Defining Management

In a series of articles Pat Sheridan talks about the various aspects of the management function under the headings of plan, organise, control and motivate (POCM). If you are responsible for the work of others and for achieving any kind of preordained results then you are, in fact, managing. Whether your title is manager, supervisor, team leader, charge hand or superintendent, you are actually managing and POCM applies to some degree. This article, the first in the series, attempts to define the term ‘management’.

Challenge
Before reading any further, if you are a company executive, manager or supervisor, I would ask you give yourself a mild challenge, a one minute confidential experiment, to write down a brief definition of what you think management is. A few lines will suffice.

Introduction
As a consultant I get to meet many different managers and supervisors at varying stages of their career development and at many levels of performance capability. Some have management degrees, practical management experience gained in a progressive company or broad experience gained over many years and in several companies. Others have no formal management qualifications and have little professional experience. Regardless of the background and education, I am still amazed at the difficulty some managers have in describing what management actually is.

In trying to assist a company to resolve an issue I generally look at management, in the first instance, to assess the level of expertise already applied to the issue in question and the level of experience of the associated practitioners.

When I discover shortfalls in management application I often ask the supervisor or manager to explain their understanding of their management role to me. A very high percentage of the responses demonstrate a lack of understanding of basic management concepts. In general these supervisors and managers try to explain certain aspects of their duties and responsibilities, the nitty-gritty of what they do every day. These explanations are, for the most part, disjointed and confusing statements and usually fail to convince me that they understand basic management approaches. Yet the companies depend on these individuals to contribute to meeting objectives and to make the business as profitable as possible.

On the other hand, I sometimes come across managers who have little or no formal management training but who have a natural ability to manage others and achieve high levels of performance. Of course I also occasionally meet those who have studied and learned management techniques and can talk very convincingly about the concept as well as management styles, the main contributors to the evolution of modern management, etc. However, they are not always great managers despite this knowledge.

So, in simple terms there are good managers and managers who are not so good, some have formal training and others have not. It is important to note that nine times out of ten, all these managers can show dramatic improvements in performance if they receive some formal training, coaching or other support. Even extremely good managers and executives can benefit from coaching sessions from time to time. The really good managers are generally the ones who understand the value of on-going personal development and seem to gain immediate benefit from using a coaching approach to challenge their thinking.

Good Management - Where to Start?
Companies can recruit experienced professional managers with good track records from external sources. If they know what they want (and this is not always the case) in a manager they can buy in that expertise, style and attitude.

Alternatively companies can operate an internal promotional programme where suitable employees can be selected and developed as managers. Unfortunately many companies select employees for promotion based on the fact that they are good operators or administrators and then fail to train them to become managers.

There is a distinct difference in the mental demands when a person is promoted to a management position. Companies need to recognise and plan for such changes. The board of directors or senior executives often make internal selections and assume that the newly appointed manager will automatically evolve into a top class professional manager by some magical process. This is, in effect, gambling with the company’s human and financial resources.

Companies should give serious consideration to the training and development needs of all their supervisors and managers. Strategic training aimed at raising basic understanding of management concepts, as well as a better understanding of each manager’s individual duties and responsibilities, will have a beneficial impact on the company’s performance.

The Risks
The management function also embraces supervisors, charge hands, leading hands, etc. It is my view that anyone who has responsibility over the work of others should be in a position to explain to you what is meant by management in general and, specifically, what management means in the context of their own responsibility. If they have difficulty in articulating such basic management concepts they may not fully understand their specific management role and, as a consequence, may not be achieving the best possible performance.

Constituent Parts of a Job
All jobs are made up of knowledge and skill requirements. These requirements, applied in conjunction with a particular attitude of mind, contribute to the achievement of high performance against clearly defined management objectives, goals and business targets. Any shortfall in these three ingredients generally results in low performance levels.

There are many other keywords which can provide more information regarding job requirements. However, these additional descriptive words invariably fall within the three headings of knowledge, skill and attitude. There are numerous words used to describe management but each of these also requires knowledge, skill and attitude. We will review these words used to describe the management function next.

So, what is Management?
As there are hundreds of thousands of books written on the subject of management it is difficult to summarise a concise definition which will satisfy all.

However, in trying to assess a manager’s understanding of this function in a client company, I guess this is what I expect to get, a ‘handy-pack’ description which convinces me that they at least have a fundamental awareness of management concept. So, I should at least be able to make such a brief and meaningful definition myself. For this purpose I will assume that the definition is for a business management application.

Firstly, here are some dictionary definitions:

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary

• the act, manner, or practice of managing; handling, supervision, or control: management of a crisis; management of factory workers.
• the person or persons who control or direct a business or other enterprise.
• skill in managing; executive ability.

Oxford Dictionary

• noun:  the act of managing something.

Cambridge Dictionary

• manage (control).
• to be responsible for controlling or organizing someone or something especially a business.
• the control and organization of something.
• the group of people responsible for controlling and organizing a company.

The American Heritage Dictionary

• the act, manner, or practice of managing; handling, supervision, or control.
• the person or persons who control or direct a business or other enterprise.
• skill in managing; executive ability.

Webster Dictionary

• the act or art of managing; the manner of treating, directing, carrying on, or using, for a purpose; conduct; administration; guidance; control; as, the management of a family or of a farm; the management of state affairs.
• business dealing; negotiation; arrangement.
• judicious use of means to accomplish an end; conduct directed by art or address; skillful treatment; cunning practice; -- often in a bad sense.
• the collective body of those who manage or direct any enterprise or interest; the board of managers. Syn. -- Conduct; administration; government; direction; guidance; care; charge; contrivance; intrigue.

My Definition
Surprisingly these dictionary definitions are not really all that helpful. They are, in my view, incomplete, confusing and misleading. This is particularly so if you are a new manager or supervisor. They will give you little direction.

Management is the process of:

• Planning what needs to be done to achieve a particular result.
• Organising and directing appropriate resources to achieve the plan.
• Controlling each step of the plan and making adjustments as needed.
• Motivating all those involved to ensure that the plan is achieved.

The key four words are: Plan, Organise, Control and Motivate = Management (POCM for short).

Managers, during the normal course of a day or week, regardless of what duties and responsibilities they are carrying out, should be still operating within these four key areas. More importantly they should be aware of which area they are working in at any particular time.

After we are clear about this management definition (POCM), other key words can be considered and also where they fit into the four word definition. Words such as management style, techniques, performance, appraisal, measurement, assessment, etc all apply to how we plan, organise, control and motivate.

Summary
So, having a clear understanding of the basic concept is important. The refinements can come later under each heading but the foundation is critical. Just remember to start off with a clear description of the final desired business result (or objectives) and then establish a plan.

Executives might wish to get their own views straight on what their company definition of management is and perhaps test their colleague’s understanding and ability to define management. You may find it an eye opener, as I have.

As a result of my discoveries in this area I have developed a coaching approach to help managers in this area. It is amazing what a small amount of clarity does for management approach and performance.

Pat  Sheridan