Question No. 1 MMPC-001 - Management Functions and Organisational Processes

Solutions to Assignments 

MMPC -001 - Management Functions and Organisational Processes

Question No. 1 - Describe the characteristics of Management and it’s importance. Briefly discuss the challenges faced by Manager in the present day context. 

Management is an essential to life, in order to organize it we need to manage. In every turn of life, we need to manage. Be it business or household, ‘management’ plays an important function. In the business world, good management is the backbone of every organization. 

“Management is the art of getting things done through and with the people in formally organized groups.” – this means that management is the way to get things done by the employees of an organization where they function in an organized way.

Characteristics of Management

To know the true nature of any system we should check the characteristic features of the same. Similarly, to know the management system we need to analyze its characteristics. The characteristics of management are as follows – 

1. Universal: Every organization irrespective of their financial position requires management to manage their activities, thus it is universal in nature.
2. Goal Oriented: Management helps the organization achieve goals systematically and without any fuss. 
3. Continuous Process: Management is an ongoing process which is required in every facet of an organization to function good, be it production system, human resource, finance or marketing
4. Multi-dimensional: Management not only manages the workforce but also manages every sphere of the organization whether it is production, human resource. 
5. Group Activity: The groups in an organization work together also the members in different groups work in a system, they belong to different backgrounds, culture and they have different aspirations, to work evenly without any difference issue they need to adopt the management.
6. Dynamic Function: Business environments have different factors like social, political, legal, technological and economical, with these factors in force an organization is open to changes frequently, with management in their system they can apprehend the changes and work towards responding to it.
7. Intangible Force: Management cannot be touched or seen, its effect can only be experienced and the benefit can only be enjoyed.

Precisely, all the functions, activities and processes of the organization are intertwined to one another. So, it is the task of the management to bring them together in sync in such a way that they help in reaching the already set result.

Importance of Management

1. It helps in Achieving Group Goals - It arranges the factors of production, assembles and organizes the resources, integrates the resources in effective manner to achieve goals. It directs group efforts towards achievement of pre-determined goals. By defining objective of organization clearly there would be no wastage of time, money and effort. Management converts disorganized resources of men, machines, money etc. into useful enterprise. These resources are coordinated, directed and controlled in such a manner that enterprise work towards attainment of goals.
2. Optimum Utilization of Resources - Management utilizes all the physical & human resources productively. This leads to efficacy in management. Management provides maximum utilization of scarce resources by selecting its best possible alternate use in industry from out of various uses. It makes use of experts, professional and these services leads to use of their skills, knowledge, and proper utilization and avoids wastage. If employees and machines are producing its maximum there is no under employment of any resources.
3. Reduces Costs - It gets maximum results through minimum input by proper planning and by using minimum input & getting maximum output. Management uses physical, human and financial resources in such a manner which results in best combination. This helps in cost reduction.
4. Establishes Sound Organization - No overlapping of efforts (smooth and coordinated functions). To establish sound organizational structure is one of the objective of management which is in tune with objective of organization and for fulfillment of this, it establishes effective authority & responsibility relationship i.e. who is accountable to whom, who can give instructions to whom, who are superiors & who are subordinates. Management fills up various positions with right persons, having right skills, training and qualification. All jobs should be cleared to everyone.
5. Establishes Equilibrium - It enables the organization to survive in changing environment. It keeps in touch with the changing environment. With the change is external environment, the initial co-ordination of organization must be changed. So it adapts organization to changing demand of market / changing needs of societies. It is responsible for growth and survival of organization.
6. Essentials for Prosperity of Society - Efficient management leads to better economical production which helps in turn to increase the welfare of people. Good management makes a difficult task easier by avoiding wastage of scarce resource. It improves standard of living. It increases the profit which is beneficial to business and society will get maximum output at minimum cost by creating employment opportunities which generate income in hands. Organization comes with new products and researches beneficial for society.

Challenges faced by Managers in the present day

1. Communicating effectively with employees: As a manager, there can often be an element of distance from the rest of the team. This creates one of the biggest challenges for managers – bridging the distance with effective and timely communication skills. Good managers need to develop advanced listening and speaking skills as they play a huge role in the success of their team. ‘A lack of interdepartmental communications’ has been found to be one of the biggest causes of stress for UK employees in 2020. This means that when a manager isn’t communicating well with their team about business matters or individual progress, not only could it be damaging the manager-employee relationship, but it could also be greatly adding to employees’ work-related stress.
2. Confronting performance problems: Performance problems are always going to be a concern for any manager. But in today’s fierce business environment, if your teams aren’t performing to a high standard, a competitor could easily come in and take your customer’s business. You need to get to the root of any problems quickly. But be careful – managers have the tricky job of finding the balance of getting the results you need and not damaging any relationships with your team members in the process. If you put your ‘strict manager’ hat on too soon, you risk damaging the trust with other members of your team too.
3. Letting employees go: This will probably always be the hardest part of any manager’s job – and it’s something you never want to get too comfortable doing. Unfortunately, there’s no easy way around this one and it doesn’t become any easier, no matter how much experience you have.
4. Making the right hiring decisions: So many candidates out there might have the experience and skills that you might be looking for and they’re probably perfectly capable to do the job. But this doesn’t mean they’re a perfect match to join your team. A good manager is able to decipher between a good skills hire and a good cultural fit. Finding the right blend of both. If you make a wrong decision in the hiring process, it can quickly affect your team's morale and performance. You'll also have to deal with the other problems we've outlined here, so making the right decision in the first place is a must.
5. Managing conflicts within your team: In a dream world, your team works well together. They’re great collaborators, feel comfortable being creative together and get on socially. Unfortunately, this dream doesn’t always come true. And when a conflict arises between two colleagues, it can be felt throughout the team. When conflicts aren’t resolved, they can quickly affect productivity and morale – and even lead to top performers leaving the company. Managers are tasked with nipping any conflicts in the bud early, before they become bigger concerns.
6. Retaining star employees in a competitive environment: Today, skills are becoming more and more specialised, so if you have a talented employee, you’ll want to do your utmost to keep them. But if you’re not offering your employees what they’re worth, someone else will. A challenge as a manager today is ensuring that your talented staff are supported, learning new skills, have a clear path of progression and are happy in their role. A further challenge comes as remote working continues to rise, employees are no longer limited to roles by location – so you’ll have to work even harder to retain your star employees.