Managers and Managing
CMEC01 12/8/06 8:50 Page 1
Chapter
1
Managers and Managing
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After studying this chapter, you should be able to: ✓ Describe what management is, why management is important, what managers do, and how managers utilise organisational resources efficiently and effectively to achieve organisational goals. ✓ Distinguish among planning, organising, leading and controlling (the four principal managerial functions), and explain how managers’ ability to handle each one can affect organisational performance. ✓ Differentiate among levels of management, and understand the responsibilities of managers at different levels in the organisational hierarchy. ✓ Identify the roles managers perform, the skills they need to execute those roles effectively, and the way new information technology is affecting these roles and skills. ✓ Discuss the principal challenges managers face in today’s increasingly competitive global environment.
A Manager’s Challenge
The Rise of Siemens
Werner von Siemens was born in Germany in a small town near Hannover in December 1816. No one could then know that the fourth child of a poor farmer’s family would become the founder of one of the world’s best-known companies. While showing ample potential in science and engineering, Werner was denied a university education due to the financial constraints of his family. He thus chose the security of the Army
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CMEC01 12/8/06 8:50 Page 2
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CHAPTER 1: MANAGERS AND MANAGING
as a profession. It was quickly noticed that he was inventive and apt at engineering problems and this aptitude also translated into business acumen. During his time in the army, Werner and his brother registered their first patent and sold the rights to it – leaving them financially comfortable and allowing Werner to research further into his main interest – telegraphy. This field was at the time relatively underdeveloped, but Werner showed truly managerial foresight in predicting it to be the
Chapter
1
Managers and Managing
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After studying this chapter, you should be able to: ✓ Describe what management is, why management is important, what managers do, and how managers utilise organisational resources efficiently and effectively to achieve organisational goals. ✓ Distinguish among planning, organising, leading and controlling (the four principal managerial functions), and explain how managers’ ability to handle each one can affect organisational performance. ✓ Differentiate among levels of management, and understand the responsibilities of managers at different levels in the organisational hierarchy. ✓ Identify the roles managers perform, the skills they need to execute those roles effectively, and the way new information technology is affecting these roles and skills. ✓ Discuss the principal challenges managers face in today’s increasingly competitive global environment.
A Manager’s Challenge
The Rise of Siemens
Werner von Siemens was born in Germany in a small town near Hannover in December 1816. No one could then know that the fourth child of a poor farmer’s family would become the founder of one of the world’s best-known companies. While showing ample potential in science and engineering, Werner was denied a university education due to the financial constraints of his family. He thus chose the security of the Army
1
CMEC01 12/8/06 8:50 Page 2
2
CHAPTER 1: MANAGERS AND MANAGING
as a profession. It was quickly noticed that he was inventive and apt at engineering problems and this aptitude also translated into business acumen. During his time in the army, Werner and his brother registered their first patent and sold the rights to it – leaving them financially comfortable and allowing Werner to research further into his main interest – telegraphy. This field was at the time relatively underdeveloped, but Werner showed truly managerial foresight in predicting it to be the