MBA600A Four Functions of Management

Four Functions of Management

Ever since the dawn of mankind, the world has seen leaders and rulers at the top of every group of people no matter how small. Nowadays we have businesses, which vary from start-ups with three employees to international companies, which have thousands of workers worldwide. Regardless of the scale each company has leaders and managers, the bigger the company, the more managerial positions it presumes.

Management is a very broad subject, which includes a lot of crucial information pertaining to effective use of one’s managerial skills. Often people overlook even basic principles of management, especially in smaller companies, which have been founded by people, who have no managerial skills whatsoever. The reason those people are not interesting in developing themselves as a manager is the thought that they are the boss already and the usual “how hard can it be?” thinking. However, what people, generally, neglect is the fact, that managing a workload, managing a specific task or machinery is a whole lot different than managing people.

A good manager is first of all a leader and in order to be seen as a leader and not a boss, a person must be passionate and motivated about the job, as well as taking upon the course of constant self-development, which should always include developing oneself as a manager. There are four key components to successful management: planning, organizing, leading, controlling. I consider each one of them crucial to the end goal, however, each one should be executed to a certain degree. No doubt that planning is one of the most important skills not only in management, but in life. A good plan is half of the success and being able to draft a good, achievable, realistic and overall SMART plan is a sign of a good manager. Organizing is the next key component on the path of successful completion of the developed plans. Organizing like planning cannot be omitted, however, managers can allow more liberty to their subordinates in terms of completing the set tasks, given that the manager knows and understands each member’s capabilities. Third up on the list is leading, a very important part of success. Leading sometimes is underrated and easily turned into pushing and bossing around. There is a huge difference between being a boss and giving out orders and having people do things, compared to being a leader and having people follow you with passion and motivation. And the last, but not the least is controlling. Controlling someone’s work can, unfortunately in some cases, be empowering for the manager and demeaning for the employee. Different people deal with supervision in their own way, some need close monitoring of their work and constant feedback regarding their progress, others though would prefer to do things on their own and not to be bothered. A good manager must understand the difference and more importantly understand which employee needs one approach and which one needs the other.

Pursuing an MBA, first of all, means taking another step forward, in terms of self-development and growth. Becoming a good, skilled and smart manager is one of the key components to success in the world of business, thus, I consider an MBA program to be a perfect start. As of now, I feel confident in my skills and I understand the significance of all of them put to action, therefore, some practice and real life situations will be of great help in mastering this trait.

Please add a conclusion on future assignments.

References

Carpenter, M., Bauer, T., & Erdogan, B. (2010). Principles of management 1.1. Irvington, NY: Flat World Knowledge.

Schraeder, M., R. Self, D., H. Jorda, M., & Portis, R. (2014). The Functions of Management as Mechanisms for Fostering Interpersonal Trust. A DVANCES IN B USINESS R ESEARCH, 5, 50-62. Retrieved from http://journals.sfu.ca/abr/index.php/abr/article/viewFile/71/91

Week 2 Assignment Rubric