99 Why It Matters: Management

Why describe the primary functions, responsibilities, and skills of effective leadership and management?

You go out for dinner to your favorite restaurant for a special occasion—let’s say graduation. It took a month or more to save up the money, and your date/spouse bought a new outfit just for this outing. Maybe, if you have children, you splurged and got a babysitter for the entire evening. Whatever the circumstances, you have planned an evening to remember. As the night progresses, things are not turning out as you hoped. The hostess has no record of your reservation, so there’s a delay. When your waiter finally appears, he’s grouchy and unhelpful. You place your order and anxiously await what Yelp* describes as a “5-star dining experience.” By the time your food comes, you have devoured the bread on your table, a pack of mints rummaged from your purse, and you’re eying the leftovers on the neighboring table. Your steak is brought at last, but it’s overcooked and sits beside a heap of steamed broccoli instead of the baked potato you ordered. You hate broccoli. So, who do you call?

No, not Ghostbusters! You want to speak to the manager, because the manager has the responsibility and authority to resolve the problem (or at least try). But managers do more than just listen to customers complain. As you will discover in this section, whether they interact with customers, employees, suppliers, contractors or the general public, managers and leaders play an important, multi-dimensional role in all business organizations.

Learning Outcomes

• Identify skills needed for successful managers, such as technical, interpersonal, conceptual, organizational, problem-solving, and decision-making skills
• Identify and explain the primary functions of management: plan, organize, lead, and control
• Identify the types of planning managers engage in and how these relate to the achievement of organizational goals
• Explain how organizational structure contributes to the achievement of each organization’s mission
• Identify the different leadership styles a manager can adopt and determine the circumstances under which each style is appropriate
• Explain why control is an essential part of being a manager and how this function contributes to effective management