What does industrial plant management involve

Today, more than ever before the nation and most of its institutions are facing one problem or the other that have proved insoluble and rather intractable. the political system is unstable, the industries are struggling for survival, we find it difficult to uphold and practice justice, we are being unfair in our dealings, our industry output is poor, electric supply is epileptic, there is rarely any industry that can produce at half capacity, the Naira is almost worthless that one can safely conclude that the economy is witnessing a depression. The per capital income which rose to $1000 in 1988 is now reckoned to be less than $400. Nigeria as a country has receded from being classified as a middle income country in the world table to being one of the 20 poorest countries in the world. Taking the economy as a whole the situation has being characterized by chronic under performance - a classic case of economic depression.

This paper will be a mix theory and practice. In the course of our discussion, attempt will be made to define management( the bedrock of the topic) and its components. What industry is shall be examined. The issue of depression in an economy. How management can help find solution to a depressed economy.

What is management?
Management as a subject has many parts depending on what part you intend to look at and concentrate. It has been so many things to many men. As a result of which so many people have given so many definitions all saying almost the same thing. It is likened to that old Hindu legend of the six blind men who went to "see" an elephant. One felt the elephant leg and declared the elephant was like a tree. The second passed his hand along the flank, and declared that the elephant was like a wall.The third pulled on the tail and declared that the elephant was like a rope. The fourth encountered the squirming trunk, and declared the elephant was a snake. The fifth felt the ear and declared and declared the elephant was like a fan. The sixth took the tusk between his hands and declared that the elephant was like a spare. So it is with management. It has many sides.

Niccolo Machiavelli in the 15th century with a unique theory which dwelt on four types of management, showing how the "prince" or leader could meet his obligations.

First, through cohesiveness, second by acquiring the consent of the ruled, thirdly, by maintaining his leadership qualities, the fourth toughness.

The concept of scientific management was introduced by Fredrick Tailor after the industrial revolution. Tailor introduced the concept of mean getting and training the right person for the right job. This technique is still practiced by some organizations today.

Henry Fayol, developed a top management theory. He proclaimed five functions of Administrative management; planning, organizing, commanding, co-ordinating and controlling. It was from him that the world learned that for any action whatsoever, an employee should receive orders from one superior only. Fayol's principles met with criticism and repudiation on the grounds that he perceived his "employees" as a "mindless robot" lacking or incapable of exercising initiative.

There was Max Weber"s famous bureaucracy theory. One of its shortcomings is, however, the tendency for initiative to get stifled.

There was the Human Relations Movement Spearheaded by Elton Mayo who built the performance of the employee on his state of mind and body and not on the idea which would alienate him from emotional attributes as hitherto expressed by Taloy and Fayol. Elton Mayo introduced rest periods and shifts into long working hours and got satisfactory production results. He identified certain characteristics which induced better performance, work pacing, recognizing and appreciating "workers" contribution to production, social interaction within groups, discussing publicly complaints among workers and changing working environment occasionally to offset boredom. He concluded that the fact that the employee was seen as an individual, not an addition to the machine provided the key to his effectiveness.

MacGregor's X and Y theories are worth looking at. He believed that the previous postulations on management's perception of people were old fashioned, because these failed to take cognizance of people's educational and psychological development on the job.

X's management's perception of the average man was unflattering. It saw the workers as someone who disliked work, was to be "pushed", "controlled", "directed" and therefore threatened with disciplinary action, if objectives were to be achieved.

Y's theory on the other hand was flattering because the worker was perceived as expanding his physical and mental abilities naturally, did not need to be coerced, was purpose-oriented, learned, committed his time to the realization of objectives, had initiatives, was creative, and expected to be rewarded for his efforts.

Some other people also see management as a bogyman who can make or break workers' hopes and aspirations; the management hardly appreciates or commends good work but only looks out for faults, there is the belief that the people make the money, while management spends it on themselves, which gives rise to the reference of "them" and "us". We also have the total quality concept of management. Quality is a word used to mean luxury, goodness, precision or excellent finish in a product.This word quality is now used in the direction of performance. Hence quality(performance) becomes a variable which we constantly improve upon. There are two types of qualities now, one with small q, the other with capital Q, one is for quality control the other is for quality improvement or performance. We have q(quality control) + Q(performance) = TQ(Total quality).

Total quality is about how the control acts of an organization work together to achieve better results. This involves satisfying customers, a continuous improvement of performance, eliminating waste and excesses, and enhancing the contributions of workers for the good of the whole.

What we have done so far is the review of management theories and techniques which has been postulated in human organizations over the years.

Management therefore is concerned with the accomplishment of objectives through the efforts of other people. Objectives or goals are the final results expected. It is the act of getting things done through people. It is the ability to properly mobilize human resources towards continuous improvement in performance, through the offer of attractive incentives, with the ultimate aim of achieving desirable results. The ultimate objective of management is to engineer the progress of the society by ensuring first, the highest level of happiness for the largest number of citizens and second for the more rapid growth of society.