The manager is one of the great unknowns in business. Although perhaps the most common word in the corporate lexicon, the term "manager" meets with l… - Louis A. Allen

The manager is a new kind of professional, destined to take his place with the scientist and the educator in shaping the society of the future. Expert in a complex, difficult, and most demanding kind of work, the role of the professional manager is critical and his potential is unlimited. In the years ahead, competence in management will mark the difference between the leaders and the also-rans. This will hold true not only in business, but also in government and education, and in all those situations in which people wish to maximize their efforts for their common benefit.

"Ask any two managers precisely what they mean by 'staff', or 'decentralization,' or 'budget.' The differences in interpretation will make communication difficult. If we are to develop professional practices of management work, semantics requires first attention.

Objectives are goals established to guide the efforts of the company and each of its components. Effective management is always management by objectives. An organization can grow and change in an orderly and progressive manner only if well-defined goals have been established to guide its progress. Not only must there be an objective for the total organization, but, since each component can accomplish only limited work, there should be spelled out division and departmental goals which serve as specific guides for subordinate units. These enable individual managers to operate with maximum freedom but always within the framework of over-all company objectives. Unless such goals are established, there is likely to be haphazard activity, uneconomical commitment of capital funds, poor utilization of people, and mediocre operating results over the long term.