Week 1 – Introduction to Management

CH01 - Management may be defined in different ways, but essentially it involves the process of reaching organizational goals by working with and through people and other organizational resources. The management process is composed of the four integrally-related management functions:
(1) planning, (2) organizing, (3) influencing, and (4) controlling. These functions are performed in all types of organizations.

These functions are interrelated because the performance of one depends upon the performance of the others as organizational goals are pursued. In pursuing those goals, management uses four basic types of organizational resources: (1) human, (2) monetary, (3) raw materials, and
(4) capital. Managerial efficiency and effectiveness are important in the utilization of these resources.

Career planning is an important element of good management. Management careers are characterized by a series of evolutionary stages: (1) exploration, (2) establishment,
(3) maintenance, and (4) decline. To enhance movement through these stages, an individual must be proactive instead of reactive.

Important issues that should be addressed when making the decision to choose management as a career include women’s role in management, the problems for dual-career couples, and the relationship between the classic and the contemporary management viewpoints.

CH02 - This chapter discusses six approaches to management situations and to solving organizational problems.

The first one discussed is the Classical approach to management. This approach deals with lower-level management analysis, such as was done by Frederick W. Taylor, Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, and Henry L. Gantt. It also is concerned with a comprehensive analysis of management as a whole, as exemplified by Henri Fayol.

Because the human factor was not adequately