Best Management Practices

Abstract

Purpose - Management means "getting things done effectively through people". This implies the

importance of leadership and people skills in management practice to achieve optimal results. Great

managers usually succeed for a number of reasons. They usually possess nine common management

practices. This paper aims to identify these common denominators in their character and management

practice that define them.

Design/methodology/approach - Case examples are used to illustrate the application of those

management practices. Successful managers from well-known industry giants such as IBM, Nestle's,

P&G, Apple, Loews', GE and PepsiCo are profiled to demonstrate how their success can be traced back

to those practices.

Findings - The paper demonstrates that every manager can easily apply the nine management

practices daily to achieve a successful outcome. While some of these traits appear to be personal

habits, it is these simple management habits that influence subordinates to perform their best.

Originality/value - Most good managers are trained, not born. The nine personal practices

identified in this paper can be easily adopted on a daily basis. With consistent practice, the nine

personal traits help train managers to become more effective leaders in driving optimal performance

and motivating subordinates to "get things done effectively".

Keywords Management technique, Social skills, Motivation (psychology), Leadership,

Management development, Best practice

Paper type General review

Introduction

Management means getting things done effectively through people to achieve the

desired results. This requires a combination of leadership, communication and people

skills.

A manager without any leadership skills is like a ship sailing on high seas without a

compass and a gyroscope. The manager, in that case, is merely a bureaucrat pushing

paper and administering the daily chores and directives of higher-ups - a glorified

order-taker.

In his groundbreaking 1977 Harvard Business Review article, "Managers and

leaders, are they different?" professor Abraham Zaleznik illustrated the differences

between managers and leaders based on four attitudinal qualities: attitudes toward

goals; conceptions of work; relations with others; and sense of self (Zaleznik, 1977).

However, the twenty-first century managers must possess all those attributes. They

must proactively assume positive outlook, constantly shaping the competitive

landscape, and steering the firm to their desired course. Rather than accepting status

quo, they always examine alternatives and develop new approaches to problem

solving. Moreover, they emotionally connect with colleagues and subordinates by

establishing open communication links, thereby inviting new ideas and fresh

approaches to getting things done. They usually avoid getting bogged down by thebureaucratic process. Instead, they find ways to "bypass" or change the process to

steer clear of bottlenecks.

In the auto-biography, War as I Know It, General George Patton and author Rick

Atkinson described how the legendary second world war commander managed the

allies invasion of Sicily and the subsequent campaign to rescue encircled US