Role of Managers - Term Paper Example

Role of Managers INTRODUCTION: Managers have been the most important element responsible for the growth and development of the organization. They are responsible for the overall performance of the organization and are the one who motivate and encourage the employees to perform optimally. The job of manager is mostly associated with four main functions i.e. planning, organizing, leading, and controlling, but managers have to perform various other functions also. There are different roles associated with managers and leaders which are necessary in order to ensure that the managers are taking the organization in the right direction. Different organizations have different management styles and organization cultures. There has been rapid innovation and changes in the field of management. The increasing technological changes and advancement along with whole new sets of concepts and working principles have made the task of management biggest challenge in today’s corporate world. FOUR JOB FUNCTIONS OF MANAGERS: The four job functions of managers are (Tripathi & Reddy, 2006): 1. Planning 2. Organizing 3. Leading 4. Controlling Planning: The first element of the management and job function of managers is planning. It is the duty or responsibility of the manager to plan and set the goals and targets for the organization. Along with this function of planning also includes strategies and methods about how the goals and targets will be achieve. Hence, the two most important and critical elements of the planning function are: setting up of goals and targets and implementing the planning about the aims and objectives. Organizing: The second job function or responsibility of the managers is organizing. The responsibility for the organization of the company is placed on the managers. This responsibility or duty includes the organization of all resources including people or human resource. For the growth and development of any company it is essential to have the required resources and it is the duty of the managers to ensure that the required resources are present at the time of the need. If the workplace will not be organized it will leave negative impression on the employees. Leading: It is important to understand that there is difference between management and leadership. The management is associated with only managing the employees, ensuring that whether the task has been done on the right time, and that all policies and rules are followed. On the other hand the process leadership involves motivating and encouraging employees to perform well. Along with this the leader guides the employees in order to achieve the targets and goals of the company. An effective and efficient manager is one who is also able to lead the employees along with managing them. For this purpose it is essential for the manager to identify elements which motivates and encourage the employees. Controlling: The last job function of the manager is controlling. It includes the process of monitoring and evaluating the overall performance of the organization. This function is necessary in order to ensure that the overall organization is on the right track and is working to accomplish the goals and targets. Apart from this it is also the responsibility of the manager to do cost versus benefits or performance analysis for different projects and activities undertaken by the organization. KEYS TO SUCCESSFULLY CARRY OUT MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES: In order to be able to successfully carry out and fulfill the duties and responsibilities associated with managers it is required to understand the process of management. The mangers should be competent enough to perform all the required tasks and job functions. Management is not an easy task, it involves different responsibilities including, planning, controlling, leading, organizing, staffing, and many more. Managers have to understand that the task of management is basically a balancing act in which one has to balance several elements and components. A successful manager is the one who is able to keep the required balance and at the same time is able to motivate and encourage the employees. Owing to the increasing importance of the importance of the managers and management, huge emphasis has been placed on training managers by the leading organizations (Tripathi & Reddy, 2006). ROLES OF MANAGERS: During the tenure of the whole management, managers have to take different roles according to the demand and requirement of the situation. Different roles which managers have to perform every day consist of team leader, organizer, planner, coach, cheerleader, motivator, problem solver, and many more. Apart from this the managers should also be trained in time management in order to plan and manage and all activities in appropriate manner. Mintzberg has presented ten different roles of managers and divided them into three broad categories: 1. Interpersonal: it includes all roles associated with interacting with humans. 2. Informational: it includes all roles associated with the process of information sharing and analysis. 3. Decisional: it includes all roles associated with the process of decision making. The ten roles which have been presented by Mintzberg are (Mintzberg, 1971): 1. Monitor 2. Disseminator 3. Spokesperson 4. Figurehead 5. Leader 6. Liaison 7. Entrepreneur 8. Disturbance handler 9. Resource allocator 10. Negotiator KEY COMPETENCIES NECESSARY FOR MANAGERS: It is not possible for everyone to become a successful manager. There are certain competencies and skills which are essential for managers in order to be able to perform their tasks and responsibilities in effective and efficient manner. There are several skills and competencies associated with the process of translating knowledge to practical action in order to get the desired results, are required to be a successful manager and helping other employees to increase productivity. These skills or competencies are divided into three broad categories (Tripathi & Reddy, 2006): 1. Technical: the managers should have the technical skills and competencies in order to perform particular technical tasks. 2. Human: the managers should be able to associate will with other humans are able to work in cooperation with them. This results in building trust and involvement which in turn results in strengthening the interpersonal relationships. 3. Conceptual: it is highly important that the manager should be able to think analytically. This skill or competency enables the managers to understand the issue or problem and come up with effective strategy in order to overcome that issue or problem. This skill is also associated with problem solving and decision making roles of the manger Apart from these three broad categories, other important skills and competencies necessary for managers are (Tripathi & Reddy, 2006): Leadership Self objectivity Behavioral flexibility Written communication Time management Stress management Conflict management Oral communication Analytic thinking Personal impact Tolerance for uncertainty MANAGEMENT AND OPERATING CULTURE AT APPLE: Apple is one of the famous American multinational corporation and is known for its continuous innovation and technological advancements. The mission and vision of the company is associated with providing ultimate personal computing experience to the different people including students, professionals, educators, and general consumers throughout the world with the help of different innovative and out of box hardware, software, and internet offerings solutions (Garsten, 1994). Apart from this Apple is associated with effective and efficient change management strategies, as the company has been keep on coming up with new and innovative products. The company has been able to report growing trends under the leadership of Steve Jobs. But after the dead of Steve Jobs there has been a big question mark on giving the same overall performance and results. The duty and responsibility of the maintaining the same results and performance is of the management or leadership of the organization, and in this case is on the new CEO Tim Cook (Gupta, 2011). Because of well structured succession planning, Apple has been able to respond this change in effective and efficient manner. The company has initiated the concept of Apple University, with the help of which it is training the managers the management and leadership style of Steve Jobs (Albanesius, 2011). This suggests that the organization has efficient and cooperative management and operating culture. CHALLENGE OF MANAGING IN 2011: Owing to the rapid globalization and technological advancement, the overall task of management has become challenging and demanding. The process of management has evolved with the passage of time. More and more organizations have been expanding the operations in the international market, which in turn is placing more pressure on the managers and management of the organization. Some of the issues associate with increasing globalization are, employee retention, diversity, and rapid growth. It has become challenging to manage the diverse workforce and retain them in such a dynamic environment. Apart from this there has been increased competition which has placed pressure on the management to come up with effective strategies in order to create competitive advantage over other competitors. For this reason the managers have been facing increasing challenges to reduce the cost. On the other hand the consumers have become more educated and are more aware of different concepts. As a result managers have to balance out between the cost and quality (Lewis, Goodman, Fandt, & Michlitsch, 2007). Another major challenge which has been imposed on management is related to corporate social responsibility and ethical practices. There has been increasing concern about different corporate governance, social responsibility, and ethical issues. The management has to be more careful and cautious about these issues and should ensure that all activities are performed in ethical manner and the organization is social responsible. Apart from the customers, the employees of the organizations have also become more aware about different rights. As a result there has been increase in different demands on part of the employee. The managers have to ensure that all requirements and demands of the employees are fulfilled so that they are able to perform well. The rapid advancement in technology and other related tools has also resulted in increasing the challenge and hardships of management. The managers now also have to be concerned about different technological tools and methods and should be trained so that they are able to use these tools in effective manner. Apart from this, the technological advancement has also resulted in increasing the management responsibilities associated with information and data. The managers have to be more careful while the process of transferring data and information. Along with this, all this innovation and technological advancements has resulted in the creation of different Intellectual Property and the management challenges associated with this Intellectual Property (Horlesberger, El-Nawawi, & Khalil, 2007). Owing to changing economic, social, cultural, and political environment, there has been increasing mergers and acquisitions. These changes also result in making the task of management challenging. The manages should be able to come up with appropriate change management strategies in order to ensure that the change is accepted by everyone in the organization. The major challenge for the people who are looking forward to pursue a career in the field of management is associated with change management. The world is changing at a rapid rate and in order to survive and grow in the industry it is important for the organization to be able to change in accordance to the changing requirements and demands. This results in placing huge responsibility on managers associated with the management of the whole process of change. The managers should know the methods of identifying appropriate change agents and minimizing the overall resistance, so that the change is accepted by all and is a success. It is important to understand that management has never been an easy task at any point of time. Each era or time period had its own challenges and issues. The need is to train and educate the managers so that they are able to respond to the changing requirements and demands. CONCLUSION: In the face of rapidly changing world, it is important for managers to understand the different tasks and responsibilities associated with management. Managers have been exposed to more challenging tasks than before because of the increasing globalization and technological advancements. However, it is still important to understand the basic concepts and ideas associated with managers and management. This includes the four job functions of the managers, key competencies and skills required by managers, and the methods and techniques in order to be able to successfully perform the managing tasks and activities. Along with this it is necessary to train and educate managers according to the changing requirements and needs. REFERENCES Albanesius. (2011). Infographic: Can Apple University help you think like Steve Jobs? PC Mag, Retrieved November 05, 2011, from Garsten, C. (1994). Apple World: Core and periphery in a transnational organizational culture. Dept. of Social Anthropology, Stockholm University: Stockholm Gupta, P. (2011). Steve Jobs resigns from Apple, Cook becomes CEO, Reuters. Retreived November 05, 2011, from Horlesberger, M., El-Nawawi, M., & Khalil, T. (2007). Challenges in management of new technologies. World Scientific Publishing Co.: Danvers, MA. Lewis, P., Goodman, S., Fandt, P., & Michlitsch, J. (2007). Management: Challenges for Tomorrow’s Leader. Thomson South Western: Mason, OH. Mintzberg, H. (1971). Managerial Work: Analysis from observation. Management Science, 18(2), B97-B110. Tripathi, P., & Reddy, P. (2006). Principles of Management. Tata McGraw-Hill: New Delhi. Read More