Management Principles - Essay Example

Management Principles Today’s management is very different from the past because of different challenges faced by organisations. These challenges are triggered by tough competition and changing customer needs. These two factors have resulted in lot of innovation and thus the need for increasing employee involvement and commitment. Innovation also requires high knowledge. Competition has resulted in decreased distances between nations and globalization. Improvements in information and technology have also resulted in innovation and competition.

Increasing competition can decrease employee commitment and loyalty towards organisation; thus retention of experienced employees is a major challenge. Today’s organisations provide immense opportunities for employees to learn and grow. These organisations contribute significantly towards growth and betterment of the society. Today’s organisations work on team-based structures and give much importance to human capital. Organisations function well on strong information and technology framework.

Moreover, organisations give much importance to the wellbeing of their employees by focusing on work-life balance (Schermerhorn, 2010). Organisations accomplish these by employing able managers. A manager is the person responsible for achieving specific goals through people through activities like coaching, mentoring, facilitating, planning, monitoring and controlling. Therefore, a manager has administrative functions and leadership functions in an organisation. Managers can be of various types depending upon their tasks.

Different types of managers include line managers, facilities managers, security managers, general managers or functional managers (Parsloe, 2004). Managers are responsible for a variety of activities and functions like performance management, employee motivation, customer satisfaction, as well as production activities and quality management. These functions constitute the management process. Management is the process of planning, organising, leading, and controlling the use of resources to accomplish performance goals (Schermerhorn, 2010, p.19). Planning constitutes setting objectives so that all employees are aware of their goals.

Different goals are set for people at various levels and depend upon individual capabilities. Organising constitutes classifying work and resources as per the requirement and according to the individual responsibilities. Leading involves directing, coaching, mentoring, encouraging and motivating employees to perform their tasks in the right manner. This also involves providing continuous feedback in order to improve their performance. Controlling process involves monitoring individuals’ activities and performance; controlling the usage and distribution of raw materials, supplies and other products.

Controlling also involves maintaining positive results for longer time so that organisations continue to achieve good performance and increasing profits (Williams, 2006). Effective management requires specific managerial skills Essential managerial skills can be acquired through experience and continuous learning. Effective management requires certain key skills that can be acquired through education. These skills include technical and conceptual skills; other skills like human and emotional intelligence are acquired by observing and interacting with others (Schermerhorn, 2011).

Further, additional skills like analytical, communication, decision making and time management skills can help managers in becoming more efficient. These skills can be learnt by adopting specific behaviours, keen observation, and willingness for continuous learning and improvement. In conclusion, present organisations face a variety of challenges that require effective management and highly specialized skills to achieve and maintain good performance. Core management activities include planning, organising, leading and controlling of activities and people.

To perform these activities, managers must possess specific skills and should be committed to continuous learning and effective leadership. References Parsloe, E. 2004. The manager as coach and mentor. London: CIPD Publishing. Schermerhorn, J.R. 2010. Management. 10th ed. UK: John Wiley & Sons. Williams, K. 2006. Introducing management: A development guide. 3rd ed. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.