Define the term “Management” and discuss what managers do.
The terms “management” and “manager” may seem to be self-explanatory to many, but when asked to give a concrete definition to it, only a handful are able to answer the question accurately. Many are unaware that management involves more than just a manager running a company and ensuring a profit. In this essay, the definition of management and the roles of managers will be discussed, as well as the effect of change and technology on managers and the organization. Detailed comparison of the views by different school of thoughts on the discussed topics will also be done, along with supporting materials.
An organization is a group of individuals working together in an organized and coordinated way towards specific goals (Davidson et al, 2009, p.4). The term “management’ can be perceived differently if looked at with different perspectives. Generally, management is a process whereby resources (financial, human, physical and etc) are utilized to attain organizational goals effectively and efficiently. Management is described by Bateman and Snell (2007, p.16) as realizing organizational goals by working with people and resources. This is supported by Davidson et al (2009, p. 9) in which management is achieving organizational goals and objectives effectively and efficiently via a series of actions directed at an organization’s resources. Both parties agree on the fact that management takes place in an organization to accomplish its goals and aims by maximizing the potentials of its resources. However, they’ve failed to acknowledge the importance of people management in a diversified environment. As argued by Drucker (2008), management is about using each individual’s strength in a joint performance to move towards a common goal. He focuses on the significance of communication and individual responsibility instead of that argued by Davidson et al and Bateman and Snell. The differences in individual perspectives can further be seen in how each academic describes the job of a manager.
A manager is defined as a person who accomplishes goals through other people (Robbins, Millett and Water-Marsh, 2004, p.4). There isn’t a clear guideline as to what a manager does. Nevertheless, it can be concluded that management process revolves around Fayol’s concept of planning, organizing, leading and controlling, complemented by Mintzberg’s idea of managers’ interpersonal, informational and decisional roles. Although a manager can be engaged with several tasks at any one time, Fayol proposed that all managers perform the four steps on a daily basis. Many support Fayol’s theory on management function, including Richard L. Daft. In short, a manager is responsible of identifying reasonable organizational
goals for future performance and then decides on an effective strategy to complete the task. In addition to that, a manager has to then allocate tasks and resources to respective groups or departments and motivates his/her staff to work together towards the identified goal, while keeping an eye on employee performance and making adjustment whenever necessary (Daft, 2008). Conversely, Drucker (2008) argued that communication is one of the key roles of a manager whereby he “motivates and communicates” with his team of subordinates and even with his superior. In the case of then Starbucks chairman of board, Howard Schultz, he would approach an employee at the Starbucks Support Centre to personally express his appreciation and gratitude for the effort taken by the employee on a certain project (Michelli, 2007, p.71). Such recognition and approval boosts employee morale; it also creates a positive and active working atmosphere which will then bring about a better performance.
In contrast, Mintzberg (1989) came up with his description of a manager’s job based on a study on the work of 5 chief executives of that time. He claimed that a manager plays several roles (interpersonal, informational and decisional) which can then be elaborated as a figurehead, monitor, entrepreneur and more. In reality, Mintzberg’s concept was not entirely practiced by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, founders and co-presidents of Google. Instead of spending all their time on managing the company, they hired Eric Schmidt to carry the “legal responsibilities” of a CEO while the two of them focused mainly on the “creative side of the business” (Lowe, 2009) in hopes of achieving a balance in both managerial and product performance. Although they still have the final say on every major decision, this gave a new dimension to the management level, allowing Google to emerge as the most widely used search engine yet being an effective and efficient profit-making organization at the same time.
Change is inevitable, let it be organizational structure, public expectations or culture. With the advancement of technology, it is compulsory for a manager to be able to devise a game plan to face changes as the management functions are now different in consequence of a more educated workforce. Templar (2005, p.138) outlined that being creative helps a manager solve problems. On top of that, managers are now able to utilize technology to help them perform their duties and communications are made easier with emails, mobile phones and Skype. Consumers today are well-informed and this causes the phrase “corporate social responsibility (CSR)” to be one of the modern manager’s new tasks. This can be seen in Microsoft Corporate Citizenship webpage (2010) where they explained how the management encourages their staffs to engage in activities that contribute back to the society by offering
monetary incentives, accompanied by technological support system. This is supported by Govindarajan and Natarajan (2007, p.156-157) who believe that managers could make use of education, negotiation, support, facilitation and etc if people are skeptical when it comes to embracing changes. Managers should also take into account the diversity in workforce, as a result of globalization. One example would be Deutsche Telekom in Germany, where their new plan was to ensure 30% of its management positions to be taken by female managers by 2015 along with measures like flexible working hours and child-care services to encourage females to joint their organization (Moore, 2010). It shows that the management has considered the impact and contribution of female population in the corporate world which was once dominated by the male population. Clearly, the impact of technology and diversity in management has changed organization works.
In conclusion, the working cultures are fast-moving and dynamic these days and thus a manager is obliged do more than what Fayol and Mintzberg stated in their theories. In this essay, it has been shown clearly how “management” can be defined differently by different academics, as well as how the roles of manager in reality vary from or similar to that discussed in theories. Influences of technology, change and diversity were also discussed in regards to the organizations available in the real world.