Management Functions

Introduction to Management

• Management includes the processes or functions of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.

• Managers can help by supervising and directing employees.

• Management helps businesses focus on setting and meeting goals efficiently and effectively so that a profit can be made.

• The word management also refers to the people who are in charge of running a business.

  • They develop the objectives for a firm or a department and then figure out how to meet those objectives through people, work processes, and equipment.

The Four Functions of Management

• Most managers carry out four different functions of management: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.

• Planning is the act or process of creating goals and objectives as well as the strategies to meet them.

  • Planning must be completed first, then organization can take place.

• Organization allows managers to lead and control employees and activities to get work done.

• Leading involves providing guidance to employees so they can fulfill their responsibilities effectively.

• Controlling involves measuring how the business performs to ensure that financial and operational goals are met.

• An organizational chart shows how the firm is structured and who is in charge of whom.

• A top-level manager is responsible for setting goals and planning for the future as well as leading and controlling the work of others.

• A middle manager carries out the decisions of top management.

• An operational manager is responsible for the daily operations of a business.

  • Supervisors, office managers, and crew leaders are types of operational managers.

Management Structures

Managerial Structures

• Line authority is an organizational structure in which managers on one level are in charge of those beneath them.

• A line and staff authority organizational chart shows the direct line of authority (indicated by solid lines) as well as staff who advise the line personnel (indicated by dotted lines).

• Some firms have a centralized organization that puts authority in one place—with top management.

• Decentralized organization gives authority to a number of different managers.

• Formal structures are usually departmentalized.

  • Departmentalization divides responsibility among specific units, or departments.

• Smaller businesses can be run informally.

• If a business does not need a big marketing or distribution network, it does not need a lot of managers.

Is a Manager’s Job for You?

• Most managers begin their career in an entry-level job.

• An entry-level job is a beginner-level position.

  • Managers are usually task-oriented.

  • A manager often has to work under pressure and solve many small problems.

  • Managers need human relations skills, or skills in dealing with people.

  • All managers must have some knowledge about the technical aspects of their business.

• Higher-level managers have to know what is happening in the world and in their sector of the business world.

• Otherwise, they will have trouble conceptualizing and solving problems that the company faces.

• Managers usually earn more money than employees in non- management jobs.

• Managers are often blamed when things go wrong, even if they did not cause the problem.

  • Their mistakes can be very costly to a company so they are under a lot of pressure to make the right decisions.