What is Management
The term management is fairly relative and has many different definitions. In all organizational and business activities, management can be defined as getting members of an organization together to use the available resources in accomplishing the desired organizational objectives and goals (Daft, 2011). The term management has also been defined as a process that entails coordinating and organizing of organization’s activities in line with predetermined policies, so as to achieve defined goals and objectives (Daft & Marcic, 2010). From another perspective, management may also be viewed as a group of persons who are in charge of making crucial decisions regarding the operations of a business or organization (Griffin, 2010). Proper management is crucial to the success of any business or organization. However, if management is poor, it may end up having more disadvantages than advantages for a business or organization. This paper will discuss the need for management, highlighting its pros and cons.
The Need for Management
The need for proper management in any organization or business can never be underestimated. Businesses are ongoing activities that cannot operate on their own. Just as a car needs a good driver to steer it to its destination, or a ship needs a sailor to lead it to its destination, so does a business or organization requires a good manager(s) to lead it to success (Griffin, 2010). It is important to note that management can either aid or deter the success of a business or organization. With proper management, a business or organization will have set goals and objectives that it aims to achieve, and it will most likely succeed at achieving them. On the other hand, without proper management, businesses and organizations are likely to fail since improper management is worse than no management at all (Kochan & Schmalensee, 2003). Therefore, management has its pros and cons in any business or organization.
Pros of Management
Proper management usually has very many advantages for businesses and organizations. Management helps organizations and businesses to achieve group goals. Through management, the factors of production can be arranged together, and resources can be organized and assembled (Kochan & Schmalensee, 2003). Management can then integrate the factors of production and the available resources in an effective manner that will assist in the achievement of goals. Management can direct all group efforts and resources towards goal attainment. Management is also responsible for defining organizational objectives, thus minimizing the waste of effort, money and time (Plunkett, Attner, & Allen, 2007).
Management also ensures that there is optimum and proper utilization of organization resources. This is by making productive use of all human and physical resources that are available. This promotes efficacy within an organization or business. Management selects the best possible use of scarce resources, thereby ensuring optimum utilization. The need for management is also important because an organization’s management makes use of the services, knowledge and skills of professionals and experts in achieving organizational goals (Kochan & Schmalensee, 2003). Therefore, if management ensures that both physical and human resources are producing their maximum results, then management is totally necessary in any organization or business.
Management is necessary in a business or organization because it is responsible for reducing costs. Management should ensure that maximum results are achieved through minimum input. This can only be possible if management carries out its core functions. The core management functions include planning, staffing, coordinating, organizing, leading, directing and controlling (Daft & Marcic, 2010). When planning, management is responsible for setting objectives and deciding the best possible courses of actions that can be taken to achieve the predetermined objectives. In the staffing function, management is responsible for identifying, hiring, firing, promoting, and managing the best suited staff needed to carry out the core duties of a business or organization (Williams, 2010). Management is usually responsible for ensuring that a job is done by the best suited person. When organizing, it is the responsibility of management to bring together all the human, financial and physical resources, and ensure that they work together in a meaningful manner so that organizational goals can be realized.
In the directing function, it is a management’s responsibility to determine and communicate the best methods and procedures that can work towards achieving the goals and objectives of a business or organization (Griffin, 2010). Directing ensures that the personnel are guided, led, motivated and supervised towards the achievement of organizational goals. Management should oversee that the personnel are carrying out their duties as required, and should offer useful direction of how these duties ought to be carried out (Plunkett, Attner, & Allen, 2007). Therefore, management is essentially responsible for ensuring the overall success of a business or organization.
Cons of Management
Despite the numerous pros of management mentioned, there are also numerous issues that come into play in management. One common issue associated with management is the high costs that are needed to pay the management staff. Businesses and organizations usually have to suffer increased expenditures when they are required to pay big salaries to their managers (Daft & Marcic, 2010). The managers usually receive the highest salaries because they hold the most senior positions within any organization or business. For this reason, they have to be highly compensated for the work they do. These expenditures eat up a high percentage of the income earned by a business or organization (Daft, 2011). The impact of this situation is usually worse when the management is not effective. This is because the management will only be eating an organization’s money for no good reason, not benefiting the organization in any way.
Another issue that is common with management is the heightened levels of conflicts within an organization. These conflicts are mostly experienced when managers at different departments all scramble for the limited and scarce organizational resources required for the smooth running of their departments. Most businesses or organizations face scarcity of human, physical, or financial resources. Despite this scarcity of resources, the various departments are still required to function smoothly and achieve their set goals and objectives. For this reason, the managers do all they can to ensure that their departments execute their mandate despite the scarcity of resources they face.
Managers are also faced with a couple of other issues and challenges such as dealing with employees who are under-performing, dealing with employees who are outstanding, responding to unexpected crises, ensuring continuous improvement, and achieving set goals and objectives among others (Kochan & Schmalensee, 2003).
Conclusion
In summary, it is important to note that management is necessary in any business or organization. The importance of management includes, among other reasons, the execution of management functions that have been discussed in the essay. It is also important to note that management is faced by a lot of issues such as conflicts and rising costs. For this reason, organizations and businesses need to come up with ways of ensuring that management is effective and useful for them.
References;
- Daft, R. L. (2011). Management. (10th ed.). Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. Retrieved from https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=kackEJ4tt2kC&printsec=frontcover&dq=management&source=bl&ots=L7-8zUHgaT&sig=UKBkq3MwpiLUEhx9Fgk7W5OpAQQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=GBAFUO6jCZSP4gSjhcH9CA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=management&f=false
- Daft, R. L., & Marcic, D. (2010). Understanding management. (7th ed.). Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. Retrieved from https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=xWxmFNMKXhEC&printsec=frontcover&dq=management&source=bl&ots=tLXPCijrL5&sig=2aMN-wQmMMa0hxQYmSzZzh8ba44&hl=en&sa=X&ei=GBAFUO6jCZSP4gSjhcH9CA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=management&f=false
- Griffin, R. W. (2010). Management. (10th ed.). Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. Retrieved from https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=7_NuZvMEvdgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=management&source=bl&ots=7fPHpqzVd3&sig=m3614CsWWt8KXU_PnNGhed7_xZI&hl=en&sa=X&ei=GBAFUO6jCZSP4gSjhcH9CA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=management&f=false
- Kochan, T. A., & Schmalensee, R. L. (2003). Management: Inventing and delivering its future. Massachusetts: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved from https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=FP41RrwEiGoC&printsec=frontcover&dq=management&source=bl&ots=wJCpdsXhC_&sig=I4w7Jw0wbYHehWcBZRYPeVfwat0&hl=en&sa=X&ei=GBAFUO6jCZSP4gSjhcH9CA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=management&f=false
- Plunkett, W. R., Attner, R. F., & Allen, G. S. (2007). Management: Meeting and exceeding customer expectations. (9th ed.). Mason, OH: Thomson. Retrieved from https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=I28ckm55jlMC&printsec=frontcover&dq=management&source=bl&ots=dFuGI5ETe7&sig=iuQjxS1Idwy3ZwXdsJ-Pu6VxZAk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=GBAFUO6jCZSP4gSjhcH9CA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=management&f=false
- Williams, C. (2010). Management. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. Retrieved from https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=Jr7V4HtKuOsC&printsec=frontcover&dq=management&source=bl&ots=Rsytsp4hl3&sig=6OPkgLWnSkmjyiVbf0S7X_EdkYo&hl=en&sa=X&ei=GBAFUO6jCZSP4gSjhcH9CA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=management&f=false