The Industrial Revolution
began in the eighteenth century and transformed the job of manager from
owner-manager to professional, salaried manager. Prior to industrialization, the
United States was predominantly an agricultural society. The production of
manufactured goods was still in the handicraft stage and consisted of household
manufacturing, small shops, and local mills. The inventions, machines, and
processes of the Industrial Revolution transformed business and management (such
as, the use of fossil fuels as sources of energy, the railroad, the improvement
of steel and aluminum metallurgical processes, the development of electricity,
and the discovery of the internal-combustion engine.) With the industrial
innovations in factory-produced goods, transportation, and distribution, big
business came into being. New ideas and techniques were required for managing
these large-scale corporate enterprises.
Two large-scale
institutions, the church and the military, served as examples of control for
these new managers. Many of the management terms and techniques used today have
their basis in ecclesiastical and military authority (for example, superior,
subordinate, strategy, and mission). Military commanders need only give orders,
and then discharge, penalize, and demote those who do not carry them out and
reward those who do.
Today, business and
management continue to be transformed by high technology. In order to keep pace
with the increased speed and complexity of business, new means of calculating,
sorting and processing information were invented. An interesting description of
the modern era is the Information Age that describes the general use of
technology to transmit information.
Managers realized that
they could profit from immediate knowledge of relevant information. The
telegraph was the first instrument to transform information into electrical form
over long distances. The telephone, radio, television, and computer expanded
instant information. Computers store and handle a vast amount of data, automate
manufacturing, and enhance modern communication systems. The mainframe in the
1970s, the PC in the 1980s and the office network in the first part of the 1990s
were the platforms that drove massive product development and growth for the
technology industry.
Communication and
processing technologies are an essential tool in almost every field of business.
The Internet, with its interconnection of millions of computers, has evolved to
potentially become one of the greatest resources available to businesses today.
The World Wide Web (www) offers access to vast information resources and an
immense number of sites on the Internet. Managers can access, store and move
digital information (voice, sound, text and numbers). Private corporate
intranets provide a universal interface for sharing company-wide information and
work group level information. Employees can access information, collaborate, and
distribute results anywhere, anytime.
The computer and
telecommunications industries continue to converge and have resulted in advances
in two-way pagers, digital cellular service, desktop video-conferencing,
portable satellite phones, mini-dishes and high-speed Internet access. Business
documents include graphics and text on computers around the world, sound, video
and simultaneous voice communications. Thus, the Information Age implies a time
for a revolution in the information environment for business and management. The
changes that are taking place may be more significant to management than the
Industrial Revolution.
Organizations are two or
more people working together in a structured, formal environment to achieve
common goals. Managers provide guidance, implementation, and coordination so
those organizational goals can be reached. The modern manager coaches employees
of the organization to develop teamwork, which effectively fulfills their needs
and achieves organizational objectives. The traditional autocratic organization
with its hierarchical system of management and an overbearing "boss" that forces
performance out of people is no longer needed. The modern manager provides an
atmosphere of empowerment by letting workers make decisions and inspiring people
to boost productivity.
Gemmy Allen
Sacramento
Management Skills - Working
Together With Common Goals
Management Skills Quote
"The only question to ask yourself is, how much are you
willing to sacrifice to achieve this success?"
Larry Flynt
Suggested Reading:
Performance
Management: Concepts, Skills, and Exercises
by Robert L. Cardy
Alpha Teach
Yourself Management Skills in 24 Hours
by Patricia Buhler
Training in
Management Skills
by Phillip L. Hunsaker
Research
Skills for Management Studies
by Alan Berkeley Thomas
The Effective
Branch Manager: Ways to Develop Management Skills
by Albert J. Brown
Market and
Sales Forecasting (Advanced Management Skills)
by Gordon J. Bolt
Life
Management Skills: A Working Text
by Sheila Allen. Leblanc
Management
Fundamentals: Concepts, Applications, Skill Development
by Robert N. Lussier
Life
Management Skills: Taking Charge of Your Future
by Joann Driggers
Fifty
Activities for Developing Management Skills
by Lelie Rae
