Getting the Best out of Others

Introduction to Management

Although we tend to think of management in terms of the organization of a company, and some may regard management as equivalent to business administration and therefore exclude management in places outside the commercial sector, in reality management structures are evident throughout society, from government bodies through military forces, right down to personal home environments.

This is because management may be defined as all the activities carried out by one or more people with the aim of planning and controlling the activities of other people so that an objective can be achieved that would not have been possible through individuals acting independently.

Most accepted authorities on management believe that there are several parts to the concept of management:

* Planning

* Organizing

* Staffing

* Leading

* Controlling

This means that anyone in a managerial role will carry out the above functions of planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling to varying degrees, depending on the specific needs, practices and methods of the organization, and according to the level at which the managing is taking place. For example, lower level managers may not have too much input on staffing, as this might be handled by an authority above them. However, a seam that does run through all levels of management is that managers are engaged in getting things done through other people.

This concept, in which all managers perform the same functions of planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling at each of their particular levels, is sometimes called the universality of management. It is the practices, methods, activities, and tasks within each of these functions that will alter according to the type and purpose of the organization or enterprise.

In the commercial sector, the primary function of management is to satisfy the stakeholders of the company or enterprise. This usually involves making a profit, creating quality products at a reasonable cost, and providing good employment opportunities. In most management models, shareholders vote for the board of directors, the board then hires the senior management team, which then has the responsibility of putting in place lower levels of management.

Planning

Planning involves the selection of the organization’s goals and ambitions, and formulating the specific actions that will be necessary to achieve them. This involves a significant degree of decision-making, so that the correct choices can be made once all possibilities have been identified and assessed.

Planning takes in the whole gamut, from the most obvious decisions such as the location of business premises, and employing the right people for the available jobs, right down to the exact details of each component of any manufactured product. Plans do not become plans until such decisions have been made. Prior to these decisions, managers are analyzing, studying, and making proposals.

Organizing

The management function of organizing has at its heart the concept of “role”. That is, which employees are to be tasked with carrying out what jobs, and how they are to be put to work.

People working together in teams must know their exact purpose if the organization’s objectives are to be realized most efficiently and in the shortest period of time.

That involves all employees understanding where they fit into the overall picture, and how their job objective contributes to the overall aims. Management of this function further requires that everyone involved has the appropriate equipment, authority, and information to accomplish the task.

In short, organizing establishes a structure to help create an environment in which human performance can excel. The structure must define the tasks necessary, and the roles must be geared to the abilities of the workers.

Leading

Leading is the managerial function that deals with influencing employees. This requires that the manager possesses interpersonal skills so that their team feels motivated and inspired. Without this influential leadership, employees may feel out of touch with the importance of fulfilling the organization’s goals.