Is a Manager Synonymous with “the All-Powerful”?

Management Is Very Interesting

Zhang Nan

Tsinghua University Press

November 2021

89.00 （CNY）

Zhang Nan

Zhang Nan is a senior accountant holding a master’s degree in management science with a career dedicated to corporate management， investment， finance， etc. He has extensive knowledge and experience in corporate restructuring and financing public-private partnerships. His experience in the Ministry of Finance has also enabled him to develop a unique perspective on relevant policies and regulations.

“Good day， everyone. I’m Henri Fayol. I believe that many of you might have heard my name before，” greeted Mr. Fayol with a hint of pride in his tone.

“Of course！ You’re so famous that your portraits can be seen all over the School of Management！” thought Du Weinan to himself.

Having seemingly seen through everyone’s thoughts， Mr. Fayol said with a smile， “As an experienced business manager， I would like to share some of my experiences with all of you today. All of you who are willing to hear me out here will definitely make it out there as business managers if you aren’t already one yourself. Thus， please give me your ears for this session.”

Seeing the shock on everyone’s faces turn to acceptance and that acceptance to attentiveness， Mr. Fayol continued with satisfaction， “Great， so， before I actually start my lecture， I would like everyone to ponder one question—Is the role of a business manager important？”

“Definitely！” “Of course it’s important！” Replies came from all over the lecture hall.

After waiting a while for everyone to finish buzzing， Mr. Fayol silenced the entire hall with a concluding remark， “That’s right， the role of a business manager is extremely important. It is so important， in fact， that a manager is also known as ‘the all-powerful’！”

This statement shocked Du Weinan， and he thought to himself， “Are business managers really so important？”

Seeing everyone looking at each other apprehensively， Mr. Fayol repeated his stance， “Do you all think that I’m spouting nonsense？ Let me ask you another question then. Is there anyone here who owns a company？”

At this， Du Weinan raised his hand. Mr. Fayol spotted him， nodded， and continued， “You， let me ask you a question. If operations in the human resource department are disrupted， who’s to take responsibility？” After a short sigh， Du Weinan replied， “The human resources manager.” “And if something terrible happens in the sales department， who’s to take responsibility？”

“The manager of the sales department.”

“So if something happens to the operations of the entire company， who’s to take responsibility？”

Du Weinan answered with certainty， “Of course， it’ll be me.”

Mr. Fayol nodded with satisfaction， “Indeed， you are a great business manager.”

“Everyone should have noticed something from our conversation. No matter the conditions and the business environment， business managers have to be responsible for the department they are in charge of. Let’s take the sales department as an example even if it was just a junior staff who made a serious mistake， the one who will ultimately have to bear the consequences will no doubt be the sales manager. And of course， the manager will also be the one getting all the praise when the department is operating smoothly. Can everyone agree on this？”

Seeing everyone nod their heads， Mr. Fayol continued， “The qualities of a manager will decide the qualities of the department. As all operations are conducted according to the manager’s instructions， they decide who the department will hire， what the department will do， and make all the strategic decisions. Thus， the manager has to be responsible for the final efficiency and effectiveness of all these decisions. As the mainstay of the entire department， if the manager isn’t actually capable， the whole department will crumble under their leadership.”

At this， everyone laughed， and Du Weinan nodded. Indeed， a manager plays a significant role in a company. As someone who has been trusted to act independently by the boss， they should not only be able to overcome all obstacles placed in front of them to achieve the company’s goals but should also be responsible for their department’s successes and failures.

Seeing the thoughtful expressions on everyone’s faces， Mr. Fayol said with a smile， “Well， business managers are not here just to take the blame for everything that goes wrong. Think about it this way， and if a business manager is truly capable， he will get praised just as much as he gets criticized. Take Lee Iacocca， the previous CEO of Chrysler Corporation， for example， who， by his own extraordinary management capabilities， was catapulted to a folk hero from a mere business manager！”

Indeed， everyone learning management has heard of Lee Iacocca. His story with Chrysler Corporation has always been a legend in business management. Iacocca took over Chrysler during the 1970s， at a time when the company appeared to be on the verge of going out of business and implemented various measures such as reducing costs and introducing new products such as the K-Car line， which was comprised of small and efficient cars. With these actions， Iacocca brought Chrysler from an annual operating deficit of 1.7 billion USD to a net annual income of 2.4 billion USD！ That is the power of management.

Mr. Fayol then continued， “Usually， when a company or a department isn’t operating smoothly， the business manager in charge will have to take responsibility for the situation， accept all criticisms targeted at them， and solve the problems being faced. And of course， when the company or department is operating smoothly， it is also the business manager who gets all the benefits and praise. You， the one who owns a company， if one of your managers performs outstandingly， what will you do？”

After pondering for a while， Du Weinan replied， “First， I will recognize his efforts and achievements in a congratulatory ceremony. Second， I will also give him material rewards of cash， stocks， or options.”

Mr. Fayol smiled and nodded at this， then asked， “Very good. And if a manager makes a mistake， a serious one， what will you do？”

Du Weinan frowned and answered， “If it’s a serious mistake that wasn’t made due to the company’s policies， but because of the manager’s own problems， I will probably just fire him right then and hire a new manager.”

“Good，” Mr. Fayol nodded in agreement. “To be honest， I’m afraid of business leaders being too compassionate and benevolent and always giving chances to their managers. Among all business sectors， I actually like sales the most. People who work in sales must constantly improve themselves， constantly come up with new plans， constantly travel around， and constantly do their best to convince potential clients. Only by doing all of that can someone survive in that sector.”