Unit: 1 Management as Process

 Management as a Process

As a process, management refers to a series of inter-related functions. It is the process by which management creates, operates and directs purposive organization through systematic, coordinated and co-operated human efforts. According to George R. Terry, “Management is a distinct process consisting of planning, organizing, actuating and controlling, performed to determine and accomplish stated objective by the use of human beings and other resources”. As a process, management consists of three aspects:

1. Management is a social process - Since human factor is most important among the other factors, therefore management is concerned with developing relationship among people. It is the duty of management to make interaction between people - productive and useful for obtaining organizational goals.

2. Management is an integrating process - Management undertakes the job of bringing together human physical and financial resources so as to achieve organizational purpose. Therefore, is an important function to bring harmony between various factors.

3. Management is a continuous process - It is a never ending process. It is concerned with constantly identifying the problem and solving them by taking adequate steps. It is an on-going process.

Meaning of Management Processes 

Management processes are those processes which are performed by managers. We invariably come across managers who are involved in planning, organizing, directing, motivating, controlling and decision-making. These processes are also called organizational processes because they go beyond an individual manager and affect the entire organization. 

We are well aware that teachers cany out their work on a day-to-day basis in conditions of endless variety, disturbances and sometimes even unpredictability. Let us take the example of a teacher's typical functions which could be that she/he formulates a plan of action (for carrying out instructions) of a year, a month or a day, organizes a debate in a class, motivates learners by giving positive reinforcement on their efforts, decides on the audio-visual aids to be used while teaching a particular topic, directs students for assignments and projects, and measures and monitors performances of students and takes corrective action as and when required. 

If we examine the above list closely, we can easily conclude that the above functions involve, directly or indirectly, basic management processes i.e. planning, organizing, motivating, decisiop-making, directing and monitoring. These are the various management processes which are undertaken in school and in the absence of which no school can function effectively. Now let us study in detail these management processes and their importance in a school setting. 

Different Management Processes in the School 

1) Planning 

Importance of planning in schools has been generally recognized by all. Without planning there is very little scope for intelligent and directed activity. Planning is an essential component of any kind of meaningful activityto take place in a classroom or outside. As teachers, we need to understand that there has to be a systematic, organized and an articulated scheme ofworking. Although planning may not be a solution for all foreseeable and unforeseeable problems, it is an extremely useful exercise to be undertaken by all teachers. 

Planning can be thought of at the beginning of the week, or the day, to list things that they have to do and spend some time thinking about the actions to be taken, problems to be solved, decisions'to bkmade, and the relative priorities that should be attached to these activities. 

Some of the planning activities which teachers carry out are: 

i) planning on what to teach and how to teach the content 

ii) lesson planning 

iii) planning out co-curricular activities for the semester or annually, and 

iv) allocating the emphasis to be given to unit/topic/lesson, i.e. whether the topic has to be dealt with in detail or cursorily. 

Organization 

Organising refers to the formal groupiilg of people and activities to facilitate achievement of the institute objectives. Schools have to develop as an organization where work gets done effectively and efficiently. This means responsibilities have to be defined and relationships have to be developed. The essential element is people: what they do and how they work together. In the present times, fluidity and flexibility are becoming increasingly the norms for organization. Therefore, schools can no longer remain static institutions. In spite of the fact that a teacher is in a constant state of flux, he/ she has very little scope to organize or reorganize the school . But this may not always be true as there is usually some room for reallocating responsibilities in relation to changing circumstances. 

In determining a teacher's responsibility for organizing any activity in a school, the basic elements to be considered are to : 

i) define the purpose and objectives, 

ii) analyse and identify activities or tasks required to meet these objectives, 

iii) allocate .related activities to individuals, 

iv) group related activities logically, 

v) provide for management and co-ordination of activities at each level of responsibility, and 

vi) establish a reporting and communication channel. 

 In order to have further clarity on this approach to organization, we can take the example of a teacher who is incharge of organizing a cultural programme for the school annual day. 

The organization of the activity would involve: 

i) determining the nature and sequence of various activities, 

ii) defining the role of different teachers incharge of different items for the programme, 

iii) defining the role of students who are directly participating in any item, 

iv) dividing the school into primary, secondary and higher secondary levels and defining the responsibility of the supervisors at each level, 

v) deciding on the school staff required and help from community, office staff, principal, vice-principal, paf-ents, industry, etc., and 

vi) establishing a basis for co-ordinating and controlling operations through regular meetings and reporting systems.

Direction

Direction is an important function of management and other processes like planning, organizing etc., will not succeed if proper direction is not there. Direction involves getting the work done through instructions and orders. For getting the work done individuals have to be supervised, motivated and communicated with. The ultimate aim is to see that work is accomplished according to policies and programme and given instructions. To realise the goals of an organization, communication has to be in a language which is unambiguous and cieady understood. Adequate guidelines have to be provided to get the work completed in time. 

Teachers who are employed in schools with a view to achieving'objectives which will contribute to the attainment of the overall mission and goals of the organization. To do this they have to direct operations and therefore individuals (which includes pupils) towards meeting these requirements. Providing a sense of direction is a key managerial task to which we also have to add motivation to ensyre that people move towards the desired goals. Directing invoIves exercising leadership motivating people, determining accountability and developing guidelines for action. For example, if a group of students is going on a botanical study tour, the objectives will not be met unless the teacher gives proper direction which includes the above components.  

Controlling 

Controlling involves rneasuring and monitoring performance, comparing results with plans and taking corrective action when required. It indicates how far the goals have been achieved and to what extent there is deviation from the plans. The basis of control is. measurement. It depends on accurate information and feedback about what is happening compared with what should be happening. In other words, we can say that control deals with the difference between planned and actual performance. 

As a teacher you will be given total responsibility for all that happens within your command. You cannot delegate that responsibility; in fact you will have to try and monitor everything that goes on the classroom and outside. 

Monitoring performance of your pupils will be your main responsibility. In order to exercise effective control teachers need to: 

i) plan what they aim to achieve, 

ii) measure regularly what has been achieved, 

iii) compare actual achievements with the plan, 

iv) take collective measures to ensure that deviations do not take place, 

v) take actiop to improve performance. 

On an individual basis also, teachers need to monitor their own performance against objectives or standards that have been set for them. 

Decision making

Decision-making is an essential function of management. Decision-making is defined as the selection of one course of action from two or more alternative courses of action. Thus decisionmaking actually means choosing behveen alternatives. George Terry defines it "as the selection based on certain criteria to select one appropriate alternative out of two or more alternatives". The Webster dictionary defines it "as the opinion framed in ones own mind to take a particular course of action". Decision-making is actually a part of problem-solving. There would be no decision for teachers to make if there were no problems. 

On making a decision, the matter is closed. The decision also serves as a rule for the future. Deciding implies that we make a choice from several ofmany possibilities. It is the determining ofwhat is to be done ratherthan actual doing. It is the process of choice whichleads to action. A teacher makes a number of decisions in hisher different spheres of activity. For example, each time a teacher chooses a particular methodology to teach a specific content matter, he is taking a decision. The decision-making power for teachers has a special significance. In fact, as teachers it is impossible for us to imagine what would happen in the absence of decision-making. It would undoubtedly lead to chaos and confusion and duplication of efforts. Decision-making'controls the entire activity of an organization and lends clarity to different tasks to be carried out. 

Motivation

Motivation plays a major role if we want people to move in the right direction and do what they are expected to do. A teacher in a classroom can get any work completed to satisfaction if learners are adequately motivated. A teacher has not only to motivate students who have a low level of  interest but also has to nurture the interest of the already motivated learners. 

A teacher can achieve this by: 

i) adopting a positive attitude towards learners instead of a fault finding one, 

ii) giving positive reinforcement i.e. appreciation and encouragement, 

iii) making academic and non-academic activities in a classroom relevant, meaningful and joyful, 

iv) giving assignments and project work to students of different abilities and potentials so that they can work at their individual pace, 

v) involving students in discussion and in activities that call for collaboration, co-operation and communication among students, 

vi) responding to student queries and problems in an encouraging manner, and 

vii) making the teaching-learning process an experimental one, so that learners can identify with what is happening outside the classroom.

Reference:

1) https://managementstudyguide.com/management_process.htm

2) https://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/47002/1/Unit-9.pdf

3) https://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/13280/1/Unit-3.pdf