What do you think when you hear the word “management”? Do you picture some unknown person or group making random decisions that affect your life? Or, do you envision management as a game, with managers as the players and employees as the pawns? Actually, management is anything but a game. Management is the logical process of coordinating resources, such as money and employees, to accomplish an organization’s goals. In business (and in any organization with resources to coordinate and goals to reach), nothing would get done without management.

The people responsible for management are, of course, the managers. They decide how to use the business’s resources to make things happen. Managers make sure the work gets done, although they don’t usually do the work themselves. For example, if you are the manager of a movie theater, you don’t normally sell the popcorn or clean the restrooms. Your job is to oversee the entire operation and make sure there are enough employees on hand to perform these tasks. You hire and train the employees, handle the theater’s finances, deal with suppliers, and obtain the resources needed for the business to be successful.

Although managers don’t do the actual jobs, they need to understand the jobs to effectively manage the employees who do the work. This information helps managers know how workers should do their jobs. It also helps them be realistic about what workers can do. For instance, as the manager of a business, you should be able to answer questions and help employees solve problems. You should be aware of the time it takes to complete certain tasks. In the case of the movie theater, you should understand what’s involved in filling customers’ food and drink orders at the concession stand and not expect the impossible. However, you also need to set standards and encourage employees to be productive and do their best.

For more on the importance of managers knowing their employees’ job tasks, check out this article.