What is management, or more to the point, what is good management?
According to Scott & Rochester (1984) good management is about three things:
1. Knowing what should be happening.
2. Knowing what is actually happening.
3. Bringing 1 and 2 closer together.
It is believed by many that good management is about moving:
“what is actually happening”
closer to:
“what should be happening”
However, Scott & Rochester point out that it is perfectly reasonable to move things in the other direction. And in reality, good management always rests on finding a happy medium between those two ends of a spectrum.