MANAGEMENT TEKNOLOGI

Problem:

1.      Write an essay on the history of the management movement.

2.      Define the following terms:

a.   Management;

b.   Project management;

c.   Functional organization.

3.      What are the typical characteristics of management?

4.      Discuss the basic functions of management.

Answer:

1.      The history of modern management movement begins with the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution was the result of the development of the steam engine by James Watt in the eighteenth century in Great Britain. In 1830, shortly after the introduction of the engine in the United States, Colonel John Stevens, the father of American engineering, built the first 23-mile-long railroad. By 1850, the total railroad track increased to 9,000 miles extending as far west as Ohio. Another factor that played an instrumental role during the Industrial Revolution was the development of the telegraph by F. B. Morse. The first experimental telegraph line was built in 1844, and by 1860 there was a total of 50,000 miles of telegraph line in the United States.

Before 1835, there were only 36 firms in the United States that employed more than 250 workers. During the last decade of the nineteenth century, persons such as John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, and Cornelius Vanderbilt took advantage of railroads and telegraph lines to build big corporations employing thousands of people. In turn, this led to the need of a systematic approach to management.

Two engineers who may be called the fathers of modern management were Frederick W. Taylor (1856–1915) and Henri Fayol (1841–1925). Frederick W. Taylor was born in Philadelphia; although accepted into Harvard University, he served a 4-year apprenticeship as a machinist. In 1878, he joined Midvale Steel Company, and at the age of 28, in 1884, he became chief engineer. In 1906, Taylor became president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and his basic views concerning management were finding the most appropriate method for performing a job and assigning the right person for each job.

Henri Fayol graduated in 1860 from the National School of Mines at Saint-Etienne, France, and outlined 14 principles of management, including division of work, discipline, line of authority, initiative, order, and centralization.

In 1916, he published a book entitled Administration Industrielle et Generale covering most of his thoughts on management. The book was translated into English twice: in 1930 by J. A. Coubrogh and in 1949 by C. Storrs. In 1911, the first ever conference on the topic of scientific management was held, and during the period from 1912–1936 various professional societies concerned directly or indirectly with the promotion of management were formed. For example, in 1912, 1917, 1923, and 1936, the Society to Promote the Science of Management, the Society of Industrial Engineers, the American Management Association, and the Society for the Advancement of Management were established, respectively. By 1925, most engineering schools in the United States were offering some kinds of courses on management.

In 1924, a study on various aspects of human relations (e.g., investigating the effects of varying illumination, length of workday, and rest periods on productivity) was initiated by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences at the Hawthorne Plant of Western Electric in the state of Illinois. The findings of this study also played an important role in the development of the management field. Since those days, thousands of individuals have contributed to the management field. A vast number of publications in the form of books, conference proceedings, and journal articles have appeared, and thousands of university-level institutions award undergraduate and graduate degrees in various aspects of management around the world. Furthermore, the field of management has branched out into many specialized areas, and engineering and technology management is

one of those areas.

2.      Defining the following terms:

a.       Management is a process of work involving guiding a group of individuals to achieve defined organizational goals.

b.      Project management is the process of managing the project or the administrative and technical lead people of a project team.

c.       Functional organization is an organization engaged in one general function

3.      There are many characteristics of management including the ones listed next

a.       Management is intangible.

b.      Management has a purpose because it is practiced to accomplish a specific goal.

c.       Management is an activity, not a person or group of people. This activity is carried out by various people (e.g., supervisors, managers, and executives). All in all, just like any other activity, it can also be studied and skills in its application can be acquired.

d.      Management requires certain knowledge, skill, and practice for its effective use.

e.       Management is aided, but not replaced, by computers. More specifically, computers can widen a manager’s vision and sharpen his or her insight by providing appropriate information for important decisions and facilitating the application of quantitative managementrelated tools.

f.       Usually, the practice of management is associated with the efforts of a group of individuals.

g.      The people who practice management are not necessarily the same as the owners.

h.      Management is a very important means to make things happen.

i.        Management is an excellent means for exerting a real impact upon human day-to-day life. More specifically, a manager can be a key player in bringing about vision, hope, achievement, and action for the better things of life.

j.        Management is accomplished by, with, and through others’ efforts.

4.      There are five fundamental or basic functions of management.

a.       Controlling includes activities such as performance monitoring, comparing actual performance to set standards, and taking corrective actions.

b.      Planning is concerned with activities such as establishing goals, determining rules and procedures, forecasting, and scheduling.

c.       Staffing is concerned with activities such as determining the need for manpower, establishing standards for measuring performance of employees, selecting employees, and hiring and training employees.

d.      Organizing involves activities such as grouping and assigning jobs or tasks and delegating authority to subordinates.

e.       Controlling to motivating is concerned with activities such as maintaining morale, describing set goals to employees, rewarding employees, and guiding employees to meet set performance standards.