What a manager does: four jobs
Management means using people, time and money to reach a goal. It has four jobs:
- Plan: decide what to do and when.
- Organise: give each task to a person and share the tools.
- Lead: guide, explain and encourage the team.
- Control: check progress, compare with the plan, fix problems.
A good manager does all four again and again, not once.
Set a clear goal and list the tasks
A good goal is specific (what), measurable (a number), has a date, and is possible. "Serve 100 cups by Friday" is clear. "Do well at the fair" is not.
Break the goal into tasks in order: Plan (2 days), Prepare (6 person-days), Run (2 days), Review (1 day). A person-day is the work one person does in one day.
Organise and schedule: the Gantt chart
Give each task an owner. Prepare has 6 person-days of work. With 2 helpers: 6 ÷ 2 = 3 days.
A Gantt chart draws each task as a bar on a day line. Tasks that must come one after another sit end to end. Total time = 2 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 8 days.
Days for a task = person-days ÷ number of people. More people shorten the bar, but only while there are enough small jobs to share.
Lead and control: check, act and improve
Leading means saying the goal clearly, thanking good work and listening to problems.
Controlling follows the loop Plan, Do, Check, Act. On day 5 the manager checks: is Prepare done? If it is late, act: add a helper, change the order of small jobs, or remove a job that is not needed. Then do and check again.
Try it
Plan a 3-day task at home, such as cleaning your room and shelf. Write the goal with a number and a date, list 4 tasks, give each an owner and draw a mini Gantt chart on paper. Then try the helper slider in the 3D.
Key formulas and definitions
- Days for a task = person-days ÷ number of people
- Total project time = sum of the tasks done one after another
- Goal = what + number + date
- Plan → Do → Check → Act (repeat)
Worked examples
1. A task needs 12 person-days. How long with 4 people?
12 ÷ 4 = 3 days.
2. Tasks run one after another: 2, 3, 2 and 1 days. What is the total time?
2 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 8 days.
3. Prepare needs 6 person-days. With 1 helper the project is 2 + 6 + 2 + 1 days. Does it meet an 8-day deadline?
2 + 6 + 2 + 1 = 11 days. That is more than 8, so it is late. Adding one more helper makes Prepare 3 days and the total 8.
4. Write a clear goal for a class clean-up.
"Collect 10 bags of litter from the playground by Thursday 3 pm." It has a number, a place and a time.
Common mistakes
- A goal with no number or date, like "do well". Add both.
- Giving a task to "everyone". Name one owner for each task.
- Thinking double the people always means half the time. Small jobs run out.
- Checking only at the end. Check on the way and act early.