The fundamentals of management follow a very simple model, integrate purposes, people, and processes (3Ps) with the available resources and supporting infrastructure. Management involves nothing more or less than managing activities directed toward some purpose and with the appropriate people and processes. Every organizational activity follows this pattern; a defined purpose implemented through people following certain predefined processes. This pattern fits all activities across a spectrum from making major organizational acquisitions at one end to the lowliest activity at the other end. If the purpose of the activity cannot be defined, then why pursue it? If the people with the right competencies are not available to pursue the activity, why dedicate the effort? Without the required people competencies processes provide no value.
This model applies to all organizational activities whether related to academia, government, industry, or not-for-profit organizations. It applies to all disciplines. It applies to all activities regardless of size, scope, or configuration. The 3P model that integrates well-defined purposes acted upon by competent people and adaptable processes provides the best opportunity for success in reaching objectives.
The 3Ps, while providing a simple management model, are difficult to implement. When we define purposes, select people, or develop processes we usually do not develop right or wrong answers; we develop the best approximations based on the available information that may be partially right and partially wrong or inconclusive. We judge information based on the credibility of the source. Doing an objective analysis without any bias is difficult to achieve. So success of the 3P model depends on the information used to define the purposes, people, and processes. It also depends on recognizing that the linkage of purposes, people, and processes is dynamic and that new information may require changes in the purposes, people, and processes.