When I think about Management, I think of it as setting clear goals, planning the most effective path to achieve these goals and tasks, dividing work and having strong skills in motivating others, and having a clear standard to successfully achieve the best in each work segment. When setting goals, a manager needs to be someone who can use specific methods to work with his or her organization to successfully achieve the goals. There are four basic functions of management that one should use in order to successfully achieve his or her goals; planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. These functions are the basis of all careers. They can be implemented no matter who is setting the goals; from small, personally owned businesses to larger corporations. Within the career field I have chosen, these functions have proven to be extremely valuable in achieving the goals that I have set forth in the workplace.
Planning is one of the most important of the four functions in management. To be a successful manager one has to show strong planning skills. According to (Bateman & Snell, 2009), planning is specifying goals to be achieved and deciding, in advance, the appropriate actions needed to achieve those goals. The company that I am employed with, Regions Bank, formally AmSouth Bank, has been in operation for many years and is consistently planning to achieve long and short term goals. Regions Bank is a company that bases its achievements on planning out different marketing strategies for providing new innovative products to its customers. Planning new marketing techniques is the key to a successful business.
The second function in management is organizing. According to (Dessler & Starke, 2004), organizing is based on arranging the activities of an enterprise in such a way that they systematically contribute to the goals of that enterprise. In most companies people tend to believe that organization is more of a human resource function, but in the banking industry organization it is vital that direct supervisors are making good use of this function as well. Being in the position of a direct supervisor, it has been my duty to allocate resources and make sure that there are job duties set out in order to define individual roles. In addition to defining individual roles, I also develop and administer specific training courses to keep employees on track and keep them wanting to work together with each other in teams. In order to outline the goals of success in the workplace, the work that is set for individuals has to be organized. By keeping the work environment in an organized manner, employee moral stays high and it keeps everyone looking forward to succeeding. Regions Bank would not have succeeded and grown into the institution that it is today without having a high degree of organization.
Leading is the third function of management. Without having someone there to lead or guide an individual or group then there would not be any motivation to want to reach a potential goal. Motivating and encouraging employees is an essential part of operating the company. If employees have a good work environment they tend to be more productive and make the company more profitable by becoming involved. As a leader, I have constant daily contact with employees by using all available communication tools. This gives me the ability to provide direction to individuals as well as within teams, departments, and divisions. I believe that having good communication only builds a stronger bond between an employee and his or her supervisor. Not only are there going to be stronger bonds, but the supervisor will then gain more trust in his or her employees which will, in turn, give the employees more motivation to follow in their leaders footsteps.
Controlling is the last of the four functions in management. Controlling is not just knowing what an individual is doing, but setting standards that need to be followed to accomplish a specific goal. Control is the process of monitoring activities to ensure that they are being accomplished as planned and corrected without significant deviations (Robbins & Coulter, pg.38). In trying to monitor my employees, I have to stay as focused as possible on the activities being done. I have found that if a manager is not monitoring the progress within his or her department then they will not be aware of the changes that may need to be made.
After having discussed the four functions in management, I believe that they all play a very important role in having a successful team and organization. There will always be room for improvement with everyone in the company. With the use of the four functions in management; planning, organizing, leading, and controlling, I believe that top, middle, and bottom management will be able to work together and keep the company motivated to achieve a desired set goals. In keeping a monitoring system in effect, it will also be easier to keep everyone on the same track to success. By having the knowledge and ability to implement the four management functions discussed above, every business has the ability to achieve any set of goals.
References
Bateman, Thomas S., & Snell, Scott A. (2009). Management: Leading and Collaborating in a Competitive World (8th ed.). , : McGraw-Hill.
Dessler, Gary., & Starke, Frederick. (2004). Management: Principles and Practice for Tomorrow’s Leaders (2nd ed.). , : Pearson Educations, Inc.
Robbins, Stephen P., & Coulter, Mary. (pg. 38). Available from http://www.kimba.ku.ac.th/research/Organization%20and%20Management.pdf.