The workplace environment depends on the strength of the management position and how they manage their employees. They should communicate with the senior professionals of the company to make sure that their team is moving in the right direction of the company’s vision and mission. The roles and responsibilities of managers are different in various workplace environments and industries. Today, we’ll discuss what is management; its functions, styles, and levels.
Table of Contents
What is Management?
Management is the process of administration and coordination of various tasks and responsibilities toward achieving the goals of the company. The administrative activities of the managers comprise developing the company’s strategy and integrating various efforts and responsibilities towards achieving the goals and objectives by making use of the objectives.
The term management implies the senior structure of employees within the staff members. In order to become effective and efficient in the management role, managers should develop skills like leadership, organization, communication, and planning. You should have the knowledge of company’s sales, employee management, goals and objectives, and various other operations of the company.
Function of Management
Some of the main functions of the management are as follows;
Planning
Planning is the basic function of management and it comprises developing and deciding the most suitable course of action for meeting the company’s goals and objectives. It helps you answer questions like what, where, why, how, and when. However, planning discusses the future course of action that the company should take; an activity of decision making and problem-solving.
Organizing
The managers analyze various operations of the company, divide them into achievable smaller tasks, and effectively transfer them to the staff. A company has various relationships within the organization among employees, various departments, and with other companies. It is the duty of the managers to make sure that entities and people harmoniously collaborate with each other. The managers are proficient at establishing relationships among team members and solving the challenges that they’re facing.
Staffing
Staffing is the process of managing a company’s structure and maintaining it. Its importance has increased significantly in recent years because of the latest tech development, complicated human behaviors, the high size of business, and others. However, the aim of staffing is allocating the right person for the right job. We can say staffing comprises promotion and transfer, performance appraisal, remuneration, training and development, placement, selection, recruitment, and manpower planning.
Controlling
Controlling is the process of evaluating the achievements and performance against the standards to make sure that the company meets its goals and objectives. The goal of control is to make sure that everything is happening in alignment with the company’s standards. However, it comprises of following actions like taking corrective actions, making the comparison of the company’s performance against the standard protocol, measuring the actual performance, and setting up performance standards.
3 Levels of Management
The three main levels of management are as follows;
Top Level of Management
The top-level management comprises the board of directors, vice president, president, and chief executive officers of the company. The senior professionals of the company should set up the overall goals and objectives, strategic plans, and decision-making policy relevant to the direction of the company. However, they play a significant role in managing the external resources of the company that is accountable to the shareholders and general public.
Middle-Level Management
The middle management comprises branch managers, regional managers, and department managers. They have the responsibility of imparting information on strategic goals to the first-line managers. Middle managers spend most of their time developing organizational functions. However, they offer guidance to the lower management of the company for plan execution and better performance.
Lower Level Management
Lower-level management comprises supervisors, section leaders, foremen, and team leaders. They have the responsibility of offering guidance to their job, allocation, and staffing of employees, and evaluating the performance of every employee. Often, they make sure of the resolution of employee problems with appropriate measures, offering guidelines in daily activities, and checking the quality of their work.
Management Styles
Some of the main management styles are as follows;
Autocratic
The autocratic style follows the authoritative style and they would like to control everything and make the decision by gaining a little input from other team members. They make choices based on their own judgment and they rarely follow the advice of others.
Democratic
It is the style where managers make decisions by consulting with other team members. The line of communication between managers and employees remains open. However, the sharing of ideas and participation of employees bring everyone to the table and make a contribution to the company’s future. It is a very successful style, but taking everyone’s suggestions and input would slow down the decision-making process.
Laissez-faire
Laissez-faire managers behave more like mentors rather than leaders. Here, they give all the control to their employees to make decisions; they encourage employees to perform their job as their own project. Managers take a back seat and relax; when something goes wrong, it is the job of employees to fix things.
Persuasive
Persuasive managers lead their employees and the company by example, and they spend most of their time working in the field engaging with employees. They take input from their employees and try to convince them rather than making demands and offering them instructions. However, they’re aware of the work of their team members and the task they perform in their daily routine.
How to be A Good Manager?
Some of the main tips on how to become a good manager are as follows;
Coaching
They guide and coach people on how they should perform their work and job. They make sure to have a meeting with them one on one and offer them the solutions to the problems they’re facing; rather than solving the issues on their behalf.
Communication
Good communication starts with becoming good listeners, and they give others the chance to speak. They have got a clear understanding of the company’s vision and they share it with their employees and offer them motivation toward it.
Empowering and Motivating
The motivation level of good managers remains up and they do their best. They empower their employees, offer them support, and make them feel valued. However, the definition of success means better employee management.
Foster Innovation
They empower their employees to learn from their mistakes and make decisions based on the inspiration of their managers. They don’t manage their employees individually; rather they promote new and innovative approaches and assist them in implementing them.
Practice
The best approach to learning any new skill is by practicing it in a real-life work environment. Getting on-the-job experience would help employees to move up the ladder of the chain of command. However, they perform their role under their best capabilities rather than behaving like a leader and treating everyone fair.
