What is 'management' and what is expected to be achieved through the process?

The principles discussed in the planning stage enable managers to devise a framework by which job tasks are divided, grouped, and coordinated.  However, the function of organising is concerned with assigning individuals with tasks or responsibilities, which combine together to form one goal.  After discovering the strengths and weaknesses and defining the overall plan, the team leader must organise the resources to achieve those objectives set out previously.  This aspect of organising is intertwined immensely with leading and planning, since both are vital to the success of organising the group.  The team leader must be able to motivate the members to apply themselves to the tasks or responsibilities allocated during the planning stage.

Leading is a fundamental part of management.  This means influencing individuals to get tasks accomplished, maintaining moral, moulding company culture, and managing conflict and communication.  Leading should be used as a motivating tactic to control individuals and emphasise the importance of achieving the goals set out in the planning stage.

Although some managers are able to influence followers to work toward the achievement of organisational goals, the authority of a manager does not necessarily make that individual a leader. Yes, that individual has authority, but whether or not they are able to influence their subordinates may depend on more than just that authority.

Not all leaders are managers, and similarly, not all managers are leaders.  Within a team environment, managers and leaders are simply roles taken on by members of the team.  Most teams require a manager to ‘manage’ - coordinate, schedule, contact, organise, and procure their affairs.  The functions of this role may well be quite different from those of the leader.  Management roles need not presuppose any ability to influence. A leader, on the other hand, must have the ability to influence other team members.  A leader must, by definition, have followers.

Control is perhaps the most vital stage of the management process because it relies heavily upon all other facets.  It allows the managers to see the faults and downfalls in any organisation. Through the control, the manager is able to gain foresight in varying problems, which may deplete the level at which the organisational goals are being achieved. Control allows the manager to use discretion in deciding whether the subordinates were not motivated enough to complete their tasks in the timeframe allocated or whether there was another problem.

A manager's role in the development of an organisation and achieving the goals set in its mission statement cannot be defined to four key functions.  Yet these four functions discussed: planning, leading, organising and controlling are imperative to the success of any company.  From the smallest family run company to the biggest multinational corporations plans must be implemented, people motivated and organised, and given feedback on their progress. This the main reason as to why these four functions, as discussed by Henri Fayol, are crucial in the running of any organisation.

As shown, all four factors are inter-related in some manner.  Planning allows the controlling stage to be performed while also allowing leaders to allocate tasks to team members, which are organised to form one cohesive effort.  Organising is the allocation of resources necessary to achieve these goals.  However how would a team be organized if there were no objective?  How would a team operate if there were no motivation?  And how would the team perform is they weren't given feedback on their performance?

The global business environment has multiplied the threats and competition a company faces tenfold.  With the technology available these days, competitors are no longer separated by borders or geography; therefore, the markets and consumers offered have also increased.  However with this increase in potential profit, the amount of competitors and threats has also increased, and; therefore, these four functions have assumed an even greater importance in the ongoing survival and success of any organisation.

Intertwined with these four aspects is the much needed entity of change that enables the organisation to actively achieve its goals in the ever-changing and growing 21st century business-centred world. Change is “[A]n alteration in people, structure or technology.” Change occurs within and around organisations today at an unprecedented speed and complexity. Change poses threats and creates opportunities.  The fact that change creates opportunities is reason why managers need to encourage change.

What a manager can change falls distinctively into the three categories stated in the definition of change: people, structure, and technology.  The manager can make alterations in these areas in an attempt to adapt to or facilitate change.  The change of people involves changing attitudes, expectations, perceptions and behaviour.  These changes are used to help people within organisations to work together more effectively.  Changing structure relates to job design, job specialisation, hierarchy, formalisation and all other organisational structural variables.  These changes are ones that need to be flexible and not static to be adaptable to change.  Technological change entails modification of work processes and methods and the introduction of new equipment.  Changes in this area have been enormous especially in the areas of computing and communications.

Change and survival are synonymous.  For an organisation to survive and continue in the 21st century world it demands change.  Managers must be intuitive and read the current and changing situation surrounding them and make the best decision to coordinate work and apply resources. Change implemented correctly can unleash employee creativity and potential, reduce bureaucracy and costs, and provide ongoing improvement for an organisation.  Given these benefits it would seem a good idea to encourage change.

Through the process of ‘management’ varying levels of managerial positions exist and they all have different, yet equally important roles in the ultimate aim of achieving the organisations goals. Managers can be separated by their level of responsibility and their functions.

The junior manager usually is a supervisor or team leader. The role of this manager is to work at the operational level and coordinate the employees. Junior managers make sure the quality level of work is appropriate and may be expected to fill in when an employee is absent.

Middle managers are usually sales, marketing and finance managers. Middle managers are responsible for junior managers and report to senior management. They spend longer on management functions compared with junior managers.

Senior managers are the executives in the highest level of the organisation. They are responsible for the overall direction and coordination of the organisational objectives.

Functional management is found in large organisations where specialist managers or expertise is required. Functional managers are usually concerned with a few tasks. Examples of this would be a human resource manager, who is only concerned with staffing activities.

Managers responsible for the all the activities in the organisation can be considered as line managers. They are involved in most of the organisational functions such as finance, production, human-relations and marketing. Line managers are usually found in smaller organisations such as factories and shops.

All of the above managerial roles are imperative in explaining the varying aspects of the process of management. Every manager has a different role to preform, some are seemingly of less importance, yet every person is devoted to the process of management and its product: of achieving the organisation’s goals and objectives.

Management is one of the most complex and extensively exercised activity that contains new and different findings everyday that organisations implement. Without the function of management in an organisation, it would be impossible for organisations to achieve any of its goals and objectives. Why? Because management deals with people which an organisation is made up of. Management creates a possible environment for people to recognise and develop human characteristics for themselves, a process of motivation that improve and achieve organisation goals.

References

• Bower, M, 1966, The Will to Manage, McGraw-Hill Book Company, USA.
• Falk, R, 1976, The Business of Management, Hazel Watson & Viney Ltd, Great Britain.
• Hales, C, 2001, Managing Through Organisation, Thomson Learning, Great Britain.
• Joiner, B, 1994, Fourth Generation Management: The New Business Consciousness, McGraw-Hill Inc, USA.
• McCarthy, J, 1978, Why Managers Fail…and what to do about it, McGraw-Hill Book Company, USA.
• McShane, S, 2003, Organisational Behaviour on the Pacific Rim, McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Limited, Australia.
• Rice, A, 1970, Systems of Organisation: The control of task and sentient boundaries, Tavistock Publications Limited, Great Britain.
• Robbins, B, 2000, Management Second Edition, Stagg and Coulter, Australia.
• Stewart, R, 1985, The Reality of Organizations, Pan Books, Great Britain.

Word Count: 2001

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