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Understanding management, leadership and decision making
Management is ‘the art of getting things done through other people’. It
now involves different functions.
The functions of management
Managers undertake varying tasks and duties categorised into 4 functions:
– Planning
– Organising
– Directing
– Controlling
Decision making is central in all of these functions.
(A) Planning
1st function. Looking to the future. It is the foundation of the other 3.
Planning evaluates where the company currently is + would like to be in
future. This allows decisions to move forward in an organised + coherent
manner. It gives managers something to judge decisions against.
Planning involves:
– Setting objectives
– Conducting analysis to forecasts key data eg costs + revenues,
consumers’ incomes, competitors.
– Drawing up plans for the functional areas - should combine to achieve
objectives.
– Estimating resource needs for any proposed plans.
The planning process is continual, as external factors change all the time.
Therefore this may adjust its course of action to ensure objectives are
achieved.
Planning helps reduce the chance of projects failing. A plan can highlight
problems + encourage solutions. It ensures managers have resources
needed. A plan can also be extended to help managers overcome
emergencies or crises - contingency plans
(B) Organising
Management assemble the resources needed to carry out the planning
,process. Organising will determine the organisational structure, establish
relationships + allocate necessary resources.
(C) Directing
The 3rd function. Directing influences + oversees the behaviour of staff in
achieving the goals + assisting them with the necessary resources.
Directing entails leading employees through motivation + communication.
Motivation is the willingness to achieve a target or goal. Motivated
employees help achieve objectives. Therefore, managers tend to focus on
motivating employees.
Communication is the exchange of info between 1 or more people. Effective
communication may simply be praise or clear guidance. It can help to
achieve high productivity and encourages using initiative to solve
problems.
(D) Controlling
Controlling involves setting standards using the objectives, and reviewing +
reporting performance. Management should compare objectives +
performance to determine necessary corrective or preventive action.
Reviewing allows reflection + judgment on achievements and encourages
further decisions to meet objectives.
Managers can report on performance in a number of ways.
Financial reports
This gives stakeholders info on sales, revenue + profit. It is a legal
requirement for companies to report on profits or losses to assist
governments in assessing that the correct amount of tax has been paid.
Employee performance
Eg info on productivity, absenteeism or training costs - vital for services.
Social performance
Measures performance in terms of behaving ethically, minimising pollution
+ creating jobs.
Managers and decision making
Planning: decide objectives. The analysis may reveal a gap in the market +
inform decision making.
Organising: decide necessary resources to efficiently fulfil objectives. Eg
where to locate, technology or labour or to use sustainable resources.
, Directing. decisions to lead + motivate employees eg to use financial
incentives or to design interesting jobs.
Controlling: decisions after reviewing - corrective action or action to be
taken.
Mintzberg’s roles of management
In 1990 Henry Mintzberg set out the
10 roles preformed by managers. He argued that management is not about
functions but about what managers do.
The 10 roles fall into 3 categories.
Henry Mintzberg’s management roles and categories
Role Category
1. Figurehead 2. Leader Interpersonal management
3. Laison
4. Monitor 5. Disseminator Interformational management
6. Spokesperson
7. Entrepreneur 8. Disturbance Decisional management. (This
handler 9. Resource category of management uses info to
allocator 10. Negotiator take decisions)
(A) Interpersonal category
The roles in this category involve managing through other people.
Figurehead
Represent colleagues, carry out social, ceremonial + legal responsibilities
and should inspire. Expected to have authority.
Leader
Creates + maintains an effective working environment and motivates +
develops junior employees. This role manages performance +
responsibilities of everyone in their team.
Liaison
Managers communicate with internal + external contacts. They network
effectively to gather info.
(B) Informational category
The roles in this category involve processing info.
Monitor
Managers search for relevant internal + external info, looking for changes
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