Functions of management

A manager is responsible for directing and/or controlling part of all of an

organization.
The different roles of management are in order of most senior to least. They are
listed below:
 Senior manager- has significant management responsibilities.
 Middle manager- makes important decisions involving significant
resources.
 Junior manager- takes directions from above and is mainly responsible for
making sure that operations run smoothly.
 Trainee manager- directed heavily from above while learning management
skills.

The seven (7) functions of management are;

 Planning- managers create plans that set out short-term and long-term
goals and how the resources will be obtained to achieve these goals.
Planning therefore involves.
I. Establishing short and long-term goals
II. Creating plans to achieve the goals.
III. Sourcing and preparing the required resources.
 Organizing involves
I. Prioritizing and selecting tasks
II. Deciding who will undertake each task.
III. Assigning the task- delegating authority and responsibility
IV. Coordinating individuals to perform the necessary activities.
V. Making sure that things are done on time and in an ordered way.
Managers are expected to organize people, resources, and finances
by setting up systems and procedures logically and efficiently.
 Directing- giving clear directions and instructions to ensure that tasks are
completed.
 Controlling- creating an effective control system, to make sure that plans
are kept on track.
 Coordinating- is closely related to the organization and involves making
sure that interrelated activities are carried out in a structured way.
 Delegating- tasks can be delegated if they can be completed accurately
and safely, on time.
 Motivation- is a drive that exists within an individual to do something well.
Motivation is therefore said to be intrinsically.
Responsibilities of management
1. Owners & stakeholders- to manage the organization
efficiently to create profit for suppliers.
2. Employees- to give clear direction and motivation.
3. Society to ensure that the organization is socially responsible
by listening to the views of different groups and creating local
jobs.
4. Customers- to create systems that find out what customers
want and then provide them with their needs.
5. Government- to make sure that government rules and laws
are abided by and that taxes are paid on time.

Organizational charts
An organizational chart is a visual representation of how an
organization is structured. The characteristics of 3 types of
organizational charts are listed below.
1. Line organization charts- many businesses are organized into
departments. A line organizational chat shows how authority
flows from the top to the bottom.

General manager

Production manager

Supervisors

Line workers.
2. Line and staff organizational charts- occur when the line
manager gets support from staff managers or staff specialists
to carry out his role more effectively.
Difference between a line and staff manager:
 A line manager is a manager with direct personal
responsibilities for an individual employee.
 A staff manager is a manager with specialist skills who
supports managers in a specialist area.
 The staff specialist will be a specialist in their field such
as IT or HD.
General manager

HR staff Production manager IT staff

Supervisors

Line workers.
3. Functional organizational charts- functional organization
involves structuring an organization into functional areas of
responsibility such as marketing, production, finance, and
R&D.
 Each functional area would then involve a chain of
command.
 The chain of command shows the lines of
responsibilities in an organization.
 E.g. from senior manager at the top, to middle
manager, to junior manager. To operative at the
bottom.
 The span of control of an individual is the number of
people there managed or supervised directly.
  Choosing the best span of control means finding a
balance between having control over people below you
and being able to trust those people.
This can lead to a disadvantage being that it will have too many levels of
management which can be difficult to run such as a tall organization.
In a flat organization, managers delegate responsibilities to subordinate staff.
Several factors determine the span of control. There are:
 The difficulty of working
 The training and motivation of the workforce
 Leadership style of the manager.
The various definitions of a good leader are:
 Exerting influence
 Motivating and inspiring others
 Helping team members to realize their potential.
 Setting a good example
 Encouraging team members or employees to achieve the organization’s
goal.
 Showing good judgment
 Performing management functions as required by management.
 Communicating effectively with employees and employers
Good leaders can take a ‘helicopter ‘perspective meaning they can look down
from above rather than getting lost in the details.
Characteristics of a good leader:
 Honesty and trustworthiness- a leader needs to have followers so, a leader
should make fair decisions and should not be tainted by dishonesty or
corruption
 Focus- a good leader should be able to focus on the key objectives of the
organization. Leadership is about being able to steer an organization in a
suitable direction, so focus is necessary.
 Flexibility- ‘Objectives should not be set in stone.’ A leader needs to
research and understand the business environment, and where necessary,
adjust business objectives and the exceptions of those who work for the
organization.
 Making difficult but intelligent decisions- sometimes leaders need to make
difficult decisions to take the organization forward (Examples of this are,
shutting down a plant or making existing jobs redundant, as well as
promoting new people to management positions)

The different types of leadership styles:

 Autocratic- means making decisions by oneself.
 Democratic- means making decisions by considering everyone’s ideas.
  Laissez-faire- is a French phrase which means ‘let (them) do(it)”,
meaning it is a loose management style.
 A Charismatic leadership style- is where the leader has a strong
personality or charisma.
 Transformational leadership style- is where employees are inspired to
embrace changes in the organization.
The advantages and disadvantages of the different types of leadership
styles:

Leadership Advantages Disadvantages

styles
Autocratic-  Rapid decision making  Demotivates workers who want
 fast one-way communication to contribute and accept
 In times of rapid crisis, the responsibility.
leader will need to take  Decisions do not benefit from
decisive action to limit business workers’ knowledge and
damage. experience

Democratic-  Make use of many ideas  Consultation with staff can be

 Two-way communication is time-consuming, limiting quick
used. decision-making.
 Job enrichment is more likely to  Some issues might be too
be achieved. sensitive to discuss
democratically

Laissez-faire-  Employees have the freedom to  Ineffective if it is weak

manage their work. managers not exerting control.
 Little (if any) management  Lack of clarity can lead to low
supervision motivation and disagreements
 Feedback on progress towards
agreed targets.
 Used when teams include very
experienced and self-motivated
staff
Charismatic-  Employees develop loyalty to  A strong personality may
the leader negatively coerce employees to
do illegal activities

Transformation  Teamwork is encouraged as  The decision-making process

al- everyone works towards a may be slow and time-
common goal. consuming.

Potential sources of conflict with an organization.

Good managers must learn how to handle internal conflict, as it will inevitably
arise within an organization. There are two types of conflict: positive and
negative.
Positive conflict
This conflict occurs when there are disagreements on how a business should
progress. Positive conflicts are a powerful way of helping an organization move
forward.
Examples are; talking to people to get ideas, holding meetings where employees
can share their opinions, and encouraging ideas.
Negative conflicts
This conflict occurs when there are open disagreements that lead to
unpleasantness. Negative conflicts fail to arrive at agreed decisions and increase
tension, anger, and stress leading to the organization’s struggles.
Internal conflict
There are several sources of internal conflict within an organization. These
include:
 Poor working conditions.
 A need to change the way the organization operates.
 Conflict between different functional areas in an organization.
Strategies used by employers and employees to gain the upper hand
during periods of conflict.
A. Employer strategies
Employers have many strategies/bargaining tools available to them during
periods of conflict, some are included below:
 Lockouts: this occurs when an employer shuts down part or all of an
organization until the workers come back to work.
 Scab labor: Scab labor is created when the employer brings in workers
who are not part of the current workforce.
 Public relations: an employer can use the media to try and gain public
support for their position in a dispute.
 Threats of redundancies: putting pressure on the union to agree to a
settlement of the dispute.
 Changes of contract: employers can threaten or change the terms and
conditions of contracts.
 Closure: closure of the business or the factory/office would lead to
redundancy for all of the workers.
B. Employee Strategies
Employees have many strategies they can use to increase their power during
periods of conflict, some are included below:
 Strike action: striking occurs when a group of workers collectively stop
working to gain concessions from their employer
 Work to rule: many jobs are supported by rules and regulations, and many
of these rules cannot be broken. However, some rules can be flexible for
the business to run more smoothly.
 Go slow: this is a form of industrial action in which workers keep working
but at the minimum pace demanded by their contracts.
 Overtime bans: This is an industrial action in which workers refuse to work
more than a certain number of hours, which is supposed to be worked a
week.