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Management
, Ninth Edition
Robert Kreitner, Arizona State University
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| | Chapter Summaries
Chapter 1:
Managers and Entrepreneurs
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Formally defined, management is the process of working with and through others to achieve organizational objectives in a changing environment. Central to this process is the effective and efficient use of limited resources. An inability to work with people, not a lack of technical skills, is the main reason some managers fail to reach their full potential. A manager is effective if he or she reaches a stated objective and efficient if limited resources are not wasted in the process. Five overarching sources of change affecting the way management is practiced today are globalization, the evolution of product quality, environmentalism, an ethical reawakening, and e-business on the Internet.
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Two ways to answer the question, What do managers do? are the functional approach and role approach. Managerial functions relate to the desired outcomes of managerial action, whereas managerial roles categorize managers actual behavior. This text is organized around eight managerial functions: planning, decision making, organizing, staffing, communicating, motivating, leading, and controlling. Having criticized the functional approach for making management appear to be more orderly than it really is, Henry Mintzberg concluded from his observation of managers that management is best explained in terms of roles. Three managerial role categories, according to Mintzberg, are interpersonal, informational, and decisional.
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The ten facts of managerial life, derived from direct observation, characterize managers as hardworking and busy people who engage in many and varied, primarily oral, interactions with others. Interestingly, managers do not have an accurate self-perception of how they spend their time.
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Honeywell researchers found that managers learned 50 percent of what they know about managing from job assignments (or the school of hard knocks). The remaining 50 percent of their management knowledge came from relationships (30 percent) and formal training and education (20 percent). A good foundation in management theory can give management students a running start and help them avoid foolish mistakes.
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Small businesses (independently owned and managed profit-seeking companies with fewer than 100 employees) are central to a healthy economy. Contrary to conventional wisdom, 80 percent of new businesses do not fail within five years. In fact, one large study found only an 18 percent failure rate during the first eight years. The belief that small businesses create only low-wage jobs also has been shown to be a myth. Five career opportunities in the small business sector include (1) becoming an independent contractor/consultant; (2) going to work for a small business; (3) joining or buying your familys business; (4) buying a franchise; and (5) starting your own business. Compared with general administrators, entrepreneurs tend to be high achievers who are more future-oriented, externally focused, ready to take risks, and comfortable with ambiguity.
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