Info on Management Practices

Introduction

Management, in general, entails the activity of getting things done, followed by an appraisal of performance. It entails creating and maintaining an enabling environment in which individuals working in the organization can effectively achieve organizational goals (Leonard & Trusty, 2015). Achievement of established goals and objectives justifies efforts such as planning, leading, organizing, and so on. To achieve the organization's goals, these activities necessitate the efficient and effective use of the firm's resources. Good management techniques are related with enhanced productivity and better cooperative performance (Nickels, McHugh, & McHugh, 2013).Management, as a core function of an organization, is thus critical in determining the body's well-being and that of its stakeholders. Proper management is, therefore, a requisite in the smooth running of the set-up of an organization and consequently, organizational success (Nickels et al., 2013). The sample company is ABC, a growing company which specializes in the manufacture of beverages. The drink brand is relatively new in the market. Therefore, the company has had to offer top notch products to keep up with the older fully fledged beverage manufacturing industries. The company packs its drinks in bottles of varying sizes to cater for the diverse needs of their customers.

Planning

Planning involves the creation of an action plan that is geared towards achieving a particular organizational goal (Rue, Byars, & Ibrahim, 2012). Planning maps out the task at hand followed by a determination of who will accomplish the task, how and when they will accomplish it. Flexibility is required because planning involves coordination between the different managerial and leadership levels in a firm. Further, the planner needs to know the critical contingencies facing the company concerning their customers, competitors or even the economy (Kerzner, 2013). Attempts to forecast the future are the basis of planning. The planner further identifies and evaluates alternative courses of action to which they choose the best alternative and institute necessary measures to ensure that the plans of action are implemented (Kerzner, 2013). In our company, for instance, the marketing manager had a goal of increasing our sales in a given region in a particular month. She, therefore, delineated a series of steps that we needed to take together with other sales representatives to increase the sales. The steps included great advertisement, increase in the inventory, placement of selected products on sale, reaching out to the previous customers to enquire on their interest in buying extra products and recruitment of more sales staff to maximize customer to sales representative contact. The marketing manager then arranged the steps logically in a way that we could follow to achieve the objective of increasing sales.

Leading

Leading involves influencing people towards achieving the interests of the firm (Lopez, 2014). In the sales and marketing department of our business, the marketing manager usually made efforts to spend considerable time with the employees connecting in at an interpersonal level. The manager went beyond just managing tasks to other functions such as communication, motivation, guidance, and encouragement of employees. Rue et al. (2012) note that communication fosters transparency and enhances working relationships that are built on trust. Besides, recognition of achievement or even effort of an employee makes them feel valued. Effective leaders acknowledge top performer and assign them tasks that best leverage their abilities (Lopez, 2014). The manager also made an effort of coaching, assisting and solving problems together with the employees. The manager's effectiveness further cultivated right attitude towards work with subsequent zeal to work by the subordinates which culminated in more productivity.

Organizing

Organizing controls the overall structure of an organization. Employees with a particular needed skill set are designated with their respective tasks and responsibilities. It, therefore, warrants development and coordination of activity-authority relationships in a firm as the processes of assigning tasks and granting authority go hand in hand (Leonard & Trusty, 2015). The function of establishing a chain of command and the overall organization structure falls under organizing. Development of a productive relationship between human, physical and financial resources ensures that the organizing function is met successfully (Leonard & Trusty, 2015). Nickels et al. (2013) note that organization reduces an enterprise's operational costs through the successful reduction in repetition or duplication of activities. In this way, the efficiency of a company is also increased. For instance, in the administrative department, the head ensured that only qualified personnel were recruited for specific tasks that match their skills. Besides, the staff would work out the remuneration for each employee and provide incentives where necessary. Also, the head of sales department in our company ensured that the prices of finished products were competitive in the market. It involved the incorporation of the best pricing policies that would ensure that the organization achieved the required objectives. The marketing department, for instance, was tasked with product branding by assessing the interests of the customers at any given time. Besides, the department was also tasked with product promotion through advertisement platforms. In a certain instance where there were complaints of inadequate resources for content marketing, the head of the marketing department liaised with a fellow non-competitive firm that targeted the same customers as ours and together, they developed compelling stories that attracted more clients. In cases where for instance, we needed to increase the number of sales, the marketing manager would identify different roles followed by an assignment of a particular estimated number of employees to carry out the task. It would be accompanied by the delegation of authority as well as work assignment and provision of direction to ensure that the employees increased the sales without facing barriers along the way.

Staffing

Manning of various positions within the organization structure is a function of staffing (Rue et al., 2012). Its primary role is to put the right person in the right job. The personnel should be appropriately and efficiently selected coupled with their appraisal and development to fit the roles herein. Since the successful performance of employees determines the overall success of an organization, it is of paramount importance that the firm recruits, selects and places the right people (Nickels et al., 2013). In a nut shell, the personnel should be adequately trained and well-adjusted mentally to the job situations. Besides, staffing also involves other tasks such as proper remuneration, promotions, transfers, etc. (Leonard & Trusty, 2015). Managers collaborate with the human resource department in this critical function of workforce planning. Factors such as technological advancement, the complexity of human behavior and increase in the size of businesses have caused staffing to assume vital importance in recent years. Deaths and retirements of employees are among the established concerns regarding staffing which make it a continuous process. For instance, in an event when the chief executive of our company stepped down, the board of directors was tasked with the role of selection and appraisal of a new chief executive which in itself is staffing. In yet another instance, the company needed to expand its business results. There was a need to strengthen sales to valuable customers such as supermarkets besides making sale rounds to both small and medium sized outlets. However, the system instituted then did not allow for that. Therefore, the company resorted to the placement of five temporary staffers. These staffers were tasked with handling sales to these small and medium sized outlets. They were instrumental in proposing ideas for lay out designs of the products’ section, the display of our products as well as plans that were geared towards promoting sales. This was pivotal to the permanent staff in our company as they were able to concentrate more on the major clients. Such task allocation that enabled the company to cover a broad range of customers would not have been successful without the staffing function.

Controlling

Controlling entails the establishment of performance standards, comparison of the present performance against the set standards and correction of the deviations noted (Kerzner, 2013). Standards are usually the targets that are meant to be achieved in the business process. Controlling is, therefore, an essential function which ensures that what has been done conforms to what was planned (Kerzner, 2013). Subsequently, any deviation in expected performance is corrected to make sure that the organization goals are met. Monetary terms are often used to state performance standards. Such terms include revenue, costs, profits, etc. Other terms which may be used to state performance standards include quality levels, levels of customer service, the number of units produced, etc. (Kerzner, 2013). Often, the controlling process culminates in new performance standards because it identifies emerging problems or situations facing the organization (Nickels et al., 2013). Formal performance appraisals, sales reports, financial statements among others are among the different measures of performance (Kerzner, 2013). Seeing to it that the level of performance is reflective of organizational success, the reasons for the deviation in expected performance should be evaluated and analyzed to come up with possible corrective actions. Nickels et al. (2013) note that efficient control systems are critical in helping to foretell the likelihood of a deviation even before it happens. In one instance, for example, there were complaints by customers of delays in deliveries of orders requested. The department in charge decided to carry out a complete overhaul of the transportation department. A fortnight later, the company established a customer satisfaction survey where customers were supposed to rate their new experiences with the delivery department. In this way, the company was making a comparison of the actual performance versus the expected standards of customer service. Customers reported satisfaction with increased timeliness of delivery of their products.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, the management process devices and maintains an enabling environment in which individuals work together to achieve the goals of an organization. These management functions are interrelated – the success of one is related to the successful implementation of the prior service. Besides, ultimate group success is an interplay of efficient management functions coupled with best practices in the working environment. Despite the changes in the workplace as well as the modification of the various tools employed by managers in the performance of their roles, these management functions must be carried out to ensure a smooth flow of operations with a consequent increase in productivity.

References

Kerzner, H. (2013). Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons.

Leonard, E. C., & Trusty, K. A. (2015). Supervision: concepts and practices of management. Nelson Education.

Lopez, R. (2014). The relationship between leadership and management: Instructional approaches and its connections to organizational growth. Journal of Business Studies Quarterly, 6(1), 98.

Nickels, W., McHugh, J., & McHugh, S. (2013). Business: Connecting principles to practice. McGraw-Hill Higher Education.

Rue, L., Byars, L., & Ibrahim, N. (2012). Management: Skills & Application. McGraw-Hill Higher Education.