BASIC CONCEPTS OF MANAGEMENT

Organizations need competent managers to be able to meet

their objectives both efficiently and effectively. The growing
complexity of organizations today means a greater need to
examine them as a whole. Using the systems approach, a
manager can diagnose situations and choose the proper fit
between subsystems of the organization. The contingency
approach leads management to apply different basic
guidelines depending on the particular situation.

To accomplish the common managerial functions of

planning, organizing, staffing, directing, coordinating,
reporting, and budgeting, a manager engages in a variety of
activities that can be grouped into three basic categories:
interpersonal relationships, information processing and
decision making. The three categories can be further divided
into 10 observable working roles.

SYSTEMS APPROACH
Organizations tend toward a dynamic or moving equilibrium.
Members seek to maintain the organization and to have it
survive. They react to changes and forces, both internal and
external, in ways that often create a new state of equilibrium
and balance. Feedback of information from a point of
operation and from the environment to a control center or
centers can provide the data necessary to initiate corrective
measures to restore equilibrium.

Organizations and the world of which they are a part consist

of a hierarchy of systems. Thus, a corporation is composed
of divisions, departments, sections and groups of individual
employees. Also, the corporation is part of larger systems,
such as all the firms in its industry, firms in its metropolitan
area.

Interdependency is a key concept in systems theory. The

elements of a system interact with one another and are
interdependent. Generally, a change in one part of an
organization affects other parts of that organization.
Sometimes the interdependencies are not fully appreciated
when changes are made. A change in organization structure
and work flow in one department may unexpectedly induce
changes in departments that relate to the first department.

ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE
An organization is a system, having an established structure
and conscious planning, in which people work and deal with
one another in a coordinated and cooperative manner for the
accomplishment of common goals. The formal organization
is the planned structure that establishes a pattern of
relationships among the various components of the
organization. The informal organization refers to those
aspects of the system that arise spontaneously from the
activities and interactions of participants.

Whenever several people work together for a common goal,

there must be some form of organization; that is, the tasks
must be divided among them and the work of the group must
be coordinated. Otherwise, there may be duplication of effort
or even work at cross purposes. Dividing the work and
arranging for coordination make up the process of
organization, and once that is completed the group may be
described as “an organization”.

Certain steps are necessary in developing the frame work of

an organization’s structure if goals of an enterprise are to be
accomplished and the workers’ talents developed to their
fullest potential. These steps may be summarized as follows:

1. Determine and define objectives. The purpose of every

organization dealing with personnel is to accomplish,
with the efforts of people, some basic purpose or
objective with the greatest efficiency, maximum
economy and minimum effort and to provide for the
personal development of the people working in the
organization.
2. Analyze and classify work to be done. This is
accomplished by dividing the total work necessary for
the accomplishment of overall goals into its major parts
and grouping each into like, or similar activities.
Examination of the work to be done will reveal tasks
that are similar or are logically located. Such
classification may be made by grouping activities that
require similar skills, the same equipment or duties
performed in the same areas.
3. Describe in some detail the work or activity in terms of
the employee.
4. Determine and specify the relationship of the workers to
each other and to management. The work should be
grouped into departments or other organizational units,
with responsibility and authority defined for each level.
It is generally understood that each person assigned to
a job will be expected to assume the responsibility for
performing the tasks given him or her and that each
person will be held accountable for the results.
However, persons can be accountable only to the
degree that they have been given responsibility and
authority. Responsibility without authority is
meaningless. An assignment should be specific and in
writing. For an organizational structure to become
operational, of course, requires the selection of
 qualified personnel, provision of adequate financing and
equipment, and a suitable physical environment. No
successful organization structure remains static. It must
be a continuing process that moves with changing
concepts within the system and with changing
conditions in its environment.

FUNCTIONS OF MANAGEMENT
The basic purpose of management has been recognized as
the leadership of individuals and groups in order to
accomplish the goals of the organization. Fayol, a French
meaning engineer/manager, recognized that managerial
undertakings require planning, organization, command,
coordination and control. Gulick developed the following
seven major functions of management: planning, organizing,
staffing, directing, coordinating, reporting and budgeting.

PLANNING:

The planning function, described by Gulick and still

relevant today, involves developing in broad outline the
activities required to accomplish the objectives of the
organization and the most affective ways of doing so.
Planning is the basic function and all others are dependent
upon it. The objective of planning is to think ahead, clearly
determine objectives and policies and select a course of
action toward the accomplishment of the goals. Day-to-day
planning of operational activities and short- and long-range
planning toward department and institution goals are part of
this function. Overall planning is the responsibility of top
management, but participation at all levels in goal setting
and development of new plans and procedures increases
their effectiveness.
 Forecasting is an important factor in effective planning
for the future operating program of any company. Predictions
of trends for the immediate and distant future based on an
objective study of past and present situations usually are
more reliable than mere guesses. Outside or external
factors, such as social, economic, political and other
environmental conditions, are involved in forecasting, as are
internal factors, such as size of plant and productivity of the
personnel. A study of the interrelationships of such factors
and their effects on the business, from data such as
personal incomes, population growth, cost of living and
technological developments in food and equipment, should
help the food manager to interpret possible future needs for
personnel, physical facilities and others budgetary items. A
high degree of accuracy in forecasting is difficult to attain
because of the uncertainties of the future. However,
forecasting has merit in that it requires creative thinking,
provides some helpful information, and may call attention to
current problem areas within the organization.

ORGANIZING

Organizing includes the activities necessary to develop the

formal structure of authority through which work is
subdivided, defined and coordinated to accomplish the
organization’s objectives. The organizing function identifies
activities and tasks, divides tasks into positions, and puts like
tasks together to take advantage of special abilities and
skills of the workers and to use their talents effectively.
Perhaps the chief function of the organizing process is the
establishment of relationships among all other functions of
management.
STAFFING

Staffing is the personnel function of employing and training

people and maintaining favorable work conditions. The basic
purpose of the staffing function is to obtain the best available
people for the organization and to foster development of
their skills and abilities.

DIRECTING

Directing requires the continuous process of making

decisions, conveying them to subordinates, and assuring
appropriate action. Delegation of responsibility is essential to
distribute workloads to qualified individuals at various levels.
Whoever delegates a responsibility should not do so without
detailed instructions as to what is expected of the
subordinate and the necessary authority to carry out the
responsibilities. If a subordinate is not given sufficient
authority, the job is merely assigned, not delegated.

A very important part of the directing function is the

concern with employees as human beings. Studies have
shown that most people work at only 50% to 60% efficiency,
and some investigators plays this figure as low as 45%. The
alert manager is aware that through careful, intelligent
guidance and counseling and by effective supervision, the
worker’s productivity may be increased as much as 20%.
This may mean the difference between financial success
and failure of an enterprise.

COORDINATING

Coordinating is the functional activity of interrelating the

various parts of work for smooth flow. In order to function
effectively, organization must be properly designed. Division
of work is usually accomplished through departmentation, or
specialization by function, product, client, geographical area,
number of persons, or time. Different methods of
coordination are required for different types of
departmentation.

REPORTING

Reporting involves keeping supervisors, managers and

subordinates informed concerning responsibility through
records, research, reports, inspection and other methods.
Records and evaluations of the results of work done are kept
as the work progresses in order to compare performance
with the yardstick of acceptability.

BUDGETING

Budgeting includes fiscal planning, accounting and

controlling. Control tends to ensure performance in
accordance with plans and is a necessary function of all
areas of foodservice.

JOB DESCRIPTION
A job description is an organized list of duties that reflects
required skills and responsibilities in a specific position. It
may be thought of as an extension of the organization chart
in that it shows activities and job relationships for the
positions identified on the organization chart. Job
descriptions are valuable for matching qualified applicants to
the job, for orientation and training of employees, for
performance appraisal, for establishing rates of pay, and for
defining limits of authority and responsibility.
JOB SPECIFICATION
A job specification is a written statement of the minimum
standards that must be met by an applicant for a particular
job. It covers duties involved in a job, the working conditions
peculiar to the job, and personal qualifications required of
the worker to carry through the assigned responsibilities
successfully. This tool is used primarily by the employing
officer in the selection and placement of the right person for
the specific position.

WORK SCHEDULE
A work schedule is an outline of work to be performed by an
individual with stated procedures and time requirements for
his or her duties. Work schedules are especially helpful in
training new employees and are given to the employee after
the person has been hired and training has begun. This is
one means of communication between the employer and
employee. Work schedules should be reviewed periodically
and adjustments made as needed to adapt to changes in
procedures.

SCHEDULING OF EMPLOYEES
Workers may be scheduled successfully only after through
analysis and study of the jobs to be done, the working
conditions and the probable efficiency of the employees.
Workers cannot be expected to maintain high interest and to
work efficiently if they have little to do one day and are
overworked the next.

Working conditions such as the physical factors of

temperature, humidity, lighting and safety influence the
scheduling of personnel and affect workers’ performance. Of
particular importance is the amount and arrangement of
equipment. The distance each employee must travel within
his or her work area should be kept at a minimum in order to
conserve the individual’s energy and time.
 MANAGEMENT OF INSTITUTIONS I:

EDUCATIONAL & HEALTH

PART A: EDUCATIONAL INSTITUATIONS

CHAPTER 3

“BASIC CONCEPTS OF MANAGEMENT”

Ref: West’s and Wood’s

Introduction to foodservice
(7th edition)

Prepared by:
June Payne-Palacio
Virginia Harger
Grace Shugart
Monica Theis

Page Number 347-364