Principles of Management

Principles of Management

Prof. Eser U. Belding

December 18, 1996

My Experiences:

I believe that the Principles of Management course provided me with invaluable information which will help in furthering both my professional as well as personal life. I believe that learning is a process by which an individual undergoes certain changes. Also, during the learning process, many of the beliefs which a person holds are challenged. I underwent various changes during this course. This paper will explain those changes. Furthermore, I will detail the concepts, ideas and situations which had the greatest impact on me.

Before taking this course, my definition of the concept of management would have been strictly based on power relationships within an organization, how to use power to achieve your goals and how to manipulate people. Although this definition might seem totalitarian, my background in Political Science supported my initial misconceptions of management. I am a political science major and the questions most often asked in political science courses deal with power within a structure and how this power is used, abused and expressed by those in control.

Emile Durkheim

Inc

Political Science (journal)

Therefore, I came into the Principles of Management course with the notion that I was going to be learning about power. This notion was challenged as I learned that there are three different perspectives that are used to analyze an organization.

There are three different perspectives used to view organizational behavior and processes: Strategic-Design, Political and Cultural. Initially, I was looking at the organization and the process of management from the political perspective. This perspective deals with the use of power and influence throughout the organization. However, I also had to learn about the strategic-design perspective, which dealt with the differentiation, efficiency, strategy, coordination and integration of various tasks within the organization. I also...