5.Practical lessons

Introduction to the subject area specialties in the professional-focused foreign language.

Lesson 1. Introduction to management specialty on the foreign language

The reading module Read the text №1: Introduction to Management

What is Management?

Management is a worldwide phenomenon and is therefore a popular and widely applied term. Management involves all kinds of organizations, whether they are political, business, social or cultural because it aids and provides directions for reaching a specific goal through the efforts of the people working in an organization.

Definition of Management

“Management is an art of getting things done through and with the people in formally organized groups. It is an art of creating an environment in which people can perform and individuals and can co-operate towards attainment of group goals”. - Harold Koontz

“Management is an art of knowing what to do, when to do and see that it is done in the best and cheapest way”. - F.W. Taylor

Management is an activity with a definite purpose or aim. It is an activity which gives direction to the people’s endeavors for accomplishing specific set aims in an organization. It is a method of working jointly with your own efforts and through others in an organization in order to accomplish its goals by utilizing minimum reserves in this transforming world. There are plenty of chances that these goals may change from one organization to another. For instance, new products may be launched by one enterprise through market analysis whereas the other enterprise may try to maximize their profits by reducing their rates.

Management involves creating an internal environment and hence, it makes use of different aspects of production. Hence, it is the management’s duty to make the environment favorable so that the people can put in their best efforts in order to do their jobs effectively and capably. This involves the easy access of raw materials, resolving the issue of wages and salaries, forming certain rules and regulations and so on.

Hence, good management involves working effectively and efficiently too. To work effectively denotes doing the task properly i.e., matching the square pegs and round pegs in their respective holes. To be efficient signifies ensuring the task is done properly with minimum cost and wasting resources.

Read the text №2: The Nature of Management

Management is an important area of study from both the personal and the global perspective. 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. Managerial ability is the demonstrated capacity to achieve organizational objectives both effectively and efficiently.

The basic formula for managerial success is S=A x M x O (managerial success = ability x motivation to manage x opportunity). Managerial ability results when theory and practice are systematically integrated.

A small business is defined as an independently owned and managed profit-seeking enterprise employing fewer than 100 persons. Small business and public sector organizations afford managers some unique opportunities and challenges. Research indicates that small business managers have a different managerial role profile than do managers in larger businesses. The axiom of the small business generalist and the large business specialist appears to be valid. "Lack of management expertise" was found by researchers to be the primary cause of the high failure rate in small businesses. In spite of a good deal of evidence to the contrary, public sector managers must cope with a negative image. Many people assume that bureaucrats are incompetent and wasteful. Four major constraints public sector managers must deal with are: legislated purposes (government agencies are told what to do by law-making bodies), no competition, weak incentives, and organizational inflexibility (large governmental bureaucracies have to be highly structured to provide standard services to millions of clients nationwide, reams of procedures and regulations can stifle innovation).

Slumping productivity growth in the United States took an upward swing in 1983-84 largely due to a maturing work force, lower inflation and cheaper energy, technological advancement, and increased labor-management cooperation. Still, there is much room for improvement if the United States is to match Japan's record of productivity growth. It is important for managers to translate the productivity problem into organizational terms. Organizational productivity is the ratio of total input to total output, adjusted for inflation, for a specific period of time. Japan, with the world's highest rate of productivity growth, is an inspiring example of how to do more with less.