Overview of Management

Koontz and Weihrich offer an interesting perspective on management.

"Management is a process of designing and maintaining an environment in which individuals work together in groups to efficiently accomplish selected aims".

McFarland gives a holistic view on management.

"Management is a process by which managers create, direct, maintain and operate purposive organizations, through systematic, coordinated, cooperative human effort".

These definitions when expanded have these implications.

• The functions of managers include planning, organizing, staffing, leading and controlling.
• These functions are essential to any kind of organization.
• It applies to managers at all hierarchical levels.
• The aim of managers is to increase productivity, effectiveness and efficiency.

Management is thus a continuous effort aimed at shaping an organization and contributing to its overall growth.

Managerial Roles

In 1960, Henry Mintzberg conducted a study to understand about the managerial roles. He identified 10 managerial roles that are common to all managers. These 10 managerial roles are grouped under: Interpersonal, informational and decisional roles.

The interpersonal role is primarily social in nature; that is they are the roles in which the manager's main task is to relate to other people in certain ways. The informational role involves some aspect of information processing. The decision-making role makes significant use of the information. Managerial roles can be performed differently at different times, and the requirements for playing such roles can be fulfilled by the manager depending upon the level and function of management.

Interpersonal roles:  Three important interpersonal roles are the figure head, the leader and the liaison.

• Figurehead: Represents the company on social occasions. Attending the flag hosting ceremony, receiving visitors or taking visitors for dinner etc.
• Leader: In the role of a leader, the manager motivates, encourages, and builds enthusiasm among the employees. Training subordinates to work under pressure, forms part of the responsibilities of a manager.
• Liaison: Consists of relating to others outside the group or organization. Serves as a link between people, groups or organization. The negotiation of prices with the suppliers regarding raw materials is an example for the role of liaison.

Informational Roles: The key informational roles are the recipient, the disseminator and the spokesperson.

• Recipient:  Actively seeks information from subordinates and the external environment. He (Manager) keeps himself updated, with the latest developments which can be of value to the organization.
• Disseminator: The manager plays the role of a disseminator by circulating and transferring relevant information to subordinates, and to the top-level management.

For Example,  Communicating changes in the company policy (remuneration,       recruitment etc.) to subordinates.

• Spokesperson:  Transmits information to the people who are external to the organization, i.e., government, media etc.

For instance, a manager addresses a press conference announcing a new product launch or other major deal. 

Decisional roles: Four basic decision making roles are the entrepreneur, the disturbance handler, the resource allocator and the negotiator.

• Entrepreneur: Act as an initiator and designer and encourage changes and innovation, identify new ideas, delegate idea and responsibility to others.
• Disturbance handler: Take corrective action during disputes or crises; resolves conflicts among subordinates; adapt to environmental crisis.
• Resource allocator: Decides distribution of resources among various individuals and groups in the organization.

For instance, finalizes annual budgets of different departments, after a thorough discussion with the departmental heads. 

• Negotiator: Negotiates with subordinates, groups or organizations- both internal and external. Represents department during negotiation of union contracts, sales, purchases, budgets; represent departmental interests

For instance,  negotiates a contract with the suppliers for the purchase of raw materials.

FUNCTIONS OF MANAGER

Regardless of the type of the industry, the functions involved in an organization, or the organizational level at which one functions; every manager has to perform certain basic managerial functions such as planning, organizing, staffing, leading and controlling. 

• Planning is the process of setting goals, and charting the best way of action for achieving the goals. This function also includes, considering the various steps to be taken to encourage the necessary levels of change and innovation.

For example,  if a company is planning for a promotional campaign, then the manager responsible for the campaign has to chart out actions that are in the best interest of the firm.

• Organizing is the process of allocating and arranging work, authority and  resources, to the members of the organization so that they can successfully execute the plans.

In many retail outlets, departments are organized (inventory department etc.), based on the nature of the job (product packing, grading, pricing, inventory etc.,) 

• Staffing consists of recruiting, training and developing people, who form part of the organized efforts to contribute towards organizational growth.

For instance, recruiting programmers and analysts for a company. Training and developing them to achieve organizational goals forms a part of  the staffing activity. 

• Leading involves directing, influencing and motivating employees to perform essential tasks. This function involves display of leadership qualities, different leadership styles, different influencing powers, with excellent abilities of  communication and motivation. 

For instance, Sam Walton - founder of Walmart,  leadership style was instrumental for the roaring success achieved by the retail giant. He always enjoyed interacting with his employees. He also made it a practice to visit each store, at least once in an year. He also insisted that the top level executives should visit the stores, and interact with employees.  

• Controlling is the process of devising various checks to ensure that planned performance is actually achieved. It involves ensuring that actual activities confirm to the planned activities. Monitoring the financial statements,  checking the cash registers to avoid overdraft etc., form part of this process.

The Essentials of control activities are:

• Setting performance standards
• Determining the yard-stick for measuring performance
• Measuring the actual performance
• Comparing actuals with the standard
• Taking corrective actions, if actuals do not match with standards
  LEVELS OF MANAGEMENT AND TYPES OF MANAGERS
  Management can be classified into three levels. They are top management, middle management and supervisory or first-level management. The number of managerial jobs in an organization varies with the level of management.
  • Top management sets the goals of the organization, evaluates the overall performance of various departments involved in selection of key personnel and consults subordinate managers on subjects or problems of general scope.
  • Middle level management is responsible for developing departmental goals and initiate actions that are required to achieve organizational objectives.
  • Supervisory management takes charge of day-to-day operations at the floor level and is involved in preparing detailed short-range plans.
    There are three types of managers in an organization. They are: Top level managers, middle level managers and first-level mangers.
    • Top level managers: This level is appointed, elected or designated by the organization's governing body. Top managers are responsible for establishing objectives, strategies and operating policies. Top level managers carry titles such as: President, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Managing Director etc. They are responsible for all the activities of the business and are accountable for their impact on society at large. Top managers have direct responsibility for the upper layer of middle level managers.
    • Middle level managers: Middle level managers are primarily responsible for implementing policies and plans that have been decided upon by the top management. They are also responsible for supervising and coordinating the activities of lower level managers. Middle level managers have titles such as manager, head of the department. They look to top management for direction and guidance and are answerable to top managers.
    • First level managers: First level or first line managers, are at the lowest level in the hierarchy of managers. They are responsible for activities of employees operating at the floor-level. Common titles of first level managers include, foreman, supervisor and office manager. In the organizational pursuit of achieving goals, First line managers form the crucial link in the managerial hierarchy, because they ensure that the day-to-day operations  of the organization are run smoothly. They are accountable for the operational output in terms of number of units produced, labor costs, inventory levels and quality control.  
    Example: First level manager could be a flight service manager, who is responsible to check the availability of flight attendants on each flight, besides handling passenger complaints.