Purpose and the Role of Managers - Essay Example

? [PURPOSE AND ROLE OF MANAGERS] By Insert Presented to Location Due Introduction Managershave existed in traditional and modern organizations. In organizations, managers are involved in the coordination of the work of individuals and teams to ensure goals and objectives of organizations are achieved. The four basic functions that managers perform in organizations are planning, organizing, leading, and controlling (Puckett, Byers, & Green, 2004:34). Management can be defined as the rational assessment of a situation and systematic selection of goals and objectives, the systematic development of strategies to achieve these goals and objectives, the marshalling of the required resources and the rational design, organization, direction and control of activities required to attain the selected procedures (Waldron, Vsanthakumar, & Arulraj, 2011). Currently, debates have risen as to whether organizations really need managers for the purposes of achieving their goals and objectives. This paper is to examine the functions and purpose of managers in organizations and there relevance in organizations. Traditional and Modern Managers Managers have existed in traditional and modem organizations and there are certain conventional functions and roles that such managers were executing. The conventional activities that managers are involved in organizations including building and maintaining relationships, getting and giving information, influencing people and decision making (Waldron, Vsanthakumar, & Arulraj, 2011). The functions and purpose of managers in the traditional management was restricted to the liaison between the owner and all the staff of the organization (Cieslinska, 2007). According to traditional and modern management principles, the functions of a manager are identified as interpersonal, informational, and decisional. Interpersonal roles entail the development, building, and maintenance of contacts and relationships with variety of people both within and outside the organization or department. Interpersonal role requires managers to acts as a symbol for their organizations or departments and to liaise with other people outside the department or organization. The informational role requires managers to monitor and assess organizational operations through data collection and analysis and disseminating information to employees and other stakeholders and acting as a spokesperson for the organization (Puckett, Byers, & Green, 2004:32). Managers are also charged with decisional role where they are required to make innovative decisions, handle conflicts, and resolve problems and resource allocation (Yadav, 2009). Planning Managers are involved in the planning of the business environment in organizations. The planning aspect for managers entails the identification of goals and objectives that the organization seeks to achieve. They also determine the methods and strategies to be used in the achievement of the pre-set goals and objectives of the organizations in which they head (Rondeau, 2011). It is the responsibility of the manager to ensure that the goals and objectives of organizations are met and achieved within the stipulated time frame. To ensure that the objectives are realized, the managers ensures that the organization runs smoothly and any impediments and obstacles that might derail the organization from achieving its goals and objectives are removed. In the traditional organizational management system, managers were preoccupied with the running of the day to day business with the sole responsibility of increasing profitability for the organizations. The responsibility of meeting the organizational goals such as the provision of safe place for employment, provision of quality products, adherence to the mission, vision and values of an organization and providing the expectations, wants and needs of customers squarely lies within the functions of managers (Puckett, Byers, & Green, 2004:37). The current environment in which most organizations operate is dynamic and complex and it keeps on evolving. Managers are required to identify, assess and interpret trends so as to effectively anticipate and plan for future opportunities and improvements (Puckett, Byers, & Green, 2004:33). It is therefore imperative for managers to seek and develop new business and program possibilities for organizations and to discover novel approaches to effectively manage the ever-evolving organizational dynamics. In both the traditional and modern management, managers are involves in organizing and allocation of resources. Managers are required to allocate resources based on sound decision-making and by doing this, they are expected to set priorities for organizational functions and how resources such as personnel, equipment, time, information and money are going to be used. Resource management refers to the authority and responsibility vested on managers to manage the resources allocated to organizations (Puckett, Byers, & Green, 2004:37). Managers are involved in the organization of resources so as to achieve the goals and objectives of an organization in optimum manner. Resource Management requires managers to carry out human resource management, administrative functions and overseeing the overall running of organizations (Rondeau, 2011). Another function and purpose of managers in organizations that are inherent in both traditional and modern management is coordination and controlling. In relation to coordination and controlling functions, managers are expected to establish and to determine feedback procedures, assess, monitor, evaluate and adjust systems, processes and performance criteria and measures to avoid organizational risks (Rondeau, 2011). Employee Management In the preceding paragraphs it is has been pointed out that traditional managers concentrated with increasing profitability in organizations as the core part of their management responsibility. However, it has been realized that managers need to shift from their micro management responsibilities to macro management responsibilities where they are able to oversee all aspects of the organization. Managers should focus their attention into identifying, nurturing and grooming of employees, who would in future, become leaders of the organization (Yadav, 2009). There is a general consensus that the sustainability and the success running of an organization for maximum number of years require constant churning out of leaders across the organization. It is hence the responsibilities if managers to nurture, develop and groom employees who will become future leaders in the organization and thereby driving it forward. Traditional managers on many occasions consider themselves as working managers and hence restrict their functions employee management to staff supervision and making sure that organizational goals are clear (Wilson & Gislason, 2009:14). By strictly adhering to staff supervision, majority of traditional managers have neglected the role of developing new managers and leaders. In ensuring that future organizational leaders are developed and nurtured, managers are mandated with the responsibility of making sure that they provide the necessary support and harmonious environment in which employees can display their skills and competencies. The managers should strive at developing and nurturing employees across the organization in order for the company to prosper and succeed. However, the process of developing and grooming leaders can be marred by bias and most managers are likely to consider only those employees who understand better than others do. Modern management requires managers to put aside their personal likings or disliking and instead judge employees based on their capacity to execute the job efficiently, their keenness, and ability to learn new competencies and skills, abilities to perform in teams and their assimilation and understanding of the organizational culture (Yadav, 2009). Managers are hence required to develop people into leaders in organizations where they discharge their management responsibilities. Modern management requires leaders to integrate coaching, mentorship and training, and employee nurturing into their roles in order to develop new and future organizational leaders (Wilson & Gislason, 2009:18). Managers and Organizational Change Presently, most organizations are carrying out changes in order to continue to remain competitive or due to changing business dynamics. Effecting organizational change is always a painful process as employees are likely to lose their known and familiar ways, sense of competencies, status, and financial security and as a result, most employees are bound to resist change (Chew, Cheng, & Petrovic-Lazarevic, 2006:59). The initiation of organizational changes by mangers is driven by the urge and need to enhance organizational effectiveness so as to achieve organizational goals and objectives. Since the management in a top-down aspect usually induces organizational changes, those who are being managed (employees) are likely to resist. It is hence the responsibility and the function of the manager to ensure that organizational changes are effected by overcoming the resistance or the slow acceptance of the changes by employees. The core role of a manager in initiating changes in an organization is to succeed in improving organizational performance. Managers are also tasked with the role of thorough analyzing the beneficial effects of implementing organizational changes and to asses the implication of such changes to both the performance of the organization and employees. Since managers are mandated with the responsibility of carrying out organizational changes with a view that employees will accept and adopt them, it is necessary for them to consider certain pre-requisites. In order to achieve better organizational performance through initiation of changes, managers are expected to observe and ensure effective communication with employees, employee’s attitude and perception of manager’s actions, employees motivation and harmonious and continuous improvement of the working environment (Chew, Cheng, & Petrovic-Lazarevic, 2006:62). Alternatives to Managers With the numerous roles and functions of managers that have been highlighted above, there is another school of thought that managers are not necessary in organizations. Various organizations have been successful without managers and currently, it is possible to run organizations without managers. This concept proposes that organizations need leaders (the people to follow) but not managers (people that say what to do) (Poland, 2011). In the conventional management, managers are seen as people who impose decisions on people. Self-management can make employees to own what they do and to choose how they work in order to achieve the goals of the organizations. The presence of managers in organizations has been cited has the reason why people fail to perform to their optimum potential. This is attributed to lack of motivation due to limited choice of work and the inability for employees to provide input into how such work should be done. The multi-tier management hierarchy that puts managers at the top of organizations in terms of decision making and planning has also been faulted as it imposes the will of managers on employees (Poland, 2011). In most cases, organizational managers are the ones who call the shots in terms of decision making and this can lead to the risk of developing disastrous decisions since most people are often not involved. Most of the decisions that have been made by managers at the top of organizational structures have proven to be unworkable since most employees do not own them (Hamel, 2011). This model has some advantages in that everyone in the organization are involved in the decision making process and hence increased ownership of decisions as there is no imposing of decisions on employees. In cases where organizations run without managers, the motivation and morale of people are enhanced because everyone feels that they form core part in the running of the organization. The implementations of decisions are also easy and without any resistance as people are involved in making decisions (Kjerulf, 2007). The multi-tier management hierarchy gives managers the eagerness and opportunity to exercise their authority and in so doing, they often impede decision making rather than expediting the process (Hamel, 2011). Modern management underscores the need for consultations in organizational decision making process so as to ensure true reflection and ownership of such decisions based on the contribution and inclusion of employees. Managers have the potential of skewing decisions, modifying or shelving certain decisions based on their sole judgment and this can be risky, particularly for organizations that consider innovation and new ideas as their source of growth. Conclusion Managers are involved the planning, organizing, leading and controlling aspects of organizations. They play a pivotal role because they steer organizations towards the achievement of goals and objectives. However, the traditional role of managers, where they execute supervisory role has been criticized since they make most of the decisions and then impose them on people. New models have been proposed that organizations need leaders but not managers so as to enhance ownership of decisions and morale of people. The model where organizations run without managers can be detrimental as in may consume time because of the time required to reach decisions. Under this model, people in an organization might engage in endless discussions without reaching to a conclusion. Managers are still relevant in organizations and it is important for organizations to delegate the responsibility of decision making to managers. Managers should hence ensure that they involve more people in the decision making process and nurture employees for further sustenance and growth of organizations. List of References Chew, M. M., Cheng, J. S., & Petrovic-Lazarevic, S. (2006). Managers’ Role in Implementing Organizational Change:Case of the Restaurant Industry in Melbourne. Journal of Global Business and Technology , 2 (1), 58-67. Cieslinska, K. (2007). The Basic Roles of Manager in Business Organization. Journal of Management Science , 3 (1), 1-10. Hamel, G. (2011). First, Let's Fire All the Managers. Retrieved November 30, 2011, from http://hbr.org/2011/12/first-lets-fire-all-the-managers/ar/1 Kjerulf, A. (2007). Ask the CHO: How do you run A Business Without Managers . Retrieved November 30, 2011, from http://positivesharing.com/2007/01/ask-the-cho-how-do-you-run-a-business-without-managers/ Poland, J. (2011). Building Organizations without Managers . Retrieved November 30, 2011, from http://www.brucephenry.com/2008/07/building-organizations-without-managers.html Puckett, R. P., Byers, B. A., & Green, C. (2004). Food service manual for health care institutions. London: John Wiley & Sons. Rondeau, A. (2011). Is this the traditional interpretation of Management? Retrieved November 30, 2011, from http://www.greatmanagement.org/228/is-this-the-traditional-interpretation-of-management/ Waldron, M. W., Vsanthakumar, J., & Arulraj, S. (2011). Improving the organization and management of extension. Retrieved November 30, 2011, from http://www.fao.org/docrep/W5830E/w5830e0f.htm Wilson, J., & Gislason, M. (2009). Developing People to Achieve Your MissionCoaching Skills for Nonprofit Managers and Leaders:. London: John Wiley and Sons. Yadav, S. (2009). Role of Manager in Organization. Retrieved November 29, 2011, from http://www.slideshare.net/ysaumitra/role-of-manager-in-the-organization Read More