Answer to Question #98983 in Management for Godwin

Question

Review the management functions, roles, and skills. Which ones apply to Tasneem at Calm Seas?

Answer 1

 

Management

Introduction

Management is very crucial to every business as it enhances establishment and promotes the proper functioning of the entity (Hislop et al., 2018). Through management, both human and non-human resources are efficiently organized and directed towards the company's goals. Managers require specific skills to carry out their roles and functions successfully. But what entails the functions, roles, and abilities of successful managers? This article will give a summary of the responsibilities, skills, and functions of management.

Regardless of whether a company is for-profit or non-profit, the functions of its management are centered on making plans for the company, organizing resources, offering leadership and control to members of staff. It is the prerogative of the manager of an organization to plan on what needs to be accomplished and come up with an action plan to achieving those goals. Organizations have different resources that need to be organized. For instance, monetary resources have to be distributed to various projects of the organizations according to priorities. It is the work of managers to decide what goes where and when. Human resource is an essential resource for any company. As such, it is upon managers to ensure that members of staff are assessed, guided, and motivated for them to remain productive. In a nutshell, the buck stops with the manager concerning day-to-day running of an organization.

According to Mintzberg (2019), the role of a manager in any firm can be summarized into three categories, which include informational, decisional, and interpersonal. In the informational category, it is the responsibility of managers to look for beneficial information from different sources, including personal contacts, and relay this information to members of staff. The managers also act as official spokespersons of their organizations. Mintzberg outlines the 3 roles of managers in the interpersonal category. These roles are leader, figurehead, and liaison. It is the manager's right to present awards to outstanding employees, provides leadership to members of staff, and be the in-between person of the information flowing into and out of the company. In the decisional category, managers have a role in directing the company on business development. Managers are also responsible for guiding crises and make negotiations on behalf of their organizations.

Various management skills make a person a successful manager. One of the skills is the ability to see the bigger picture (Hoffman & Tadelis, 2018). Active managers can rise above challenges and see the bigger picture. This is how such managers can make decisions that average managers cannot. Excellent managers also have unique expertise. There is a technical skill that they have mastered, which makes them a leader in that field. Without social skills, managers cannot work with subordinates. Managers need to have a rapport with staff members, stakeholders, and clients for them to be able to steer their organizations into greater heights.

Tasneem is a general manager, which implies that all these functions, roles, and skills should apply to her. By analyzing the Calm Seas case, Tasneem can be seen displaying various skills, carrying out different duties and tasks. For instance, her social skills come out as casually chats with her employees while taking coffee. Her organizational and decisional skills are seen when she solves her salesperson's car problem. Tasneem can call upon the production manager to inquire why products do not seem to meet the required standards. She goes ahead to work together with the production supervisor and manager to correct production errors showing her purpose in leading. Throughout the day, Tasneem is busy giving directions, solving problems, guiding employees, and representing the company, and this is what defines a manager.

References

Hislop, D., Bosua, R., & Helms, R. (2018). Knowledge management in organizations: A critical introduction. Oxford University Press.

Hoffman, M., & Tadelis, S. (2018). People management skills, employee attrition, and manager rewards: An empirical analysis (No. w24360). National Bureau of Economic Research.

Mintzberg, H. (2019). Bedtime Stories for Managers: Farewell to Lofty Leadership... Welcome Engaging Management. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.