MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS

MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS

Management plays a vital role in any business or organized activity. Management is composed of a team of managers who have charge of the organization at all levels. Their duties include making sure company objectives are met and seeing that the business operates efficiently. Regardless of the specific job, most managers perform four basic functions. These management func­tions are planning, organizing, directing, and controlling.

Planning involves determining overall company objectives and deciding how these goals can best be achieved. Managers evaluate alternative plans before choosing a specific course of action and then check to see that the chosen plan fits into the objectives established at higher organizational levels. Planning is listed as the first management function because the others depend on it. However, even as managers move on to perform other managerial functions, planning continues as goals and alternatives are further evaluated and revised.

Organizing, the second management function, is the process of putting the plan into action. This involves allocating resources, especially human resources, so that the overall objectives can be attained. In this phase managers decide on the positions to be created and determine the associated duties and responsibilities. Staffing, choosing the right person for the right job, may also be included as part of the organizing function.

Third is the day-to-day direction and supervision of employees. In directing, managers guide, teach, and motivate workers so that they reach their potential abilities and at the same time achieve the company goals that were established in the planning process. Effective direction, or supervision, by managers requires ongoing communication with employees.

In the last management function, controlling, managers eval­uate how well company objectives are being met. In order to complete this evaluation, managers must look at the objectives established in the planning phase and at how well the tasks assigned in the directing phase are being completed. If major problems exist and goals are not being achieved, then changes need to be made in the company’s organizational or managerial structure. In making changes, managers might have to go back and replan, reorganize, and redirect.

In order to adequately and efficiently perform these manage­ment functions, managers need interpersonal, organizational, and technical skills. Although all four functions are managerial duties, the importance of each may vary depending on the situation. Effective managers meet the objectives of the company through a successful combination of planning, organizing, directing, and controlling.

Exercise 1

Below is a list of terms that you will find in the text. As you read «Management Functions», see if you understand each term. Use this as a working list and add other terms with which you are unfamiliar:

Exercise 2

Refer to the text to help you complete the outline.

I. MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS

A. Planning (= determining overall company objectives and how to achieve them)

1. Managers:

a. evaluate alternative plans before ____________________________ ________________________________________________________

b. check _________________________________________________

2. Planning is first because ______________________________________

3. It continues ________________________________________________

B. Organizing (=_____________________________________________)

1. Involves __________________________________________________

2. Managers:

a. decide on _____________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

b. choose the right person for the right job (=__________________)

C. __________________________ (=____________________________)

1. Managers:

a. ______________________

b. ______________________ workers

c. ______________________

2. Effective direction requires ___________________________________

___________________________________________________________

D. _________________________ (=_____________________________)

1. Managers look at:

a. _____________________

b. _____________________

Reading and discussion

MANAGEMENT AND HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT

Managers perform various functions, but one of the most important and least understood aspects of their job is proper utilization of people. Research reveals that worker performance is closely related to motivation; thus keeping employees moti­vated is an essential component of good management. In a business context, motivation refers to the stimulus that directs the behavior of workers toward the company goals. In order to motivate workers to achieve company goals, managers must be aware of their needs.

Many managers believe workers will be motivated to achieve organizational goals by satisfying their fundamental needs for material survival. These needs include a good salary, safe working conditions, and job security. While absence of these factors results in poor morale and dissatisfaction, studies have shown that their presence results only in maintenance of existing attitudes and work performance. Although important, salary, working conditions, and job security do not provide the primary moti­vation for many workers in highly industrialized societies, espe­cially at the professional or technical levels.

Increased motivation is more likely to occur when work meets the needs of individuals for learning, self-realization, and per­sonal growth. By responding to personal needs — the desire for responsibility, recognition, growth, promotion, and more inter­esting work managers have altered conditions in the workplace and, consequently, many employees are motivated to perform more effectively.

In an attempt appeal to both the fundamental and personal needs of workers, innovative management approaches, such as job enrichment and job enlargement, have been adopted in many organizations. Job enrichment gives workers more authority in making decisions related to planning and doing their work. A worker might assume responsibility for scheduling work-flow, checking quality of work produced, or making sure deadlines are met. Job enlargement increases the number of tasks workers perform by allowing them to rotate positions or by giving them responsibility for doing several jobs. Rather than assembling just one component of an automobile, factory workers might be grouped together and given responsibility for assembling the entire fuel system.

By improving the quality of work life through satisfaction of fundamental and personal employee needs, managers attempt to direct the behavior of workers toward the company goals.

Exercise 1

Below is a list of terms that you will find in the text. As you read «Management and Human Resources Development», see if you understand each term. Use this as a working list and add other terms with which you are unfamiliar:

Exercise 2

Discuss the following questions with a partner. In giving your answers, try to use the italicized terms.

· During which management phase are overall organizational objectives established!

· What personal qualities do you think good managers should have?

· Which of the four management functions do you think is the most important? Why?

· Why are interpersonal skills essential for effective manage­ment!

· Why is staffing considered an ongoing managerial duty?

Exercise 3

Substitute appropriate terms for the underlined words or phrases in the sentences below:

established functions guide team positions

phases allocate attained move on overall

1. Often a group of managers rather than an individual works on a particular project. ________________

2. Plans set up in the first stage are subject to revision throughout the duration of the project. ________________

3. Managers should periodically check to see how well compre­hensive company goals detailed in the planning phase are being met. ________________

4. Organizational goals generally are achieved by successfully combining the functions of planning, organizing, directing, and controlling. ________________

5. It is possible to divide the organizing function into two stages: determining positions and their associated duties and then staffing those positions. ________________

· In order to apportion human resources properly, managers compare company objectives with the available resourc­es. ________________

· Classified advertisements in newspapers and professional journals provide a list of jobs that are available, a brief description of each job, and a telephone number or an ad­dress. ________________

· One of the roles of a supervisor is to direct workers in order to maximize their talents and increase their effi­ciency. ________________

MANAGING DIRECTOR

(types of jobs advertisements)

U.S. parent group having just formed the U.K. Company is now seeking an outstanding younger man as its Managing Di­rector.

The Company will be heavily involved in providing a complete range of services to industry, commerce and government; based on sophisticated problem-solving techniques and computer/soft­ware and systems programming.

While the existing experience of this successful and well financed group will be of great initial assistance it is a requisite that the U.K. Company will innovate and will soon contribute to the knowledge and resources of the whole group.

The position requires an outstanding managerial and executive record, presupposing ability to deal personally at highest man­agerial levels. In this field an above average comprehension and successful experience in the field of the new scientifically based managerial techniques, many of which are computer oriented, is almost essential. Experience with the problems of work manage­ment of software teams will be highly regarded.

The required qualifications almost dictate an age limit of under 40. A substantial salary of up to five figures can be negotiated. However, the real attraction is the opportunity to build a rapid growth organization and to share in its success through a generous stock option scheme.

Correspondence, giving enough detailed information to enable us to assess whether an interview would be mutually advantageous, should be posted under Private and Confidential cover.

BUSINESS MEN AND MANAGERS

The difference between the salaried[2] managers and the indi­vidual capitalist who owns the company of which he is chairman is clear enough. The distinction is between men who understand the strategy of business and those who are only concerned with their own functions. The salaried company official in middle management, whose highest ambition is to be head of his de­partment and retire on the firm's pension scheme just like his suburban neighbour, a civil servant, will not think of himself as a business man as he thinks of one of his directors as a business man, or the tough owners of firms with whom he deals, or the proprietors of the garage that services his car. Plenty of men in middle management have, of course, business strategy in the blood, and are determined to rise, whether in their own company or another, to a position where they will have scope to make business decisions. These are, in our sense, potential business men.

It is significant that some people would like to drop the word «business man» altogether. Young men who do not care to admit that they are going into business can nowadays say that they are going into management. Some directors like to speak of their companies as «organizations» serving the public rather than as businesses making profits, and refer to themselves as simply senior members of the management team. Many business men prefer to be described as directors, industrialists, executives, etc. But directors do not as a rule like to be called managers. On the contrary, there are directors of small firms who have refused better-paid jobs in larger firms because they would there lose the status and title of «director».

The frontier between business men and managers is thus for many reasons hard to define.

RECRUITMENT

There are many ways in which an organization can recruit personnel. Posting a list of vacancies on the company noticeboard or publishing it in employee magazines is fairly common and gives current employees the opportunity of applying for a po­sition. Similarly, a subordinate may be referred for a position by his or her superior.

Another means of recruiting internally is to search in the organization's existing files. Some companies have a data base of their employees' skills and special interests. Reviewing these files periodically may reveal employees who are well-suited to a particular position.

Although recruiting people within the organisation can have many advantages, it does have its limitations. If companies wish to be dynamic it is essential to inject new blood from time to time. Similarly, existing employees may not have the necessary skills that the position requires. Consequently, it is often nec­essary to recruit people from outside the organisation.

Advertising is a commonly used technique for recruiting people from outside. The advertising medium should be chosen accord­ing to the type of public the organization is aiming at. If a highly specialised person is required, a speciality publication such as a trade magazine may be most appropriate. National newspapers and magazines sometimes carry a Senior Appointments section for specialised personnel. Many national and local newspapers have a General Appointments section, or a Classified Ads section for less specialised personnel. Radio and television advertising of vacancies is relatively underdeveloped in most countries.

Employment agencies may be another source of recruitment. State-backed agencies compete with private agencies in many countries. In general, private agencies charge a fee whereas public sector agencies offer their services free of charge. Another dif­ference is that private agencies tend to offer more specific services; for example, they may specialise in a particular area of recruitment such as temporary secretaries, middle managers or senior executives. They may also include search services, other­wise known as headhunting, or provide management consulting.

Current employees are sometimes encouraged to refer friends, family and excolleagues to fill a particular vacancy. This is particularly true in occupations such as nursing where there is a shortage of trained people.

Other valuable sources of recruitment may be university cam­puses, trade unions, professional organizations and unsolicited applications.

Exercise 1

1. List all the forms of internal recruitment mentioned in the passage.

2. Why do companies often recruit from outside the organi­zation?

3. Which kinds of organizations are most likely to recruit through referrals by existing employees?

Exercise 2

Write a sentence explaining what each of the following words mean as they are used in the above text:

Exercise 3

Work in small groups. Choose four of the following recruitment sources and discuss what you think are the advantages and dis­advantages of each from the recruiter's point of view. When you have finished your discussion, report back to the rest of the class:

publishing vacancies in the company magazine

keeping a data base/files

advertising in speciality publications

advertising in the national or regional press

radio and television advertising

employment agencies (public and private)

unsolicited applications.

Unit V

Date: 2014-12-21; view: 8721