KEY MANAGEMENT ROLES

POLC

There are four key management roles.

Say in your head 5 times: management roles = POLC.

DO NOT FORGET THIS!

Very easy marks to be had on exam, common mistake to confuse this with management functions or skills.

POLC

Now say the following 5 times in your head.

Planning

Organising

Leading

Controlling

Planning

The process of setting objectives and deciding on the methods to achieve them.

There are three levels of planning:

Level Description

Strategic

Long-term, typically 3-5 years (sometimes longer). Determines where in the market the organisation wants to be and what it wants to achieve.

Tactical Medium-term, typically 1-2 years. More flexible and adaptable. Assists in implementing the strategic plan in smaller steps. Big focus on allocation of resources. Sometimes referred to as operational planning.

Front-line

Short-term, typically daily, weekly, monthly. Focus on meeting production schedules and rostering. Carried out by supervisors. Also sometimes known as operational planning.

Planning Process

The planning process is a five step process. In short:

Set (or define) the objective Analyse the environment Develop and evaluate alternative strategies Implement an alternative Monitor and review results.

1. Set (define) the objective

First step is for management to determine where they want the organisation to go.

An objective should be SMART: Specific Measurable Attainable Relevant Timely

2. Analyse the Environment

Managers attempt to work out where the organisation currently stands.

Common analysis technique is a SWOT Analysis.

This identifies an organisations internal Strengths and Weaknesses and the Opportunities and Threats from the external environment.

2. Analyse the Environment - SWOTStrengths WeaknessesAspects of the organisation that we are good at and can take advantage of.

Aspects of the organisation that we are lacking or not good at and we need to improve in order to be more successful.

Opportunities ThreatsFactors from the external environment that we might be able to use to our advantage.

Factors from the external environment that may hinder our development and we need to be watchful of and possible respond to.

3. Develop and evaluate alternative strategies

Possible strategies that could be used to reach the set objective are suggested.

Each possible strategy is then evaluated based on how efficiently and effectively it would meet the set objective.

4. Implement an Alternative

The strategy that is judged to be the most suitable is chosen.

This strategy is then put in place within the organisation. This will involve a high amount of communication and possibly some training.

5. Monitor and Review Results Management must set targets and check

to see if they have been met.

If the targets are not met management must determine why they have not been met and review and modify the plan if necessary.

The plan should be review regularly and revised if necessary.

Organising

The coordination of resources and tasks to achieve objectives.

It is the process management goes through when it attempts to arrange resources to match up with tasks.

Organising may include:• Establishing the structure of an organisation• Determining work activities• Classifying and grouping activities• Assigning work• Delegating authority

Leading

The process of having vision and influencing and motivating people to work towards achieving that vision.

Leadership involves activities such as communication, negotiation and motivation.

Leadership can be transactional which involves providing staff with rewards in return for compliance or transformational where a leader inspires staff with vision.

Leading - Qualities

Three distinct qualities are central to leadership:

1. Interpersonal qualities involve liasing or dealing with people (e.g. personal communication)2. Informational qualities involve gathering and communicating information (e.g. Reporting developments)3. Decision-making qualities involve making choices in order to solve problems or take up opportunities (e.g. Determining strategies)

Leading – Tomorrow’s leaders...

Controlling

the process of evaluating performance and taking corrective action to ensure that set objectives are being met.

Controlling compares planned or forecasted achievements with actual performance.

Management needs to ask the questions: “Did we achieve what we set out to achieve?” “How can we do things better?”

Controlling - Process

There are three steps involved in Controlling:

1. Establishing standards in line with objectives.

2. Measuring the performance against the set standards.

3. Making changes if necessary to ensure the objectives get met.