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Moral Reasoning and Ethical Theory

Ethical problems are also pervasive because managers make decisions and take actions that affect other people. If those decisions and actions affect other people adversely, or if they hurt or harm them in ways beyond their individual control, then we have an ethical problem which requires some degree of moral analysis in addition to the more common economic analysis.

The Meaning of Ethics

Ethics are generally defined as the principles of morally acceptable conduct of individuals. We define ethics as an individual personal beliefs about right and wrong behaviours. Although this simple definition communicates the essence of ethics, three implications warrant additional consideration:

Ethics are individually defined people have ethics, whereas organisations do not

What constitutes ethical behaviour can vary from one person to another;

and

Ethics are relative, not absolute. This means that although what constitutes ethical behaviour is in the eye of the beholder, it usually conforms to generally accepted social norms

The Meaning of Professional Ethics

Professional ethics designate the moral values that a group of similarly trained people develop to control their performance of a task or their use of resources. People internalise the rules and values of their professional culture just as they do those of their society. They reflexively adhere to professional rules and values when deciding on how to behave.

Skills of a Manager

1. Conceptual Skills

Conceptual skills refer to the ability to view the organisation as a whole, and the impact the different sections have on the organisation, as a whole and on each other. It also involves observing how an organisation adapts to or is affected by external environmental factors such as society, economic pressure, customers and competition. An efficient manager should be able to identify, understand and solve the various problems and critical perspectives. The need for conceptual skills becomes increasingly crucial when a manager climbs higher in the management hierarchy.

2. Interpersonal Skills

Interpersonal skill is the ability to work well with other people. Managers with good interpersonal skills work more effectively in a group, encouraging other employees to input their ideas and comments as well as being receptive to the needs and views of others. The manager will also, indirectly, become a good listener and speaker. Interpersonal skills are crucial, regardless of the level of management. However, a low-level manager will be more occupied in solving technical problems while a manager at the middle and higher levels will be mainly occupied with dealing directly with others.

3. Technical Skills

Technical skills are the ability to apply procedures, techniques and specialised knowledge required in a certain task. For a shoe factory supervisor, the technical skills required will include the steps involved in shoe manufacturing from the beginning until the final product is ready. A housing developer’s technical skills will include ways to complete the development of a housing estate.

Technical skills are crucial for low-level managers as they supervise employees in manufacturing or service sectors. The manager needs to have technical knowledge and the skills to train new employees and assist employees in solving problems. Skills and technical knowledge are required to solve operational problems that cannot be handled by employees. Nevertheless, the higher the position of a manager in a hierarchy, the fewer the technical skills required

Functions of Management

Management is defined as the process of overseeing and co-ordinating resources efficiently and effectively in line with the goals of an organisation. In short, management refers to the process of delegating tasks to employees to be performed successfully.

The management process at all levels of an organisation involves planning, organising, leading and controlling resources in an organisation. A manager does not necessarily have to know how to perform a specific job as he only acts as a coordinator to ensure the smooth running of operations.

For example, the manager of a clothes manufacturing factory does not necessarily have to know in detail the techniques of making clothes. However, he needs to ensure that each resource put under his control, such as capital, factory and manpower, functions properly and that the objectives outlined by the organisation are met.

Nevertheless, all the functions highlighted above are merely for classification purposes in management studies. In reality, management functions usually overlap. Moreover, the functions in management are inter-dependent. For example, a well-structured organisation will find it impossible to advance if there is no thorough planning. The same applies to an organisation led by an efficient director but with poor control systems. In summary, all functions are equally important in an organisation.

Now let's do a simple quiz to test your understanding on management functions. Please click at the website below:

http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=four-management-functions

DEFINITION OF MANAGEMENT

Management is defined as the process of overseeing and coordinating resources efficiently and effectively in line with the goals of the organisation.

Effectiveness is the attainment of goals that enables the realisation of the objectives of an organisation or, briefly, as "doing the right thing" whereas efficiency is performing a job using minimum effort, cost and wastage or simply put as "doing things right." The end result of an efficient and effective management is the success of an organisation.

A person can be described as efficient but not effective or effective but not efficient in managing a specific task. Both elements are not interdependent. Let's say a factory worker finds a shortcut to doing a task with lower cost but by doing so, he deviates from the ethical objectives of the organisation. For example, he disposes of production waste by dumping it into the river. But one of the organisation's ethical objectives is to preserve local harmony. So, the factory worker, through his action, deviated from the objective although he was efficient. In short, he was efficient but not effective.

In contrast, an employee is considered effective but not efficient if he uses an old method to resolve a management issue even if it could have been resolved efficiently without deviating from the objectives of the organisation. For example, in delivering information, the employee sends a letter via post instead of e-mail. Although it does not affect or clash with the organisation's objectives, the employee has wasted a part of the resources allocated to him.

Both efficiency and effectiveness cannot be excluded from the definition of management as these are essential elements in defining management.