Responsibility At Management Level example essay topic

There is no one definition for the term management. However Fayol (1916) defined the term management as; To manage is to forecast and plan, to organise, to command, to co-ordinate and to control. Mc Ilwee. T and Roberts I, (1991): p. g 117 Management is not homogeneous and is undertaken at all levels of the organisation, as it is an integrating activity. Managers have to manage in order to achieve the overall objectives and strategy of the firm. All firms are seeking effective managers, and the quality of management is a key element of business success.

In this assignment the responsibility of management is going to be addressed. Henri Fayol (1961) introduced four managerial roles and these were planning, organising, commanding. Co-ordinating and controlling. Organising- being responsible four jobs and tasks being carried out by individuals.

Commanding- giving orders and instructions and expecting them to be carried out. Co-ordinating- all activities are arranged and adjusted in time and situation to ensure smooth running. Controlling- involves directing, inspecting and regulating work. Planning- determines in advance what should be accomplished and how it should be accomplished.

(Bounds G, Yorks L, Adams M, Ranney G, 1994) However Fayol has been criticised by Mintzberg as it provides only vague managerial objectives. As an alternative Mintzberg proposes ten roles. Three interpersonal roles-figurehead (social activities), liaison (communicating internally and externally), and leadership. Three informational roles- monitor, disseminator (passing information to subordinates), spokesman (passing information externally) and four decisional roles-entrepreneur (risk taker), disturbance, handler, resource allocator and negotiator. The ten role mentioned are not easily isolated in practice but form an integrated whole.

(Betts. P, 1989) An important and integral part of management is the role of supervisors. The supervisor is usually regarded as being the first of the management hierarchy of an organisation. Although the role varies between organisations, generally the supervisor is the management person most directly concerned with the workforce and with whom they have the most contact. (Lewis R and Trevitt R (1995): pg. 355) They have a prime responsibility for seeking that others do work. At the authors par time job Boots the Chemist the supervisor constructs a rota, which entails what each employee will be doing for the rest of the day at different times.

For e.g. 9-10 chemist counter 10-11 cash and wrap 11-12 break etc. It is the supervisors responsibility that tasks are carried out. It is the employees duty to carry out the task and the supervisors responsibility to make sure the tasks are carried out. We also have job rotation therefore have a multi skilful workforce. As the store is very busy and sometimes there is short of staff others can do the job as they have been trained. It is important to have good teamwork.

Group work is also an important management activity. Group work would enable employees to share ideas with others. However, group work is not always effective if employees dislike one another of have conflicting opinions. Brech (1957) identifies four main elements of management and these being planning, control, co-ordination and motivation. Today motivation is an important management activity. i.e. getting the members of the teams to pull their weight effectively. (E. Brech, (1975): pg. 12) Whether of not workers carry out tasks effectively will depend on the degree to which the manager motivates them. As management is about getting things done it is therefore important to motivate people so that tasks are carried out.

In the authors part time job at Boots the Chemist employees receive performance-related bonus. Whether or not you receive a bonus is dependent on the contribution made by an employee to the success of the firm. Each employees performance is monitored every week. Employees at the firm were also asked to sign a contract saying that if any time is taken of work during the Christmas period they will not be entitled to pay rise or Christmas bonus. This has been newly introduced to avoid absenteeism, as the Christmas period is the firms busiest period. In the eyes of the author this approach is going to be very successful and that employees are going to be motivated to work hard and attend work.

Taylor had a very simplistic view of what motivated people at work-money. Taylor however overlooked that people also work for other reasons other than money. An alternative view to that of Taylor comes from Herbert. Needs such as achievement and recognition are positive motivators whilst others such as pay and working conditions, can determine if they are satisfactory, but will not motivate positively for long if they are satisfying (Litterer J (1978): p. g 65) An alternative view to motivation comes from Mc Gregors theory X and Y. In theory X managers tend to dislike their subordinates, they believe employees do not really enjoy their work and need to be controlled. Whereas theory Y employees do enjoy work and they want to contribute to ideas and effort. A theory Y manager is therefore more likely to involve employees in decisions and give them more responsibility.

The way in which managers view their employees will reflect their management style. The management style will also depend on a number of factors i.e. personality of manger and workers and the nature of the task. The way in which the manager deals with its colleagues will have a real impact on their motivation and how effectively they work. The degree to which workers need to be motivated will depend on the organisational structure. (Mullins. L 1999) At any level in the organisation it is unlikely that management will be able to cope adequately with all aspects of their job on their own.

Delegation exists because no one person can effectively control all the functions of a large business. A manager delegates certain powers to subordinates. (Floyd. D (1994): p. g 75) To function efficiently they must delegate. Management is about getting work done through other people, this entails delegation.

Delegation is one of the most powerful management skills. It is the process by which authority to make specific decisions are given to lower level management. Is involves subordinates making decisions. At Boots the Chemist some subordinates are given the authority to do exchanges and refunds. Some are also given the authority to open the counter cache this is where all the notes in excess of the working float are placed. However at times the counter cache does get blocked and we can inform those subordinates who are authorised to open the counter cache.

It is very useful as most of the time the supervisor is not on the shop floor and therefore can get the subordinates who are authorised to do the refunds of exchanges. This would not only maintain good customer service but would also allow the supervisor to be doing other things. It is important that the manager chooses the right subordinates to whom to delegate authority and responsibility and therefore should be able to allocate important aspects of their jobs to subordinates. The limitation with delegation is the delegator might be unwilling to delegate tasks to subordinates. Good communication is vital in organisations and lies at the heart of effective management. Effective communication is essential for organisations without it employees do not know what to do, how to do it or when to do it by (Marcouse.

I, Gillespie. A, Martin. B, Surridge. M, Wall.

N, (1999): pg. 242) If there is Communication at all levels employee would feel part of the company and will then in return contribute more. People need to know their targets what they are doing right and areas, which they need improving on. At Boots the Chemist, every 6 months the employees have to review their contracts with their supervisor. Here employees concern is discussed as well as targets, their performance and areas, which they can improve on. This enables staff to know how well they are doing and what is expected from them. This is also more likely to produce a much more focused and committed workforce.

We also have staff meetings here managers are able to inform staff of new developments, listen to staff views, answer questions and provide feedback. There is also a staff notice board where notices relating to staff can be put up. This is a good means of getting information to staff in the store. Likert (1961) identifies a four- fold model of management systems. Explotitive-very little teamwork or communication and responsibility centred at the top of the hierarchy.

Benevolent- limited teamwork or communication, responsibility at management level but not lower down. Consultative- fair degree of teamwork and communication, responsibility spread more widely. Participative- higher degree of teamwork and communication and responsibility widespread through out all levels. This model can be related to Mc Gregors X and Y theory. Explotitive and Benevolent can be related to Mc Gregors theory X and Participative can be corresponded to theory Y. The culture of the organisation will also effect the management. The organisations culture is expressed in the way that people who make up the organisation act.

(Mullins. L, 1999) If employees have theory X expectations and managers expect theory Y attitudes the results are delegation and involvement is likely to produce poor quality output and misdirection effort. (Floyd D (1994): pg. 125) There can be potential problems when both employees and managers have a different set of beliefs or expectations. In conclusion, there are numerous definitions of management. The role of management is primarily dependent on the management style adopted and the culture of the organisation as well as its aims and objectives.

All firms are seeking good management, as it would effect the success of the business. The effectiveness of management can be measured against level of staff turnover and absenteeism. References 1. Mc Ilwee, T, Roberts, I. (1991). Human Resource Management 2.

Litterer, A. (1978). An introduction to management 3. Mullins, L. (1999). Management and organisational behaviour 4. Floyd, D. (1994). A Level Business Studies 5.

Lewis, R, Trevitt, R. (1995) GNVQ Advanced Business 6. Marcouse, I, Gillespie A, Martin, B, Surridge, M, Wall, N. (1999). Business Studies 7. Brech, E (1975).

The Principles and Practice of Management 8. Fearns, P. (1980). Business Studies an integrated approach

Bibliography

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