Chapter One: What is Management?

Understanding what management is and what a manager does are key points in Chapter One. 

What is management?

Management is "the process of accomplishing things through people," (Evans and Ward, 2007).  Amy noted that "management is getting people to produce," which is a good definition.  The person behind that motivation is a manager. So....

What does a manager do? 

POSD CoRB. This acronym covers the many functions of a manger.

• P is for planning
• O is for organizing
• S is for staffing
• D is for directing
• Co is for coordinating
• R is for reporting
• B is for budgeting

The importance of POSD CoRB was agreed upon by our entire group.  Amy pointed out that "management is a process, not just a 'wing-it' thing."  POSDCoRB supports that point.  These are definite functions that a manager must perform in order to successfully manage.  In the LIS field, all of these functions are utilized.  Amy shared her experience with POSD CoRB.  In her former job, she noticed that her supervisor was great at POSRB, but she was somewhat lacking in the coordinating and directing aspects of management.  As Amy put it, "she was too rigid in her direction on the one hand, but on the other hand, her rigid directions were not clear, this led to confusion and frustration."  This insight was very helpful.

 Work Cited

Evans, G. Edward and Ward, Patricia Layzell. Management Basics for Information Professionals. (2nd ed.) New York:Neal-Schuman, 2007. Print .