Text 1. Management and Its Functions

The verb manage comes from the Italian maneggiare (to handle — especially a horse), which in turn derives from the Latin manus (hand). Management in business and human organization activity, in simple terms means the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals. One habit of thought regards management as equivalent to "business administration" and thus excludes management in places outside commerce, as for example in charities and in the public sector. More realistically, however, every entity must manage its work, people, processes, technology, etc. in order to maximize its effectiveness.

Management comprises planning, organizing, staffing, leading or directing, and controlling an organization (a group of one or more people or entities) or effort for the purpose of accomplishing a goal.

Planning is the ongoing process of developing the business' mission and objectives and determining how they will be accomplished. Planning includes both the broadest view of the organization, e.g., its mission, and the narrowest, e.g., a tactic for accomplishing a specific goal. Planning is a process consisting of several steps. The process begins with environmental scanning, which simply means that planners must be aware of the critical contingencies facing their organization in terms of economic conditions, their competitors, and their customers. Planners must then attempt to forecast future conditions. These forecasts form the basis for planning.

Organizing is the function of management that involves developing an organizational structure and allocating human resources to ensure the accomplishment of objectives. The structure of the organization is the framework within which effort is coordinated. Organizing also involves the design of individual jobs within the organization. Decisions must be made about the duties and responsibilities of individual jobs as well as the manner in which the duties should be carried out.

Staffing is filling and keeping filled with qualified people all positions in the business. Recruiting, selecting, hiring, training of employees, evaluating and compensating are the specific activities included in the function.

Staffing success depends heavily on the planning and organizing functions of management. A business functions best when business and employee goals are compatible. Job analysis leads to job specifications and job descriptions. In developing job specifications, the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities for each position are determined. Job descriptions identify specific tasks for each position.

Directing/leading is influencing people's behavior through motivation, communication, group dynamics, leadership and discipline. The purpose of directing is to channel the behavior of all personnel to accomplish the organization's mission and objectives while simultaneously helping them accomplish their own career objectives. Effective leading requires the manager to motivate subordinates, communicate effectively, and effectively use power. If managers are effective leaders, their subordinates will be enthusiastic about exerting effort toward the attainment of organizational objectives.

Managers give this function a variety of names: influencing, coaching, motivating, interpersonal relations, and human relations.

Controlling is a four-step process of establishing performance standards based on the firm's objectives, measuring and reporting actual performance, comparing the two, and taking corrective or preventive action as necessary. Controlling leads to identification of new problems that in turn need to be addressed through establishment of performance standards, measuring performance, etc. It is related to each of the other functions of management that is to planning, organizing and leading.

Controlling involves ensuring that performance does not deviate from standards. The measurement of performance can be done in several ways, depending on the performance standards, including financial statements, sales reports, production results, customer satisfaction, and formal performance appraisals. Managers at all levels engage in the managerial function of controlling to some degree.

Effective controlling requires the existence of plans, since planning provides the necessary performance standards or objectives. Controlling also requires a clear understanding of where responsibility for deviations from standards lies. Two traditional control techniques are the budget and the performance audit. Although controlling is often thought of in terms of financial criteria, managers must also control production/operations processes, procedures for delivery of services, compliance with company policies, and many other activities within the organization.

Ideally, each person in the business views control as his or her responsibility. The organizational culture should prevent a person walking away from a small, easily solvable problem because "that isn't my responsibility." In customer driven businesses, each employee cares about each customer.

The management functions of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling are widely considered to be the best means of describing the manager's job as well as the best way to classify accumulated knowledge about the study of management. Although there have been tremendous changes in the environment faced by managers and the tools used by managers to perform their roles, managers still perform these essential functions.

 

Exercise 3. Give Ukrainian equivalents.

To accomplish goals,  staffing, environmental scanning, critical contingencies, to allocate human resources, group dynamics, to channel the behavior, to exert effort, actual performance, preventive action, performance appraisal.

 

Exercise 4. Find the definitions of the terms:

1. planning	a) coordinating the activities of a person or group of people efficiently
2. organizing	b) the power to influence or direct people's behavior or the course of events
3. leading	c) the process of deciding in detail how to do something before you actually start to do it
4. controlling	d) giving guidance, motivating

 

Exercise 5. Answer the questions.

1. What does management mean? 2. What does planning involve? 3. What does organizing process comprise? 4. What function makes an individual work willingly in the organization? 5. What can be revealed during controlling phase?

 

Exercise 6. Choose the appropriate words in brackets and complete the following sentences.

(objectives, management’s abilities, efficient operation, informed, carry out, plan, a team of managers, two-way, day-to-day direction, decisions, subdivided)

1. It becomes increasingly difficult to ………. the management functions. 2. Large organizations must be ………. into many specialized departments. 3. Management consists of two basic activities: the taking of ………. and seeing that these decisions are carried out. 4. The transfer of information in industry and commerce is a ………. process. 5. The attitude of workers to management is of critical importance to …......... of the enterprise. 6. Keeping everyone ……… of what is required of him and what is happening elsewhere in the firm is a very severe test of ………. . 7. Organizing is the process of putting the ………. into action. 8. In the controlling function managers evaluate how well company ………. are being met.              9. Management is composed of …. who have charge of the organization at all levels. 10. …… and supervision of employees is the third function of management.

 

Exercise 7. Translate into English.

1. Слово “менеджмент” походить з італійської мови і позначає дію, що об’єднує людей для досягнення бажаних цілей. 2. Вважають, що менеджмент є еквівалентом «управління бізнесом», виключаючи менеджмент зі сфери торгівлі. 3. Кожна організація повинна керувати своєю роботою, людьми, процесами тощо для покращення своєї ефективності. 4. Менеджментом можна вважати постійну оцінку якості і оцінку відповідності первинного плану, або вжиті дії для досягнення поставленої мети. 5. Планування включає в себе визначення загальних цілей компанії та вирішення, як їх можна найкраще досягти. 6. Процес організації (впровадження) означає оптимальне використання ресурсів, зокрема трудових, необхідних для успішного виконання планів.7. Частиною організаційної функції є кадрове забезпечення, що включає в себе аналіз, відбір та наймання осіб на роботу. 8. Виконуючи мотивуючу функцію, менеджер керує, наглядає, навчає і мотивує працівників.

Exercise 8. Translate the sentences finding gerunds and defining their different functions.

1. Management is classically defined as getting things accomplished through other people. 2. There is a subtle but important difference between controlling people and leading them. 3. Good management involves selecting people who know when to listen and when to select. 4. He was thinking about starting a similar investigation under his own supervision. 5. Planning works best when it deals with the now and the foreseeable future and doesn’t leapfrog into “pie in the sky” theories. 6. In the area of quality improvement management moved in the direction of employees doing their own testing and inspection.

Exercise 9. Learn the following words and word combinations.

framework	– структура, будова
commanding	– управління
distinct	– – окремий
folklore	– традиційний, звичайний
depict	– описувати, зображувати
deliberately	– обмірковано, обережно, повільно
tremendous	– величезний
findings	– отримані дані, висновки

 

Exercise 10. Read, translate and give the gist of text 2.

 

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