5 Top management —
planning and strategy
2 What should he do now?
3 What advice would you give him about how to run the company in
the future?
4 What problems can arise when someone starts up a hightechnology enterprise?
The top management of a company have certain unique
DISCUSSION
52
Read the following case study and then answer the questions below
Richard Thomas, a brilliant electronics engineer, left the company he
had worked with for ten years in order to set up his own business. He
felt there was a gap in the market for low-priced computer
components.
Richard's bank manager was impressed by his experience and by the
business plan he presented. An overdraft facility of £25,000 was
quickly arranged. This, together with Richard's savings of £15.000.
provided the start-up capital for the firm, Computex.
He began by hiring another person to help him develop the
components. The two of them spent the next six months producing the
type of products they felt the market needed. When they had built up
a good supply of components, they set about trying to sell them. To
Richard's surprise, however, this proved very difficult. Many potential
customers seemed to be suspicious of the low prices of the products.
Why were they so much cheaper than those of more famous, wellestablished competitors, they wanted to know. Other customers clearly
saw Richard's company as a newcomer not to be trusted - a cowboy
outfit who would be here today and gone tomorrow.
It was over a year before Richard got his first order. By that time, he
had an overdraft of £40.000 and no more money to make further
supplies of components. He was spending all his time advertising the
products, running round to meet customers and trying to persuade
them to buy.
Three months later, a few large orders were received, but Richard
realised that he would have to wait two months or so before being
paid.
At that point, the bank manager lost confidence in the business. He
informed Richard that he was calling in the overdraft. Give me some
time to look around for more capital, Richard said. 'All right. I'll give
you a month, but no more,' was the bank manager's reply
After rushing around and talking to a lot of people, Richard received
firm offers from two venture capital companies. The first was prepared
to invest £200.000 in return for an 80% share of Richard's business: the
second was willing to put up £250,000 for a 90% share.
This was the situation facing Richard Thomas fifteen months after hehad set up his high-technology enterprise.
1 Could Richard have avoided the situation he now finds himself in. If
so, how?
I
responsibilities. One of their key tasks is to make major
decisions affecting the future of the organisation. These
strategic decisions determine where the company is going and
how it will get there. For example, top managers must decide
which markets to enter and which to pull out of; how expansion
is to be financed; whether new products will be developed
within the organisation or aquired by buying other companies.
These and other such decisions shape a company's future.
10 Before doing any kind of strategic planning, the management must
be sure of one thing. They must decide what is the mission and
purpose of their business. They also need to ' decide what it should
be in the future. In other words, they must know why the business
exists and what its main purpose is. Deciding the mission and
purpose is the foundation of any planning exercise.
Two examples will make this point clear - one British, the
other American. Most people have heard of Marks and
Spencer, one of the biggest and most successful retailers in the
20 world. Michael Marks opened his first penny ba2aar in 1884, in
Leeds, England. Ten years later there were nine market
stores, and Marks had taken into partnership Tom Spencer, the
cashier of one of his suppliers. In 1926 Marks and Spencer
53
54
became a public company. At that point, they could have rested on their
laurels! However, before deciding strategies, the planners have to look at the
company’s present performance, and at any external factors, which might
affect its future. To do this, it carries out an analysis, sometimes called a
SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats). First, the
organization examines its current performance, assessing its strengths and
weaknesses. It looks as performance indicators and market share, sales
revenue, outputs and productivity. It also examines its resources – financial,
human, products and facilities. For example a department store chain may
have stores in good locations – a strength – but sales revenue per employee
may be low – a weakness. Next, the company looks at external factors from
the point of view of opportunities and threats. It’s trying to assess
technological, social, economic and political trends in the markets, where it is
competing. It also examines the activity of the competitors. The department
store chain, for example, may see an opportunity to increase profits by
providing financial services to customers. On the other hand, increasing
competition may be a threat to its very existence.
Having completed the SWAT analysis, the company and now revaluates its
objectives and perhaps work out new ones. They will ask themselves
questions such as: Are we producing the right products? What growth rate
should we aim at in the next 5 years? Which new markets should we break
into?
The remaining task is to develop appropriate strategies to achieve the
objectives. The organization decides, what actions it will take and how it will
provide the resources to support those actions. One strategy may be to build a
new factory to increase production capacity. To finance this, the company
may develop another strategy, the issuing of a new shares to the public.
Company planning and strategic decision-making a key activities of top
management. Once they have been carried out objectives and targets can be
set at lower levels of the organization.
Understanding the main points
1 Number the following ideas 1-8, depending on the order in
which they appear in the text.
a The American Telephone and Telegraph Company
decided that its principal objective was to provide
customers with an efficient service. b The first step in
planning the (long-term) future of a
company is to decide on its overall objective, c After
analysing its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities
and threats, an organisation may re-consider its
objectives. d The purpose of a corporate plan is to state how
management intends to achieve the objectives. e The
second planning stage is to establish more specific
(medium-term) objectives. f Finally, management needs to
decide what actions it
should take in order to achieve its objectives. g It is
necessary for management to analyse the company's
current performance as well as external factors affecting
its future before they can draw up a corporate plan. h Marks
and Spencer's aim to provide excellent value
for money has led to their becoming one of the world's
most successful retailers.
2 Consider Computex, the high-technology company mentioned in the
discussion on page 52. Note down some of its strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats.
STRENGTHS
WEAKNESSES
OPPORTUNITIES
THREATS
1 ...............
1 ...............
1 ...............
1 ...............
2 ...............
2 ...............
2 ...............
2.
3 ...............
3 ..............
3 .......... ...
3 ...............
4 ...............
4 ...............
4 ...............
4 ..............
.............. .
55
8 Motivation
DISCUSSION
READING
Answer the following questions, then, in groups of two or three,
compare your answers.
1 What sort of things motivate people to do their job well?
List all the things you can think of.
2 If you won a great deal of money, for example in a lottery, would
you continue working? If not, do you think you would lose anything
by giving up work?
The work of managers is to ensure that staff work efficiently in
an organisation. To achieve this, it is clear that managers must
know what motivates people. By understanding the factors
influencing motivation, they can create the conditions in which
employees will perform to their maximum.potential,
•One of the best known theories of motivation was put forward
by an American psychologist, Abraham Maslow, in a book
entitled Motivation and Personality (1954). In his theory, he
presents a hierarchy of needs. He identified certain basic human
10 needs and classified them in an ascending order of
importance. Basic needs were at the bottom of the hierarchy,
higher needs at the top. His classification is shown below:
Physiological needs
These were things required to sustain life, like food, water, air,
sleep etc. Until these needs are satisfied. Maslow believed.
other needs will not motivate people.
Security needs
They are the needs to be free from danger, physical pain and
loss of a job. They include the need for clothing and shelter.
20 Social needs
A human being needs to belong to a group, to be liked and
loved, to feel accepted by others and to develop affiliations.
Esteem needs
After people have satisfied their social needs, they want to
have self-respect and to be esteemed by others. They have a
need for power, status, respect and self-confidence.
Self-actualisation needs
These are the highest needs, according to Maslow. They are
the desire to develop, to maximise potential and to achieve;
one's goals.
Maslow said that people satisfied their needs in a systematic
way. When a need had been met, it stopped being a
motivating factor. For example, if a person was starving, he
would not be too concerned about security and social needs.
But once he had enough food, he would start thinking about
% those other needs.
Research into Maslow's theory has not been very conclusive,
Studies have tended to show that needs vary greatly among
individuals. At the higher levels in a company, self-actualising
40 needs may be very strong whereas at lower levels, social and
security needs may be dominant.
Another theory of motivation, which has been very popular
with managers, is Frederick Herzberg's 'two-factor' theory.
Herzberg conducted a number of studies in the region of
Pittsburg, USA; in the late 1950s.'He concluded that at work
there are certain factors which cause job satisfaction while
others lead to dissatisfaction.
The group of factors bringing about satisfaction were called
'motivators'. They include things like a challenging job. 80 responsibility,
advancement, recognition etc. These factors give rise to positive
satisfaction. Herzberg called the other group of factors 'hygiene' or
'maintenance' factors. These '; include company policy and administration,
salary and fringe .
* benefits, job security, status and personal life. These factors , are
considered to be only 'dissatisfiers', not motivators. If they
do not exist, they cause dissatisfaction. If they do exist in
quality and quantity, they do not. however, give increased
satisfaction.
Herzberg's two-factor theory is shown in the following diagram. 60 ,
It is worth noting that the hygiene factors refer to the context of
the job - the conditions of work - while the motivators refer to
job content.
90
Herzbefg's motivation-hygiene theory
motivators
hygiene factors
achievement
challenging work the
work itself career
prospects
responsibility
recognition
company policy and administration
salary and fringe benefits quality of
supervision relationship with
colleagues job security status
personal life
work conditions
Hygiene factors are essential if workers are to be motivated. As one
writer has aptly, put it they deal with the question 'Why work here?'.
The motivators deal with the question 'Why work harder?'
If Herzberg's theory is true, it means that-managers must pay great
attention to job content. They must find ways of making jobs more
challenging and interesting. As a result, managers 70 in the USA and
elsewhere have recently, been showing great interest in job enrichment
programmes. The idea of such programmes is to make jobs more
challenging and to give the workers sense of achievement.
Sweden has been leading the way in this respect. At one car . plant,
for example, Volvo, workers assemble the whole of a car rather than
do a few simple operations. In a. glass factory, production workers
have complete control over the work
process in the grinding and polishing department. Other workers have
helped to build and design paper mills. Job 80 enrichment is
undoubtedly catching on fast in Sweden.
Understanding the main points
Decide whether the following statements are true or false.
True False
1 According to Maslow people are not concerned about
achieving their personal goals in life unless they have
satisfied their physiological needs.
2 Senior managers who want to become company directors
have self-actualisation needs which they wish to satisfy.
3 Herzberg, like Maslow, believes that people satisfy their
needs systematically.
4 Herzberg believed that workers would not necessarily
work harder if they earned more money.
5 Job security is one of the most important factors which
motivates employees.
6 The purpose of job enrichment programmes is to
increase worker motivation.
1c Reading
Read the text below, about different ways of organizing companies, and then label the
diagrams, according to
which of these they illustrate:
line structure functional matrix structure
s
staff structure
t
r
u
c
t
u
r
e
Businesses that cannot be divided into autonomous divisions with their own markets can
simulate decentralization, setting up divisions that deal with each other using internally
determined transfer prices. Many banks, for example, have established commercial, corporate,
private banking, international and investment divisions.
An inherent problem of hierarchies is that people at lower levels are unable to make important
decisions, but have to pass on responsibility to their boss. One solution to this is matrix
management, in which people report to more than one superior. For example, a product manager
with an idea might be able to deal directly with managers responsible for a certain market
segment and for a geographical region, as well as the managers responsible for the traditional
functions of finance, sales and production. This is one way of keeping authority at lower levels,
but it is not necessarily a very efficient one. Thomas Peters and Robert Waterman, in their wellknown book In Search of Excellence, insist on the necessity of pushing authority and autonomy
down the line, but they argue that one element - probably the product - must have priority; fourdimensional matrices are far too complex.
A further possibility is to have wholly autonomous, temporary groups or teams that are
responsible for an entire project, and are split up as soon as it is successfully completed. Teams are
often not very good for decision-making, and they run the risk of relational problems, unless they
are small and have a lot of self-discipline. In fact they still require a definite leader, on whom
their success probably depends.
1d Comprehension
Which of the following three paragraphs most accurately summarizes the text, and why?
COMPANY STRUCTURE
Most organizations have a hierarchical or pyramidal structure, with one person or a group of
people at the top, and an increasing number of people below them at each successive level.
There is a clear line or chain of command running down the pyramid. All the people in the
organization know what decisions they are able to make, who their superior (or boss) is (to
whom they report), and who their immediate subordinates are (to whom they can give
instructions).
Some people in an organization have colleagues who help them: for example, there might be an
Assistant to the Marketing Manager. This is known as a staff position: its holder has no line
authority, and is not integrated into the chain of command, unlike, for example, the Assistant
Marketing Manager, who is number two in the marketing department.
Yet the activities of most companies are too complicated to be organized in a single hierarchy.
Shortly before the first world war, the French industrialist Henry Fayol organized his coal-mining
business according to the functions that it had to carry out. He is generally credited with
inventing functional organization. Today, most large manufacturing organizations have a
functional structure, including (among others) production, finance, marketing, sales, and
personnel or staff departments. This means, for example, that the production and marketing
departments cannot take financial decisions without consulting the finance department.
Functional organization is efficient, but there are two standard criticisms. Firstly, people are
usually more concerned with the success of their department than that of the company, so there
are permanent battles between, for example, finance and marketing, or marketing and
production, which have incompatible goals. Secondly, separating functions is unlikely to
encourage innovation.
Yet for a large organization manufacturing a range of products, having a single production
department is generally inefficient. Consequently, most large companies are decentralized,
following the model of Alfred Sloan, who divided General Motors into separate operating
divisions in 1920. Each division had its own engineering, production and sales departments, made
a different category of car (but with some overlap, to encourage internal competition), and was
expected to make a profit.
First summary:
Although most organizations are hierarchical, with a number of levels, and a line of
command running from the top to the bottom, hierarchies should be avoided because
they make decision-making slow and difficult. A solution to this problem is matrix
management, which allows people from the traditional functional departments of
production, finance, marketing, sales, etc. to work together in teams. Another solution
is decentralization: the separation of the organization into competing autonomous
divisions.
Second summary:
Most business organizations have a hierarchy consisting of several levels and a clear line
of command. There may also be staff positions that are not integrated into the hierarchy.
The organization might also be divided into functional departments, such as production,
finance, marketing, sales and personnel. Larger organizations are often further divided
int o autonomous divisions, each with its own functional sections. More recent
organizational systems include matrix management and teams, both of which combine
people from different functions and keep decision-making at lower levels.
10
2 Frederick W. Taylor:
Scientific Management
DISCUSSION
Read the following information about IBM's methods of work and • then
discuss the questions below.
In his book Management Peter Drucker makes some comments about the
workers who produce IBM's equipment. He says that IBM made a conscious
effort to make their jobs big. Take, for example, the machine operators.
Although the operations they perform are designed to be simple, the
workers do a number of different tasks, of which at least one requires skill
and judgement on the worker's part. Also, because of the range of his/her
tasks, the worker is able to change the pace at which he/she works.
Drucker says interesting things about other IBM methods. The way the
company develops new products is worth noting. Before the engineering
of the new product is finished, the project is given over to one of the
foremen, who then manages it. So, the final details of the engineering
design are worked out on the shop floor with the engineer and workers
who will make the machine.
IBM production workers are not told what production rate they must
achieve. They work out a rate with their foreman. IBM says that there is no
such thing as a production norm. Each man works out for himself, with
his superior's help, the speed and flow of work that will give him the most
production.
1 What are the advantages of making the jobs of production workers
big? Are there any disadvantages?
2 Why, do you think, does IBM develop new products in the manner
described?
3 What do we learn about
(i) IBM's attitude towards its production workers? (ii) the
company's style of management?
No one has had more influence on managers in the twentieth century
than Frederick W. Taylor, an American engineer. He set a pattern for
industrial work which many others have followed, and although his
approach to management has been criticised, his ideas are still of
practical importance.
Taylor founded the school of Scientific Management just before ;
the 1914-18 war. He argued that work should be studied and
analysed systematically. The operations required to perform a
particular job could be identified, then arranged in a logical
I
10 sequence. After this was done, a worker's productivity would I
increase, and so would his/her wages. The new method was
scientific. The way of doing a job would no longer be
determined by guesswork and rule-of-thumb practices.
;
Instead, management would work out scientifically the method
for producing the best results. If the worker followed the
prescribed approach, his/her output would increase.
When Taylor started work at the end of the nineteenth century, the
industrial revolution was in full swing. Factories were being set up all
over the USA. There was heavy investment in 20 plant and machinery,
and labour was plentiful. He worked for twenty years (1878-1898) with the
Midvale Steel Company, first as a labourer, then as a Shop Superintendant.
After that, he was a consultant with the Bethlehem Steel Company in
Pennsylvania.
Throughout this time, he studied how to improve the efficiency of workers on
the shop floor. He conducted many experiments to find out how to improve
their productivity. His solutions to these problems were, therefore, based on
his own experience. Later, he wrote about his experiments. These writings
were collected and published in 1947. in a work entitled Scientific 30
Management.
When he was with Bethlehem Steel, Taylor criticised
management and workers. He felt that managers were not
using the right methods and that workers did not put much
effort into their job. They were always 'soldiering' - taking it
easy. He wanted both groups to adopt a new approach to their
work, which would change their thinking completely. The new
way was as follows:
1 Each operation of a job was studied and analysed,
2 Using this information, management worked out the time and 40
method for each job, and the type of equipment to be used;
3 Work was organised so that the worker's only responsibility was to
do the job in the prescribed manner;
4 Men with the right physical skills were selected and trained
for the job.
Observing; analysing; measuring; specifying the work method;
organising and choosing the right person for the job -these were the
tasks of management.
Taylor's approach produced results! For example, at
Bethlehem Steel, he did an experiment with shovels, the tool
50
used for lifting and carrying materials. He studied the work of
two first-class shovellers and then changed their working
procedure. In the beginning, the men used their own shovels
for all the types of materials they handled, whether coal or
18
19
iron ore. The average load was 38 pounds, and each lifted 25 tons of
material a day. By experimenting, Taylor found out that if the men used
smaller shovels and carried 21 pounds per load, their daily output
increased to 30 tons. As a result, at the beginning of each shift, workers
were given different sized shovels, depending on the type of material
they loaded, but 60 the load was still 21 pounds. Other workers
meeting the ' standards set by the two shovellers had their wages
increased by 60%. Those who could not reach the standard were given
special training in shovelling techniques.
2 Complete the following table.
Frederick W. Taylor: Scientific Management (1947)
By introducing methods like these, Taylor and his colleagues
greatly increased productivity at Bethlehem Steel. After a few
years, the same amount of work was done by 140 workers instead
of 500. Handling costs of materials were halved, which led to
annual savings of $80,000.
Taylor made a lasting contribution to management thinking. 70 His
main insight, that work can be systematically studied in order to improve
working methods and productivity, was revolutionary. Also, he
correctly emphasised that detailed planning of jobs was necessary.
The weakness of his approach was that it focused on the system of work
rather than on the worker. With this system the worker becomes a tool in
the hands of management. It is assumed he/she will do the same boring,
repetitive job hour after hour, day after day while maintaining a high
level of productivity. Another criticism is that it leads to de-stalling -80
reducing the skills of workers. Because the tasks are
simplified, workers become frustrated. And with educational
standards rising among factory workers, dissatisfaction is likely to
increase. Finally, some people think that it is wrong to separate
doing from planning. The two tasks can, and should, be done by
the same person. A worker will be more productive if he/she is
engaged in such activities as planning, decision-making,
controlling and organising. For all these reasons, a reaction has set
in against the ideas of Frederick W. Taylor.
Understanding the main points
1 Complete the following sentences, using your own words. 1
Taylor's method of management was revolutionary because
2 Companies which adopted this new approach to management
would benefit because ..........................................................
3 Scientific Management would also be a good thing for workers
because ...................................................................................
4 At Bethlehem Steel Taylor decided to give workers smaller
shovels so that ..................................................................
5 As a result of the new working procedures introduced at
Bethlehem Steel, within a few years the company.......................
20
ADVANTAGES
DISADVANTAGES
1
.........................................
1
...............................
2 .........................................
2
..............................
3 .........................................
3 .........................................
Vocabulary focus
1 Find words or phrases in the text which mean the same as the
following:
1 making a judgement without being certain (paragraph 2)
2 calculate (paragraph 2)
3 quantity of goods produced (paragraph 2)
4 established (paragraph 3)
5 amount to be carried (paragraph 6)
6 fixed period of time worked each day, especially for factory
workers (paragraph 6)
7 perception, clear realisation, deep understanding (paragraph 8)
2 What is the meaning of the shop floor (line 25)? 1
LANGUAGE
STUDY
Complete the following chart.
PERSON
manager
managing
NOUN
management
VERB
manage
ADJECTIVE
managerial or
criticise
performer science training
|
analytical industry observe engineering revolutionary consult
manage m e n t
1.1
What is Management?
Complete the text using these verbs:
analyse
communicate
contribute
improve
measure commercialise perform risk
select train understand use work out
divide
form
You want me to explain what management is? Well, I guess 1 can manage that! Actually, management
as we (1)
. . . . it today is a fairly recent idea. Most economists in the eighteenth and nineteenth
centuries, for example, wrote about factors of production such as land, labour and capital, and about
supply and demand, as it these were impersonal and objective economic forces which left no room for
human action. An exception was Jean-Baptiste Say, who invented the term "entrepreneur", the person
who sees opportunities to (2) . . . . resources in more productive ways.
Entrepreneurs are people who are alert to so-far undiscovered profit opportunities. They perceive
opportunities to (3).
. . new technologies and products that will serve the market better than
it is currently being served by their competitors. They are happy to (4) ...... their own or other
people's capital. They are frequently unconventional, innovative people. But entrepreneurship isn't
the same as management, and most managers aren't entrepreneurs.
So, what's management? Well, it's essentially a matter of organizing people. Managers, especially
senior managers, have to set objectives tor their organization, and then (5)
.
. how to achieve
them. This is true of the managers of business enterprises, government departments, educational
institutions, and sports teams, although for government services, universities and so on we usually talk
about administrators and administration rather than managers and management. Managers
(6) . . . . . . . . . the activities of the organization and the relations among them. They ( 7 ) .
the work into distinct activities and then into individual jobs. They (8) .
. . people to manage
these activities and perform the jobs. And they often need to make the people responsible for
performing individual jobs (9) . . . effective teams.
Managers have to be good at communication and motivation. They need to (10) ...... the
organization's objectives to the people responsible for attaining them. They have to motivate their staff
to work well, to be productive, and to ( 1 1 ) . something to the organization. They make
decisions about pay and promotion.
Managers also have to (1 2 )
. the performance of their staff, and to ensure that the objectives
and performance targets set for the whole organization and for individual employees are reached.
Furthermore, they have to (13) .... . . and develop their staff, so that their performance continues
to (1 4 ) ......
Some managers obviously ( 1 5 ) . . . . . . these tasks better than others. Most achievements and
failures in business are the achievements or failures of individual managers.
When you have checked your answers, translate the highlighted expressions into your own language.
UNIT 2
Management
1 Management - an art or a science?
1a Discussion
1b Reading
This text summarizes some of Peter Drucker's views on management. As you read about
his description of the work of a manager, decide whether the five different functions he
mentions require the four qualities you selected in your discussion, or others you did not
choose.
WHAT IS MANAGEMENT?
Peter Drucker, the well-known American business professor and consultant, suggests that the
work of a manager can be divided into planning (setting objectives), organizing, integrating
(motivating and communicating), measuring, and developing people.
• First, of all, managers (especially senior managers such as company chairmen - and women and directors) set objectives, and decide how their organization can achieve them. This
involves developing strategies, plans and precise tactics, and allocating resources of
people and money.
• Secondly, managers organize. They analyse and classify the activities of the
organization and the relations among them. They divide the work into manageable
activities and then into individual jobs. They select people to manage these units and
perform the jobs.
• Thirdly, managers practise the social skills of motivation and communication. They also
have to communicate objectives to the people responsible for attaining them. They
have to make the people who are responsible for performing individual jobs form
teams. They make decisions about pay and promotion. As well as organizing and
supervising the work of their subordinates, they have to work with people in other
areas and functions.
• Fourthly, managers have to measure the performance of their staff, to see whether the
objectives (Set for the organization as a whole and for each individual member of it are
being achieved.
• Lastly, managers develop people - both their subordinates and themselves.
1 What is management? Is it an art or a science? An instinct or a set of skills and
techniques that can be taught?
2 What do you think makes a good manager? Which four of the following qualities do
you think are the most important? A being decisive: able to make quick decisions B
being efficient: doing things quickly, not leaving tasks unfinished, having a tidy
desk, and so on C being friendly and sociable D being able to communicate
with people E being logical, rational and analytical F being able to motivate and
inspire and lead people G being authoritative: able to give orders H being
competent: knowing one's job perfectly, as well as the work of one's
subordinates
I being persuasive: able to convince people to do things J having good
ideas Are there any qualities that you thi nk should be added to this list?
3 Which of these qualities can be acquired? Which must you be born with?
Obviously, objectives occasionally have to be modified or changed. It is generally the job of a
company's top managers to consider the needs of the future, and to take responsibility for
innovation, without which any organization can only expect a limited We. Top managers
also have to manage a business's relations with customers, suppliers, distributors, bankers,
investors, neighbouring communities, public authorities, and so on, as well as deal with any
major crises which arise. Top managers are appointed and supervised and advised (and
dismissed) by a company's board of directors. Although the tasks of a manager can be
analysed and classified in this fashion. management is not entirely scientific. It is a human
skill. Business professors obviously
believe that intuition and 'instinct' are not enough; there are management skills that have
to be learnt. Drucker, for example, wrote over 20 years ago that 'Altogether this
entire book is based on the proposition that the days of the "intuitive" manager are
numbered,'* meaning that they were coming to an end. But some people are clearly good
at management, and others are not. Some people will be unable to put management
techniques into practice. Others will have lots of technique, but few good ideas.
Outstanding managers are rather rare.
Peter Drucker: An Introductory View of Management
Management 1 3
Evaluation
III. Evaluating the option So I'd say that was the least favour- I
agree with X able option for us.
Reason
Reaction
1. Making an opening statement
I think the main weakness
of this for us is that...
The problem with licensing So I would rank it as a fairly
unattrac- Yes. I think that fits
is that...
tive option.
Language Checklist
in with the way we
look at this situation
too.
Welcoming
Welcome to...
I'm sure we will have a useful and productive meeting
First meeting
We see this as a preparatory meeting...
We would like to reach agreement on...
Reason
Evaluation
1 think that's got a
lot of potential.
The main strength of the project is that...
I have some doubts about this option.
I'm not sure how to react to that suggestion.
I feel we should go even further than that.
The main strength of this, from our point of view, is that...
The main strength of this, as we see it, is that...
I think it fits in with the way we look at it.
My immediate feeling is that it doesn't fit in with our philosophy.
IV. Handling over
I'd like to finish there and give you the opportunity to reply to this
I'd like to hand over to my colleague..., who has something to say about...
What is your opinion about ....?
Reaction
Yes, we are also
interested in close
cooperation, but...
One of the series of meetings
Following previous meetings we have agreed on some important issues. Today we have to
think about...
We have reached an important stage...
II. Stating your aims and objectives I
I'd like to begin with a few words about our general
expectations...
May I outline our principle aims and objectives today...
We want to clarify our positions...
We have a formal agenda...
We don't have a formal agenda, but we hope to reach agreement on...
There are three specific areas we would like to discuss. These are...
We have to decide...
I'd like to start by suggesting...
How about trying...?
How about using...?
It seems to me that there are a number of ways we could work together
There seem to be several possibilities lor working more closely together.
Shall / I suggest / we list the options list and then examine them in more detail one by one
Should we brainstorm the options before we discuss any in detail?
Have you considered the idea of...?
We could also...
Why don't we go through each of these in more detail...
At this stage I think we should look at each option in turn.