Management Assignment

1. A. Describe why organizations need a managers and management? Before elaborating the need of managers and management in organizations first I try to define about organizations and its features. Organization is a deliberate arrangement of people assembled to accomplish some specific purpose (that individuals independently could not accomplish alone) and Common characteristics of organizations are Have a distinct purpose (goal) Are composed of people Have a deliberate structure. Basic reasons that organization needs management is to facilitate coordinated the activities of a business and make sure all employees are working toward the accomplishment of desired goals and objectives by using available resources efficiently and effectively. Since organizations can be viewed as systems, management can be also defined as human action (including design) to facilitate the production of useful outcomes from a system. Management involves coordinating and overseeing the work activities of others so that their activities are completed efficiently and effectively. Good management is needed to inject motivation, creativity, discipline, and enthusiasm into areas in which they either don’t exist or they are not necessarily wanted. Organization’s also needs good managers to keep their organizations on track by ensuring that everything that is being done is ethically geared toward providing what customers want. Managers are very important for organizations because a manager plays very significant role in planning and making decisions of the company. Managers control and monitor the employees and in the current era managers also facilitate the work of the employees. Managers are also responsible for the allocation of the resources available to the organization like allocation of the work force, financial resources and material resources etc. Managers also set the short term goals of the company and they also facilitate the top executive committee in making long term decisions about the company. Hence, managers play a very important role in the organizations. Other reasons that organization needs managers are they need their managerial skills and abilities more than ever in these uncertain complex and chaotic time. Managerial skills and abilities are critical in getting things done. ~1~ Managers are are the one important who for plan, any business control, to organize succeed as they and lead the entire workforce as well as every aspect of the organization. In sum organizations need management and managers: To allocate and oversee the use of resources To setting and achieving organizational goals by exercising related functions and coordinating various resources To achieve stated goals. To increase efficiency To crystallize the nature of management job To improve research in management To obtain social goals Therefore management and managers are needed to the organization in order to facilitate a coordinated effort toward the accomplishment of its goals. B. Describe why it’s important to study management in your own way? Management is important subject and it has much benefits of studying about it. The study of management is one method to proceed on a broad front of our day to day life as well as to manage our business effectively and efficiently. Management compresses comparative study of the different approaches which will yield benefits to the learner regardless of managers or not. The study of management and its function is important for the learners to understand its principles and features as well as its needs in any type of organizations. By studying management we will able to Identify major characteristics of management as well as jobs that managers do and challenges and opportunities that may face our day to activities as well as our business, and we get broad concepts and ideas how to change obstacles in to constructive opportunities. In order to achieve our stated objectives learning of management is crucial to train us about how to use scarce resources, how to become successful managers, how to work together to accomplish stated goals and how to become effective and successful person. In my point of view studying management is important to gain Knowledge to understand the nature of management and its function, and reasons that why everything needs management. In ~2~ order to work as employee or to own a successful organization studying management is key for to become successful and to get over all knowledge’s about it. Generally studying of management is comprehensive because of management is the most influential forces this is because management affects the accomplishment of many social, economic, and political goals and as broad as to understand its functions it is most crucial highly demanding, and most noticeable of all human activities. 2. If you were a CEO of a small company, what criteria would you use to evaluate your managers’ performances? Which criterion do you believe is most essential? Why? Performance management is the process employers use to make sure employees are working toward organizational goals. It has a lot of benefits evaluating managers’ performance in planning for correcting deficiencies and reinforces things done correctly, it identifies managers’ strengths and weaknesses are useful for career planning and it has major effect on the manager’s salary raise decisions. In order to maintain those I must evaluate my managers periodically to ensure they are effective and ethical. The criterion for evaluating a manager’s performance varies among organizations, so knowing the right criteria to assess is a key to achieving the most productive results in a managerial evaluation. There are numbers of criteria’s to evaluate managers’ performance such as Business Results: business results are obvious criteria when assessing managers' performance. Leadership Effectiveness it involves involves the soft skills of communication, motivation and goal-setting, among others, which can best be measured through the subjective feedback of direct reports. Innovation: Managers who create new solutions to complex challenges can do much to propel a company forward in these areas. ~3~ Individual Goals: manager should develop his own goals for personal development and performance improvement. These goals should be a vital criteria for success in a managerial evaluation. In addition to these there are numbers of methods to measures managers performances such as paired comparison (Ranking managers’ performance by counting the times any one individual is the preferred member when compared with all other employees) relative standards(Evaluating an employee’s performance by comparing the employee with other employees forced-choice appraisal: A performance evaluation in which the rater must choose between two specific statements about an employee’s work behavior Critical incident appraisal: A performance evaluation that focuses on key behaviors that differentiates between doing a job effectively or ineffectively). Competency on a scale: This is one of the most commonly used employee performance evaluation technique. Under this method, the individual’s performance in various areas of job duties is graded on a scale. A wide range of criteria, including productivity, customer service, teamwork, quality of work, concern for safety, etc. are evaluated. If I was a CEO I need to use Achieved Outcomes to evaluate managers’ performance. This kind of criteria to evaluate managers’ performance makes use of achieved performance outcomes. Managers are evaluated on how well they accomplished a specific set of objectives determined as critical in the successful completion of their job. This approach may be referred to as goal setting but is more commonly referred to as management by objectives (MBO). Its appeal lies in its emphasis on converting overall objectives into specific objectives for organizational units and individual members. MBO makes objectives operational by a process in which they cascade down through the organization. The organization’s overall objectives are translated into specific objectives for each succeeding level—divisional, departmental, and individual—in the organization. Because lowerunit managers participate in setting their own goals, For the individual employee, MBO provides specific personal performance objectives. Each person, therefore, has an identified specific contribution to make to his or her unit’s performance. If all the individuals achieve their goals, the unit will meet its goals. Subsequently, the organization’s overall objectives will become a reality. ~4~ 3. How are the major contributions of the behavioral school of management thought exhibited where you work? As all we knows employees at work place want to show increased participation and dedication that help the company to be succeed. Most employees are willing, but they need guidance and goals to better understand about the vision for the company, and their managers expectations for how they do their jobs. In my assessing the major contributions of the behavioral school of management thought exhibited where I work as In today’s complex and challenged environment the employees of the company want to identify their expectations and their needs with corresponding of the company needs. Behavioral management theory addresses human interactions at work. According to behavioral theorists, the more understanding we have of human actions, such as conflict, expectations and motivations, the more improved productivity becomes. By recognizing the social needs of employees, managers are better able to understand and help fulfill them, which results in employees becoming motivated. The social needs of employees and human relations are important aspects of behavioral thought. Abraham Maslow, a psychologist who established one of the most famous needs theories, separated needs into five areas: physiological, safety, belonging and love, esteem, and selfactualization. An employee’s physiological needs involve his physical needs to maintain his basic well-being, such as food and drink. Safety needs include the need for security and protection. Belonging and love needs address the need to build meaningful relationships with others. Esteem needs involve the self-confidence required to obtain the status and reputation that he desires. Once the individual has satisfied those needs, he progresses to the need to find himself, also referred to as self-actualization. These needs are critical tools that help to understand employee motivation. These concepts also aligned with my work areas that every employee who works at my company sets their own need such as to build/buy apartments, improving his/her life through getting better promotion and to have his/her own car and satisfying his/her needs through phases to phase. Thus behavioral theory exhibited through these and through other means at my work place. ~5~ As I experienced understanding employee motivation, finding ways to help meet their needs, and leading by example, create a work environment in which employees are likely to remain loyal. These situations achieved by practicing effective leadership. So behavioral management thought exhibited through the theory of leadership that the leaders who use this style display integrity, establish clear objectives, communicate effectively, support and encourage, inspire, recognize good work, give credit when due, expect the best from employees, and help others to see beyond their own interests. Behavioral management thought Considers about the employees’ morals, if the employees don’t feel valued or motivated at work place it results in a decline in productivity and an unpleasant work environment. I observed that the roles of a manager is to help employees recognize the company’s vision, arm them with the motivation and tools to achieve it, and compensate them appropriately for their efforts. By exercising proper management skills managers able to deescalate conflicts when they occur and heal broken relationships. By being aware of theirs employee’s needs and treating everyone fairly, they find that employees are more motivated to work, which results in a win-win situation. In short major contributions of behavioral management theory which is exhibited at my work places are Better understanding of employee’s behavior at work, such as motivation, conflict, expectations, and group dynamics, improved productivity. All of employees at my work place viewed themselves as individuals, resources, and assets to be developed and worked with — not as machines. If employees are considered and motivated the company’s productivity increase at any type of environment because employees are one essential resource to improve company’s performance. Managers will better understand the human aspect to employees and treat them as important assets to achieve goals; management taking special interests in employees make them feel like part of special group. ~6~ 4. Describe the reward and challenge of being a Manager? Many of us may need a management job because we see it as the quickest path to promotion. If managers have good leadership skills, such as being good at listening, showing empathy, setting goals and inspiring people to achieve, they can become a successful manager, enjoy more authority and receive significant monetary rewards for their efforts. Huge rewards of the managers are the satisfaction of managing their own way; especially if they can manage a team using a participative model; they get employees to perform, they can devote more time to other duties, such as planning, budgeting, preparing reports and hiring. In this section I will try to explain the rewards and challenges of being managers by referring several sources. Rewards of being managers are: Create a work environment in which organizational members can work to the best of their ability  Have opportunities to think creatively and use imagination  Help others find meaning and fulfillment in work.  Work with a variety of people  Receive recognition and status in organization and community  Play a role in influencing organizational outcomes  Receive appropriate compensations in the form of salaries, bonuses and stock options  Good managers are needed by organizations. Despite these rewards, being a manager in today' dynamic workplace provides many challenges They have duties that are more clerical than managerial They do hard work They have to deal with a variety of personalities Motivate workers in chaotic and uncertain situations Successfully blend knowledge, skills, ambitions, and experiences of a diverse work group Success depends on other’s work performance Hiring the Right People Responding to a Crisis ~7~ 5. What is the difference between Management and Administration? Describe different views of scholars in the area. A majority of people have confusion between the two common terms “Management” and “Administration.” While both these terms may seem to be the same: both in terms of their utility and functionality. Administration is basically determining the objectives and crucial policies of an organization. On the other hand, management is the act of putting into practice the objectives and plans decided upon by the administration. Simply, management can be understood as the skill of getting the work done from others. It is not exactly same as administration, which alludes to a process of effectively administering the entire organization. The most important point that management differ from the administration is that the former is concerned with directing or guiding the operations of the organization, whereas the latter stresses on laying down the policies and establishing the objectives of the organization. Broadly speaking, management takes into account the directing and controlling functions of the organization, whereas administration is related to planning and organizing function. According to Theo Haimann, “Administration means overall determination of policies, setting of major objectives, the identifications of general purposes an d lying down of broad programs and projects” According to Newman, “Administration means guidance, leadership and control of the efforts of the groups towards some common goals.” Thus administration refers to the activities of higher level that lays down basic principles of an organization. “Management is the process of conducting a set of functions (planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling) to get the work done in an efficient and effective manner.”(Terry & Franklin 1982) According to Mary Parker Follett “management is getting things done through and with people organized formally in groups” Depending on these above stated theorists’ argument I try to summarize basic difference between management and administration as While Administration is a high level activity, management is a middle level activity done by business and functional level ~8~ Management is all about plans and actions, but the administration is concerned with framing policies and setting objectives. Management is an executive function that makes the decision of an organization within its framework. But administration is a determinative function that set up the organization’s decisions. Administrators are the people who invest the capital and receive profits from an organization. But, management consists of a group of people who leverage their relevant skills to fulfill the company objectives Planning and organizing of functions in administration are the key factors, whereas management involves functions like motivating and controlling The management decisions are shaped by the opinions, values, beliefs and decisions of the managers while the administrative decisions are influenced by public opinions, government policies, customs etc. A group of persons, who are employees of the organization, is collectively known as management. On the other hand, administration represents the owners of the organization. Management focuses on managing people and their work. On the other hand, administration focuses on making the best possible utilization of the organization’s resources. While management focuses on policy implementation, policy formulation is performed by the administration Management is an art, science and professions. While administration is perhaps both science and art. Administrators are judged by their performance and must possess leadership and vision. Management is judged by the administrators, deals with the employees and should possess managerial qualities. Based on above postulates, I can say that administration and management are entirely different terms. However, in practically, both these terms are more or less same. A manager has to perform both administrative and functional activities while dealing with the employees of the organization. While the managers working on the top most level are said to be the part of ~9~ administration, the managers working in middle or lower level represents managers. Thus, it can be said that administration is above management or that it drives management. 6. Management is a universal phenomenon. Do Managers job is universal? Explain both concepts Management is a universal phenomenon that is required in every form of group activity or all organizations-business political, social or cultural and the fundamental principles and functions of management are applicable in all areas of organized effort. The procedures associated in managing an enterprise are common to all organizations and to each and every manger irrespective of his level or status or occupation. This thus suggests that a good manager could be equally effective in a different organization such government, private business or other sectors as the managerial functions are applicable and transferable from one entity to another. The follower of this concept is Henry Fayol says, “Management is a universal activity which is equally applicable in all types of organizations whether social, religious or business and industrial”. Also according to Theo Haimann, “Management principles are universal. It may be applied to any kind of enterprise, where the human efforts are coordinated”. However there is disagreement among theorists associated with the universality of management: distinction is due to the differences in culture, tradition and history. According to C.Mc Millan and R.W. Gonzalez,” Management philosophy is culture-bound and it is not universally applicable. External forces affect management philosophy.” An expert like Peter Drucker opposes this universality of management. He says, “The skills, the competence, the experience of management cannot, as such, be transferred and applied to the organization and running of other institutes. A career in management is, by itself not a preparation for major political office or for leadership in armed force, the church or university”. W. Oberg also comes to the conclusion that the applicability of management principles is limited to a particular culture. Moreover the job of managers is determined by the environment he/she works, the people he/she act with, the situations and other consideration. Due to this the job of managers may not be universal. But, it is not means that managerial roles and skills are not universal. The basic managerial functions are nearly universal with specific daily functions being applied to some ~ 10 ~ roles. As pioneered writers and theorists explained the functions, roles and skills of managers are universal applicable. So, no doubt that management is universal. But the manager’s practice of it is different in situations, positions, society. 7. A. Discuss why knowledge of the evolution of management theories is important for managers? Most of time, managers end up leaving their jobs because of poor practice in management, a situation that results in increasing the amount of cost and lowering the talent that exists within the business (Collings&wood,2009). Managers should be having a better understanding for the good practice of management by formal education or personal research for the creation of a good knowledge that can result in improving the productivity of employees, eliminating redundancy within process and for increasing the rates on retention. As all we know the efforts to codify management knowledge as a separate and identifiable field of study has been developed in the 20th century that attempts to have been made to develop management’s general theory. So knowing these general management theory helps managers to understand several developments of theory and the contributors to this development represents a heterogeneous group of practioners as well as academic generalists and specialists Managers can understand the management’s theories that explained of why a particular practice is effective or ineffective. They are necessary for the prediction and control of human behavior in the work place. Without theories to guide their practice, managers may not understand the reasons behind their success and failure. And without such understanding, managers would be less likely to ensure the achievement of future goals. Through management theories managers can learn some of earliest innovative practice. Various approaches of in the evolution of management thought are discussed relative to the lessons each can teach today’s managers. Managers shall briefly examine the pioneering ideas of several contributors, individuals who predated modern management thinking helped lay some initial foundation for today’s management concepts. In sum the knowledge of the evolution of management help managers to ~ 11 ~ To maximize productivity, managers must understand the latest best practices. It is very Important of knowing different Management Theories in Managing People It helps to managers to simplify decision making by using several approaches Experiencing many of management thoughts Increase Staff Participation with in the organizations. It helps managers to think objectively and use scientific processes rather than guess. It assists managers to adapt to Global Changes in today’s dynamic environment B. How can knowledge of the past school of management thought benefits today managers? The actual practice of management can be traced back to early recorded history. In fact ancient history contains a number of monumental examples of management in practice. There is various evidences about the existence of management practices in the antiquity. The pyramids of Egypt, for example, stand as tangible evidence of the ancient world’s ability to manage. It took more than 100,000 individuals to construct the great pyramids of Egypt. They, like today’s managers, had to make plan, obtain and mobilize human and material resources, coordinate interdependent jobs, keep records, report their progress, and take corrective action as needed. Therefore past school of management thought provides the managers a road map to future. A manager can use the knowledge from previous management theories to learn from the mistakes that were made by managers in the past. “Only ignorant of the past are destined to repeat it.” A study of the past contributes to understanding both the present and the future. It is a way of learning from others’ mistakes so as not to repeat them; learning from others’ successes so as to repeat them in the appropriate situation; and most of all, learning to understand why things happen to improve our organizations in the future. Generally depending on these I attempt to summarize the importance of knowledge of past school thought for today’s managers as ~ 12 ~  Managers may benefit by understanding each of past management thoughts because that are based on somewhat different assumptions about human beings and the organizations for which they work.  Managers can identify about its strengths and limitations through learning and reviewing of past management thought development. Because management theories faces many limitation due to the models of human behavior is not considered as similar and that is variable that can impact the organizations performances.  Studying of past management thoughts helps to the managers to develop their own personalized management styles that help them to focus on dynamics between groups which allow managers more flexibility in making decisions and helps employees function together as a unit when they work together on a project.  It helps managers to put theory in to applications through mixing management practices and theories together based upon their experience and level of learning. As the management knowledge grows they may add some elements of management theory in order to formalize the decision making and leadership qualities of management. ~ 13 ~ References Management theory and practice. Worku Mekonnen Tadesse (phD). Mega publishing and Distribution P.L.C. Addis Ababa, 2019. http://www.easymnotes.in http://www.coursehero.com/file/11451388/chapter-2/ Management, Richard l. daft Vanderbilt university eighth edition, south-western ~ 14 ~