ICSAN Management Principles cheat sheet

Management is the process of planning, organising, leading and controlling resources to achieve stated goals efficiently and effectively.

Efficiency = doing things right (means); effectiveness = doing the right things (ends). A manager can be efficient but ineffective.

Fayol's five functions: forecast/plan, organise, command, coordinate, control. Modern version: plan, organise, lead, control.

Mintzberg's ten managerial roles fall into three groups: interpersonal (figurehead, leader, liaison), informational (monitor, disseminator, spokesperson), decisional (entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator, negotiator).

Katz's three skills: technical (lower management), human (all levels), conceptual (top management).

Levels of management: top (strategic, 3–5 year horizon), middle (tactical, 1–3 years), first-line (operational, daily–1 year).

Universality of management: the functions apply to all organisations, but the style and emphasis vary with level, culture and organisation size.

Management vs administration: administration sets policy and objectives (top); management executes policy (middle/lower). The distinction is clearest in public-sector and non-profit contexts.

Managerial effectiveness depends on situational fit; no single set of traits guarantees success (contingency view).

Scientific management (Taylor): time-and-motion study, standardisation, differential piece-rate pay, separation of planning from execution; criticised for ignoring human factors.

Classical administrative theory (Fayol): 14 principles including division of work, authority and responsibility, unity of command, unity of direction, scalar chain, equity, initiative and esprit de corps.

Weber's bureaucracy: division of labour, hierarchy, formal rules, impersonal relations, career structure and written records; ideal-type rational-legal authority.

Human relations (Mayo, Hawthorne studies): social factors and informal groups influence productivity; attention itself can change behaviour (Hawthorne effect).

Behavioural science (McGregor): Theory X assumes workers dislike work and need control; Theory Y assumes work is natural and self-direction is possible.

Systems theory: organisation as open system with inputs, transformation, outputs and feedback; subsystems are interdependent.

Contingency theory: there is no one best way; structure and leadership style depend on environment, technology, size and task uncertainty.

Modern approaches: total quality management (Deming's PDCA), learning organisation (Senge's five disciplines), and evidence-based management.

Critique pattern: each school emerged as a reaction to the previous one's blind spot (e.g., human relations responded to scientific management's machine model).

Planning hierarchy: vision/mission → strategic goals → tactical plans → operational plans (standing plans: policies, procedures, rules; single-use plans: budgets, programmes, projects).

SMART goals: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound.

SWOT analysis matches internal strengths/weaknesses with external opportunities/threats to generate SO, ST, WO, WT strategies.

Porter's generic strategies: cost leadership, differentiation, focus (cost focus or differentiation focus). Stuck-in-the-middle firms lack a clear advantage.

Porter's five forces: rivalry, threat of new entrants, threat of substitutes, bargaining power of buyers, bargaining power of suppliers.

BCG matrix: stars (high growth, high share), cash cows (low growth, high share), question marks (high growth, low share), dogs (low growth, low share).

Decision-making steps: identify problem → set criteria → allocate weights → generate alternatives → evaluate → select → implement → evaluate outcome.

Bounded rationality (Simon): managers satisfice because of limited information, time and cognitive capacity; escalation of commitment keeps resources in failing courses of action.

Group decision techniques: brainstorming (no criticism, quantity first), nominal group technique (silent writing then ranking), Delphi method (anonymous expert rounds).

Organisation structure elements: specialisation, departmentalisation, chain of command, span of control, centralisation/decentralisation, formalisation.

Departmentalisation bases: functional, product, geographic, customer, process, and matrix (dual reporting; combines functional and project lines).

Span of control: narrow span → tall structure, more levels, closer supervision; wide span → flat structure, fewer levels, greater autonomy.

Authority types (Barnard/Weber): line authority (direct command), staff authority (advice), functional authority (limited command over specific activities).

Delegation elements: assign responsibility, grant authority, create accountability; authority can be delegated, responsibility cannot be fully delegated, accountability remains with the delegator.

Centralisation vs decentralisation: centralisation concentrates decision authority at the top; decentralisation pushes it to lower levels, improving speed and local responsiveness.

Mechanistic vs organic structures (Burns and Stalker): mechanistic = rigid, specialised, centralised; organic = flexible, broad roles, decentralised.

Organisational life cycle: entrepreneurial → collectivity → formalisation → elaboration; structure must adapt at each stage.

Coordination mechanisms (Mintzberg): mutual adjustment, direct supervision, standardisation of work processes, outputs, skills and norms.

Trait theories: leadership depends on personal characteristics (drive, integrity, confidence); weak predictive power because situations differ.

Behavioural theories: Ohio State (initiating structure vs consideration), Michigan (task-oriented vs employee-oriented), Blake and Mouton's managerial grid (concern for people vs production, 1–9 scale).

Situational/contingency leadership: Fiedler (leader–member relations, task structure, position power), Hersey–Blanchard (telling, selling, participating, delegating), path–goal theory (directive, supportive, participative, achievement-oriented).

Transformational leadership (Bass): idealised influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, individualised consideration. Transactional leadership uses contingent reward and management-by-exception.

Maslow's hierarchy: physiological → safety → social → esteem → self-actualisation; lower needs must be reasonably met before higher needs motivate.

Herzberg's two-factor theory: hygiene factors (pay, conditions, policy) prevent dissatisfaction; motivators (achievement, recognition, responsibility, growth) produce satisfaction.

Vroom's expectancy theory: motivation = expectancy × instrumentality × valence; any factor at zero yields zero motivation.

Equity theory (Adams): employees compare input–output ratios with referents; perceived inequity leads to reduced effort, changed comparison or exit.

Group development stages (Tuckman): forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning. Group norms, cohesiveness and social loafing affect performance.

Communication process: sender → encoding → message → channel → decoding → receiver → feedback, with noise at any stage.

Channels: formal (chain, wheel, all-channel) and informal (grapevine, management by walking around). Channel richness: face-to-face highest, written reports lowest.

Barriers: semantic (jargon, ambiguity), psychological (perception, emotion), organisational (status, filtering, overload), and physical (noise, distance).

Active listening components: attending, reflecting, clarifying, summarising, and withholding judgement.

Non-verbal communication (body language, tone, proxemics) can contradict verbal messages; Mehrabian's often-cited split (7% words, 38% tone, 55% body) applies to feelings/attitudes, not all communication.

Feedback rule: specific, timely, behavioural, and focused on improvement rather than personal attack.

Conflict-handling styles (Thomas–Kilmann): competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding, accommodating; choice depends on importance and relationship.

Negotiation: distributive (fixed pie, win–lose) vs integrative (expand the pie, win–win); BATNA is the best alternative to a negotiated agreement.

Interpersonal skills for managers: empathy, assertiveness, coaching, and cross-cultural awareness (high-context vs low-context cultures, Hall).

Control process: set standards → measure actual performance → compare against standards → take corrective action.

Control types by timing: feedforward (preventive, before), concurrent (during), feedback (after).

Control focus: bureaucratic control (rules, hierarchy) vs clan control (shared values) vs market control (prices, competition).

Budgetary control: variance analysis compares actual vs standard cost; a favourable variance increases profit, an unfavourable variance reduces it.

Balanced scorecard (Kaplan and Norton): four perspectives - financial, customer, internal processes, learning and growth.

Performance management cycle: goal setting → continuous monitoring → development → appraisal → reward.

Management by objectives (Drucker): jointly set specific goals, monitor progress, appraise against results.

Key performance indicators should be SMART and linked to strategy; the 80/20 rule (Pareto) suggests focusing on the few vital measures.

Coordination tools: plans, schedules, liaison roles, committees, task forces, and information systems; coordination cost rises with interdependence.

Corporate governance: the system by which companies are directed and controlled; concerns board accountability, transparency, fairness and responsibility.

Agency problem: separation of ownership and control creates conflict between shareholders (principals) and managers (agents); mitigated by boards, audits, incentives and disclosure.

Board structure: executive and non-executive directors; independence requires no material relationship with the company; audit and remuneration committees should be independent.

Governance codes: UK Corporate Governance Code (comply or explain), King IV (apply and explain, South Africa), OECD Principles.

Ethical theories: utilitarianism (greatest good), deontology (duty/rules), virtue ethics (character), justice (fairness).

Ethical decision tests: is it legal, is it balanced/fair, how would it feel if disclosed (sunlight test), and who is affected (stakeholder analysis).

CSR pyramid (Carroll): economic → legal → ethical → philanthropic responsibilities.

Triple bottom line (Elkington): profit, people, planet - economic, social and environmental performance.

Stakeholder theory (Freeman): firms should consider all affected parties, not only shareholders; shareholder primacy (Friedman) holds that the social responsibility of business is to increase profits within legal rules.

Lewin's change model: unfreeze → move (change) → refreeze; driving forces vs restraining forces (force-field analysis).

Kotter's eight steps: urgency, coalition, vision, communicate, empower, short-term wins, consolidate, anchor in culture.

Resistance to change sources: habit, fear of loss, misunderstanding, low trust, group norms; reduce via communication, participation, support, negotiation and, as a last resort, coercion.

Innovation types: product vs process, incremental vs radical (disruptive innovation, Christensen); innovation funnel: idea generation → screening → development → testing → launch.

Risk management process (ISO 31000): establish context → identify risks → analyse → evaluate → treat (avoid, reduce, transfer, accept) → monitor and review.

Risk register records likelihood, impact, risk score (likelihood × impact), owner and mitigation action.

Change curve (Kübler-Ross adapted): denial, resistance, exploration, commitment; managers should match support to stage.

Organisational learning (Senge): personal mastery, mental models, shared vision, team learning, systems thinking.

Innovation culture requires psychological safety, tolerance of failure, slack resources and cross-functional collaboration.