Managerial Functions Essay

Managers create and uphold an internal environment, commonly called the organization, so that others can work efficiently. In any organization, a manager’s job consists of planning, organizing, staffing, motivating, leading and controlling the resources of the organization. These functions also include counseling and coordinating with subordinates and peers. These resources include people, jobs or positions, technology, facilities and equipment, materials and supplies, information, and money. Managers work in an energetic environment and must foresee and adapt to challenges.† Eight Managerial Functions Planning Planning involves selecting missions and objectives and the actions to achieve them. It requires decision-making. For every organization, planning process is rational and agreeable to the scientific approach to problem solving. It consists of a logical and systematic series of steps. Managers of higher level have to follow these steps: * Define the mission. * Conduct a situation analysis by assessing strengths and weaknesses and identifying opportunities and threats. * Set goals and objectives. * Develop related strategies. * Monitor the plan. Almost every manager, junior or senior is involved in planning process, directly or indirectly.† (Principles of Management) Organizing â€Å"It is that part of managing that involves establishing an intentional structure of roles for people to fill in an enterprise. The purpose of the organizing function is to make the best use of the organization’s resources to achieve organizational goals. Organizational structure is the formal decision-making skeleton by which job tasks are divided, grouped, and harmonized. It is the extent to which the units of the organization are explicitly defined and its policies, procedures, and goals are clearly stated. It is the official organizational structure envisaged and built by top management and supervisors.† (Allen, 1998) Leading It influences people to strive willingly and passionately toward the accomplishment of organization and group goals. Since leadership involves the exercise of influence by one person over others, the quality of leadership showed by supervisors is a critical determinant of organizational success. If a manager is able to influence people to achieve the goals of the organization, without using his or her formal authority to do so, then the manager is demonstrating leadership. Thus, leading is a major part of a manager’s job. Yet a manager must also plan, organize, and control. Generally speaking, leadership deals with the interpersonal aspects of a manager’s job, whereas planning, organizing, and controlling deal with the administrative aspects. (Kevin & Jackie, 1996) Staffing Managers in all types of organizations are responsible for the human resources in their departments. Selecting competent, high-performing employees capable of supporting their performance over the long run is a competitive advantage. The Staffing consists of forecasting employment needs, recruiting candidates, interviewing applicants, and hiring employees. The managers develop a team of job candidates from which to select qualified employees. The local labor market, the type or level of position and the  size of the organization decide which source is used to find prospective job candidates.† (Allen, 1998) Coordinating Manager depends on collaboration from their employees, because without group support, the chance of achievement is slim. Effective supervisors empower employees by giving them more decision making power and by seeking ideas from every worker. He is the liaison with external constituencies such as upper management, other internal teams, customers, and suppliers. It is the supervisor’s job to build and sustain an effective team. Managers, as team leaders, share information, trust others, surrender authority, and understand when to intrude. (Likert, 1967) Motivating Since motivation influences productivity, manager understands what motivates employees to reach maximum performance. It is not an easy task to increase employee motivation because employees respond in different ways to their jobs and their organization’s practices. Motivation is the set of processes that moves a person toward a goal. Thus, motivated behaviors are intentional choices controlled by the individual employee. The supervisor (motivator) wants to influence the factors that motivate employees to higher levels of productivity. Counseling In any organization, managers use controls to help employees achieve objectives. An employee’s problem performance is often related to non-job factors. The supervisor is in the best position to spot and handle problems when they arise. He can use counseling to provide relief for the troubled employee. Counseling is a behavioral control method used by the manager to solve performance problems. As a counselor, the supervisor is a helper, discusses the employee’s private problems that are affecting his or her job performance, aiming to resolve them. The manager helps staff help themselves. Controlling â€Å"Control is the process through which standards for performance of people and processes are set, communicated, and applied. The manager observes what happens and compares that with what was supposed to happen. Efficient control systems allow managers to know how well implementation is going. Since managers are eventually held responsible for their employees’ performance, well-timed feedback on employee activity is essential.† (Allen, 1998) Expected changes in future As time and requirements of an organization change, there is always a need to change managerial functions. Mangers at all levels must anticipate and adapt to changes. In any ordinary but expanding organization the next future change might be to restructure the organization. For this purpose of course more staffing is required and the whole setup and functions will be needed to change according to the particular requirements of organization. Conclusion The job of every manager involves what is known as the functions of management: planning, organizing, staffing, motivating, leading, counseling, coordinating, and controlling. These functions are goal-directed, interrelated and interdependent. The intensity of these functions always changes with the circumstances and requirements of the organization. Works Cited Kevin Freiberg and Jackie Freiberg, 1996 Southwest Airlines Crazy Recipe for Business and Personal Success, 1996 Bard Press Allen, Gemmy, 1998, Modern Management: Supervision. Principles of Management. McGraw Hill Likert, Rensil, 1967 New York McGraw Hill