COURSE TITLE :

ELEMENT OF MANAGEMENT

COURSE CODE

BUS 111

EVOLUTION OF MANAGEMENT THEORY

1
INTRODUCTION

Management is as old as man. There are several theories and principles under

which the discipline operates. The principles guiding operations of managers have

evolved over time. The evolutionary or development of management is spread over

several periods. Therefore in this case, we shall be studying the evolutionary

process of management as a discipline.

Pre-Industrial Period

In the pre-industrial period, management was practiced by various parts of the

world including Africa. The well-known kingdom of Ghana, Mali and Songhai are

known to have had a wonderful administrative system. Ghana’s judicial system, for

example, was well organized and managed and had both a lower court and a court

of appeal. The army was very efficient and well disciplined that the King of Ghana

can put up 200,000 warriors in the field within a short notice. The importance

attached to commerce and craftsmanship was evidenced by the lucrative trade

between Ghana and other countries such as Spain, Morocco, and all North African

countries. The shops of the local craftsmen dotted the market places. Cloth

weavers, potters and shoemakers were abundant, and some employed more than

two scores of men and apprentices. What is said of Ghana can be said of Mali.

Taxes were very efficiently collected from businessmen and craftsmen, wood

2
carvers, silversmiths, goldsmiths, copper smiths, weavers, tanners and dyers. The

King’s affairs were so well organized and so efficiently and effectively run that it

was devoid of bureaucracy. The Kings planned, organized, and coordinated the

international trade that existed between their kingdoms / countries and foreign

countries. Another well documented, properly organized management system was

that of the Egyptians who carried out organized activities such as the construction

of pyramids, irrigation projects and the building of canals.

The Pharaohs and their viziers were the managers who planned, organized and

directed and controlled the work of the subordinates. Management of enterprises

was also practiced by the Babylonians, the Romans and the Greeks who were

engaged in commerce.

Industrial Revolution

This was the period of intellectual awakening when the scientific

and technological discoveries of Galileo, Watt, Gilbert and Harvey,

and other prominent geniuses gave rise to the industrial

revolution. One of the major advantages of the industrial

revolution is that it gave birth to accelerated rate of resources

accumulation and the growth of large scale enterprises. It brought

3
under one roof- hundreds of employees working together. This

created its own management problems for the entrepreneurs. It

made the division of labour, specialization and delegation of

responsibilities necessary as the owner-manager could no longer

supervise all his operations alone. The entrepreneur was forced

by competition to engage in crude performance of managerial

functions. He still regarded his employees as part of his “tools”.

Employees resented the factory conditions and the meager wages

while employers fought back with “blacklist”, dismissal and

threats. There were series of pools, mergers and trusts as a way

of adapting to the environment. With this, emerged different

concepts and principles on how to manage a business effectively.

These are conveniently divided here into four

groups as listed below.

(a) The scientific management movement;

(b) The human relations school;

(c) The administrative school, and

(d) The modern approaches to management

The Scientific Management Movement

4
The scientific management school placed special emphasis upon production. Their

main pre-occupation was what to do in order to increase employee productivity so

that the entrepreneur could realize enough revenue. Scientific management was

intended to bring about “a complete mental revolution”, which must occur in the

minds of the workmen and management.

Frederick Winston Taylor

Frederick W. Taylor is often referred to as the father of scientific management.

According to Taylor: Scientific management is not any efficient device, nor a

device of any kind for securing efficiency; it is not a new system of figuring cost; it

is not a new scheme of paying men, it is not a piece work system, it is not a bonus

system; it is not a premium system, it is not a scheme for paying men; it is not

holding a stopwatch on a man writing things down on him. According to Taylor,

the essence of scientific management is to:

(a) increase the output of the average employee, and

(b) improve the efficiency of management.

He opines that each worker is motivated by financial need and that his tendency for

restricting output is fear of replacement. To solve this, he advocates complete

education of employees to the fact that their need for more money and job security

can only be met by increased output at a low cost. He advocates placing workers

on a piece work in order to encourage them to earn more.

5
Taylor’s Principles of Management

Taylor’s principles of management can be summarized thus:

(a) The gathering, analysis and codification of all “rule of thumb” and data existing

in business;

(b) Careful selection of employees and development of employees to enable them

attain their optimum potential;

(c) Educating men on scientific method that has been tested and proved to be

effective;

(d) Management should reorganize these in order to carry out their duties properly

Thus, Taylor insists that management should not rely on tradition or intuition, but

rather should subject every job to a critical analysis, inventive experiments and a

thorough objective evaluation which he applied in the machine shop in order to

attain best results. Taylor was criticized for his lack of humanitarian concept.

Charles Babbage

One of the fore-runners of Frederick Taylor was Babbage who spent his life

working on the “Difference Engine”, a project considered to be a fore-runner of

6
our modern data processing equipment. His major contributions to the field of

management include the under listed.

(a) Division of labour and specialization- he stressed the need for dividing and

assigning labour on the basis of skill. He used pin production to illustrate the

benefits of division of labour pointing out the savings in time and the acquisition of

skill within a relatively short time as a person concentrates on only one operation.

(b) Automatic operation- he stressed the need for replacing manual operations by

automatic machinery

Frank Gilbreth

Gilbreth is known for his work on time and motion studies. His book Cheaper by

the Dozen, made him very popular. Gilbreth believed that there was one best way

which was believed to be the way that required the least motion. He identified

seventeen basic elements (listed below) in on-the-job motions which he called

“Therblings” (Gilbreth spelt backwards).

(1) Search

(2) Find

(3) Select

7
(4) Grasp

(5) Position

(6) Assemble

(7) Use

(8) Disassemble

(9) Inspect

(10) Transport loaded, moving hand or body with a load

(11) Pre-position

(12) Release load

(13) Transport empty

(14) Wait-unavoidable

(15) Wait-avoidable

(16) Rest-necessary for overcoming fatigue, and

(17) Plan

His other contribution was the development of a flow chart which highlighted the

need for breaking an operation into units and steps for different employees to

perform.

Henri Fayol’s Emphasis on Administration

The first principles of management were advocated by a French engineer and

geologist- Henri Fayol. He isolated a set of principles that have been taught to
8
other managers and students of management over the years. The fourteen (14)

principles of management cover all aspects of management – human relations,

scientific management as advocated by Babbage and Taylor. Fayol’s principles of

management are as listed below.

(1) Division of labour

(2) Authority

(3) Discipline

(4) Unity of command

(5) Unity of direction

(6) Subordination of the individual interest to the general interest

(7) Remuneration

(8) Centralisation

(9) Scalar chain (line authority)

(10) Order

(11) Equity

(12) Stability of tenure of personnel

(13) Initiative

(14) Esprit de corps.

In the development of management concept over the years, no nation appears to

have a monopoly. Charles Babbage and Frederick W. Taylor are from the United

9
States of America; Robert Owen is Scottish, while George Elton Mayo is from

Australia. They worked to find the best way of increasing the productivity of

workers and improving their economic, social and psychological well being.

Modern Approaches to Management

After a scholarly review of management concept over the years, Harold Koontz in

his article “The Management Theory Jungle” has classified the major “schools” of

management into six broad areas as shown below.

(1) The Management process

(2) Empirical school

(3) Human relations school

(4) Decision theory school

(5) Mathematical school

The Management Process School

This school of thought perceives management as a process of getting things done

(through people), operating in organised groups. The management process school

attempts to establish a conceptual framework, identify the principles and formulate

a theory of management based on it. This group believes in the universality of

management. He grouped Henri Fayol, and Frederick Taylor as belonging to the

same school. This school, he believes, looks to the function of managers.

10
Empirical School

This is Koontz’s second classification. In this section are those who studied

management through the analysis of the experience of successful managers. An

attempt was made by examining the successful operation to form generalization

concerning the nature of management and the ability to apply the best management

techniques. Ernest Dale, the great organizer typifies this group. The criticism for

this school is in the area of the danger of using the past to judge the present or

believing that what appeared to be right in the past may fit a situation in the present

or future. It could be argued that the empirical school is identical to the

management process school. Taylor and Fayol were men with many years of

practical experience on the job and what they postulated were based on their own

experiences. Dale’s comparative approach is based on structure- with less of

experience. Both aim at deriving concepts or principles to be used as a guide for

the practice of management.

Human Relations School

This group concentrates on the interpersonal relationship between management and

workers. This group places emphasis on the understanding of employees by

management. It stresses motivation, meeting workers needs and aspirations. The

school believes that effective use of human relationship will aid management in

realizing the organizational goals. The criticism for this school is that it tries to link

11
management too loosely to the field of psychology and sociology. The study of

group dynamics and interpersonal relationship is not limited to management.

4 Decision Theory School

This group believes in rational decision-making. They perceive management as

engaged in constant selection of courses of action from available alternatives. The

group engages in the analysis of decision from varying viewpoints – the economic

rationale of the decision, decision makers and psychological aspects of decisions

and decisionmaking. Most of the members of this school are economists and they

tailor their analysis to include utility maximization, indifference curve, marginal

curve and economic behaviour under uncertainty. They have broadened the area of

decision-making to include every aspect of the organization and all the factors that

influence the enterprise.

Mathematical School

There is a class relationship between the mathematical school and the decision

theory school. These people classify themselves as “management scientists”. They

attempt to quantify some areas of management such as planning, decision-making

and control in the form of mathematical symbols and models. In recent times, this

field is called operations research. With the advent of computers, this school has

12
gained recognition and has extended its activities to include simulation and game

theories requiring sophisticated algebraic symbols and equations. It can be seen

from the above that this field is approached by many experts in different ways. As

it has been pointed out, it is best to use the systems concept as a way of describing

the total organization rather than emphasizing a specific function as enunciated by

the various schools.

CONCLUSION

The discussion in this unit you have taken us through the evolutionary process of

management from the pre-industrial period through medieval, industrial revolution

to modern-day management. You have also been exposed to the approaches to

modern management and various schools of thought in management.

13
MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS AND BAHAVIOUR

Introduction

There is no human endeavour that does not require proper management to make

room for proper functioning. All types of organizations (whether profit making or

non-profit making), government establishments, business enterprises, hospitals,

cooperatives, churches, require good management to function effectively.

Management is one of the most important human activities that permeate all

organizations. Whenever people work together for the attainment of a

predetermined objective, there is a need for management that is charged with the

responsibility of ensuring that the aims and objectives of the organization are

realized. It is the manager's responsibility to ensure that every member of the group

contributes his/her best. To get people to put in their best, the manager has to

understand people, their emotional, physical and intellectual needs. He has to

appreciate that each member of the group has his own personal needs and

aspirations and that these are influenced by such factors as ethnic, social, political,

economic and the technological environment which he is part of. Not all people

14
can manage effectively or aspire to management position. Whenever people work

together, there is generally a need for the coordination of efforts in order to attain

expected results in reasonable time, and with minimum amount of money,

discomfort or energy. All people who oversee the function of other people who

must work in subordinate position are managers. Managers are people who are

primarily responsible for the achievement of organizational goals.

Any organization that fails to realize its objective often blames it on management.

In those enterprises that the stock-holders feel that they do not attain their

objectives, there is a tendency to blame it. on those responsible for piloting the

affairs of the organization management. Thus management is often accused of lack

of initiative; ineptitude, misconduct or are said to be unqualified and are called

upon to resign.

The manager is the individual to provide the dynamic force or direction. He is the

person in charge or expected to attain results. The manager does not spend all his

time managing. He is like a football coach. He does not play the game but directs

the players on how to play. Like a vice-chancellor of a university, he does not have

to teach in the classroom but must plan admission, develop committees, represent

the university, have budgets and reports prepared and ensure that students are

properly housed. A manager that fails to achieve the objectives as expected, is

either dismissed or asked to resign. In large organizations, such as the civil service
15
or Government Corporation, there are often many instances of dismissals,

transfers, demotions and promotions. A manager is expected to possess special

talents or abilities, quite different from non-managers. In all countries,

management has emerged as a leading group in our economic society. They are a

class by themselves, distinct from ownership and labour. According to Peter

Drucker, "rarely, if ever, has a. new basic institution; or new lending group, a new

central function, emerged as fast as has management since the turn of the century.

Meaning of Management

Different meanings have been attributed to the word "management". Some people

see it as referring to a group of people. They think of a management team or a

group of individuals in an organization. Management is also seen as a process

demanding the performance of a specific function. Here management is a

profession. To a student, management is an academic discipline. In this instance,

people study the art of managing or management science. According to the

American Institute of Management: It is used to designate either a group of

functions or the personnel who carry them out; to describe either an organization’s

official hierarchy or the activities of men who compose it: to provide antonym to

either labour or ownership.

16
Management is defined as "getting things done through others". It can be more

scientifically defined as the co-ordination of all the resources of an organization

through the process of planning, organizing, directing, and controlling in order to

attain organizational objectives. Management is the guidance or direction of people

towards organizational goals or objectives. It can also be seen as the supervising,

controlling and coordinating of activity to attain optimum results with

organizational resources.

Management as Art

According to C.C. Nwachukwu (1992:4):Art is the imposition of a pattern, a vision

of a whole, on many disparate parts so as to create a representation of that vision;

art is an imposition of order on chaos. The artist has to have not only the vision

that he or she wants to communicate, but also skills or craft with which to present

the vision. This process entails choosing the correct art form, the correct

techniques. In good art, the result is a blending of vision and craft that involves the

viewer, reader, or listener without requiring that he separates the parts, in order to

appreciate the whole.

Art requires technical skill, and conceptual ability. An artist must possess the

know-how in order to create a desired object. To be a successful or creative artist,

one has to understand the fundamental principles governing it. In the same manner,

to be a successful manager, or top flight executive, one has to master the art of

17
managing. When one sees management as an art, one thinks of creative ability and

special aptitude to design or effect a desired result. There are special areas of

management that are not subject to the rigours of science. The manager, as a result,

has to depend on past experience and judgement instead of depending on any

testable technical knowledge as is the case in engineering, physics or survey. In

special areas as human behaviour, instances abound where the manager will rely

on experience collected over the years through practical experience. The

application of this knowledge to individual situation is seen as an art- for the

acquisition is not subject to the rigours of science.

Management as Science

Frederick W. Taylor is known as the father of scientific management. This title he

earned by his pioneering efforts in taking exception to the traditional approach to

management that tends to depend on intuition; past experiences or hunches.

Scientific management uses the methods of science in making decisions and

evaluating its consequences. Science attempts through systematic procedure to

establish the relationships between variables and the underlying principles.

Management is science, when it employs systematic procedure or scientific

methods to obtain complete information about a problem under consideration; and

the solution is subjected to rigorous control procedures to ensure the correctness

and establish validity.

18
It must be observed that the two are not mutually exclusive, but complementary. A

good manager must know the concepts and principles of management

(management science) and also how to apply them in unique situations. A

successful manager blends experience with science in order to achieve a desired

result. One decision could involve both science and art in order to attain total result

desired. The ability to use both judiciously makes for a successful manager.

Principles of Management

Principles are best seen as fundamental or general truth on which other truths

depend. This implies a dependent and independent relationship. It could be

descriptive, prescriptive or normative. Thus, a principle describes a relationship or

what should be done if something else happens. It is often difficult to formulate

principles in management because of the difficulty in conducting controlled

experiments. One of the most important variables – people, is not easy to control.

Most of the principles of management in use today were developed by observation

and deduction. This is because management principles are subject to change and

interpretation than are the laws in the physical sciences. One of the principles of

management- unity of command, states that each subordinate should be

accountable to one, and only one superior. Sometimes this principle is violated,

especially, when an organization has established, well-defined superior –

19
subordinate relationships. There is a need for principles of management. It helps to

increase efficiency since the manager uses established guidelines to help solve his

everyday problems.

Principles of management help in subordinate development. Without these

principles, development will depend on trial and error. A course in management

development stresses the time tested principles formulated over the years by

experience and experimentation. Fayol, after more than 40 years of practical

business experience, drew up his principles of management. The same is true of

Taylor, Chester Barnard and Alvin Brown. Without principles, the understanding

and development of management will be an arduous task. One of the most

important impacts of principles is that it has helped to promote research in

management. Management is not 'an exact science; it deals with people whose

behaviour is unpredictable and complex. Research is often difficult without some

established principles. Most researches in management deal with tested facts to

establish validity and reliability.

Concept and Theory of Management

Concepts are abstractions formed from generalizations .Concepts are the corner

stone for the development of principles and theory. In reality, a concept is a

commonly agreed upon definition of an object, event or process. The importance

of concept can be illustrated by the fact that unless a concept is very clear to those

20
who must use them, knowledge cannot be effectively transferred to another person.

The same word must mean the same thing to all people. The words "management"

and "organization" are typical examples. They do not appear to imply the same

phenomena among various persons. A scholarly grouping of concepts and

principles creates a theory.

A theory presents a framework of principles and concepts for the clarification of a

theory. A theory presents in a formal manner interrelated principles. Thus, the

theory of management is the synthesis of the concepts and principles of

management. We have, as a result of this systematic synthesis, many theories –

organization theory, theories of leadership, theories X and Y, Graicunas theory and

the like. Management theory attempts to present in a concerted manner loose facts

about human behaviour in organization.

Management as a System

The system approach to management encourages management to perceive the

internal and external environmental factors as an integrated whole. As a result of

this system’s concept, the manager views the physical, human, environmental and

psychological facets of the job as linking to form an integrated whole. An example

of a system is the motor car. The parts are assembled in a manner to produce a

unified whole. Every system is made up of subsystems. For the system to function

21
effectively, the subsystems must function effectively. In a general sense, the

human being is a complex system made up of subsystems such as the circulatory

system, the auditory system and so on. These sub-systems are inter-dependent.

When any of them fails to function effectively, the entire system experiences a

severe setback.

The system’s concept is often used in business to highlight the interrelationship

between the functional areas of management. These functional areas such as

production, marketing, finance, procurement and personnel could be seen as the

subsystems. These functions must be properly coordinated for the enterprise to

attain its desired objectives.

The function of the manager has to do with managing the system. He is to create

and define the objective of each sub-system and integrate the subsystems. The

success of a manager goes beyond the "effective" management of any of the

functional areas – (finance, marketing, or production). He must not only strive to

achieve the objectives of each of the functional areas, but also attain integrated

balanced company objectives. Failure to recognise this fact can make each system

pull in the opposite direction and a common objective may not be attained.

The interrelationship in a system can be demonstrated by a simple illustration. For

the sales department to meet delivery dates promised to customers, it has to rely on

the production target, the purchases department must order enough raw materials.

22
For the purchases department to order enough raw materials, the accounts

department must make enough money available- in time for the order to be placed

and received on schedule.

The success of any system depends on the relationship between the system and its

sub-systems. In a business organization, factors such as goal clarity authority

relationships and the structuring of the subsystems could affect the performance of

the entire system. The systems approach to management recognizes that

management system is a complex formal system organized to functional

effectively and efficiently to achieve a desired goal. Where the system does not

function as expected as a result of poor communication, personality clashes, poor

or lack of goal congruency, the entire organization suffers.

Universality of Management

Management function is identical in all formal organizations- whether it is a profit-

making organization or a non-profit-making organization.

All people who occupy management positions perform the same type of functions.

They plan, organize, staff, direct and control. They get things done through and

with subordinates. Their principal responsibility is to achieve organizational

objectives through group efforts. The concept of the universality of management

implies that all managers, irrespective of their position in the organizational

hierarchy, perform (at one time or the other) identical functions. The concept also

23
connotes that management know-how is transferable from one organization to

another. Managers seldom perform the actual activities themselves. Their functions

are managerial, not technical. What managers do in organisations are the same –

1. Managers make decisions.

2. Managers focus on objectives.

3. Managers plan and set policies.

4. They organize.

5. They communicate with subordinates, colleagues and superiors.

6. They direct and supervise by securing actual performance from subordinates.

7. They control organizational activities.

It is as a result of all these multiple functions that management has grown into a

big profession. The professional manager, who occupies an important position in

the organization, thinks about the corporation and its health and growth. The chief

executive is, for example, a professional manager who owes no allegiance to a

function or specialty, for his function is to guide and direct the company as an

integrated unit not in managing its separate parts.

Organizational Goals/Objectives

All organizations are purposive. They are established to accomplish an objective.

Individuals in an organization work in order to help accomplish these objectives.

When the goals of the individual and the goals of the organizations are the same,

we have goal congruency. An organization’s goal can be implicit and require

explicit formulation before they can be realized. Goals can be differentiated

between official and operative goals. Official goals are mainly for “public

consumption”, while operative goals are those that are, in fact, pursued by the

organization and this influences its operation. It could be the official goal of the

Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to protect the environment while the

company dumps pollutants into rivers, streams and lakes. Here the official goal

reflects societal expectations from it. In some instances, the official goal and

operative goals could be the same and only differ by the degree of specificity

Characteristics of Good Goals

Certain basic characteristics distinguish good goals from "wishes". Good goals

must possess the following qualities.

(a) They must be specific and clearly stated.

(b) Their achievement must be measurable or verifiable.

(c) They must be realistic.

(d) They must specify period of achievement.

(e) They must include intermediate targets or goals that will facilitate

the attainment of the major objectives.

25
(f) Objective must be modern and up to date.

(g) They must be ranked according to relative importance.

Thus a good objective is measurable, specific, verifiable and attainable.

Advantages of Organizational Objectives

The importance of organizational objective in a developing country can hardly be

overemphasized. As pointed out earlier, management personnel in developing

countries are young, inexperienced and often have a shallow concept of

organizational principle. It is not unusual for the owner not to have clearly stated

objectives except "to maximize profit". In public corporations, for example, their

objectives are generalat best. Often one hears such phrases as "make profit", "be

self supporting" etc., and these objectives move from profit making to social

welfare redistribution. In civil service, the situation is worst. There are no targets,

no deadlines or definite expectations from management. It is

important to highlight the need for goals.

(i) Organizational goals help the organization to orient itself to its

environment. A typical environment presents management with risks and

opportunities. A good goal makes the organization while helping to exploit the

opportunities to minimize the impact of risks.

(ii) Good organizational goals help in policy formulation and administration.

All policy issues such as marketing policy, production and purchasing policy,

26
personnel policy and financial policy are influenced by company objectives. If a

pharmaceutical company wishes to be a leader in rheumatic, muscular and

neuralgic pain tablets and research, the personnel policies and practices must

provide for the recruitment of quality scientists for its research work. As well,

production policies must be highly imaginative and flexible to adapt to the

attainment of the objectives; and the financial policy must allow for adequate funds

for creative research and liberal remuneration to attract seasoned researchers and

salesmen.

(iii) Clearly stated objectives help all sub-systems to pull in the

same direction, thus making for easy co-ordination of activities. Sales

department and production department will complement each other.

Production will insist on quality products to reduce rejects and returns;

and, the sales department will not promise unrealistic delivery dates,

or insist on allowing discounts on high quality items. Advertising will

stress quality and service- and not price.

(iv) Clear objectives make for consistency and unity of purpose and

direction. It prevents management from stressing short-run gains at

the expense of long-run company objectives. Objectives serve as

motivators and provide a definite direction.

Common Organizational Goals

27
There was a time that economists believed that 'the sole purpose of any business is

to maximize profit". This concept is still shared by many people in developing

countries. These organizations stress short-run objectives. In their recruitment

policy, they will hire poorly qualified employees who use their companies as a

training ground to gain experience; they insist on high mark-up, and low-rent

stores. In the longrun, they lose business to bigger organizations that insist on well

trained, experienced employees with its attendant low cost as a result of reduction

in the number of rejects and returns, customer loyalty, and the advantages that

accrue from high turnover of products.

The major organizational goals include the following.

(a) Profitability

(b) Survival

(c) Growth

(d) Market-share

(e) Productivity

(f) Innovation

(g) Employee welfare

(h) Service to customers

(i) Social responsibility

28
It must be emphasized that objectives must be set for every department, for each

supervisor and for every employee. “It is important that every human being has

one or more goals towards which he is striving. It is supreme in his thoughts and

serves as the pinnacle of this hopes and ambition".

Personal and Organizational Objectives

As pointed out, all individuals have personal objectives which they plan to achieve

through the organization. People act in a manner that will help them to attain

desired objectives. A. typical employee’s goals can be divided into two main

groups. There are certain objectives that he/she aims at achieving in the short-run

and those that he looks forward to achieving sometimes in the future. Some of

these objectives can include money, excitement, security, happy life, leadership

position, recognition in the society and many other broad objectives. Sometimes no

clear-cut distinction is made as to the best way to attain them and no real priority is

placed on them. Somehow, in his head, even if not properly articulated, there is

some form of hierarchy of objectives. As a rational being, he will behave in a way

that will lead to the attainment of valued goals.

Instrument through which he can attain his own goals, and trying to determine

whether his objectives are consistent with the goals of the organization and others

in the organization. Where these differ remarkably, there is a conflict. The degree

29
of this disparity in objectives determines the intensity of the conflict. If the

individual discovers that the objectives are diametrically opposed, he may elect to

withdraw his services if he has an alternative opportunity. If he has none, he may

decide to reorient his objectives to arrive at a reasonable compromise between his

objectives and organizational goals. Every person has zones of indifference. This

zone is said to be narrow if a person is relatively intolerant of disagreements

between his goals and those of the organization, if the person remains loyal-

irrespective of disagreements. Individual objectives should be incorporated in

organizational objectives, and sincere efforts should be made in order to realize

both. An individual who finds his objectives in serious conflict with organizational

objectives should withdraw his services from the organization. Organizations and

individuals function better when there is goal congruency. Each then works

toward the realization of the common objective for his survival depends on it.

30
From the above chart, one has to conclude that every department in the

organization should have well spelt out goals. This should layout the contribution

expected from each department. It should also spell out what contributions each

unit expects from other departments towards the achievement of its goals.

As C.C. Nwachukwu (1992:13) summarizes it: To obtain balanced efforts the

objectives of all managers on all levels and in all areas should also be keyed to

both short-range and long-range considerations. And, of course all objectives

should always contain both the tangible busi-ness objectives and the intangible

objectives for manager, organization and development, worker performance and

attitude, and public responsibility. Anything else is short sighted and impracticable.

Well articulated organizational objective eliminates management by "crisis" and

"drives". Many executives in Nigeria-about 62%, claim that there are no well

written .organizational objectives either for the entire organization or for the

departments or units. The civil service is characterized by management, by drive or

crisis. Whenever a project is envisioned, employees are driven to accomplish the

objective only to relax thereafter. Management by drive is an admission of lack of

planning and betrays incompetency. Organizations must make it possible for each

unit to measure its performances quantitatively or qualitatively. This acts as a

31
feedback for the manager who periodically evaluates his own performance as a

selfimposed appraisal.

Nigerian Civil Service

One of the major problems-as identified earlier, confronting the Nigerian civil

service is lack of clear objectives. The objectives of the civil service are intangible

so are their results. The aim of the civil service is "to serve the people". This

sounds ambiguous and cannot easily be subjected to any quantitative or qualitative

evaluation. To determine when a civil service has become result oriented entails

having specific, limited, clearly defined targets to be accomplished within a given

time. As Drucker puts it, "only if targets are defined can resources be allocated to

their attainment and deadlines set, and somebody can be held accountable for

results".

The Nigerian civil service does not have definite expectation from employees

because goals are, at best, hazy even to the level of key management personnel

who end up becoming "administrators” instead of managers. Lack of clear-cut

objectives and goals is, in part, responsible for the constant personality clashes,

excessive red-tapism and bureaucracy. Many key executives, "push files" and lack

initiative and ingenuity

Objectives of Nigerian Businessmen

32
One of the critici FMS often voiced against Nigerian indigenous businessmen is

their lack of clearly stated objectives and the fact that they adopt a very narrow

concept of their function and often stress the wrong objectives in their enterprises .

Below is given the business objectives of some Nigerian indigenous businessmen

Objectives of Nigerian Businessmen

Factors 1 st Choice n = 108 n%

To make money or profit - 47

To grow larger -6

To be very successful in business - 10

To provide a good product -5

To contribute to community development - 10

To provide jobs for relations and friends -9

To be independent -5

To leave something for my children -4

Others -4

100

33
The table above shows that in this study, 47% of the respondents gave the making

of money or profit as their first choice, whereas those with the desire to grow

larger and be successful in business constitute 6% and 10% respectively. The

selection of good objective is an aid to the successful operation of an enterprise.

Multiple Objectives

From the foregoing analysis, it can be inferred that each organisation has multiple

objectives. There should be no conflict in the various objectives. These objectives

should form a logical network for the optimal attainment of organisational goals.

One objective should be instrumental to the realization of another objective.

The higher the company’s share of the market- other things being equal, the

higher the overall profit. The more qualified and aggressive the sales force, the

higher the volume of sales per salesman. Below is a summary of the importance

attached to each goal by company directors.

Business and Ethics

The discussion on business and ethics is more important in Nigeria than in many

other countries because of many instances of unethical business practices in the

34
country. It is widely discussed in the media that there is corruption in all aspects of

Nigerian life. You have to bribe a cashier to get paid; you have to offer money to a

clerk to make sure that your file does not disappear; you have to bribe a doctor in a

public hospital to receive treatment and you cannot renew your driving license

unless you offer a gift to the officer in charge. In government circles, the demand

for l0% kickback of the contract sum is the accepted norm. Businessmen are not

left out in the corrupt practices. Executives are known to have made some

decisions in order to benefit themselves rather than to optimise public service. An

executive in any decision to purchase equipment is expected to take such factors

such as availability of parts, cost, quality, delivery time and operating cost into

serious consideration before a decision to purchase is reached. Some executives

ignore these important facts in order to receive “kickbacks” of 10 – 20% of the cost

of the equipment.

Conflict of Interest

Conflict of interest arises when an executive deals with a company in which it has

vested interest. An executive who is a majority shareholder in a company that is

their major supplier of raw material is "likely to' have a conflict of interest. The

same fact is true when a manager is the owner of a company that has contracts to

construct roads, buildings, or difficult to enforce quality or engage in worthwhile

bargaining. He will, most likely, divulge classified information to his company on

35
the lowest and highest bids already received. In order to avoid a conflict of interest,

some companies have rules that state that:

No member of management of the company is allowed to accept any gift or

gratuities from third persons which might conceivably tend to induce him to

violate his duties to the company or to have any appreciable interest in any

business enterprise which is a supplier or has business relationships with the

company. The punishment for the violation of such rules is dismissal.

Unethical Business Practices in Nigeria

The most common unethical business practices in Nigeria are presented

Below

1. Outright bribery

2. Unfair practices in pricing

3. Price discrimination

4. Dishonest advertising

5. Price collusion by competitors

6. Unfair and prejudice in recruitment

7. Cheating of customers

8. Dishonest advertising

36
9. Unfair credit practices

10. Overselling

11. Collusion by competitors

12. Dishonesty in making and keeping to contracts.

Factors that Determine Ethical Conduct – Socially

Accepted Ethics

An organization is an integral part of the society and is influenced by social,

political, economic and technological factors prevailing in a society. The ethical

conduct of an organization is in part determined by the moral ethics prevailing in

the society as a whole. If the society condones general laxity that will influence the

organization, the society sets the ethical climate.

Ethical Climate in the Industry

The ethical climate in an industry influences the behaviour of a company. As 10-

20% commission appears to be the accepted sum- as kickback, for the award of

contract in Nigeria, every company competing for a contract has to build in such a

commission in its quotation if it wants to win the contract. The general feeling

shared by many company executives is "if you can't beat them, join them". Thus,

garri sellers, and rice sellers have the "magic cup" to sell their commodities to a

customer unless the customer is vigilant. The general attitude seems to be caveat

emptor (let the buyer beware.)

37
A Man’s Personal Code of Behaviour

There are many honest and sincere people in organisations who will eschew riches

if the only way to be rich is through unethical practices. They are guided by their

personal conviction and conscience. If they are company executives, they set the

tone and get others to follow. In general, the ethical standard of an organisation is

dependent upon the ethical standard of each member of the group.

The Behaviour of Management

The ethical standards of a company are determined by the ethical standards of the

executive. They set the ethical behavioural patterns to be emulated by the

subordinates. If they resent and firmly condemn unethical practices in the

company, the subordinates will toe the line. The subordinates' ethical behaviour is

reinforced and influenced by the behavior of management. The two factors,

individual personal code of conduct and the organization’s ethical values

determine the organization’s code of conduct- for each reinforces the other. In a

company where management is made up of men of integrity, ethical standards are

likely to prevail. If management gets out good company policies governing the

relationship with their customers, competitors and the general public, ethical

38
behaviour will prevail. Baumhart aptly summarises the factors determining ethical

conduct and unethical conduct as follows.

(a) Factors determining ethical decision

1. A man's personal code of behaviour

2. Behaviour of a man's superior in the company

3. Formal company policy

4. Ethical climate of the industry

5. Behaviour of a man's equals in the company

(b) Factors determining unethical decisions

1. The behaviour of a man's superior in a company

2. Ethical climate of the industry

3. Behaviour of colleagues in the company

4. Lack of company policy

5. Personal financial needs.

CONCLUSION

In this unit, you have learnt about management functions and behaviour, definition

of management and reasons for management

39
 REVIEW QUESTION

1) What is the major contribution of scientific management?

2) Write short note on the following and show their relationship

a) Division of labour b) specialization

3) Explain the factors that determine ethical conduct and unethical conduct

4) Explain The most common unethical business practices in Nigeria,

5) Compare the major objective of Nigeria businessman and the major

6) Explain the Stages in Decision-Making process

7) What are the Benefits and Limitations of Committees in the decision making in
an organization?

8) Explain the Steps in Creative Thinking

40
9) Discuss in fully the limitation in creative thinking

41