Mintzberg and Management Essay

Throughout the 20th century a strong focus was placed on the principles behind management with Henri Fayol’s 1916 publication ‘Administration Industrielle et Gà ©nà ©rale’ being one of the first books aimed solely at deciphering and understanding the intricate concepts of management. In his book Fayol presents his classical model of management from the perspective on an executive. Fayol lists and discusses fourteen principles of management which, although non-exhaustive, provides a guide on the execution of what he proposed to be the five elemental processes of management. These five primary processes consisted of planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating and controlling which advocated Fayol’s support of a dynamic system of management. In response to changing contexts, other new theories have been placed forward by other distinguished academia such as Henry Mintzberg (1973), John Kotter (1982) and C.P. Hales (1986) which offer more concurrent perspectives on the concept of management. Born in 1841 Henri Fayol had, after a three decade career as a mining practitioner, committed himself to the promotion of his theories on administration in 1916 through the publication of his book ‘Administration Industrielle et Gà ©nà ©rale’ up until his death in 1925. Contextually influenced by the bourgeois environment of a post revolutionized France, Fayol advocated the notion of a flexible system of management which could be applied to more than just one setting. In his book, Fayol devotes more time and focuses on the five processes of management in contrast to the fourteen management principles as claimed by (Fells, M.J., 2000, p. 358). The first element, planning, is defined â€Å"both to assess the future and make provision for it† (Fayol, 1949, p.43). He goes on to describe that this dynamic plan must take into account a list of factors such as resources, work-in-progress, and future trends. Organizing considers the functional components of organizations along with the personnel and discusses the ideal conditions required of them. Commanding considers the responsibility that falls on every manager. The goal of managers is to achieve maximum contribution from personnel towards the welfare of the company through a number of factors. An example of these factors would be elimination of the unproductive, having a thorough knowledge of personnel and their respective binding agreements and an aim to be a role model. The third element of  management is coordinating which is defined as the harmonisation of resources in their optimum proportions in order to achieve results (Fayol, 1949, p. 103). The indicators of a well coordinated organization include efficient departments which harmonize well with the rest, are well informed of their responsibilities and also work to constantly adjusted schedules based on circumstantial demands. The last element, control, focuses on the timely verification of plan implementations. This element is applicable to all the other processes and its sole purpose is to identify any complications, amend any issues and prevent future recurrences. Due to their flexibility in implementation, the correlation between the introduction of Fayol’s model and the sharp rise in US productivity levels as well as living standards supports his approach to management (Fells, M.J., 2000, p. 348). Fayol’s approach is supported by another academic source (Hales, 1989, p. 12) which claims that â€Å"Fayol grasped the essence of management† through his classical formulation of the management functions. In 1973, Henry Mintzberg provided a new conceptualization about the roles of managers through his book ‘The Nature of Managerial Work’. Through his composition Mintzberg proposed and argued that the previously accepted role of managers which adhered to a systematic approach of planning, organizing, coordinating, leading and controlling were in fact false as through his diary analysis, Mintzberg was able to demonstrate that â€Å"the manager is not a planner in a reflective sense, and no amount of admonition in the literature will make him so. His milieu is stimulus-response.† (Mintzberg, 1973, p. 182). By performing an unstructured observation and interview procedure over a two week period, Mintzberg concluded the activities of his study managers could be categorized into three sets of behaviors or roles. He conceptualized these clusters of roles as: interpersonal, informational and decisions (Pearson et al, 2003, p. 696). Mintzberg also recognizes that all managers at some time exercise each of these rules but also that different levels of managers will give different priorities to them (Mumford, 1988, p. 3). In terms of contemporary management, Fayol and Mintzberg have contributed greatly to the understanding regarding the concept of management. However  both authors are not exempt from criticisms regarding their approaches. Fayol’s approach is widely considered to be too theoretical whilst Mintzberg’s approach has been criticized for not being theoretical enough. Despite their differences in approach, fundamentally the two theories not only share the same ‘elements’ under the guise of differently labelled terms, they compliment each other in terms of validity due to the strong correlation between results regarding the behaviour of managerial positions. (Fells, M.J., 2000, p. 359) supports this judgement as the journalist goes on to state that not only are Fayol’s principles still relevant, they are interrelated at an elemental level with the model of Mintzberg. (Lamond, 2004, p. 350) reinforces this argument through study conducted on a large sample of male and female managers of different ages and at different managerial levels. Not only did the survey confirm that there were indeed a central set of manager functions, as placed forward by Fayol, there were also a generic set of managerial behaviours as proposed by Mintzberg. In concluding despite their contextual differences, Henri Fayol’s ‘Administration Industrielle et Gà ©nà ©rale’ and Henry Mintzberg’s ‘The Nature of Managerial Work’ fundamentally share the same innate elements. This is supported by the results which derived from studies conducted by academic sources such as (Lamond, 2004) as well as the research by other academic sources (Fells, M.J. 2000), (Pearson et al, 2003), (Hales, 1989) and (Mumford, 1988). Subsequently both approaches are considered valid and have without a doubt contributed greatly to contemporary management theory. Bibliography Fells, M.J. 2000 â€Å"Fayol stands the test of time.† Journal of Management History, vol 6, no.8, 345-360 Lamond, D. 2004, â€Å"A matter of style: reconciling Henri and Henry.† Management Decision, vol. 42, no.2 p. 330-356 Pearson, C.A.L. And Chatterjee, S.R. 2003, â€Å"Managerial work roles in Asia. An empirical study of Mintzberg’s role formulation in four Asian countries.† Journal of Management Development, vol. 22, no. 8 p. 694-707 Hales, C. 1989, â€Å"Management Processes, Management Divisions of Labour and Managerial Work: Towards a Synthesis.† International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 9, no. 5/6, p. 9-38 Mumford, A. 1988, â€Å"What Managers Really Do† Management Decision, vol. 26, no. 5, p. 28-30

I Believe in Happiness Essay

We’re often told that happiness is an illusion, and some of us believe it, despite the experience of our own life. Happiness is obviously not an illusion, because we’ve all felt it, not once but many times. Without a doubt, every person has ever experienced some kind of unhappiness. This is a very sad feeling. We always feel unhappy when we get sad news, or experience sad situations. I believe that if there was only happiness in this world, then all our worries and tears would be washed away. There would be no miseries, no suicides and no getting involved with drugs. I always try my best to be happy on all occasions, no matter which pain I experience. Whether the pain is emotional or physical, I believe was that happiness is the key and answer. There are many ways in which an individual could gain happiness. Personally, I find happiness in helping other people or trying to resolve any problem if is my possibility. Strange as it may seem, this is the truth. I came to know this when I was 14 years old. I believe in happiness, when you make others happy, when you help them to do things happen, your soul will become happy. I believe in happiness when you see others laugh, you feel satisfaction with yourself, you felt good. There is no cause for anyone to be sad all the time; everyone should have something to turn to in their time of need. Happiness is what I believe makes the hard obstacles seem a little softer at the time of impact. Most commonly, we realize after some period of time, a few minutes, or a day, that we have been happy in the time just past. We haven’t thought about it one way or another, but now that we do, we realize we’ve been happy. That’s why I believe in happiness, That happiness occurs when we’re not paying attention to is as part of why happiness seems so mysterious. We know a lot about what doesn’t make you happy. As a rule, nothing you lack now will make you happy when you get it. Similarly, buying things doesn’t make anyone happy, I believe that money doesn’t make you happy enough than no material things. The endless disappointment of shoppers, thronging to the stores to acquire the new clothes of the season, the new car of the year model, is repeated again and again. We make our purchase, and feel happy for a while. But soon the happiness fades. I believe that money does not always buy happiness, but it is not indicated that money cannot brings satisfaction. It is of great importance to deal with money more carefully and appropriately. I believe in happiness, the feeling that we can create everyday and without money, if you help other, if you make a difference you will continue patters for a better life and for a better future.

Background The Employee Selection Process

An analysis of the appropriate measures employers must take in order to minimize the risk of hiring unsuitable employees. This paper analyzes methods employers must take to protect themselves from hiring bad personnel especially these days, when violence, sexual arrestment and corporate fraud are increasing in the workplace. The author suggests several steps human resources personnel should take in order to minimize the risk of hiring unsuitable employees. All work environments, big or small, have potential for trouble. Human relationships are complicated in all situations. Thus when workers spend such a large percentage of their days in the workplace problems are bound to happen. If employers stay aware of developing problems and deal with issues as they occur, the risk in the workplace will be minimal. Background checks and references are crucial for control of the problems arising in the work place. Defamation suits and discrimination can be avoided through carefully drafted written policies. Being wary of providing references is not the solution. The employers must work with the employees to draft policies that will be secure, efficient and control workplace problems. Privacy issues can be avoided if the employees know the underlying reasons. Education is the key and hence, human resource managers must work to provide the necessary security for both the employee and employerthrough background and reference checks.

Financial Management in Nonprofit Organizations Essay

Financial Management in Nonprofit Organizations - Essay Example urban, sub-urban, rural area. Most of the non-profit organizations are small in size. For-profit organizations are basically profit motivated. They do not depend on funds or donations but depend on other sources like loans, debentures, ventured capital and leasing among others. The accumulated profit is divided among the stockholders themselves rather than investing it in the company. Both the organizations have their own mottos and goals. The paper intends to discuss the financial management in the non-profit organizations. Also, the study aims to compare the management of finance in non-profit organization with that of for-profit organizations. The different head under which the classifications are made include sources of funds, use of debts, performance evaluation, and utilization of funds and governance mechanism. This investigation also comprise of a dedicated concluding section along with certain recommendations. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 4 Introduction 4 Comparison and Contrast of the Application of Financial Management Techniques in Nonprofit and For-Profit Organizations 5 Sources of Funds 5 Performance Evaluation for Non-Profit Organizations and Profit Organizations 7 Use of Debts 8 Governance Mechanism In Non- Profit Organizations 9 Utilization of Profit Earned 10 Conclusion 12 Recommendations 13 References 15 Introduction Financial management primarily refers to proper planning or management of activities of an organization for its smooth operation. In other words, the economic management of an organization to achieve the desired objectives is termed as financial management. Essentially, it is the technique of proper utilization of resources so as to achieve the preferred targets. Financial management includes the financial evaluation, financial planning and financial control. Financial planning entails future planning that assists in identification and management of risks and threats. It is generally the judgment of the performances of t he organization (Economy Watch, 2010). Non-profit organizations are those that utilize the raised funds to achieve the organizational goals rather than distributing or sharing among themselves. The objective of non-profit organizations is to achieve the set goals rather than achieving profit. Non-profit organizations generally ignore profit distribution. Non-profit organizations are also referred as the voluntary organizations as they provide primarily charitable services towards their stakeholders. However, for-profit organizations significantly vary from non-profit organizations. For-profit organizations, as the name signify, primarily desires to earn profit. The decision totally depends on the management if they want to retain the total profit with them or would like to spend sum on the operations of the organization. Generation of profit is the basic motto of for–profit organizations. There are basically four categories of the enterprises, i.e., sole proprietorship, partn ership, joint venture and company that come under for-profit organizations (Porter & Norton, 2010). Comparison and Contrast of the Application of Financial Management Techniques in Nonprofit and For-Profit Organizations Financial planning consists of proper strategizing in relation to financial aspects and its implementation. Financial planning of an organization depends on its objectives. The objectives of both non-profit and for-profit

Business Law Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 4

Business Law - Assignment Example If so, what was the condition of the offer and who was to claim it? It has always been assumed that a notice like that goes all the way to the world and anybody can claim it so long as the terms are met. This is similar to the case of Carlill and Carbolic Smoke Ball Company (1893) 1 QB256. The claimant after meeting all the conditions put fore by Carbolic Smoke Ball Company was being denied the claim by the company. This attracted the intervention of the court which rewarded her claim. According to the law of contracts, an offer is simply an expression of willingness and ability to contract on given specific terms. It can be written oral or both. The offer can also be unilateral or bilateral, the latter mostly being in commercial businesses. In the case of Leila vs. Julie, the offer was unilateral since the former had in one of the dailies, printed a notice of the same targeting the whole public (Bouvier, 1856). The clear message was that whoever came across and returned the gold locket and the chain previously lost was to be rewarded $ 50. In a unilateral contract, once the offeror makes a promise in exchange of an act by another person, if this other person acts on the offerer’s promise then the latter is obligated to fulfill the promise (Austen-Baker, 2002). The ideal condition is that the information about the reward must have been in the knowledge of the offferee before presenting his actions. In this case, Julie was knowledgeable of the information about the reward for the return made by Leila. Whichever form of communication/ notification she chose, it was within the context. According to the notice, the offerer gave her address as well as her number meaning you could choose any to communicate and Julie happened to choose the physical contact. In my opinion, she qualified to be rewarded as the contract was binding. However, it should be noted that just like the case of (Household fire and carriage accident Insurance

Historical synthesis and imagination Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Historical synthesis and imagination - Essay Example I am now narrating my life’s story to my little grandson because I want him to understand the life and times of those good old ancient days. The City of Chang’an was a beautiful city with broad streets, branching out into smaller side streets, and divided into 110 blocks. Each block had its temple and marketplace and was a complete unit. I often went out, in my younger days to the city, lunching in one of the many teashops, looking at the Acrobats performing their stunts by the roadside, sometimes stopping to listen to the storyteller narrate his wondrous experiences, some real and some imagined. I remember quite vividly how students, traders as well as pilgrims from all over Asia came here, making it one of the most well-known places in the world then. (pg 108) There were many students from countries like Korea and India who had come to our country to learn dancing and singing from our accomplished artists. I studied in a monastery run by the Buddhist monks, where I learnt arithmetic, multiplication, new words which I could look up in the dictionary, as well as good manners as to how I should speak to people using polite language. The books made use of now in this modern age are flat and bound, and very much different to the ones I was used to. I had to read from scrolls since books such as yours had not yet been made. We were taught to look up to our teachers, and they were one of the five objects of worship - earth, heaven, emperor and our parents being the other four we were taught to worship and respect them in every aspect. The Buddhist monks grew grains and other agricultural produce which they sometimes sold to the villagers for a good profit. Whenever anybody in the village wanted money they would approach these monks because they had earned a lot of money from the oil presses and mills which they operated. The monastery in which I studied was shut down in 841, because the rulers

How Management Teams Can Have a Good Fight Article

How Management Teams Can Have a Good Fight - Article Example In particular, they studied the interplay of conflict, politics, and pace of strategic decision making by top-management teams (273-274). According to Kathleen, Jean, and Bourgeois, top executives are aware that conflict over issues is natural and honest disagreement lead the company towards best decision. Team members who challenge each other's ideas have more understanding of the issue at hand; they have more alternatives that clear the path towards effective decision. On the other hand, an honest disagreement can turn to be unproductive or even more conflicting. Here, the challenge is to keep the conflict constructive. Kathleen, Jean, and Bourgeois studied 12 companies for their research project. Four of these companies were suffering due to top executives' intense animosity. Top management was failed to cooperate with each other, and they rarely had conversation with each other. They socialize in specific cliques rather than having good relation with most of the individuals. More over, they only displayed frustration and anger about their competing executive. These companies failed to avoid interpersonal conflicts. On the other hand, companies with minimal interpersonal conflict not only managed a healthy conflict but also kept it professional (274). Kathleen, Jean, and Bourgeois observed that these companies maintained constructive conflict by six tactics which include: focus on facts; multiple alternatives; common goals; enlightened environment by using humor; balance in power structure; and to seek consensus by qualification. First tactic, focus on fact refers to maximum data collection in order to make informed decision. When executives are equipped with more facts and figures, the decisions will be based on facts rather than opinions. Extensive knowledge of happenings in the corporation, such as, in Star Electronics, gives strong controls. It is evident that there is a direct relation between reliance on updated facts and lesser interpersonal conflicts. Facts let the management to reach the core issues rather than arguing and guessing the facts (Kathleen, Jean, and Bourgeois 275). Contrary to common belief, companies with less interpersonal conflicts deliberately generate multiple alternatives. Research evidence proves that multiple alternatives lower the probability of interpersonal conflict. It is because ambiguity of multiple options divides the conflict and its solution into more than just black and white. This approach provides people with varying options and avoids rival group formation. In the process of generating alternatives, managers involve in a shared and stimulating task. Managers don't stop on just one solution; rather they keep on finding more creative and original options. The benefit is twofold: the process creates an overall substantive instead of conflicting tone, and company gets the original solution (Kathleen, Jean, and Bourgeois 275-276). Third tactic is to create strategic alternatives in an environment th at fosters collaborative rather than competitive spirit in the team. It leads to the best possible solution for collective gain, rather than anyone's personal ambitions. Research on group decision making and intergroup conflict reveals that common goals foster coherence by emphasizing common interests. In the absence of common goals, executives didn't share a vision. They were

Does the European Commission really have the power of policy Dissertation

Does the European Commission really have the power of policy initiation in the EU - Dissertation Example The paper describes the history of European Union and European Commission and its power. The European Union (EU) is an organizational body which is formed by the union of 27 member states and holds such power which might be even more than that held by some of the most eminent international organizations, namely the United Nations. It is an economic and political organization which is considered to be a lesser version of a federation and its member states are located within Europe. The operation of the EU is in the hands of a hybrid system which consists of the independent organizations, government organizations (namely European Council, European Parliament) as well as the member states. The EU is comprised of institutions which include the European Council, the Council of European Union, the European Commission, the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Central Bank. The European Commission is an executive body of the European Union which is responsible for various functions, some of which include proposing of legislation, implementation of decisions, upholding the Union’s treaties, etc. It is also involved in the general day-to-day working of the Union. The European Commission works in the form of a cabinet government where in each member state has an appointed Commissioner to represent their home state.

Internal marketing analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Internal marketing analysis - Assignment Example 83 – 84). The move will certainly create employee satisfaction, socializing and the fulfillment of the organizations goals and objectives. Although the new ways of internal marketing are at the disposal of different business entities, not all institutions can realize the benefits of the new techniques. In some particular cases, there is a probability of employees not obliging to new campaigns that are directed by the management. In other instances, there may be worldwide divisions and bureaucratic structures that may tend to create communication barriers and internal marketing problems. In addition, general understanding and coming up of a consensus on the definition of internal marketing and the best way to a successful execution does not take place. In other scenarios, the meanings tend to be vague in their alterations (Tap and Hughes 2004, pp 285 – 287). The above hindrances have found out and outlined in the following risk assessment. The invention of a new-internal marketing awareness campaign is easier in comparison with the delivery of the same. The acknowledgement of the difficulties encountered in the delivery of internal marketing plan is to be put down with the aim of overcoming the arising challenges (Ahmed, 2000 p 449). The occurrence of new awareness occurs more often in the short run of a new project. Studies of other organizations have shown that campaigns tend to highlight the potential situations and the best techniques of handling them. In other arguments, internal marketing should be accepted by all workers (Hughes 2004, p 285 – 287). Emphasis is put on the significance of satisfaction of workers in achieving the satisfaction of customers since the two have common characteristics. Prove of the link appears in numerous works of the likes of Owen and Teary. Studies also support the significance of internal marketing by showing the mutual relationship between both the employee and the customer