1. What is management? Is it an art

1. What is management? Is it an art or a science? An instinct or a set of skills and techniques that can be taught?

2. What do you think makes a good manager? Which four of the following qualities do you think are the most important?
a. being decisive: able to make quick decisions
b. being efficient: doing things quickly, not leaving tasks unfinished, having a tidy desk, and so on
c. being friendly and sociable
d. being able to communicate with people
e. being logical, rational and analytical
f. being able to motivate and inspire and lead people
g. being authoritative: able to give orders
h. being competent: knowing one’s job perfectly, as well as the work of one’s subordinates
i. being persuasive: able to convince people to do things
j. having good ideas
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Are there any qualities that you think should be added to this list?
Which of these qualities can be acquired? Which must you be born with?

3. This text summarizes some of Peter Drucker’s views on management. As you read about his description of the work of a manager, decide whether the five different functions he mentions require the four qualities you selected in your discussion, or others you did not choose.

WHAT IS MANAGEMENT?
Peter Drucker, the well-known American business professor and consultant, suggests that the work of a manager can be divided into planning (setting objectives), organizing, integrating (motivating and communicating), measuring, and developing people.
• First of all, managers (especially senior managers such as company chairmen – and women – and directors) set objectives, and decide how their organization can achieve them. This involves developing strategies, plans and precise tactics, and allocating resources of people and money.
• Secondly, managers organize. They analyze and classify the activities of the organization and the relations among them. They divide the work into manageable activities and then into individual jobs. They select people to manage these units and perform the jobs.
• Thirdly, managers practice the social skills of motivation and communication. They also have to communicate objectives to the people responsible for attaining them. They have to make the people who are responsible for performing individual jobs for teams. They make decisions about pay and promotion. As well as organizing and supervising the work of their subordinates, they have to work with people in other areas and functions.
• Fourthly, managers have to measure the performance of their stuff, to see whether the objectives set for the organization as a whole and for each individual member of it are being achieved.
• Lastly, managers develop people – both their subordinates and themselves.
Obviously, objectives occasionally have to be modified or changed. It is generally the job of a company’s top managers to consider the needs of the future, and to take responsibility for innovation, without which any organization can only expect a limited life. Top managers also have to manage a business’s relations with customers, suppliers, distributors, bankers, investors, neighbouring communities, public authorities, and so on, as well as deal with any major crises which arise. Top managers are appointed and supervised and advised (and dismissed) by a company’s board of directors.
Although the tasks of a manager can be analyzed and classified in this fashion, management is not entirely scientific. It is a human skill. Business professors obviously believe that intuition and ‘instinct’ are not enough.; there are management skills that have to be learnt. Drucker, for example, wrote over 20 years ago that ‘Altogether this entire book is based on the proposition that the days of “intuitive” manager are numbered’, meaning that they were coming to an end. But some people are clearly good at management, and others are not. Some people will be unable to put management techniques into practice. Others will have lots of technique, but few good ideas. Outstanding managers are rather rare.

4. Complete the following sentences with these words

achieved board of directors communicate innovations
manageable performance resources setting supervise

1. Managers have to decide how bet to allocate the human, physical and capital _________ available to them.
2. Managers – logically – have to make sure that the jobs and tasks given to their subordinates are _________ .
3. There is no point in _________ objectives if you don’t _________ them to your staff.
4. Managers have to _________ their subordinates, and to measure, and try to improve, their _________ .
5. Managers have to check whether objectives and targets are being _________ .
6. A top manager whose performance is unsatisfactory can be dismissed by the company’s _________ .
7. Top managers are responsible for the _________ that will allow a company to adapt to a changing world.

5. The text contains a number of common verb-noun partnerships (e.g. achieve objectives, deal with crises, and so on).
Match up these verbs and nouns to make common collocations.
allocate decisions
communicate information
develop jobs
make objectives
measure people
motivate performance
perform resources
set strategies
supervise subordinates

6. ‘One can either work or meet. One cannot do both at the same time.’
(Peter Drucker: An Introductory View of Management)

What do you think Peter Drucker means by this comment?
In your experience – at work, or doing group projects at college – is this true?
How much of the working week do you think managers should spend in meetings?

7. Read the computer journalist Robert X. Cringely’s description of the management style at IBM. Is he positive or negative about IBM’s working culture?

Every IBM employee’s ambition is apparently to become a manager, and the company helps them out in this area by making management the company’s single biggest business. IBM executives don’t design products and write software; they manage the design and writing of software. They go to meetings. So much effort, in fact, is put into managing all the managers who are managing things that hardly anyone is left over to do the real work. This means the most IBM hardware and nearly all IBM software is written or designed by the lowest level of people in the company – trainers. Everyone else is too busy going to meetings, managing, or learning to be a manager, so there is little chance to include any of their technical expertise in IBM products.
Go back and read that last paragraph over again, because that’s why IBM products often aren’t very competitive.
IBM has layers and layers of management to check and verify each decision as it is made and amended. The safety net is so big at IBM that it is hard to make a bad decision. In fact, it is hard to make any decision at all, which turns out to be the company’s greatest problem and the source of its ultimate downfall (remember, you read it here first).

8. Explain in your own words exactly what Robert Cringely means in the following sentences.
1. Every IBM employee’s ambition is apparently to become a manager.
2. IBM makes management the company’s single biggest business.
3. IBM executives manage the design and writing of software.
4. IBM products aren’t often very competitive.
5. The safety net at IBM is so big it is hard to make a bad decision.
6. This will be the source of the company’s ultimate downfall.

9. Find words in the text that mean the same as the words or expressions below.
seemingly knowledge and skill
computer programs levels or strata
work, time and energy to make certain that something is true
computers (and other machines) corrected or slightly changed
young workers still learning their jobs collapse or failure
10. Read the text and complete the sentences.
‘Satisfiers’ and ‘Motivators’
It is logical to suppose that things like good labour relations, good working conditions, good wages and benefits, and job security motivate workers. But in Work and the Nature of Man, Frederick Herzberg argued that such conditions do not motivate workers. They are merely ‘satisfiers’ or, more importantly, ‘dissatisfiers’ where they do not exist. ‘Motivators’, on the contrary, include things such as having a challenging and interesting job, recognition and responsibility, promotion, and so on.
However, even with the development of computers and robotics, there are and always will be plenty of boring, mindless, repetitive and mechanical jobs in all three sectors of economy, and lots of unskilled people who have to do them.
So how do managers motivate people in such jobs? One solution is to give them some responsibilities, not as individuals but as part of a team. For example, some supermarket combine office staff, the people who fill the shelves, and the people who work on the checkout tills into a team and let them decide what product lines to stock, how to display them, and so on. Other employers ensure that people in repetitive jobs change them every couple of hours, as doing four different repetitive jobs a day is better than doing only one. Many people now talk about importance of a company’s shared values or corporate culture, with which all the staff can identify: for example, being the best hotel chain, or hamburger restaurant chain, or airline, or making the best, the safest, the most user-friendly, the most ecological or the most reliable products in a particular field. Such values are more likely to motivate workers than financial targets, which ultimately only concern a few people. Unfortunately, there is only a limited number of such goals to go round, and by definition, not all the competing companies in an industry can seriously claim to be the best.

Complete the following sente

Результаты (русский) 1:

1. что такое управление? Это наука или искусство? Инстинкт или набор навыков и методов, которые можно научить?2. что вы думаете, что делает хороший менеджер? Четыре следующих качеств вы думаете, являются наиболее важными?a. быть решающим: возможность принимать быстрые решенияb., будучи эффективным: быстро делать вещи, не оставив незавершенной, имея опрятный стол, задачи и так далееc., дружественные и коммуникабельная(ый)d. возможность общаться с людьмиe., логические, рациональные и аналитическихf. возможность мотивировать и вдохновлять и вести людейg., будучи авторитетным: возможность отдавать приказыh., будучи компетентным: зная свою работу отлично, а также работу своих подчиненныхi. является убедительным: удалось убедить людей делать вещиj., имея хорошие идеи_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Есть качества, которые вы считаете, должны быть добавлены в этот список?Какие из этих качеств может быть приобретено? Который вы должны родиться с?3. Этот текст кратко излагаются некоторые из Питер Друкер взгляды на управление. Как вы читаете о его описание работы менеджера, решите, требуется ли пять различных функций, которые он упоминает четыре качества, которые вы выбрали в обсуждение, или другие, которые вы не можете.ЧТО ТАКОЕ УПРАВЛЕНИЕ?Питер Друкер, известный американский бизнес профессор и консультант, свидетельствует о том, что работа менеджера можно разделить на планирование (определение целей), организация, интеграции (мотивации и общения), измерения и развития людей.• Прежде всего, менеджеры (особенно старших менеджеров компании председателей – и женщин – директоров) установить цели и решить, как их организации может достичь их. Это включает разработку стратегий, планов и точные Тактика и распределения ресурсов, людей и денег.• Во-вторых, руководители организуют. Они анализировать и классифицировать деятельность Организации и отношений между ними. Они делят работу в управляемые мероприятия, а затем в отдельных заданий. Они выбора людей, чтобы управлять этими подразделениями и выполнять задания.• В-третьих, руководители практики социальных навыков, мотивации и коммуникации. Они также должны сообщать людей, ответственных за достижение их целей. Они должны сделать людей, которые отвечают за выполнение отдельных заданий для команд. Они принимают решения об оплате и продвижение. Организация и контроль за работой своих подчиненных, а также они должны работать с людьми в других областях и функций.• В-четвертых, менеджеры должны измерить производительность их вещи, чтобы увидеть, достигаются ли цели для Организации в целом и для каждого отдельного члена.• Наконец, менеджеры развивать людей – их подчиненных и самих себя.Obviously, objectives occasionally have to be modified or changed. It is generally the job of a company’s top managers to consider the needs of the future, and to take responsibility for innovation, without which any organization can only expect a limited life. Top managers also have to manage a business’s relations with customers, suppliers, distributors, bankers, investors, neighbouring communities, public authorities, and so on, as well as deal with any major crises which arise. Top managers are appointed and supervised and advised (and dismissed) by a company’s board of directors.Although the tasks of a manager can be analyzed and classified in this fashion, management is not entirely scientific. It is a human skill. Business professors obviously believe that intuition and ‘instinct’ are not enough.; there are management skills that have to be learnt. Drucker, for example, wrote over 20 years ago that ‘Altogether this entire book is based on the proposition that the days of “intuitive” manager are numbered’, meaning that they were coming to an end. But some people are clearly good at management, and others are not. Some people will be unable to put management techniques into practice. Others will have lots of technique, but few good ideas. Outstanding managers are rather rare.4. Complete the following sentences with these wordsachieved board of directors communicate innovationsmanageable performance resources setting supervise1. Managers have to decide how bet to allocate the human, physical and capital _________ available to them.2. Managers – logically – have to make sure that the jobs and tasks given to their subordinates are _________ .3. There is no point in _________ objectives if you don’t _________ them to your staff.4. Managers have to _________ their subordinates, and to measure, and try to improve, their _________ .5. Managers have to check whether objectives and targets are being _________ .6. A top manager whose performance is unsatisfactory can be dismissed by the company’s _________ .7. Top managers are responsible for the _________ that will allow a company to adapt to a changing world.5. The text contains a number of common verb-noun partnerships (e.g. achieve objectives, deal with crises, and so on).Match up these verbs and nouns to make common collocations.allocate decisionscommunicate informationdevelop jobsmake objectivesmeasure peoplemotivate performanceperform resourcesset strategiessupervise subordinates6. ‘One can either work or meet. One cannot do both at the same time.’(Peter Drucker: An Introductory View of Management) What do you think Peter Drucker means by this comment?In your experience – at work, or doing group projects at college – is this true?How much of the working week do you think managers should spend in meetings?7. Read the computer journalist Robert X. Cringely’s description of the management style at IBM. Is he positive or negative about IBM’s working culture?Every IBM employee’s ambition is apparently to become a manager, and the company helps them out in this area by making management the company’s single biggest business. IBM executives don’t design products and write software; they manage the design and writing of software. They go to meetings. So much effort, in fact, is put into managing all the managers who are managing things that hardly anyone is left over to do the real work. This means the most IBM hardware and nearly all IBM software is written or designed by the lowest level of people in the company – trainers. Everyone else is too busy going to meetings, managing, or learning to be a manager, so there is little chance to include any of their technical expertise in IBM products.Go back and read that last paragraph over again, because that’s why IBM products often aren’t very competitive.IBM has layers and layers of management to check and verify each decision as it is made and amended. The safety net is so big at IBM that it is hard to make a bad decision. In fact, it is hard to make any decision at all, which turns out to be the company’s greatest problem and the source of its ultimate downfall (remember, you read it here first).8. Explain in your own words exactly what Robert Cringely means in the following sentences. 1. Every IBM employee’s ambition is apparently to become a manager.2. IBM makes management the company’s single biggest business.3. IBM executives manage the design and writing of software.4. IBM products aren’t often very competitive.5. The safety net at IBM is so big it is hard to make a bad decision.6. This will be the source of the company’s ultimate downfall.9. Find words in the text that mean the same as the words or expressions below.seemingly knowledge and skillcomputer programs levels or stratawork, time and energy to make certain that something is truecomputers (and other machines) corrected or slightly changedyoung workers still learning their jobs collapse or failure10. Read the text and complete the sentences.‘Satisfiers’ and ‘Motivators’It is logical to suppose that things like good labour relations, good working conditions, good wages and benefits, and job security motivate workers. But in Work and the Nature of Man, Frederick Herzberg argued that such conditions do not motivate workers. They are merely ‘satisfiers’ or, more importantly, ‘dissatisfiers’ where they do not exist. ‘Motivators’, on the contrary, include things such as having a challenging and interesting job, recognition and responsibility, promotion, and so on.However, even with the development of computers and robotics, there are and always will be plenty of boring, mindless, repetitive and mechanical jobs in all three sectors of economy, and lots of unskilled people who have to do them.So how do managers motivate people in such jobs? One solution is to give them some responsibilities, not as individuals but as part of a team. For example, some supermarket combine office staff, the people who fill the shelves, and the people who work on the checkout tills into a team and let them decide what product lines to stock, how to display them, and so on. Other employers ensure that people in repetitive jobs change them every couple of hours, as doing four different repetitive jobs a day is better than doing only one. Many people now talk about importance of a company’s shared values or corporate culture, with which all the staff can identify: for example, being the best hotel chain, or hamburger restaurant chain, or airline, or making the best, the safest, the most user-friendly, the most ecological or the most reliable products in a particular field. Such values are more likely to motivate workers than financial targets, which ultimately only concern a few people. Unfortunately, there is only a limited number of such goals to go round, and by definition, not all the competing companies in an industry can seriously claim to be the best.

Complete the following sente

Результаты (русский) 3:

1.то, что руководство?это искусство или наука?инстинкт или набор навыков и технологий, которые могут быть научил?

2.как думаешь, что хороший менеджер?четыре следующие качества вы считаете наиболее важным?
A. стал решающим: возможность принимать быстрые решения
. эффективны: делать все быстро, не оставляя задач незавершенной, с аккуратными стол, и так далее
с.дружелюбный и общительный
D. возможность общаться с людьми,
е. быть логичным, рациональный и аналитических
ф. возможность мотивировать и вдохновлять и привести людей
г. - авторитетный: может отдать приказ
H. будучи компетентными: зная, одна работа совершенно, а также работу одного из подчиненных
I. быть убедительным: удалось убедить людей делать то, что хорошие идеи

._____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

есть качества, которые вы думаете, следует добавить в этот список?
что эти качества могут быть приобретены?что ты должен родиться?

3.этот текст приводится краткая информация о некоторых питер дракер мнения по управлению.как ты читал его описание работы менеджера, принять решение о том, следует ли пять различных функций он упоминает, требуется четыре качества выбранных в свои обсуждения, или других вы не выбирают.

что управления?
питер друкер, известный американский бизнес - профессор и консультант,предполагает, что работа менеджера может быть разделена на планирование (цели), организации, объединения (мотивации и общение), оценки и разработки людей.
• прежде всего, руководители (особенно старших руководителей, таких, как компании председателя, и женщин - и директоров) поставленных целей, и решить, как их организации могут достичь их.это предполагает разработку стратегий,планы и точную тактику и выделение ресурсов людей и денег.
• во - вторых, управляющие организации.они анализируют и классифицировать деятельность организации, и отношения между ними.они разделить работу на управляемой мероприятий, а затем в отдельных рабочих мест.они выбирают люди, управлять этими подразделениями и выполнять работу.
. • в - третьих,руководители практике социальные навыки, мотивации и коммуникации.они также должны направить целей для людей, ответственных за их достижения.они должны принимать люди, которые отвечают за выполнение индивидуальных рабочих мест для групп.они принимают решения о вознаграждения и продвижения по службе.а также организацию и контроль за работой своих подчиненных,они должны работать с людьми в других областях и функциям.
• в - четвертых, руководителям для оценки эффективности их вещи, чтобы убедиться в том, что цели организации в целом, а также для каждого отдельного члена они достигаются.
• и, наконец, руководителей разрабатывать людей – как своих подчиненных и себя.
очевидно, что цели, иногда необходимо изменить.