Levels of Management Practices - Essay Example

Management Practices Management Practices Introduction At the most basic level in the management practice is a discipline that is composed of a set of five particular functions. These include controlling, leading, staffing, organizing as well as planning. These five functions make up the practices and theories that make one an effective manager. An effective work place needs to have a great work force to facilitate the achievement of its goals and objectives (Cleland and Gareis, 2006). Additionally, an efficient leader is one who ensures the workers are appropriately organized and well informed of the controlling, staffing, leading and planning to attain the company’s goals and objectives. I recently worked as human resource manager in a clothing company and employing these five functions was tough. This essay gives a detailed analysis of how controlling, staffing, organizing, leading and planning were applied in the organization. Planning Planning is a concept that was widely practiced in the entity to come up with strategies that facilitated achievement of the company’s objectives. The managers in the company were visionary and used planning to come up with methods, policies and strategies that focused on attaining the set goals and objectives. Furthermore, planning was used to anticipate any issues in the company before they arose and come up with speedy solutions that could deal with such problems (Cleland and Gareis, 2006). The company effectively implemented planning and this established a foundation for the other managerial functions. This explains why the company was successful and maintained a competitive edge over other players in the market. Planning took place in all the three levels of management: the top, middle and line. As earlier discussed, the top level management team was charged with the duty of coming up with long-term plans that establish the policies and missions of the company. The lower level managers on the other hand were responsible for implementing these policies (Cleland and Gareis, 2006). Middle level managers were responsible for the implementation of these objectives. Line mangers effected the ideas of the middle level managers. In one instance, the top level management decided to improve the company’s productivity to become the largest quality producer of garments in the region. The middle level managers decided that this goal could be achieved within a period of eight months. The marketing managers also decided to increase their sales by 60 percent. The line managers were charged with the duty to find out how these goals could be attained (Jones, 2008). They decided to increase the commission for sales people to motivate them to make more sales. The other way to understand the planning process in the entity was by classifying the activities in a strategic way. This involves the strategic management, tactical as well as operational. This process entailed six main steps: establishing goals, evaluating the internal and external environments to make out the opportunities and issues, recognizing and evaluating available options, choosing the best plan, implementing it and evaluating the plans of the implementation (Cleland and Gareis, 2006). The different step overlap the various levels of management and this promoted informed planning and organizational unity. The environment adaption planning activities were those that were mainly focused towards improving how the entity related to the external environment. These includes influences from the public, customers, government and suppliers. The company faced a backlash from the public in the past year as it had been accused of practicing unfair labor practices especially when handling casual laborers. The CEO had to come up with a plan to ensure better treatment of its employees and to manage effects of this negative publicity (Cleland and Gareis, 2006). It can be stated that the planning process in the company was effective from observation of the various levels of management. The plans were also specific and measurable. Finally, the planning process was mutually supported by all management levels in the entity. Organizing This is the second most important managerial function and it refers to the process in which an organization structures it resources which includes employees and materials. This should be done in a way that helps the company attain the set goals and objectives. Organizing was made up of three major tasks in the organization (Cleland and Gareis, 2006). These include establishing positions, labor units and tasks. The managers established the specific actions that were taken to attain the set objectives and plans. Secondly, they divided employees into teams based on responsibility. Thirdly, the managers delegated responsibility and authority to the employees and come up with decision-making relations. The management organized the teams based on functions. This is commonly referred to as the functional approach. The activities were broken down into basic business functions including marketing, finance and operations. These functional units were charged with numerous functions. For instance, the marketing department was in charge of sales and promotions. This function resulted into a more efficient division of labor and resulted into establishment of a hierarchy that was easy to comprehend for the employees, customers and the public. In spite of the increased efficiency associated with the approach, there were several setbacks (Mondy et al., 2005). For example, there were disagreements between the various departments. The company’s organization could be attributed to its continued success and profitability. The company also adopted the matrix system that combine divisional and functional groups. This resulted into the establishment of a multi-disciplinary perspective that integrated teams in the organization in line with the existing authority. This was one of the way of dealing with the disputes arising among the different departments (Jones, 2008). However, this led to the establishment of a vague power structure. These concerns within the organizing department should be appropriately addressed. Leading Leading is also referred to as motivation and involves guiding the employees towards achieving the set goals and objectives. There were four basic leadership duties that were performed by the management. These included educating, representing, evaluating and counselling. The managers exhibited the traits of effective leadership including ability, personal values, reputation and industry and knowledge (Cleland and Gareis, 2006). Additionally, the management adopted the participative leadership approach that ensured that the employees were involved in the decision-making process. This resulted into improved motivation that had a positive impact on the achievement of the set goals and objectives. The leadership in the company was efficient. Staffing This is the other important function that relates to actions that a related to establishing a labor force that is sufficient to meet the company’s goals and objectives. The management determined the exact labor needs for the company and then undertook a process to recruit individuals that fit the job description. The managers were also involved in establishing programs aimed at training workers to improve their performance in the work place (Shillabeer, 2011). They were also involved in coming up with ways of compensating the employees. All employees in the firm were paid based on performance and received benefit packages. Workers in the marketing and sales department were compensated based on number of units sold. This motivated them to make more sales. The staffing function also handled matters relating to employee motivation within the company. Since the company adopts a team work approach, the employees were motivated to work hard and support each other towards achieving the company’s goals and objectives (Epstein, 2010). Additionally, the management duties related to staffing worked with labor unions as well as living up to the state and federal regulations. Controlling This is the last managerial function that is made up of activities that evaluate the results of all the other functions. This function was important to the company as it helped it determine its performance of the set goals and objectives. The controlling function also helps the company to distribute resources more efficiently (Shillabeer, 2011). This is owing to the fact that it helps the company identify the specific areas of need. The company established the performance standards, analyzed the continuing activities and correcting areas in which it has deviated from the set standards. Mangers began by establishing a specific procedure stating how they wanted to perform the set goals and objectives. These standards take the form of quantitative and qualitative methods (Blanchard, 2010). The performance standards that were adopted by the company include quality initiatives, production, sales, proforma statements and projections. The managers counted on the feedback of the employees to determine how the workers responded to these standard. This allowed the managers to identify potential problematic areas. In the next stage of the control process, the evaluation managers established how well the subordinates in various departments matched up with the established standards. This resulted into the establishment of a way to improve communication with the subordinates. In cases where the results deviated from the set range, the managers came up with remedial actions. This simply meant that adjustments were made according to established standards to reveal more practical goals (Blanchard, 2010). Managers then analyzed the causes of the deviation and came up with ways to manage them. There were instances when the production department failed to meet the set targets and in such situations the management rearranged the teams and revised the financial incentive system (Cleland and Gareis, 2006). It can noted that the company established controls in all the necessary areas and ensured that it did not stop creativity. References Blanchard, D. (2010). Supply chain management best practices (2nd ed.). Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons. Cleland, D. I., & Gareis, R. (2006). Global project management handbook: planning, organizing, and controlling international projects (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. Epstein, M. J. (2010). Performance measurement and management control innovative concepts and practices. Bingley: Emerald Group Pub. Jones, P. (2008). Communicating strategy. Aldershot: Gower. Mondy, R. W., Noe, R. M., & Gowan, M. (2005). Human resource management (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall. Shillabeer, A. (2011). Evidence-based public management practices, issues, and prospects. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe. Read More