Management and functions

Define the term 'Management' and discuss the four (4) functions of management (Planning, Organizing, Leading and Controlling).

 

  Management is the process of achieving a goal effectively and efficiently. Davidson et al. (2010, p.5) stated that "Although there are many definition of Management, it is at least as complex as 'PLOC': planning, organizing, leading and controlling." These processes are undergone by three levels of managers. They are top manager, meddle manager and the front-line manager. They need to communicate and cooperate with each other to finish the work. Hence they will use all the resources from the company to reach the target.

 

  In a business, high effectiveness means that the result is very close to the original expect. High efficiency means that the whole work is very productive. A good management should strike a balance between effectiveness and efficiency because it will cause much waste when it is high effective but low efficient. On the other hand, high efficient but low effective will cause low attachment. It is very difficult to have a successful business. According to Jones and George (2006, pp.4-5), one of the successful example is Steve Job, who was the CEO of Apple Company. He developed the iPod and helped the company got over the crisis. And then he continued to develop the Mac computer, iPhone and iPad. The company can be almost as strong as Google Company in a short period. His amazing management skill is one of the main reason. He did an excellent job in the four function of management.

 

  Planning is the first step of the four functions. Managers will need to define goal and make a few plans to reach it. As situation always changes, manager need to change and develop the plan in different situation. The main reason for this function is to ensure the whole project is kept in focus. All these help the manager to make a decision. However, just like Jones and George (2006, p.4) said in the book about management "Management is an unpredictable process. Making the right decision is difficult." Managers need to see the trend, know the most of the people's favorite, understand the other companies' strategy, etc. There are lots of things that need to be considered before a decision is made.

 

The next step is organization. Manager should complete the details of the plan including distributed resources to departments, selected people to hold the project, set a timetable for the work. The final goal will cut into some short-term goals. Coordination is also a part of organization. Managers need to communicate with the people in the other companies to share information. Also, they hold presentation to answer the questions from the society. Manager needs to decide what the best allocation of resources and people is. And produced the best organizational structure which is "a formal system of task and reporting relationships that coordinates and motives members so that they can work together to achieve organization goals" (Jones and George 2006, p.12). When a company is small, this function can be easily done. However, if the company is going bigger and stronger, the people need to work together. Then this is a very hard work to organize people to focus on the same target.

 

The third function is leading. Supervising is one of the uses of leading. According to Yurl (2006, p.29), this function can enhance the ability of workers. Providing training courses can strengthen the strong points and improve the weak points of the workers. Also, manager needs to coordinate the work activities, motivate and influence others, etc (Robbins 2012, p.9; Davidson et al. 2010, p.14). But managers should understand the problems that the workers had before they do anything. So, in this stage, communication is a very important thing.

 

The final one is controlling. This process is to ensure the three above functions undergoing correctly and smoothly. It keeps everything on track, prevents the bad products and collects the feedback from the users. Davidson et al. (2010, p.14) states that this function is essential to a successful management as it will gather data important for the planning process. For example, if Steve Job discovered that the iPod doesn't fit the environmental needed, he would definitely change his decision in the planning process.

 

In order to finish all the functions above, managers always need to play as many roles. According to Mintzberg's managerial roles, they can be classified into three main groups: interpersonal, informational and decisional. Interpersonal role includes figurehead, leader and liaison. These roles are mainly focus on dealing with people. As Davidson et al. (2010, p.18) wrote in the book "It involves people and other duties that are ceremonial and symbolic in nature." Informational role included the Spokesperson, monitor and disseminator. These roles are used to collect information from outside and inside the company and providing data to the society. Decisional role includes the entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator and negotiator. They are all important roles for completing the job.

 

Besides, different levels of managers need to have different skills. The top manager needs to have better conceptual skills because conceptual skill is the ability that managers use to understand and deal with the circumstance. Top manager always has to look at the whole company, the situation usually is extremely complicated. Unlike the front-line managers who are just managed a team. However, technical skills are more important for the front-line managers because their working area usually involved particular knowledge. According to Jones and George (2006, p. 25) and Davidson et al. (2010, p.20), Human skill, which is also known as interpersonal skill, is important for all level of managers. This is the skill about the ability to work in a group or independently. A company is a place for people to work together, that's why this is an essential skill for all level of managers.

 

In conclusion, management is a way to finish the job both effectively and efficiently. The process needs to be coordinated by three levels of managers, play different roles and contain different skills to complete. The four functions – planning, organizing, leading, controlling are needed to be done continuously and cyclically.

 

 

The reference list:

 

Robbins, Stephen, P, David, D, Mary, C & Megan, W 1943, Management: the essentials, Pearson Australia, Australia.

 

Davidson, P, Simon, A, Woods, P and Griffin, R 2010, Management Sydney, Wiley.

 

Yukl, Gary, A 2006, The nature of managerial work, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, N. J..

 

Jones, Gareth, R and George, Jennifer, M 2006, Contemporary management, 4th edn., McGraw-Hill/Irwin, Boston; New York.