There are two approaches to the functions of a manager: traditional and environmental. In the traditional approach managers perform the four classic functions of management—planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.
• Planning: Running an organization is kind of like steering a ship on the ocean;
to get where you want to go, you’ve got to have a plan—a map—that tells you where
you’re headed. It’s the job of managers to develop the plans that determine the goals
an organization will pursue, the products and services it will provide, how it will
manufacture and deliver them, to whom, and at what price. These plans include creating an organizational vision and mission and specific tactics for achieving the organization’s goals.
• Organizing: After managers develop their plans, they have to build an organization that can put these plans into effect. Managers do this by designing organizational structures to execute their plans (often building elaborate organizational charts
that divide an organization into divisions, departments, and other parts and designate
the people who reside in each position) and by developing systems and processes to
direct the allocation of human, financial, and other resources.
• Leading: Managers are expected to lead their employees, that is, to motivate
them to achieve the organization’s goals—quickly and efficiently. Leadership is considered to be the most important ingredient for a manager’s success.
Controlling: To accomplish their goals and the goals of the organization, managers must establish performance standards based on the organization’s goals and objectives, measure and report actual performance, compare the two, and take corrective or preventive action as necessary.
The environmental approach says that managers and workers are entering into a
new kind of partnership that is forming the basis of a new reality in the workplace.
Today’s managers are discovering that they cannot command an employee’s best
work; they can, however, create an environment that encourages employees to want
to do their best work.
So, the new functions of management are:
• Energize: Today’s managers are masters of making things happen. The best
managers create far more energy than they consume. Successful managers create
compelling visions—visions that inspire employees to bring out their very best performance—and they encourage their employees to act on these visions.
• Empower: Empowering employees doesn’t mean that you stop managing. Empowering employees means giving them the tools and the authority to do great work.
Effective management is the leveraging of the efforts of your team to a common purpose.
• Support: Today’s managers need to be coaches, counselors, and colleagues instead of watchdogs or executioners. The key to developing a supportive environment
is the establishment of a climate of open communication throughout the organization.
Employees must be able to express their concerns—truthfully and completely—
without fear of retribution. Similarly, employees must be able to make honest mistakes and be encouraged to learn from those mistakes.
• Communicate: Communication is the lifeblood of every organization. Information is power, and, as the speed of business continues to accelerate, information—the
right information—must be communicated to employees faster than ever.
1.Выпишите правильные утверждения.
1) It’s the job of managers to develop the plans that determine the goals an organization will pursue, the products and services it will provide.
2) Managers do this by designing organizational structures to execute their plans (often building elaborate organizational charts that divide an organization into divisions,
departments, and other parts and fire the people who reside in each position
3) The best managers create far less energy than they consume.
4) Today’s managers need to be coaches, counselors, and colleagues instead of
watchdogs or executioners.
5) Employees must not be able to express their concerns—truthfully and completely—without fear of retribution.
