analyze complex situations, and by solving the problems encountered, exploit the opportunities presented. Desire to manage: The successful manager has a strong desire to manage, to influence others, and to get results through team efforts of subordinates. To be sure, many people want the privileges of managerial positions, which include high status and salary but they lack the basic motivation to achieve results by creating an environment in which people work together toward common aims. The desire to manage requires effort, time, energy, and, usually, long hours of work. Communication skills and empathy: Another important characteristic of managers is the ability to communicate through written reports, letters, speeches, and discussions. Communication demands clarity, but even more, it demands empathy. This is the ability to understand the feelings of another person and to deal with the emotional aspects of communication. Communication skills are important for effective intra-group communication, that is, communication with people in the same organizational unit. Integrity and honesty: Managers must morally sound and worthy of trust. Integrity in managers includes honesty in money matters and in dealing with others, effort to keep superiors informed, adherence to the full truth, strength of character, and behavior in accordance with ethical standards. Past performance as a manager: Past performance as a manager is probably the most reliable forecast of a manager's future performance. Of course, an assessment of managerial experience is not possible in selecting first-line supervisors from the ranks, since they have not had such experience.

Explain the various interpersonal skills of managers.

 The list of interpersonal skills as a manager includes items that can be invaluable to any type of management position.

1. Conflict Management: Conflict management is an essential interpersonal skill that all managers need to have an understanding of, according to management expert Gregorio Billikopf writing on the University of California at Berkeley website. Do not allow conflict between employees to go unaddressed. If you see conflict starting to happen, take the employees aside and try to address the conflict immediately. The longer a pending conflict goes unchecked, the worse it will be when it finally does result in a confrontation.

2. Body Language: Much of what an employee gets from a conversation with you comes from your body language and the signals you give, according to business communication expert Lyndsay Swinton writing on the Management for the Rest of Us website. Body language signals such as crossing your arms and not making eye contact can make an employee believe that something bad is about to happen. Work on your body language skills to make sure you get the point across correctly every time. Make eye contact with your employee when you are talking to him, and avoid authoritative signals such as crossing your arms that can give the wrong impression. By the same token, crossing your arms when you are trying to make a serious point will help the employee to understand that you mean what you say.

3. Involvement: When you manage several people, you need to remember that the individual tasks of each employee are important to them. If you assign tasks, then keep a log so that you know which employee is engaged in which projects. Have weekly meetings with employees to discuss the activities they are doing in their daily job tasks, and stay up to date on what all of your employees are doing.

4. Confidant: As a manager, you do not want to get too intimately involved in the personal lives of your employees. But becoming an employee confidant for the personal issues that affect employees' work performance is a skill that all managers need to have. If a personal issue is affecting an employee's performance, then encourage that employee to let you know what is going on. You cannot help an employee if he does not give you some idea of what the issue is. Work with your human resources department to come up with solutions that will benefit the employee and the company.

. Following Henry Mintzberg explain the different roles played by managers.

 Mintzberg then identified ten separate roles in managerial work, each role defined as an organised collection of behaviours belonging to an identifiable function or position. He separated these roles into three subcategories: interpersonal contact (1, 2, 3), information processing (4, 5, 6) and decision making (7-10).

1. FIGUREHEAD: the manager performs ceremonial and symbolic duties as head of the organisation;
2. LEADER: fosters a proper work atmosphere and motivates and develops subordinates;
3. LIASION: develops and maintains a network of external contacts to gather information;
4. MONITOR: gathers internal and external information relevant to the organisation;
5. DISSEMINATOR: transmits factual and value based information to subordinates;
6. SPOKESPERSON: communicates to the outside world on performance and policies.
7. ENTREPRENEUR: designs and initiates change in the organisation;
8. DISTURBANCE HANDLER: deals with unexpected events and operational breakdowns;
9. RESOURCE ALLOCATOR: controls and authorises the use of organisational resources;
10. NEGOTIATOR: participates in negotiation activities with other organisations and individuals.

What is management by objective(MBO)? Discuss the process of MBO

 Management by Objectives (MBO) is a process of defining objectives within an organization so that management and employees agree to the objectives and understand what they need to do in the organization. The term "management by objectives" was first popularized by Peter Drucker in his 1954 book 'The Practice of Management'. The essence of MBO is participative goal setting, choosing course of actions and decision making. An important part of the MBO is the measurement and the comparison of the employee’s actual performance with the standards set. Ideally, when employees themselves have been involved with the goal setting and choosing the course of action to be followed by them, they are more likely to fulfill their responsibilities. According to George S. Odiorne, the system of management by objectives can be described as a process whereby the superior and subordinate managers of an organization jointly identify its common goals, define each individual's major areas of responsibility in terms of the results expected of him, and use these measures as guides for operating the unit and assessing the contribution of each of its members. Here is a quick 5 step process outline that most companies use to manage MBOs (Management by Objectives), recapping some of the things I talked about in my last post.  As you will see, this is just common sense. First, companies need to set corporate objectives.  Some goals are then set for the employees to meet those objectives.  The employee performance is then measured through the performance cycle, and evaluated at the end.  Finally, the employee is rewarded for his or her performance, and we repeat the cycle.

To elaborate on the comments I received in the last post, setting good objectives is very important; that’s at the core of MBOs.  Depending on the level of sophistication of the MBO solution, some help with objective setting, but most solutions simply help out to manage them. A big aspect of MBO solutions is the performance monitoring.  Traditionally, that’s an activity performed at the end of a performance cycle.  With an MBO solution, managers can usually record some feedback about how employees performed on a certain milestone at anytime.  This way, the employee’s contribution is not forgotten when it’s time to evaluate them. The performance evaluation is another big piece of MBO management. It is related to performance monitoring but records final observations

Distinguish between administration and management.

 

“Management is getting things done through others”-explain the statement.

 This has become a very popular definition of management for several reasons. Firstly, this definition is very simple and easy to under­stand. Secondly, it highlights the indirect nature of a manager's job. A manager does not operate a machine or sell a product himself. Rather he guides others in producing and selling goods and services. Thirdly, this definition reveals that a manager is the leader of people working under him. Fourthly, it states that management is basically an art or practice of achieving results. The above definition is, however, inadequate for the present day concept of management. It suffers from the following drawbacks. (i) This definition does not reveal that management is a science. The modern concept of management is much wider than simply a skill in getting things done through other people. Since the days of F.W. Taylor management has become a science based on certain fundamental principles. (ii) The above definition does not highlight how does manage­ment get things done through people. It fails to reveal the functions of a manager and the skills used for getting things done. (iii) This definition does not recognize the role of human beings. It treats people as mere tools forgetting results and does not consider their feelings, emotions and needs. People are inanimate objects and cannot be treated as mere tools.  (iv)The above definition gives an impression that management gets things done by hook or crook. Results alone are not significant. The means employed to achieve results are equally important. This definition is of man's putative character. (v) This definition does not reveal that a formal organizational set up is needed for getting things done.

Distinguish between the science of management and the art of management

 FOUNDATIONS OF THE MANAGEMENT AS A SCIENCE PERSPECTIVE

Practicing managers who believe in management as a science are likely to believe that there are ideal managerial practices for certain situations. That is, when faced with a managerial dilemma, the manager who believes in the scientific foundation of his or her craft will expect that there is a rational and objective way to determine the correct course of action. This manager is likely to follow general principles and theories and also by creating and testing hypotheses. For instance, if a manager has a problem with an employee's poor work performance, the manager will look to specific means of performance improvement, expecting that certain principles will work in most situations. He or she may rely on concepts learned in business school or through a company training program when determining a course of action, perhaps paying less attention to political and social factors involved in the situation. Many early management researchers subscribed to the vision of managers as scientists. The scientific management movement was the primary driver of this perspective. Scientific management, pioneered by Frederick W. Taylor, Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, and others, attempted to discover "the one best way" to perform jobs. They used scientific processes to evaluate and organize work so that it became more efficient and effective. Scientific management's emphasis on both reducing inefficiencies and on understanding the psychology of workers changed manager and employee attitudes towards the practice of management. See Exhibit 1 for a summary of the principles of scientific management.

FOUNDATIONS OF THE MANAGEMENT AS AN ART PERSPECTIVE
x

Practicing managers who believe in management as an art are unlikely to believe that scientific principles and theories will be able to implemented in actual managerial situations. Instead, these managers are likely to rely on the social and political environment surrounding the managerial issue, using their own knowledge of a situation, rather than generic rules, to determine a course of action. For example, as a contrast to the example given previously, a manager who has a problem with an employee's poor work performance is likely to rely on his or her own experiences and judgment when addressing this issue. Rather than having a standard response to such a problem, this manager is likely to consider a broad range of social and political factors, and is likely to take different actions depending on the context of the problem. Henry Mintzberg is probably the most well-known and prominent advocate of the school of thought that management is an art. Mintzberg is an academic researcher whose work capturing the actual daily tasks of real managers was ground breaking research for its time. Mintzberg, through his observation of actual managers in their daily work, determined that managers did not sit at their desks, thinking, evaluating, and deciding all day long, working for long, uninterrupted time periods. Rather, Mintzberg determined that mangers engaged in very fragmented work, with constant interruptions and rare opportunities to quietly consider managerial issues. Thus, Mintzberg revolutionized thinking about managers at the time that his work was published, challenging the prior notion that managers behaved rationally and methodically. This was in line with the perspective of management as an art, because it indicated that managers did not necessarily have routine behaviors throughout their days, but instead used their own social and political skills to solve problems that arose throughout the course of work.

Importance of management in organization.

  It helps in Achieving Group Goals - It arranges the factors of production, assembles and organizes the resources, integrates the resources in effective manner to achieve goals. It directs group efforts towards achievement of pre-determined goals. By defining objective of organization clearly there would be no wastage of time, money and effort. 

 Optimum Utilization of Resources - Management utilizes all the physical & human resources productively. This leads to efficacy in management. Management provides maximum utilization of scarce resources by selecting its best possible alternate use in industry from out of various uses. It makes use of experts, professional and these services leads to use of their skills, knowledge, and proper utilization and avoids wastage. 

  Reduces Costs - It gets maximum results through minimum input by proper planning and by using minimum input & getting maximum output. Management uses physical, human and financial resources in such a manner which results in best combination. This helps in cost reduction. 

 Establishes Sound Organization - No overlapping of efforts (smooth and coordinated functions). To establish sound organizational structure is one of the objective of management which is in tune with objective of organization and for fulfillment of this, it establishes effective authority & responsibility relationship i.e. who is accountable to whom, who can give instructions to whom, who are superiors & who are subordinates.

  Establishes Equilibrium - It enables the organization to survive in changing environment. It keeps in touch with the changing environment. With the change is external environment, the initial co-ordination of organization must be changed. So it adapts organization to changing demand of market / changing needs of societies. 

 Essentials for Prosperity of Society - Efficient management leads to better economical production which helps in turn to increase the welfare of people. Good management makes a difficult task easier by avoiding wastage of scarce resource. It improves standard of living.

“Management is culture-bound”- explain

 Because we live in a cross-cultural world. Diversity is a very similar issue-most workforces are increasingly diverse- in terms of age, gender, ethnic origin, qualifications etc. so managing complex staff. Culture affects management by affecting the values and beliefs that managers hold towards their job, coworkers and employees, and the organization. For example, in western management, business values. Any where from some degree to the nth degree depending upon your identification with your culture. Culture is learned. Those who apply what they learn are bound by those actions. Many people believe that safety should be part of the workplace culture. In many workplaces, it is clearly not part of the culture, and so must be achieved by management initiative.

What is meant by the term “management theory jungle”?

 The purpose of this article is to identify the various schools of management theory, indicate the source of the differences, and to provide some suggestions for disentangling the management theory jungle. Koontz describes six schools of management theory as follows. 1. The Management Process School, 2. The Empirical School, 3. The Human Behavior School, 4. The Social System School, 5. The Decision Theory School, 6. The Mathematical School. The Major Sources of Mental Entanglement that create the Management Theory Jungle. Five sources of entanglement or confusion include the following: 1. The Semantics Jungle - There is no agreement on the meaning of the words management, organization, leadership, communication, and human relations to give a few examples. 2. Differences in the Definition of Management as a Body of Knowledge - What is management? Who is a manager? If everything is management and everyone is a manager, how can management theory be regarded as a useful or scientific? 3. The a priori Assumption - Ignoring the work of Fayol, Mooney, Brown, Urwick, Gulick and others on the grounds that they are universalists. 4. The Misunderstanding of Principles - For example, confusion over the validity of principles such as unity of command, and span of control. 5. The Inability or Unwillingness of Management Theorists to Understand each other - The roadblock to understanding is unwillingness. 

State the essentials of quantitative management theory.

 Quantitative Management (also known as Operations Research) off ers a systematic and scientific approach to problem solving and decision making in complex environments and situations of uncertainty and conflict. The discipline is characterised by a search for an optimal (best) answer for a problem by using quantitative (numerical) models. The use of mathematical models enables a decision maker to better understand the problems facing him/her and provides a tool for making informed and reasoned judgements. Quantitative Management is a practical field. It can be applied in many areas: Manufacturing, businesses management, banking, environmental planning, mining, housing and engineering projects, management consultancy – in fact, in every situation where numerical data are available and management or decision making takes place. The aim of the undergraduate program in Quantitative Management is to give a student a substantive theoretical background in Quantitative Management, and – at the same time – to inculcate modeling skills and systematic thinking when solving decision making problems. At the conclusion of each year of the curriculum a student would be equipped with a variety of techniques and the skill of applying them to problems that arise in practice. Quantitative Management is a multidisciplinary subject that can be usefully combined with any other subject in this College.

Who is the father of scientific management? What was his major concern?

 Frederick Winslow Taylor (March 20, 1856 – March 21, 1915) was an American mechanical engineer who sought to improve industrial efficiency.^[1] He is regarded as the father of scientific management and was one of the first management consultants.^[2] Taylor was one of the intellectual leaders of the Efficiency Movement and his ideas, broadly conceived, were highly influential in the Progressive Era. The main elements of his theory were: 1. Management is a true science. The solution to the problem of determining fair work standards and practices could be discovered by experimentation and observation. From this, it follows, that there is "one right way" for work to be performed. 2. The selection of workers is a science. Taylor's "first class worker" was someone suitable for the job. It was management's role to determine the kind of work for which an employee was most suited, and to hire and assign workers accordingly. 3. Workers are to be developed and trained. It is management's task to not only engineer a job that can be performed efficiently, but management is responsible for training the worker as to how the work is to be performed and for updating practices as better ones are developed. This standardizes how the work is performed in the best way. 4. Scientific management is a collaboration of workers and managers. Managers are not responsible for execution of work, but they are responsible for how the work is done. Planning, scheduling, methods, and training are

Why has Henry Fayol been called “The father of Modern management theory”?

 Henri Fayol was a French mining engineer and management theorist. He developed the theory of Scientific Management. He studied at the mining school "Ecole Nationale Superieure des Mines" in Saint-Etienne of France. He is well known as the father of modern management theory. Fayol started as an engineer at a mining company and he became its managing director in 1888. Fayol's contributions were first published in book titled "Administration Industrielle et Generale", in 1916. He looked at the problems of managing an organisation from top management point of view. He has used the term 'administration' instead of 'management'. His contributions are generally termed as operational management or administrative management. Fayol has divided the activities of an industrial organisation into six groups. 1.Technical: Related to production. 2. Commercial: Related to buying, selling and exchange. 3. Financial: It is search for capital and its optimum use. 4. Security: Protection of property and person. 5. Accounting (Including statistics). 6. Managerial: It includes planning, organisation, command, coordination, and control. Fayol has identified the qualities required in a manager. According to him the qualities a manager has to possess are as under; 1. Physical (health, vigour, and address) 2.Mental (ability to understand and learn, judgement, mental vigour, and capability) 3. Moral (energy, firmness, initiative, loyalty, tact, and dignity) 4. Education (general acquaintance) 5.  Technical (peculiar to the function being performed) 6. Experience (arising form the work). Fayol listed and reviewed fourteen principles of management on the following aspects. Division of Work , Authority and Responsibility, Discipline, Unity of Command, Unity of Direction, Subordination of Individual Interest to General Interest, Remuneration, Centralization, Scalar Chain, Order, Equity, Stability of Tenure of Personnel, Initiative, Esprit de Corps. The principles enunciated are not aimed at being exhaustive but are the ones to which Fayol had recourse most often. He stresses the universality of such principles and their application not only to business but also for the success of all associations of individuals. Fayol regarded the elements of management as the functions of management. He said that management should be viewed as a process consisting of 5 elements. They are Planning, Organising, Commanding, Coordination, Controlling. He has regarded planning as the most important managerial function. Creation of organisation structure and commanding function is necessary to execute plans. Coordination is necessary to make sure that every one is working together , and control looks whether everything is proceeding according to the plan.