Unit 2: The Role of Managers: What Do Managers Do?
In this unit we will explore in greater detail the role of managers in an organization. We will look at the skills necessary to be successful managers and the styles of management that lead to the accomplishment of an organization's goals. We will also look more closely at the P-O-L-C framework and investigate how managers accomplish these functions.
Completing this unit should take you approximately 3 hours.
Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- analyze the four interrelated functions of management: planning, organizing, directing, and controlling.
2.1: An Introduction to What Managers Do: The Four Functions
Read the introduction and section 6.1, which discuss the four functions of management and describes how they work together to provide a template from which managers draw in order to properly execute their workplace tasks.
2.2: What Is the Management Planning Function?
Read this section, which introduces the process that an organization uses to create and implement strategic, tactical, and operational plans. Managers use these plans to provide a roadmap from which a company's business develops. Pay careful attention to the discussion of how to conduct a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis, as well as the discussion on mission statements and establishing goals and objectives. Also be sure to review the text's treatment of contingency planning, a process that requires managers to identify an alternative route toward achieving a goal or objective. Finally, be sure to work through the exercises at the end of the reading.
2.3: How to Organize People, Equipment, and Money
Read this section and focus on the discussion of the top, middle, and first-line levels of management, which will provide you with a better understanding of the various ways to organize a business and its correlating activities. The organizational charts in this reading provide an excellent backdrop for you to better understand the flow, coordination, and reporting relationships of the managerial model. Be sure to review this section's discussion of the authority of managers and the concept of delegation.
2.4: Managers Have To Possess Great Directing Skills
Read this section and closely examine the foundational elements associated with leadership. This reading will further develop your understanding of what managers do to achieve organizational goals and objectives. This section also emphasizes how you can identify your own leadership style. Note that leading is sometimes referred to as directing. Keep this alternative term in mind as you progress through this course.
Read this article and consider the following questions: What is a manager? What is a leader? How do a manager's approach and a leader's approach set each role apart? Why does an organization need both managers and leaders? What would happen if an organization had only managers or leaders, but not both?
2.5: Effectively Controlling the Environment Is a Management Essential
Read this section, which takes a close look at the five-step control process that is necessary for keeping a plan on target. After completing this reading, work through the exercise at the end of the section.
2.6: Managers Need a Variety of Skills to Be Successful
Read this section, which examines the core skills that are essential to a manager's success. This reading also explores the process of solving problems in a business environment. An effective manager will face a variety of problems that require a decision. Some of a manager's decisions will be more successful than others, but the steps outlined in this process will help you minimize the possibility of a bad decision. Be sure to complete the exercises at the end of the reading.
Read this article and think about your own management style. Has your company used any of the assessments discussed in this essay? If so, have you taken any of these assessments? Have you ever been responsible for evaluating the assessment of another worker? Do you feel that these assessments are accurate measures of an individual's management skills and capabilities? Why or why not?
2.7: The Role of Tomorrow's Leaders
Read this article and consider the following questions: What shifts in the modern business world have caused leadership roles to change? Can a focus on leading globally, building partnerships, being innovative, and collaborating enable leaders to be more effective? If so, how? As a leader, do you currently practice these four essential roles? Why or why not?
2.8: Developing Influencing Skills
Read this article and think about your own influencing skills. Consider the different types of approaches you may use to suit a particular situation or individual. Do you generally employ a push or a pull strategy? Are you flexible enough to vary your style, as needed?
Read this article and consider the different techniques you use when you make a presentation or speech. As you prepare your presentations, do you consider the styles of other speakers? Which styles do you feel most suit your personality? After reading this essay, what steps will you take, if any, to revise your speaking style and employ different strategies when preparing your presentations?