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Today’s PR tips
will serve as a refresher course of what you learnt or will learn.
Management is an
essential role that needs to be played in all organizations of the attainment
of set goals. According to Mary Parker Follett, management is ‘the art of
getting things done through people.’ This is through giving directions to
employers, providing leadership and deciding how to use the organization’s resources
to accomplish task and attain high performance.
There are four functions
of attaining organizational goals in an effective and efficient manner through
management.
Planning
During this foundational
phase, the management analyses where the organization currently is, where they
want to be in the future and how to get there. During this stage a deadline for
has to be set and resources required for the task need to be identified. Remember;
a goal is not a goal without a deadline. Lack of proper planning can hurt the
organization’s succession and demographics not to mention waste company time
and resources.
There are
constant external factors affecting organizations positively or negatively and
it is therefore not uncommon to find organizations changing their course of
action when working toward attaining certain goals. Therefore, planning is an
ongoing process.
Organizing
This will affect
how the organization accomplishes the goal. After planning, the next step is to
assign tasks to the different departments participating and allocating resources
to them. During this stage, there should be a constant follow of information to
ensure smooth running. A leader should allow members of the teams to self
manage rather than micromanaging them. It allows for creativity and personal growth.
Managers can also delegate authority for the duration of the task to avoid
being stretched thin.
Leading/directing
Leaders can use their
position to influence employee behaviour and oversee their work. This will
ensure that the organization is indeed working together to accomplish the goal.
The leader also needs to ensure that the goal and how to get there has been effectively
communicated and remind those who have veered off the set direction. A common
vision is also important during times of competition, downsizing and mergers.
Poor leadership
more often than not leads to employee de-motivation. It is therefore necessary
for leaders to create a shared culture and values that seek to understand employee
needs and motive them. This way, employees
can then accomplish both their personal and career goals. Motivated employees
go beyond their job performance and even more so when there are reward and
incentive programs.
Controlling
Monitoring of employee
activities determines whether or not the organization is on track. This way necessary
corrections can be made if the organization in not on target or are facing
obstacles. The duty of managers is to ensure that employees are working toward
organization goals and doing so efficiently and effectively. Good management
allows for employees to self manage/monitor according to the company’s
standards. When managers are not serious or do not share the organization’s
vision, there can be repeated failure in achieving set goals.
Controlling also
involves evaluating and reporting the company’s performance based on the set
goals. If there are areas of underperformance, the manager should sort to address
the department or employee rather than reduce the overall company standards.
This, like planning, is also an ongoing process in that managers should be able
to identify potential problems and take preventative or corrective measures at
each point of the process.
