What are the four resources that a manager must coordinate to achieve organizational goals?

A manager is a person who directs resources to achieve a stated goal. This definition includes all individuals who (1) direct the efforts of others, including those who delegate tasks within an organization such as a firm, a family, or a club; (2) purchase inputs to be used in the production of goods and services such as the output of a firm, food for the needy, or shelter for the homeless; or (3) are in charge of making other decisions, such as product price or quality. A manager generally has responsibility for his or her own actions as well as for the actions of individuals, machines, and other inputs under the manager’s control. This control may involve responsibilities for the resources of a multinational corporation or for those of a single household. In each instance, however, a manager must direct resources and the behavior of individuals for the purpose of accomplishing some task. While much of this book assumes the manager’s task is to maximize the profits of the firm that employs the manager, the underlying principles are valid for virtually any decision process. (Baye and Prince,2014)

 What is a Manager’s goal?

According to (Jones and George, 2016) The Manager’s goal is achieving high organizational performance which is measured in terms of efficiency and effectiveness.

Organizational performance   is a measure of how efficiently and effectively managers use available resources to satisfy customers and achieve organizational goals. Organizational performance increases in direct proportion to increases in efficiency and effectiveness, as Figure 2 shows.

 Efficiency    is a measure of how productively resources are used to achieve a goal. 5 Organizations are efficient when managers minimize the amount of input resources (such as labor, raw materials, and component parts) or the amount of time needed to produce a given output of goods or services. (Jones and George, 2016)

Effectiveness    is a measure of the appropriateness of the goals that managers have selected for the organization to pursue and the degree to which the organization achieves those goals. (Jones and George, 2016)

What are the Essential Managerial Tasks?

Figure 2: Four task of management

Planning

In its simplest form, is establishing organizational goals and deciding how to accomplish them. It is often referred to as the “first” management function because all other management functions depend on planning. Organizations such as Twitter, Amazon, and Facebook base the planning process on a mission statement. An organization’s mission is a statement of the basic purpose that makes that organization different from others. Starbucks mission statement, for example, is “to inspire and nurture the human spirit—one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time.” Amazon.com’s mission is “to be earth’s most customer-centric company; to build a place where people can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online.” Facebook’s mission statement is “to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected.”4 Once a mission has been stated, the next step is to engage in strategic planning. (Pride, et al., 2015).

Organizing  

Organizing    is structuring working relationships so organizational members interact and cooperate to achieve organizational goals. Organizing people into departments according to the kinds of job-specific tasks they perform lays out the lines of authority and responsibility between different individuals and groups. Managers must decide how best to organize resources, particularly human resources. The outcome of organizing is the creation of an    organizational structure  ,  a formal system of task and reporting relationships that coordinates and motivates members so they work together to achieve organizational goals. Organizational structure determines how an organization’s resources can be best.  (Jones and George, 2016)

It is the grouping of resources and activities to accomplish some end result in an efficient and effective manner. Consider the case of an inventor who creates a new product and goes into business to sell it. (Pride, et al., 2015).

Leading

Leading an organization’s vision is a short, succinct, and inspiring statement of what the organization intends to become and the goals it is seeking to achieve—its desired future state. In leading   , managers articulate a clear organizational vision for the organization’s members to accomplish, and they energize and enable employees so everyone understands the part he or she plays in achieving organizational goals. Leadership involves managers using their power, personality, influence, persuasion, and communication skills to coordinate people and groups so their activities and efforts are in harmony. Leadership revolves around encouraging all employees to perform at a high level to help the organization achieve its vision and goals. Another outcome of leadership is a highly motivated and committed workforce. Alcon’s employees appreciate the core values and stability of their leadership, which has contributed toward their success as a workforce. (Jones and George, 2016)

Leading and motivating are critical activities because of the importance of an organization’s human resources. Obviously, different people do things for different reasons—that is, they have different motivations. Some are interested primarily in earning as much money as they can. Others may be spurred on by opportunities to get promoted. Part of a manager’s job, then, is to determine what factors motivate workers and to try to provide those incentives to encourage effective performance. (Pride, et al., 2015).

Controlling

In controlling, the task of managers is to evaluate how well an organization has achieved its goals and to take any corrective actions needed to maintain or improve performance. For example, managers monitor the performance of individuals, departments, and the organization as a whole to see whether they are meeting desired performance standards. Scott Parish learned early in his career about the importance of monitoring performance to ensure that his organization realized its profit objectives. (Jones and George, 2016)

What are the Levels and Skills of Managers?

Managers at each level have different but related responsibilities for using organizational resources to increase efficiency and effectiveness.   At the base of the managerial hierarchy are    first-line managers   often called  supervisors.  They are responsible for daily supervision of the nonmanagerial employees who perform the specific activities necessary to produce goods and services. First-line managers work in all departments or functions of an organization. (Jones and George, 2016)

For the moment, think of an organization as a three-story structure (as illustrated in Figure 3). Each story corresponds to one of the three general levels of management: top managers, middle managers, and first-line managers.  (Pride, et al., 2015).

Figure 3: Levels of Management and Functions.

What are the Levels of Managers and Management?

 First-line manager: A manager who is responsible for the daily supervision of nonmanagerial employees.  They are often called supervisors.  They are responsible for daily supervision of the nonmanagerial employees who perform the specific activities necessary to produce goods and services. First-line managers work in all departments or functions of an organization. (Jones and George, 2016)

A first-line manager is a manager who coordinates and supervises the activities of operating employees. First-line managers spend most of their time working with and motivating their employees, answering questions, and solving day-to-day problems. Most first-line managers are former operating employees who were promoted into management. Many of today’s middle and top managers began their careers on this first management level. Common titles for first-line managers include office manager, supervisor, and foreman. (Pride, et al., 2015).

Middle manager:    A manager who supervises first-line managers and is responsible for finding the best way to use resources to achieve organizational goals. Responsible for finding the best way to organize human and other resources to achieve organizational goals. To increase efficiency, middle managers find ways to help first-line managers and nonmanagerial employees better use resources to reduce manufacturing costs or improve customer service. To increase effectiveness, middle managers evaluate whether the organization’s goals are appropriate and suggest to top managers how goals should be changed. (Jones and George, 2016)

Middle managers make up the largest group of managers in most organizations. A middle manager is a manager who implements the strategy and major policies developed by top management. Middle managers develop tactical and operational plans, and they coordinate and supervise the activities of firstline managers. Titles at the middle-management level include division manager, department head, plant manager, and operations manager. (Pride, et al., 2015).

Top manager:    A manager who establishes organizational goals, decides how departments should interact, and monitors the performance of middle managers.   Top managers establish organizational goals, such as which goods and services the company should produce; they decide how the different departments should interact; and they monitor how well middle managers in each department use resources to achieve goals. (Jones and George, 2016)

Top management team:    A group composed of the CEO, the COO, the president, and the heads of the most important departments.   A central concern of the CEO is the creation of a smoothly functioning top management team, a group composed of the CEO, the COO, and the vice presidents most responsible for achieving organizational goals. (Jones and George, 2016) It is an upper-level executive who guides and controls an organization’s overall fortunes. Top managers represent the smallest of the three groups. In terms of planning, they are generally responsible for developing the organization’s mission. They also determine the firm’s strategy. It takes years of hard work, long hours, and perseverance, talent, and no small share of good luck to reach the ranks of top management in large companies.  (Pride, et al., 2015).

Mintzberg Typology

Henry Mintzberg, a professor at McGill University, has spent most of his life researching management in an attempt to help organizations better achieve their goals in an ethical manner. Some of his most important research examined the different roles that managers play in organizations, and directly informs our discussion in this chapter. Often managers are overloaded with responsibilities and do not have time to analyse every nuance of a situation; they therefore make decisions in uncertain conditions not knowing which outcomes will be best. Moreover, top managers face constantly changing situations, and a decision that seems right today may prove to be wrong tomorrow. The range of problems that managers face is enormous; managers usually must handle many problems simultaneously; and they often must make snap decisions using the intuition and experience gained through their careers to perform their jobs to the best of their abilities. Henry Mintzberg, by following managers and observing what they actually  do  hour by hour and day by day, identified 10 kinds of specific roles (as shown in Table 1), or sets of job responsibilities, that capture the dynamic nature of managerial work. He grouped these roles according to whether the responsibility was primarily decisional, interpersonal, or informational. (Jones and George, 2016)

Table 1: Minzberg Managerial Roles by (Jones and George, 2016)

Conceptual skills  

 Conceptual skills    are demonstrated in the general ability to analyse and diagnose a situation and to distinguish between cause and effect. Top managers require the best conceptual skills because their primary responsibilities are planning and organizing.  Business training at the undergraduate and graduate (MBA) levels provides many of the conceptual tools (theories and techniques in marketing, finance, and other areas) that managers need to perform their roles effectively. The study of management helps develop the skills that allow managers to understand the big picture confronting an organization. The ability to focus on the big picture lets managers see beyond the situation immediately at hand and consider choices while keeping in mind the organization’s long-term goals. Human skills    include the general ability to understand, alter, lead, and control the behavior of other individuals and groups. The ability to communicate, to coordinate, and to motivate people, and to mold individuals into a cohesive team distinguishes effective from ineffective managers. (Jones and George, 2016) Conceptual skills involve the ability to think in abstract terms. Conceptual skills allow a manager to see the “big picture” and understand how the various parts of an organization or idea can fit together.  (Pride, et al., 2015).

Analytic Skills

Employers expect managers to use analytic skills to identify problems correctly, generate reasonable alternatives, and select the “best” alternatives to solve problems. Top-level managers especially need these skills because they must discern the important issues from the less important ones, as well as recognize the underlying reasons for different situations. Managers who use these skills not only address a situation but also correct the initial event or problem that caused it to occur. Thus, these skills are vital to running a business efficiently and logically. (Pride, et al., 2015).

Technical skills   

Technical skills are the job-specific skills required to perform a particular type of work or occupation at a high level. Examples include a manager’s specific manufacturing, accounting, marketing, and IT skills. Managers need a range of technical skills to be effective. The array of technical skills managers need depends on their position in their organizations. The manager of a restaurant, for example, may need cooking skills to fill in for an absent cook, accounting and bookkeeping skills to keep track of receipts and costs and to administer the payroll, and aesthetic skills to keep the restaurant looking attractive for customers. (Jones and George, 2016) Technical skills involve specific skills needed to accomplish a specialized activity. For example, engineers and machinists need technical skills to do their jobs. First-line managers (and, to a lesser extent, middle managers) need to understand the technical skills relevant to the activities they manage in order to train subordinates, answer questions, and provide guidance, even though the managers may not perform the technical tasks themselves. In general, top managers do not rely on technical skills as heavily as managers at other levels. Still, understanding the technical side of a business is an aid to effective management at every level. (Pride, et al., 2015).

 Communication skills

Communication skills, both oral and written, involve the ability to speak, listen, and write effectively. Managers need both oral and written communication skills. Because a large part of a manager’s day is spent conversing with others, the ability to speak and listen is critical. Oral communication skills are used when a manager makes sales presentations, conducts interviews, and holds press conferences. Written communication skills are important because a manager’s ability to prepare letters, e-mails, memos, sales reports, and other written documents may spell the difference between success and failure. To manage an organization effectively and to stay informed, it is very important that managers understand how to use and maximize the potential of digital communication devices. (Pride, et al., 2015).

Core competency

The specific set of departmental skills, knowledge, and experience that allows one organization to outperform another. (Jones and George, 2016) These different important managerial skills make up a managers core competencies. The relationship between the skills as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4: Different Important Managerial Skills

Recent Changes in Management Practices

Restructuring: Downsizing an organization by eliminating the jobs of large numbers of top, middle, and first-line managers and nonmanagerial employees. Restructuring can be done by eliminating product teams, shrinking departments, and reducing levels in the hierarchy, all of which result in the loss of large numbers of jobs of top, middle, or first-line managers, as well as nonmanagerial employees. Modern IT’s ability to improve efficiency has increased the amount of downsizing in recent years because IT makes it possible for fewer employees to perform a given task. IT increases each person’s ability to process information and make decisions more quickly and accurately, for example. U.S. companies are spending over $100 billion a year to purchase advanced IT that can improve efficiency and effectiveness. (Jones and George, 2016)

Outsourcing:   Contracting with another company, usually abroad, to have it perform an activity the organization previously performed itself. Outsourcing increases efficiency because it lowers operating costs, freeing up money and resources that can be used in more effective ways—for example, to develop new products.  Low-cost global competition dramatically increased outsourcing at the turn of the century. In 2013 nearly 2.6 million U.S. jobs were outsourced offshore. India, Indonesia, and China were rated as the best outsourcing countries. Companies primarily reported offshore outsourcing to control costs and gain access to unavailable resources while freeing up internal ones. (Jones and George, 2016) Organizations are increasing their levels of outsourcing,    buying goods or services instead of producing or providing them themselves. As outsourcing increases, organizations are spending increasing amounts on supply-related activities (wrapping, packaging, moving, loading and unloading, and sorting). A significant amount of the cost and time spent on these and other related activities may be unnecessary. Issues with imported products, including tainted food products, toothpaste, and pet foods, as well as unsafe tires and toys, have led to questions of liability and the need for companies to take responsibility for monitoring the safety of outsourced goods. (Stevenson,2012).

Empowerment:  It is a management technique that involves giving employees more authority and responsibility over how they perform their work activities. The way in which John Deere, the well-known tractor manufacturer, empowered its employees illustrates how this technique can help raise performance. The employees who assemble Deere’s vehicles possess detailed knowledge about how Deere products work. Deere’s managers realized these employees could become persuasive salespeople if they were given training. So groups of these employees were given intensive sales training and sent to visit Deere’s customers and explain to them how to operate and service the company’s new products. While speaking with customers, these newly empowered “salespeople” also collect information that helps Deere develop new products that better meet customers’ needs. The new sales jobs are temporary; employees go on assignment but then return to the production line, where they use their new knowledge to find ways to improve efficiency and quality. (Jones and George, 2016)

What are the Challenges for Management in a Global Environment?

1. Building Competitive Advantage

Competitive advantage is the ability of one organization to outperform other organizations because it produces desired goods or services more efficiently and effectively than its competitors. The building blocks of competitive advantage are superior efficiency; quality; speed, flexibility, and   innovation; and responsiveness to customers. (Jones and George, 2016) this includes building a strategic alliances with other businesses, which could include your supplier, distributor and competitors. All this is shown in figure 5.

Figure 5: Elements of Competitive Advantage

Innovation is the process of creating new or improved goods and services or developing better ways to produce or provide them. Managers must create an organizational setting in which people are encouraged to be innovative. Typically innovation takes place in small groups or teams; management decentralizes control of work activities to team members and creates an organizational culture that rewards risk taking.  Innovation can be used to put life back on a dying company through turnaround management. This is the creation of a new vision for a struggling company based on a new approach to planning and organizing to make better use of a company’s resources and allow it to survive and prosper. (Jones and George, 2016)

A strategic alliance, the newest form of international business structure, is a partnership formed to create competitive advantage on a worldwide basis. Strategic alliances are very similar to joint ventures. The number of strategic alliances is growing at an estimated rate of about 20 percent per year. In fact, in the automobile and computer industries, strategic alliances are becoming the predominant means of competing. International competition is so fierce and the costs of competing on a global basis are so high that few firms have all the resources needed to do it alone. Thus, individual firms that lack the internal resources essential for international success may seek to collaborate with other companies. (Pride, et al., 2015).

1. Maintaining Ethical and Socially Responsible Standards

 Managers at all levels, especially after the recent economic crisis, are under considerable pressure to make the best use of resources to increase the level at which their organizations perform. For example, top managers feel pressure from shareholders to increase the performance of the entire organization to boost its stock price, improve profits, or raise dividends. In turn, top managers may pressure middle managers to find new ways to use organizational resources to increase efficiency or quality and thus attract new customers and earn more  revenues—and then middle managers hit on their department’s supervisors.  Pressure to increase performance can be healthy for an organization because it leads managers to question how the organization is working, and it encourages them to find new and better ways to plan, organize, lead, and control. However, too much pressure to perform can be harmful. It may induce managers to behave unethically, and even illegally, when dealing with people and groups inside and outside the organization. (Jones and George, 2016) The need for ethical conduct in business is becoming increasingly obvious, given numerous examples of questionable actions in recent history. In making decisions, managers must consider how their decisions will affect shareholders, management, employees, customers, the community at large, and the environment. Finding solutions that will be in the best interests of all of these stakeholders is not always easy, but it is a goal that all managers should strive to achieve. Furthermore, even managers with the best intentions will sometimes make mistakes. If mistakes do occur, managers should act responsibly to correct those mistakes as quickly as possible, and to address any negative consequences. (Stevenson,2012).

1. Managing a Diverse Workforce

Major challenge for managers everywhere is to recognize the ethical need and legal requirement to treat human resources fairly and equitably. Today the age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual preference, and socioeconomic composition of the workforce presents new challenges for managers. To create a highly trained and motivated workforce, as well as to avoid lawsuits, managers must establish human resource management (HRM) procedures and practices that are legal and fair and do not discriminate against any organizational members. Today most organizations understand that to motivate effectively and take advantage of the talents of a diverse workforce, they must make promotion opportunities available to each and every employee. Managers must recognize the performance-enhancing possibilities of a diverse workforce, such as the ability to take advantage of the skills and experiences of different kinds of people. (Jones and George, 2016)

1. Utilizing IT and E-Commerce

Increasingly, new kinds of IT enable not just individual employees but also self-managed teams by giving them important information and allowing virtual interactions around the globe using the Internet. Increased global coordination helps improve quality and increase the pace of innovation. Microsoft, Hitachi, IBM, and most companies now search for new IT that can help them build a competitive advantage. The importance of IT is discussed in detail in Chapters 16 and 18, and throughout the text you will find examples of how IT is changing the way companies operate.  (Jones and George, 2016) Most familiar to the general public is e-commerce, consumer–business transactions such as buying online or requesting information. However, business-to-business transactions such as e-procurement represent an increasing share of e-business. E-business is receiving increased attention from business owners and managers in developing strategies, planning, and decision making. The word    technology    has several definitions, depending on the context. Generally, technology refers to the application of scientific discoveries to the development and improvement of goods and services. It can involve knowledge, materials, methods, and equipment. The term high technology refers to the most advanced and developed machines and methods. Operations management is primarily concerned with three kinds of technology: product and service technology, process technology, and information technology (IT). All three can have a major impact on costs, productivity, and competitiveness. (Stevenson,2012).

1. Practicing Global Crisis Management

The causes of global crises or disasters fall into two main categories: natural causes and human causes. Crises that arise because of natural causes include the hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, famines, and diseases that have devastated so many countries in the 2000s; hardly any country has been untouched by their effects. In 2013 the Philippines were hit by Typhoon Haiyan, the strongest recorded storm ever to make landfall. The typhoon killed over 6,000 people and injured scores more. Although many nations and businesses rallied to help the people of the Philippines, critical roads and infrastructure remain unrepaired, deeply affecting the Filipino economy. (Jones and George, 2016)

1. Environmental Concerns

Concern about global warming and pollution has had an increasing effect on how businesses operate.  Stricter environmental regulations, particularly in developed nations, are being imposed. Furthermore, business organizations are coming under increasing pressure to reduce their carbon footprint (the amount of carbon dioxide generated by their operations and their supply chains) and to generally operate sustainable processes.    Sustainability    refers to service and production processes that use resources in ways that do not harm ecological systems that support both current and future human existence. Sustainability measures often go beyond traditional environmental and economic measures to include measures that incorporate social criteria in decision making. (Stevenson,2012).

Presentation:

Chapter References:

Pride W.M., et al. (2015). Foundation of Business, Eighth Edition. Stamford: Cengage Learning.

Jones G.R. and George J.M. (2016). Contemporary Management, Ninth Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Education.

Noe R.A., Hollenbeck J.R., ET AL (2012). Human Resource Management: Gaining Competitive Advantage Eighth Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Education.

Baye M.R and Prince J.T. (2014). Managerial Economics and Business Strategy Eighth Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Education.

Orcullo N.A. (2013). Fundamentals of Strategic Management. Manila, Philippines: Rex Book Store.

Stevenson J.S. (2012). Operations Management Eleventh Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Education.

What is the process of coordinating people and other resources to achieve the goals?

Coordinating people and human resources to accomplish organizational goals is the process of leadership.

What is coordination of people and resources?

Coordination is the act of bringing many individuals or departments together in order to achieve a common organizational goal. It also refers to the integration of activities to ensure that the resources of an organization are being used most efficiently to achieve the organizational goal.

What is the process of working with people and resources to accomplish the goals of an organization group of answer choices?

Cards

Term Management

Definition the process of working with people and resources to accomplish organizational goals

Term organizing

Definition assembling and coordinating the human, financial, physical, informational, and other resources needed to achieve goals (getting them to act usefully in an intelligent way)

What are the 4 organizational resources?

What are the 4 elements of management resources?

What are the 4 major activities in management to effectively operate an organization?

What are the 4 main management principles used by effective managers?