What is Management? All About Management and Managing
© Copyright Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC.
Adapted from the Field Guide to Leadership and Supervision in Business
and Field Guide to Leadership and Supervision for Nonprofit Staff.
Traditionally, the term “management” refers to the activities (and often the group of people) involved in the four general functions: planning, organizing, leading and coordinating of resources. Note that the four functions recur throughout the organization and are highly integrated. Emerging trends in management include assertions that leading is different than managing, and that the nature of how the four functions is carried out must change to accommodate a “new paradigm” in management. This topic in the library helps the reader to accomplish a broad understanding of management (including traditional and emerging views), and the areas of knowledge and skills required to carry out the major functions of management.
The following topics are very closely related to this topic in the Library: Management Development, Supervision and Leadership.
Sections of This Topic Include
Suggested Previous Reading
Introduction to Organizations (at least the information under the title “Basics”)
Gaining Broad Understanding of Organizational Management
- Basics — Definitions (and Misconceptions) in Management (also includes 4 major functions)
- Is Leading Different than Managing? (pros and cons of this debate)
- Historical and Contemporary Theories in Management
- Current Theories in Management
- Various Styles of Management
- New Paradigm in Management
Managing Yourself
Basic, Entry-Level Skills
Major Functions of Management (and areas of knowledge and skills in each)
- Major Function — Planning
- Major Function — Organizing
- Major Function — Leading
- Major Function — Coordinating/Controlling
Nonprofit-Specific Areas of Knowledge and Skills
General Advice (Tips, etc.)
Basic Guide to Management and Supervision
General Resources
- Glossary of Business Terms A-Z
- Three Management Approaches
- Management – a General Theory
- Managing Is Hard Work: Avoid These Four Mistakes
- Effective Management: Should You Break the Rules?
- Stop Micro Managing: Start Smart Managing
Also see
Related Library Topics
Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to Management
In addition to the articles on this current page, also see the following blogs that have posts related to Management. Scan down the blog’s page to see various posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the sidebar of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in the blog. The blog also links to numerous free related resources.
For the Category of Management:
To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.
Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.