How managers can improve their managerial effectiveness (1)

Among the definitions of management by various scholars and researchers are: that management involves planning, forecasting, organising, commanding, coordinating, monitoring and controlling. Henri Fayol (1841 – 1925) stated that “To manage is to forecast and plan, to organise, to command, to coordinate and to control”. Harold Koontz and Cyril O’Donnell (1984) stated that “Managing is an operational process initially best dissected by analysing the managerial functions… The five essential managerial functions are: planning, organising, staffing, directing and leading, and controlling”. Managers must be ready to predict short to medium term future events. They must be able to plan activities, schedule and organise resources like finance, workers, raw materials, machineries and minutes to achieve finished products or service.

Managers are planners, commanders, coordinators and controllers of workers and directors of resources. They are on top of their games and in full authority on the affairs of organisations. Henry Fayol’s 14 principles of management identified the skills that were needed to manage well. These 14 principles are still relevant in today’s business world. Fayol, also known as the Father of Modern Management Theory, gave a new perception on the concept of management. He introduced a general theory that can be applied to all levels of management and every department of production. He envisioned maximising managerial efficiency. Today, Fayol’s theory is practised by management to organise and regulate the internal activities of an organisation.

Henry Fayol’s five functions of management are: planning, organising, commanding, coordinating and controlling. All employees are like raw materials that must be processed and refined to get a perfect product or service. Like all trees in the forest, no employee is useless and some employees do not perform because management cannot identify their best roles. Management is necessary because of the different backgrounds, class, skills and beliefs of employees. It is the function of management to conceive productive ideas, plan, forecast, organise, command, coordinate, monitor, and control employees for profitable operations of organisations. The performance of any organisation depends on the ability of management to organise the workers and not on the individual abilities of the workers.

The purposes of management are: Planning: Planning in management is when a company’s management team creates goals and outlines the steps workers may follow to reach those goals. Planning is the function of management that involves setting objectives and determining a course of action for achieving those objectives. 

Organising: is the function of management that involves developing an organisational structure and allocating human resources to ensure the accomplishment of objectives. Organising is the establishment of effective authority over workers in an organisation. This often leads to improvement in efficiency. Organising in management is the process of assigning tasks and resources to achieve a company’s goals. It is the second step in the management process, following planning. It ensures workers work in a dedicated environment necessary to achieve organisational goals.

Controlling: Controlling is a function of management that helps to check errors and take corrective actions. This is done to minimize deviation from standards and ensure that the stated goals of the organisation are achieved in a desired manner. According to E. F. L. Brech, controlling is checking current performance against pre-determined standards contained in the strategic plans, with a view to ensuring adequate progress and satisfactory performance.

Leading: Leading consists of motivating employees and influencing their behaviour to achieve organisational objectives. It focuses on managing people, such as individual employees, teams and groups, rather than tasks. In summary, leading as a function of management involves influencing, motivating, and guiding individuals and teams to achieve organisational objectives. Effective managers contribute to a positive work environment, high employee engagement, and the overall success of the organisation.

Motivation: Motivation refers to how enthusiastic and happy an employee is in their role. If an employee is motivated, they are more likely to do a good job and work hard. Motivation is very important for attracting employees, retaining employees and general levels of productivity in a business. Motivation is the factor which determines the quality of workers in an organisation. Motivation is not only about salaries and wages. It also involves the quality of working environment, welfare package, pension etc. 

Effective communication: Effective communication is a key communication skill, requiring managers to be clear and complete in what they are trying to express. Being an effective communicator in our organisations and personal lives involves learning the skills to exchange information with clarity, empathy, and understanding.

Stakeholders’ management: Stakeholder management is defined as the process by which managers organise, monitor, and improve your relationships with the key stakeholders of an organisation. Stakeholders’ management is very important in management. It involves identifying stakeholders, analyzing their needs and expectations, and then planning and implementing various tasks to engage with them. 

Setting objectives: Setting objectives is an important part of any research or study project, especially when the results are presented and discussed in a written report. When objectives are set, they clearly and concisely describe the aims and goals of a project while defining their scope for investigation. 

Coordinating: Coordinating is the function of management which ensures that different workers, departments, and groups work in tandem with each other with the view of ensuring unity of action among the employees, groups, and departments. It also brings harmony in carrying out the different tasks and activities to achieve success.

Decision making: Management decision-making identifies problems, evaluates alternatives, and makes choices to attain organisational goals. Decision making in management refers to the process by which managers analyze issues, evaluate alternatives, and choose the most appropriate course of action to achieve organisational objectives. 

Directing: Directing in management refers to the process of providing guidance, instructions, and support to employees in order to help them achieve the goals of the organisation. 

It helps in achieving group goals. Management helps achieve group goals by organising resources effectively, directing efforts towards goals, and defining objectives clearly. It utilizes resources optimally and reduces costs by planning minimally and getting maximum output.

                                                                                    (To be continued next week)

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