Introduction
Management practices are performance enhancement tools that are essential in any given organization. They entail attainment, allocation, and utilization of organizational resources through planning, leading, organizing, staffing, and controlling. For organizational management practices to be effective in institutions, it is essential for administrators to ensure proper coordination of key activities such as employee deployment. Therefore, it is evident that organizational managers play significant roles, which include information-gathering, decision-making, and interactive roles, among others.
In my current organization, the five functions implemented by the manager include planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling. The identified management functions have greatly benefitted the organization. This is because they support the manager in identifying problems and implementing an effective solution. Besides, the five management functions enable the manager to study the cause of the problem and review relevant decisions, thus making appropriate changes. This research paper focuses on the ways in which my workplace implements the management practices of planning, leading, organizing, staffing, and controlling (Lewthwaite, 2006).
Planning
Planning refers to the manner in which a given organization designs relevant strategies in order to apply them in attaining organizational goals (Weiss, 2007). It enables managers to ensure optimal utilization of resources with the aim of providing quality services to customers. Effective planning has been instrumental in enhancing performance in my workplace. Firstly, it has enabled the manager to develop clear-cut organizational strategies that have promoted the realization of the organizational goals. It has also led to effective distribution of resources to various cost centers and business units with minimal complications.
Similarly, planning is an effective practice at the workplace because it supports the manager to identify an issue before it emerges, thus ensuring quick implementation of a solution (Weiss, 2007). The manager further applies planning to act as groundwork for other management practices such as organizing and staffing. Imperatively, planning is not discriminatory at the workplace because it is applicable in different levels, including top, middle, and lower management levels. For example, top managers in the company ensure that they create long-term organizational plans that are relevant in defining organizational missions and policies. The policies are then implemented by the lower-level managers who play exclusive functional roles in the institution (Weiss, 2007).
Top managers mostly focus on what the workplace expects in terms of goals and money that the organization will need to operate. Thereafter, middle managers take the role of implementing the mission and policies created by the top managers. In most cases, middle managers focus on how and when the laid down policies are implemented. Then, the lower managers come in so that they can affect the specific plans created by the middle managers, where they work towards handling the issue of whom and how the policies are executed (Armstrong, 2013).
For example, the top manager at the workplace decided that he wanted the organization to improve on its performance by increasing productivity and quality of products. After the development of the plan, it became the role of the middle-level manager in the production department, to ensure that the company meets the goals within a specific period. The manager ensured this by lowering production cost by 20%, which enhanced the total sale of the company.
The middle level manager in the marketing department also played a significant role because he increased sales by 80% for the allocated period. The lower level manager also executed his duties effectively in enabling the company to achieve its intended goals by motivating employees to participate in productive activities. He succeeded in improving performance by enhancing the bonuses paid to salespeople, which motivated them to sale more volume (Lewthwaite, 2006).
Organizing
As noted, organizing is a performance concept that refers to the manner of arranging organizational personnel and resources to enhance achievement of mission and vision. In my workplace, organizing consist of three significant sectors, which encompass development of tasks, classifying labor units and positions (Armstrong, 2013). This is essential because the organization believes that for it to succeed; managers should identify appropriate actions that can boost attainment of goals and objectives. The company further supports deployment of personnel, in line with respective responsibilities. Thereafter, the organization support delegation of responsibilities to employees (Laios, 2005).
My workplace applies functional approach, while organizing employees into working teams and delegating responsibilities. In this approach, the managers divide different business responsibilities into dissimilar segments such as operations, marketing and finance among others. Thereafter, the managers form other subgroups under the divided segments. For example, marketing segment at the workplace has vibrant sales and promotion departments.
Managers at my work place prefer using the approach since it supports efficient division of labor and authority among employees, thus fostering understanding and productivity (Armstrong, 2013). It is a beneficial approach to the institution because it stimulates cohesiveness among employees and operating departments. Variably, my workplace also organizes different organizational responsibilities using geographic approach. This has played a significant role in outshining of the company by increasing flexibility in service delivery to customers. (Armstrong, 2013).
Staffing
Staffing is an essential management practice valued at my workplace. This refers to the capability of an organization identifying and maintaining an effective labor force capable of attaining organizational goals (Kestenbaum, 2013). Indeed, staffing is what defines the strength and performance propensity in any institution as evident in my workplace. Any institution that is poorly staffed or lacks qualified professionals cannot match the level of competition that the environment presents.
Such institutions cannot also attain their goals effectively due to lack of innovative and creative personnel who can deliver on its development plans. In my workplace, employees are regarded as important assets of the company. They are treated with immense decorum and dignity that is vital in enhancing their performance levels. The management has also embarked on an initiative of creating favorable working environment where democratic ideals are adhered to (Kestenbaum, 2013). They also focus on enhancing their working conditions and terms of engagement.
Consequently, they are keen to improving their performance levels through effective on the job training that is aimed at modernizing their skills. This explains the reason why institutions that aspires to have productive employees should engage in ambitious staff development initiatives. They should focus on the initiatives to enhance knowledge power of employees and make them feel part of the institution. In particular, they should focus on improving terms of engagement, working conditions and education levels (Weiss, 2007).
Leading
Leading refers to the way of guiding and influencing people to attain the intended goals and objectives. This is an essential management practice at my workplace due to its relevance in improving performance. This has made managers at my workplace to engage in executing result oriented activities and provision of necessary guidance to employees to boost productivity. They execute their responsibilities with a deeper understanding that an institution cannot attain its objectives if leaders do not give proper direction (Lewthwaite, 2006). Due to this, our leaders are doing everything within their power to enhance performance.
They participate in various activities that include educating employees, representing, counseling and evaluating performance in various business units. For example, managers encourage education among new employees so that they can teach them on new skills. This is essential to new employees because it enables them understand their responsibilities in the organization and ways of conducting them. The organization practices both formal and informal education, with informal education consisting of allowed attitudes, habits and behaviors among others (Lewthwaite, 2006).
In addition, leaders at my workplace engage in evaluation, which entail dissimilar responsibilities such as handling disputes, implementing organizational guidelines, analyzing outputs and among others. They also participate in providing counseling services that entail offering advices, supporting employees in handling their issues and listening to complaints from employees. Notably, my workplace has good leaders because they are always willing to support employees and ensure that they forward their complaints to relevant bodies that attend to them. Apart from the characteristics observed from leaders at my workplace, most of them use styles that rhyme with the surrounding, temperament and position (Laios, 2005).
Controlling
Indeed, controlling is an essential practice since it supports the process of executing and measuring key activities that appertains to planning, staffing and leading. It is an essential element that any institution with strong aspirations to achieving exemplary performance or coordination of activities should embrace (Kestenbaum, 2013). As noted, it allows managers to provide effective guidelines and procedures that stakeholders should uphold. It also allows managers to provide an oversight role in an effective manner to ensure that due processes in the production sequence is maintained. Consequently, the concept promotes effective utilization of resources and provision of leadership that is fundamental for the realization of high performance.
Managers at the workplace apply this practice while supporting employees in meeting organizational goals, as well as, enhancing equal allocation of organizational resources (Kestenbaum, 2013). Moreover, the workplace managers encourage employees to view controlling as a continuation approach since it supports them towards attaining organizational objectives. The practice enables the institution to execute various activities that include creation of standards for performance among employees and analysis of the ongoing projects effectively.
Some of the performance standards reviewed by managers at my workplace include budget projections, production quality and sales among others. Managers ensure that they practice control when appropriate so that they do not hinder creativity and positive drive among employees. Finally, the organization ensures that the control process is flexible enough to handle every problem affecting its operations (Armstrong, 2013).
Conclusion
According to the research, management practices are imperative in achieving organization goals and objectives. This is evident since they have been instrumental in driving performance in my workplace. For example, planning has been beneficial to the organization in establishing clear goals for it to follow an appropriate direction. Organizing has supported the organization in ensuring effective management and distribution of resources in a systematic manner. Through good leadership, my workplace has been able to influence employees to work extra hard towards achieving organizational goals. Finally, staffing has played a significant role to the good performance of the organization, because it enabled it recruit efficient and effective employees.
References
Armstrong, M. (2013). How to Manage People. London: Kogan Page.
Kestenbaum, A. Z. (2013). Integrating Self-Management with Estate Planning.Trusts & Estates, 152 (2), 47-47.
Lewthwaite, J. (2006): Managing People for the First Time, Recruitment and Selection.Thorogood Publisher.
Laios, A. (2005). Administrative Responsibilities of the Coach. The International Journal of Educational Management, 9 (1), pp 10-10.
Weiss, H. (2007). The science and art of managing.SuperVision. London: Kogan Page.