Managing self and personal skills
■ Manage own contribution.
■ Develop own knowledge, skills and competence.
THE PROCESSES OF MANAGEMENT
The overall process of management is subdivided into a number
of individual processes which are methods of operation specially
designed to assist in the achievement of objectives. Their
purpose is to bring as much system, order, predictability, logic
and consistency to the task of management as possible in the
ever-changing, varied and turbulent environment in which
managers work. The main processes of management were
defined by the classical theorists of management as:
- Planning– deciding on a course of action to achieve a desired
result. - Organizing– setting up and staffing the most appropriate
organization to achieve the aim. - Motivating – exercising leadership to motivate people to
work together smoothly and to the best of their ability as part
of a team. - Controlling– measuring and monitoring the progress of work
in relation to the plan and taking corrective action when
required.
But this classical view has been challenged by the empiricists,
such as Rosemary Stewart (1967) and Henry Mintzberg (1973),
who studied how managers actually spend their time. They
observed that the work of managers is fragmented, varied and
subjected to continual adjustment. It is governed to a large
degree by events over which managers have little control and by
a dynamic network of interrelationships with other people.
Managers attempt to control their environment but sometimes it
controls them. They may consciously or unconsciously seek to
plan, organize, direct and control, but their days almost
inevitably become a jumbled sequence of events.
To the empiricists, management is a process involving a mix of
rational, logical, problem solving, decision-making activities,
How to be a Better Manager 5