Manager’s Function, Skills and Role Essay

This sc aloneywag investigates the skills, situations and cash in ones chipss of Management.For any(prenominal) administration to strike the goals it has established and be successful it unavoidably managers to correctly implement and understand the functions, skills and roles involved in the managerial offshoot.How these ar applied will vary depending on what level of circumspection a expositicular manager is involved in (high, middle, low) and the organisation.Regardless of these two factors all circumspection decisions focus on the efficient and effective use of resources for the upbeat of the organisation, in the direction of its desired goals and/or objectives.The Functions of ManagementThe four functions of management atomic number 18 planning, organising, leading and controlling (Davidson et al, 2009. p.13).Planning involves reviewing the current situation and generating a plan that will allow the organisation to meet its established goals and objectives (Selley, 2009). This could entail generating a plan to increase profit and detail how this will be achieved (focus on capturing a larger market shargon or perchance moving into a new market). Correct planning discovers there is a degree of focus, while too providing a grammatical constructiond timeline that relevant stakeholders muckle adhere too.The second coif is organising, this is where management prep ars for the task ahead by delegating resources and responsibilities, as efficiently and effectively as possible (Pakh atomic number 18, 2011). During this form management would consider the different departments and divisions within its organisation and provide countenance and tasks as infallible.An organisation that wants to increase its profit might use the organising stage to outline the roles of marketing (investigate and promote new marketshare) and separate these from the be department (assess the viability by calculating projected sales and expenses) while similarly ens uring they all yield the necessary resources to complete the work. Davidson et al. defines leading as the process of getting members to work together for a common interest (2009. p.14). track requires a manager to have a dictatorial influence on people while also inspiring them to complete their tasks (making this vital in low-middle management), this in turn improves their job action finished a positive work environment (Expert Manage, 2011).It is big to establish this positive environment to ensure that deadlines set in the initial planning stage can be met and resources are not cosmos wasted.The final stage in the function of management is controlling, this stage is master(prenominal) in the establishment of surgical procedure standards and ensuring these standards are adhered too while also taking corrective actions against deviation. If for example deadlines are not being met the manager should investigate, if they this was due to incorrect original estimates relating to the workload required, the manager could increase staffing for the particular project.Management has been described as a social process involving business for economical and effective planning & enactment of operation of an enterprise in the fulfillment of stipulation headings. It is a self-propelling process consisting of various elements and activities. These activities are different from operative functions like marketing, finance, get and so on Rather these activities are common to each and every gutter irrespective of his level or status.Different experts have classified functions of management. check toGeorge & Jerry, on that point are four fundamental functions of management i.e. planning, organizing, actuating and controlling. fit in to Henry Fayol, To manage is to forecast and plan, to organize, to command, & to control. Whereas Luther Gullick has given a keyword POSDCORB where P stands for Planning, O for Organizing, S for Staffing, D for enjoin, Co for Co-or dination, R for reporting & B for Budgeting. But the most(prenominal) widely accepted are functions of management given by KOONTZ and ODONNEL i.e.Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing and Controlling. For theoretical usages, it may be accessible to separate the function of management but practically these functions are lapping in nature i.e. they are highly inseparable. Each function blends into the other & each affects the performance of others.1. PlanningIt is the basic function of management. It deals with chalking out a future course of action & deciding in advance the most appropriate course of actions for exercise of pre-determined goals. According to KOONTZ, Planning is deciding in advance what to do, when to do & how to do. It bridges the gap from where we are & where we want to be. A plan is a future course of actions. It is an exercise in problem solving & decision making. Planning is determination of courses of action to achieve desired goals. Thus, planning is a systematic thinking about shipway & core for movement of pre-determined goals. Planning is necessary to ensure kosher usance of charitable & non-human resources. It is all pervasive, it is an intellectual activity and it also helps in avoiding confusion, uncertainties, risks, wastages etc.2. OrganizingIt is the process of bringing together physical, financial and human resources and developing fertile relationship amongst them for transaction of organizational goals. According to Henry Fayol, To organize a business is to provide it with everything useful or its functioning i.e. raw material, tools, chief city and personnels. To organize a business involves determining & providing human and non-human resources to the organizational structure. Organizing as a process involves* Identification of activities.* Classification of sort out of activities.* Assignment of duties.* Delegation of authority and creation of responsibility. *Coordinating authority and responsibility re lationships.3. StaffingIt is the function of manning the organization structure and keeping it manned. Staffing has assumed greater impressiveness in the recent years due to advancement of technology, increase in size of business, complexity of human behavior etc. The main purpose o staffing is to mystify right man on right job i.e. square pegs in square holes and round pegs in round holes. According to Kootz & ODonell, Managerial function of staffing involves manning the organization structure through proper and effective selection, appraisal & development of personnel to fill the roles designed un the structure. Staffing involves * Manpower Planning (estimating man power in terms of searching, make out the person and giving the right place).* Recruitment, selection & placement.* Training & development.* Remuneration.* Performance appraisal.* Promotions & transfer.4. DirectingIt is that part of managerial function which actuates the organizational methods to work efficiently for achievement of organizational purposes. It is considered life-spark of the enterprise which sets it in motion the action of people because planning, organizing and staffing are the mere preparations for doing the work. Direction is that inert-personnel aspect of management which deals directly with influencing, guiding, supervising, motivating sub-ordinate for the achievement of organizational goals. Direction has following elements* Supervision* Motivation* Leadership* chatSupervision- implies overseeing the work of subordinates by their superiors. It is the act of watching & directing work & workers. Motivation- means inspiring, stimulating or encouraging the sub-ordinates with zeal to work. Positive, negative, monetary, non-monetary incentives may be utilise for this purpose. Leadership- may be defined as a process by which manager guides and influences the work of subordinates in desired direction. Communications- is the process of passing information, experience, tactile se nsation etc from one person to another. It is a bridge of understanding.5. ControllingIt implies measurement of accomplishment against the standards and correction of deviation if any to ensure achievement of organizational goals. The purpose of controlling is to ensure that everything occurs in conformities with the standards. An efficient system of control helps to yell deviations before they actually occur. According to Theo Haimann, Controlling is the process of checking whether or not proper progress is being made towards the objectives and goals and acting if necessary, to correct any deviation. According to Koontz & ODonell Controlling is the measurement & correction of performance activities of subordinates in order to make sure that the enterprise objectives and plans desired to keep them as being accomplished. Therefore controlling has following steps* Establishment of standard performance.* Measurement of actual performance.* Comparison of actual performance with the s tandards and finding out deviation if any.* Corrective action.Management SkillsWhile a solid grasp of management functions is important management should also have a sound skill base, a report by hays Group suggests this is a weak area for most individuals in management and is one of the biggest threats to business success (Financial Advisor, 2007).These skills include but are not limited to technical, interpersonal and abstract skills. Technical skills are those necessary to accomplish or understand the specific work being through with(p) in an organisation, (Davidson et al, 2009. p.19).These technical skills are utilise mostly at the lower berth levels of management and are obtained through experience and training. An example of technical skills could be introducing and teaching a new accountant the accounting system used by the firm. Interpersonal skills focus on the ability to work with, act and communicate with other people (Hahn, 2007).This skill is very important for man agers to throw a strong relationship between both individuals and groups within the organisation (Dale, 2008, p.121) this will ensure that there is trust and respect between these parties, allowing tasks to be completed effectively and efficiently.The final core skill of management is conceptual thinking, this is the ability to consider a situation both abstractly and logically in order to come to the correct decision based on internal and external environments (Griffin, 2011. p.179). Globalisation has made this skill extremely important for managers (especially those in high-level positions), as they mustiness be able to break-down and conk out information to make immense decisions that potentially have a world(a) impact.Management RolesThrough numerous managerial roles the skills discussed above are put into practice.Mitzbergs observations and research suggest that a mangers role can be split into ten roles and three categories interpersonal (management through people), inform ational (management through information) and decisional (management through action) (Daft and Marcic, 2010. p.17). Interpersonal roles naturally form an important part of being a manager and relate to activities involving other people. Some interpersonal tasks could involve being a figurehead and speaking at important organisation ceremonies, motivating employees through leadership or percentage as a liaison between different departments (Davidson et al, 2009. p.18).Informational roles are focused on the processing of information, this could include seeking out information while also analysing and monitoring for relevant changes that apply to the organisation, communicating information to your co-workers or being a spokesperson on behalf of the organisation (MindTools, 2011). Informational roles require quick and thoroughgoing(a) processing of information and resilience to information overload.The final category is decisional which requires decisions to be made using the informati on provided. This could require developing innovate ideas, serving as a mediator to resolve conflict, allocating resources within the organisation and negotiating on the organisations behalf. A manager involved in a decisional role must have strong problem solving abilities, be able to rank and have good negotiation skills.Reference ListDaft, R. Marcic, D. Woods, 2010, Understanding Management, 7nd edition, Cengage Learning.Davidson, P. Simon, A. Woods, P & Griffin, R.W. 2009, Management Core concepts and applications, 2nd edition, Wiley, Brisbane.Expert Manage 2010, Four Functions of Management, viewed 23 portentous 2011,http//www.expertmanage.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=122&Itemid=166Financial Adviser 2007, nub managers are lacking skills, 22 February, p.1Griffin, R.W. 2011, Fundamentals of Management, Cengage Learning.Hahn, M. 2005, Management Skills, viewed 24 August 2011, http//en.articlesgratuits.com/management-skills-id1586.phpMind Tools 2009, Mintzber gs Management Roles, viewed 23 August 2011,http//www.mindtools.com/pages/article/management-roles.htmPakhare, J 2010, Management Concepts The Four Functions of Management, Buzzle, viewed 22 August 2011,http//www.buzzle.com/articles/management-concepts-the-four-functions-of-management.htmlSelly, N 2009, How the four functions of management leads to business success, Helium, viewed 22 August 2011,http//www.helium.com/items/1586308-why-fayols-functions-of-management-can-avoid-failure-in-business-and-lead-to-business-success