INTRODUCTION TO
MANAGEMENT
Management is not a hard science. Unlike chemistry or algebra where a right
answer (often) exists, management is fluid, and subjective, and there are
divergent perspectives on how to employ its principles. But what exactly is
management? Most scholars have variations of the same definition that
include a utilization of resources to achieve a goal. Lussier (2021) defines a
manager as “the individual responsible for achieving organizational
objectives through efficient and effective utilization of resources” (p. 3). The
problem with this definition is that it implies that a manager has to be both
efficient and effective, which eliminates the possibility of having a bad
manager. Each of us can probably contradict this definition by providing an
example from our personal past. However, this definition contains the basic
elements of using resources to pursue goals.
An early management scholar, Mary P. Follett characterized management as
“the art of getting things done through the efforts of other people” (Graham,
1995). This definition implies both pursuing goals (getting things done) and
utilizing resources (predominantly through people). However, this too is
missing an element, that of the organizational context. An important
consideration for understanding management is that the term organization
simply refers to “a collection of people working together to achieve a common
purpose” (Shermerhorn, 2013, p. 11). This means an organization could be
anything from your high school volleyball team to church or a corporation.
MANAGEMENT
Management is not a hard science. Unlike chemistry or algebra where a right
answer (often) exists, management is fluid, and subjective, and there are
divergent perspectives on how to employ its principles. But what exactly is
management? Most scholars have variations of the same definition that
include a utilization of resources to achieve a goal. Lussier (2021) defines a
manager as “the individual responsible for achieving organizational
objectives through efficient and effective utilization of resources” (p. 3). The
problem with this definition is that it implies that a manager has to be both
efficient and effective, which eliminates the possibility of having a bad
manager. Each of us can probably contradict this definition by providing an
example from our personal past. However, this definition contains the basic
elements of using resources to pursue goals.
An early management scholar, Mary P. Follett characterized management as
“the art of getting things done through the efforts of other people” (Graham,
1995). This definition implies both pursuing goals (getting things done) and
utilizing resources (predominantly through people). However, this too is
missing an element, that of the organizational context. An important
consideration for understanding management is that the term organization
simply refers to “a collection of people working together to achieve a common
purpose” (Shermerhorn, 2013, p. 11). This means an organization could be
anything from your high school volleyball team to church or a corporation.
