The links below are designed for print; more screen reader friendly documents can be found on the Students: Additional Lumen Resources page.<\/p>
Managers wear many hats and must bring with them an entire toolkit of skills\u2014ranging from interpersonal to technical\u2014in order to reach\u00a0organizational goals and objectives effectively. Without the proper skill set, managers can find themselves unable to gain the trust and support of those around them, making their job more difficult, and in some cases, impossible.<\/p>\r\n
Although the world of business has\u00a0changed tremendously over time, the functions of management originally identified by Fayol in the early 1900s still hold. Fayol\u2019s original five functions have evolved into the six key functions of management today, including planning, organizing, staffing, leading, controlling, and motivating.\u00a0What has changed is where and how managers perform these four primary functions.<\/p>\r\n
Planning within a business ranges from the big picture to the very granular, from the organization\u2019s foundational plan (for example, its vision and mission) and set of strategic plans to its daily operations plans. Each one builds upon the other, and without a well-developed set of plans that management can implement, an organization will likely drift from one venture or problem to another without ever really achieving success.<\/p>\r\n
The structure of an organization\u00a0can have a tremendous impact on the organization\u2019s\u00a0ability to react to both internal and external forces. Organizational structure also determines the managers\u2019 span of control, communication channels, and operational responsibilities. The organization\u00a0should be structured\u00a0in such a way that it reflects the company\u2019s mission and supports its\u00a0customer and product\/services goals to the greatest advantage.<\/p>\r\n
Different management styles serve different purposes: autocratic management is suitable in crisis situations or with low-skill workers, participative management works well during transitional periods or when facing challenges, and laissez-faire management is effective for skilled and self-motivated employees or creative teams, but skilled managers are capable of adapting their approach to the needs of the situation.<\/p>\r\n
Leadership styles can also be characterized as transformational, focusing on change, inspiration, and motivation; transactional, emphasizing supervision and rewards\/punishments; or narcissistic, where leaders' charisma and vision can either be productive or toxic to an organization depending on their ability to listen and foster collaboration.<\/p>\r\n
The control function of management has two aims: to make order out of chaos and to evaluate whether\u00a0the company\u2019s efforts and resources are being maximized.\u00a0Remember that the\u00a0\u201ccontrol function\u201d doesn\u2019t give management license to be manipulative or autocratic. Instead, it refers to the importance of control through\u00a0evaluation<\/em>, since evaluation is\u00a0the key to knowing whether a company is producing\u00a0the\u00a0desired results or not.<\/p>\r\n To be skilled in technology, one must effectively utilize and adapt to various technologies to enhance productivity, decision-making, and task completion, while also embracing continuous learning and staying adaptable to new tools and advancements.<\/p>\r\n autocratic or authoritarian management style<\/strong><\/p>\r\n decision-making power is concentrated in the manager who makes most of the decisions<\/p>\r\n balanced scorecard<\/strong><\/p>\r\n a semi-standardized strategic management tool used to analyze and improve key performance indicators within an organization<\/p>\r\n coercive power<\/strong><\/p>\r\n comes from an individual\u2019s ability to threaten negative outcomes<\/p>\r\n committee structure<\/strong><\/p>\r\n a type of organizational structure in which authority and responsibility are held by a group rather than an individual<\/p>\r\n conceptual skills<\/strong><\/p>\r\n enable one to generate ideas creatively and intuitively and also show comprehensive understanding of contexts or topics<\/p>\r\n contingency plans<\/strong><\/p>\r\n lay out the course of action a business will take in response to possible future unpredictable events such as disasters<\/p>\r\n controlling\/monitoring<\/strong><\/p>\r\n checking current outcomes against forecast plans and making adjustments when necessary so that goals are achieved<\/p>\r\n controlling<\/strong><\/p>\r\n the process of assessing the organization\u2019s progress toward accomplishing its goals<\/p>\r\n corporate culture<\/strong><\/p>\r\n the set of attitudes, values, and standards of behavior that distinguishes one organization from another<\/p>\r\n corrective action<\/strong><\/p>\r\n a planned response aimed at fixing a problem<\/p>\r\n customer departmentalization<\/strong><\/p>\r\n grouping based on the primary type of customer served by the organizational unit<\/p>\r\n departmentalization<\/strong><\/p>\r\n grouping of people, tasks, and resources into organizational units<\/p>\r\n division of labor<\/strong><\/p>\r\n the process of dividing work into separate jobs and assigning tasks to workers<\/p>\r\n division of work<\/strong><\/p>\r\n workers specialize in a few tasks to become more proficient<\/p>\r\n expert power<\/strong><\/p>\r\n comes from an individual\u2019s extensive knowledge in one or more areas<\/p>\r\n first-line managers<\/strong><\/p>\r\n coordinate the activities that have been developed by the middle managers and supervise non-managerial employees<\/p>\r\n Frank and Lillian Gilbreth<\/strong><\/p>\r\n tried to make the overall process more efficient by reducing the motions involved; they considered their theories to be more concerned with workers\u2019 welfare than Taylor<\/p>\r\n Frederick Winslow Taylor<\/strong><\/p>\r\n considered the father of scientific management theory; focused on reducing process time to increase productivity<\/p>\r\n functional departmentalization<\/strong><\/p>\r\n grouping based on the primary functions performed within an organizational unit<\/p>\r\n geographic departmentalization<\/strong><\/p>\r\n grouping based on the geographic segmentation of organizational units<\/p>\r\n Henri Fayol<\/strong><\/p>\r\n his theories are the basis of modern management\u2019s evolution into four functions of management: planning (foresight), organizing (organization), leading (command and coordinate), and controlling (control)<\/p>\r\n human skills<\/strong><\/p>\r\n a combination of social, interpersonal, and leadership skills<\/p>\r\n laissez-faire or free rein management style<\/strong><\/p>\r\n the manager delegates the tasks to the followers while providing little or no direction<\/p>\r\n leadership style<\/strong><\/p>\r\n the way a manager attempts to influence the behavior of others<\/p>\r\n leading\/directing<\/strong><\/p>\r\n determining what needs to be done in a situation and getting people to do it<\/p>\r\n legitimate power<\/strong><\/p>\r\n comes from an individual\u2019s position in an organization<\/p>\r\n manager<\/strong><\/p>\r\n a person who has all or part responsibility for running a business<\/p>\r\n matrix structure<\/strong><\/p>\r\n a type of organizational structure in which individuals are grouped by two different operational perspectives at the same time<\/p>\r\n mid-level or middle managers<\/strong><\/p>\r\n allocate resources to achieve the goals and objectives set by top managers by overseeing the actions of first-line managers<\/p>\r\n mission statement<\/strong><\/p>\r\n outlines how the business will turn its vision into reality and becomes the foundation for establishing specific goals and objectives<\/p>\r\n motivating<\/strong><\/p>\r\n a basic function of management, because without motivation, employees may feel disconnected from their work and the organization, which can lead to ineffective performance<\/p>\r\n narcissistic or charismatic leadership style<\/strong><\/p>\r\n depends largely on the personality of the leader\u2019s ability to attract and inspire followers<\/p>\r\n operational plans<\/strong><\/p>\r\n establish detailed standards that guide the implementation of tactical plans and establish the activities and budgets for each part of the organization<\/p>\r\n organizational chart<\/strong><\/p>\r\n a diagram showing the interrelationships of an organization\u2019s positions<\/p>\r\n organizing<\/strong><\/p>\r\n implementing a pattern of relationships among workers and making optimum use of the resources required to enable the successful carrying out of plans<\/p>\r\n organizing (function)<\/strong><\/p>\r\n the process of coordinating and allocating a firm\u2019s resources in order to carry out its plans<\/p>\r\n participative or democratic management style<\/strong><\/p>\r\n the manager shares the decision-making authority with group members<\/p>\r\n performance metric<\/strong><\/p>\r\n a rubric for measuring organizational performance<\/p>\r\n planning<\/strong><\/p>\r\n deciding what needs to happen in the future (today, next week, next month, next year, over the next five years, etc.) and generating plans for action<\/p>\r\n power<\/strong><\/p>\r\n the ability to influence others to behave in a particular way<\/p>\r\n process departmentalization<\/strong><\/p>\r\n grouping based on the production process used by the organizational unit<\/p>\r\n product departmentalization<\/strong><\/p>\r\n grouping based on the goods or services produced or sold by the organizational unit<\/p>\r\n referent power<\/strong><\/p>\r\n comes from an individual\u2019s personal charisma and the respect and\/or admiration the individual inspires<\/p>\r\n reward power<\/strong><\/p>\r\n comes from an individual\u2019s control over rewards<\/p>\r\n scalar chain<\/strong><\/p>\r\n an unbroken chain of command extends from the top to the bottom of the organization<\/p>\r\n SMART<\/strong><\/p>\r\n operational objectives that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time constrained can be more easily assessed and analyzed to determine success<\/p>\r\n span of control<\/strong><\/p>\r\n the number of subordinates a supervisor has<\/p>\r\n specialization<\/strong><\/p>\r\n the degree to which the tasks are subdivided into smaller jobs<\/p>\r\n staffing<\/strong><\/p>\r\n job analysis, recruitment, and hiring of people with the necessary skills for appropriate jobs; providing or facilitating ongoing training, if necessary, to keep skills current<\/p>\r\n strategic plans<\/strong><\/p>\r\n translate the company mission into a set of long-term goals and short-term objectives<\/p>\r\n SWOT analysis<\/strong><\/p>\r\n SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats; conducting such an analysis provides a means of projecting expectations, anticipating problems, and guiding decision making by looking at internal (strengths and weaknesses) and external (opportunities and threats) factors<\/p>\r\n tactical plans<\/strong><\/p>\r\n translate high-level (broad) strategic plans into short-term specific plans for actions that need to be taken up and down the layers of an organization<\/p>\r\n technical skill<\/strong><\/p>\r\n as a learned capacity in just about any given field of work, study, or even play<\/p>\r\n technology<\/strong><\/p>\r\n this career competency requires you to understand and use technologies to your advantage to ethically work more efficiently, complete tasks, and accomplish goals<\/p>\r\n top-level managers<\/strong><\/p>\r\n highest level of managers within an organization, and they are tasked with setting organizational objectives and goals<\/p>\r\n transactional or managerial leadership style<\/strong><\/p>\r\n focuses on supervision, organization, and performance and emphasizes a system of rewards and punishments<\/p>\r\n transformational leadership style<\/strong><\/p>\r\n managers work with subordinates to identify needed change, create and share an inspiring vision, and bring about change together with committed members of a group; emphasis on growth of workers<\/p>\r\n unity of command<\/strong><\/p>\r\n employees receive orders from only one superior<\/p>\r\n unity of direction<\/strong><\/p>\r\n activities that are similar should be the responsibility of one person<\/p>\r\n vision statement<\/strong><\/p>\r\n lets the world know where the company is going<\/p>","rendered":" The links below are designed for print; more screen reader friendly documents can be found on the Students: Additional Lumen Resources page.<\/p>\n Managers wear many hats and must bring with them an entire toolkit of skills\u2014ranging from interpersonal to technical\u2014in order to reach\u00a0organizational goals and objectives effectively. Without the proper skill set, managers can find themselves unable to gain the trust and support of those around them, making their job more difficult, and in some cases, impossible.<\/p>\n Although the world of business has\u00a0changed tremendously over time, the functions of management originally identified by Fayol in the early 1900s still hold. Fayol\u2019s original five functions have evolved into the six key functions of management today, including planning, organizing, staffing, leading, controlling, and motivating.\u00a0What has changed is where and how managers perform these four primary functions.<\/p>\n Planning within a business ranges from the big picture to the very granular, from the organization\u2019s foundational plan (for example, its vision and mission) and set of strategic plans to its daily operations plans. Each one builds upon the other, and without a well-developed set of plans that management can implement, an organization will likely drift from one venture or problem to another without ever really achieving success.<\/p>\n The structure of an organization\u00a0can have a tremendous impact on the organization\u2019s\u00a0ability to react to both internal and external forces. Organizational structure also determines the managers\u2019 span of control, communication channels, and operational responsibilities. The organization\u00a0should be structured\u00a0in such a way that it reflects the company\u2019s mission and supports its\u00a0customer and product\/services goals to the greatest advantage.<\/p>\n Different management styles serve different purposes: autocratic management is suitable in crisis situations or with low-skill workers, participative management works well during transitional periods or when facing challenges, and laissez-faire management is effective for skilled and self-motivated employees or creative teams, but skilled managers are capable of adapting their approach to the needs of the situation.<\/p>\n Leadership styles can also be characterized as transformational, focusing on change, inspiration, and motivation; transactional, emphasizing supervision and rewards\/punishments; or narcissistic, where leaders’ charisma and vision can either be productive or toxic to an organization depending on their ability to listen and foster collaboration.<\/p>\n The control function of management has two aims: to make order out of chaos and to evaluate whether\u00a0the company\u2019s efforts and resources are being maximized.\u00a0Remember that the\u00a0\u201ccontrol function\u201d doesn\u2019t give management license to be manipulative or autocratic. Instead, it refers to the importance of control through\u00a0evaluation<\/em>, since evaluation is\u00a0the key to knowing whether a company is producing\u00a0the\u00a0desired results or not.<\/p>\n To be skilled in technology, one must effectively utilize and adapt to various technologies to enhance productivity, decision-making, and task completion, while also embracing continuous learning and staying adaptable to new tools and advancements.<\/p>\n autocratic or authoritarian management style<\/strong><\/p>\n decision-making power is concentrated in the manager who makes most of the decisions<\/p>\n balanced scorecard<\/strong><\/p>\n a semi-standardized strategic management tool used to analyze and improve key performance indicators within an organization<\/p>\n coercive power<\/strong><\/p>\n comes from an individual\u2019s ability to threaten negative outcomes<\/p>\n committee structure<\/strong><\/p>\n a type of organizational structure in which authority and responsibility are held by a group rather than an individual<\/p>\n conceptual skills<\/strong><\/p>\n enable one to generate ideas creatively and intuitively and also show comprehensive understanding of contexts or topics<\/p>\n contingency plans<\/strong><\/p>\n lay out the course of action a business will take in response to possible future unpredictable events such as disasters<\/p>\n controlling\/monitoring<\/strong><\/p>\n checking current outcomes against forecast plans and making adjustments when necessary so that goals are achieved<\/p>\n controlling<\/strong><\/p>\n the process of assessing the organization\u2019s progress toward accomplishing its goals<\/p>\n corporate culture<\/strong><\/p>\n the set of attitudes, values, and standards of behavior that distinguishes one organization from another<\/p>\n corrective action<\/strong><\/p>\n a planned response aimed at fixing a problem<\/p>\n customer departmentalization<\/strong><\/p>\n grouping based on the primary type of customer served by the organizational unit<\/p>\n departmentalization<\/strong><\/p>\n grouping of people, tasks, and resources into organizational units<\/p>\n division of labor<\/strong><\/p>\n the process of dividing work into separate jobs and assigning tasks to workers<\/p>\n division of work<\/strong><\/p>\n workers specialize in a few tasks to become more proficient<\/p>\n expert power<\/strong><\/p>\n comes from an individual\u2019s extensive knowledge in one or more areas<\/p>\n first-line managers<\/strong><\/p>\n coordinate the activities that have been developed by the middle managers and supervise non-managerial employees<\/p>\n Frank and Lillian Gilbreth<\/strong><\/p>\n tried to make the overall process more efficient by reducing the motions involved; they considered their theories to be more concerned with workers\u2019 welfare than Taylor<\/p>\n Frederick Winslow Taylor<\/strong><\/p>\n considered the father of scientific management theory; focused on reducing process time to increase productivity<\/p>\n functional departmentalization<\/strong><\/p>\n grouping based on the primary functions performed within an organizational unit<\/p>\n geographic departmentalization<\/strong><\/p>\n grouping based on the geographic segmentation of organizational units<\/p>\n Henri Fayol<\/strong><\/p>\n his theories are the basis of modern management\u2019s evolution into four functions of management: planning (foresight), organizing (organization), leading (command and coordinate), and controlling (control)<\/p>\n human skills<\/strong><\/p>\n a combination of social, interpersonal, and leadership skills<\/p>\n laissez-faire or free rein management style<\/strong><\/p>\n the manager delegates the tasks to the followers while providing little or no direction<\/p>\n leadership style<\/strong><\/p>\n the way a manager attempts to influence the behavior of others<\/p>\n leading\/directing<\/strong><\/p>\n determining what needs to be done in a situation and getting people to do it<\/p>\n legitimate power<\/strong><\/p>\n comes from an individual\u2019s position in an organization<\/p>\n manager<\/strong><\/p>\n a person who has all or part responsibility for running a business<\/p>\n matrix structure<\/strong><\/p>\n a type of organizational structure in which individuals are grouped by two different operational perspectives at the same time<\/p>\n mid-level or middle managers<\/strong><\/p>\n allocate resources to achieve the goals and objectives set by top managers by overseeing the actions of first-line managers<\/p>\n mission statement<\/strong><\/p>\n outlines how the business will turn its vision into reality and becomes the foundation for establishing specific goals and objectives<\/p>\n motivating<\/strong><\/p>\n a basic function of management, because without motivation, employees may feel disconnected from their work and the organization, which can lead to ineffective performance<\/p>\n narcissistic or charismatic leadership style<\/strong><\/p>\n depends largely on the personality of the leader\u2019s ability to attract and inspire followers<\/p>\n operational plans<\/strong><\/p>\n establish detailed standards that guide the implementation of tactical plans and establish the activities and budgets for each part of the organization<\/p>\n organizational chart<\/strong><\/p>\n a diagram showing the interrelationships of an organization\u2019s positions<\/p>\n organizing<\/strong><\/p>\n implementing a pattern of relationships among workers and making optimum use of the resources required to enable the successful carrying out of plans<\/p>\n organizing (function)<\/strong><\/p>\n the process of coordinating and allocating a firm\u2019s resources in order to carry out its plans<\/p>\n participative or democratic management style<\/strong><\/p>\n the manager shares the decision-making authority with group members<\/p>\n performance metric<\/strong><\/p>\n a rubric for measuring organizational performance<\/p>\n planning<\/strong><\/p>\n deciding what needs to happen in the future (today, next week, next month, next year, over the next five years, etc.) and generating plans for action<\/p>\n power<\/strong><\/p>\n the ability to influence others to behave in a particular way<\/p>\n process departmentalization<\/strong><\/p>\n grouping based on the production process used by the organizational unit<\/p>\n product departmentalization<\/strong><\/p>\n grouping based on the goods or services produced or sold by the organizational unit<\/p>\n referent power<\/strong><\/p>\n comes from an individual\u2019s personal charisma and the respect and\/or admiration the individual inspires<\/p>\n reward power<\/strong><\/p>\n comes from an individual\u2019s control over rewards<\/p>\n scalar chain<\/strong><\/p>\n an unbroken chain of command extends from the top to the bottom of the organization<\/p>\n SMART<\/strong><\/p>\n operational objectives that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time constrained can be more easily assessed and analyzed to determine success<\/p>\n span of control<\/strong><\/p>\n the number of subordinates a supervisor has<\/p>\n specialization<\/strong><\/p>\n the degree to which the tasks are subdivided into smaller jobs<\/p>\n staffing<\/strong><\/p>\n job analysis, recruitment, and hiring of people with the necessary skills for appropriate jobs; providing or facilitating ongoing training, if necessary, to keep skills current<\/p>\n strategic plans<\/strong><\/p>\n translate the company mission into a set of long-term goals and short-term objectives<\/p>\n SWOT analysis<\/strong><\/p>\n SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats; conducting such an analysis provides a means of projecting expectations, anticipating problems, and guiding decision making by looking at internal (strengths and weaknesses) and external (opportunities and threats) factors<\/p>\n tactical plans<\/strong><\/p>\n translate high-level (broad) strategic plans into short-term specific plans for actions that need to be taken up and down the layers of an organization<\/p>\n technical skill<\/strong><\/p>\n as a learned capacity in just about any given field of work, study, or even play<\/p>\n technology<\/strong><\/p>\n this career competency requires you to understand and use technologies to your advantage to ethically work more efficiently, complete tasks, and accomplish goals<\/p>\n top-level managers<\/strong><\/p>\n highest level of managers within an organization, and they are tasked with setting organizational objectives and goals<\/p>\n transactional or managerial leadership style<\/strong><\/p>\n focuses on supervision, organization, and performance and emphasizes a system of rewards and punishments<\/p>\n transformational leadership style<\/strong><\/p>\nCareer Connection: Technology<\/h3>\r\n
Glossary<\/h2>\r\n
Download a pdf of this page here.<\/a><\/h4>\n
Download the Spanish version here.<\/a><\/h4>\n
Essential Concepts<\/h2>\n
What is a Manager?<\/h3>\n
Planning\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Organizing<\/h3>\n
Leading\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Controlling<\/h3>\n
Career Connection: Technology<\/h3>\n
Glossary<\/h2>\n