Introduction to management

Introduction

The report consists of a detailed study and analysis of management structure and

various business functions. It also provides thorough knowledge regarding the

marketing functions and their relationship with other management functions. It also

discusses his about the role and responsibilities of HR management and

organizational culture. Management is a wide term. It includes various processes like

planning, organizing, controlling the different activities effectively and efficiently.

Management Structure and Business Functions

ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE

The business enterprise has a specific organizational structure. The organizational

structure of an enterprise refers to the coordination, supervision, and

departmentalization of various tasks and activities that are collectively fulfilled by

individuals for the attainment of organizational aims and goals.

Tall structure – it is also known as the hierarchical structure. In this kind of structure

individuals with the highest chain of authority and command are on the top of the

management pyramid. The chain of order usually follows from the superior to the

sub-ordinates that is from the higher-level management to the lower-level

management.

Advantages:

 The employees get more opportunities like promotion.

 The employees are supported by their direct managers.

Disadvantages:
 There is more than one level of the hierarchy.

 The chain of communication and order is long.

Fig 1. Picture Showing the Tall and Flat Organizational Structure.

Flat structure – in this kind of organizational structure there are fewer levels of

management than a hierarchical structure. There are very few levels of supervision

and the management is more efficient and effective.

Advantages:

 Fewer levels of hierarchy.

 The chain of communication and order is short.

Disadvantages:

 The period of control is wide and at times, the managers feel bore as well as

burdened.

 The employees have fewer opportunities for getting promotion.

MANAGEMENT AND ITS THEORIES

Management is a process that helps us to organize, control, co-ordinate, plan as well

as four see the various activities within an organization.

The management theories are concepts and models that act as an aid or assistance to

the managers in developing management strategies, guidelines, and frameworks.

Management theories are recommendations for managers to run the team or

organization in order to accomplish the goal of the company or organization based on

the proposed approaches. There are eleven essential management theories. Some of

them are

 Contingency management

 Scientific management

 Human relations theory, and many more.

BUSINESS FUNCTIONS

Business functions can be referred to the operations and the activities performed by an

organization. The various functions of an organization are as follows:

1. Marketing – the main role and responsibility of marketing is to advertise and

promote the products and services of a company.

2. Operations – the main role and responsibility of operations are to control the

processes of the production of goods and services. Production – the primary role

of production is to gather the raw materials and ensure the effective production of

the finished goods.

3. Finance – the finance department is responsible to perform, financial planning,

investment management and raising of funds.

4. Human Resource – it is responsible for managing the employees and their

 welfare.

Marketing Functions

The marketing function can be referred to as the responsibilities that help the business

organization to determine and identify potential markets for product promotion and

advertisement. The marketing functions include market information, buying, selling,

transporting, storing, financing and others. The functions of marketing are dynamic in

nature as they help in the overall development and growth of the organization in terms

of sales and profit. This functions create a way to develop the company and compete

with other organization. The marketing functions also include the 4’s of marketing

mix that is product, price, promotion and place. These elements plays a crucial role in

in developing and promoting a product or a service of a business. It also helps to

develop creative and innovative strategic marketing plan. It helps overcome any

marketing related problems in the future ad well.

Fig 2. The Universal Functions of Marketing

Marketing and its relationship with other functions

There is a fine interrelationship between the marketing functions and the various other
functions within an organization. Every functional unit and department is connected

with marketing functions. The growth and development of an organization is

dependent on the marketing functions as the functions help in increasing the overall

sales of the company and the productivity as well as the profitability of the

organization. Therefore they are supported by other operational departments for the

efficient and effective working of the functions. For example when an organization

creates a marketing plan and wants to implement it, the support of the finance

department along with the production and sales department is required. Similarly, the

marketing department is also supported by the Human Resource department as they

require the right person at the right place for the right promotion of the right product.

Marketing as a function helps in increasing sales of the company which is

successfully achieved by other departments supporting it simultaneously. The

production department communicates with the logistic department for the in-time

delivery of the goods to enhance the sales of the company. Hence, all the departments

and the functional units coordinate with the marketing functions to create a viable and

sustainable business.

Management Functions

Henri Fayol postulated five universal functions that are performed by every manager

working within an organization. It helps in the effective and efficient management of

the activities and the business operations with an organization. These universal

functions are planning, organizing, commanding on directing, controlling, and

coordinating. Each of the management functions have different roles and

responsibilities that together help in creating a successful business organization.

These functions collectively help in the creation of the organization's vision and
mission, execution of the plan and other activities, and finally, helps in attaining the

organizational goals.

 Planning - it helps to decide what to do, how, when and by whom. It bridges a

gap between the future position and the present position of the organization.

 Organizing - it helps in assigning tasks, grouping activities, dividing departments

to fulfill a specific plan.

 Directing - it related with guiding, leading, supervising and influencing

individuals towards the achievement of planned goals.

 Coordinating- it leads to the synchronization of the individual efforts to

accomplish the overall goals of the organization.

 Controlling- the primary role includes measuring performance, establishing

performance standards, taking corrective measure and more.

Interrelation of Management Functions

Fig 3. Management Functions

From the above figure, it can be clearly stated that the management functions are

interrelated with each other. In fact, management is a continuous process. The

business environment is dynamic and therefore the organization continuously tends to

change its goals and objectives based on the changes in the social, economic,

technological, and legal environment. With the changes in the goals and objectives,

the planning, organizing, directing, coordinating, and controlling of the activities also

change. Therefore, it can be said that management functions are continuously

changing with the business environment. It is an ongoing process that starts with

planning and ends with controlling and again the cycle is back to planning. For

example, planning is directly related to every other management function. It acts as a

blueprint that provides the basics about what is to be done (organizing), when and by

whom to be done (directing), how to be done (controlling) and coordination is a

function required in every other management function process.

HR and Talent Management

Professionals in human resource management are responsible for appointing,

interviewing, evaluating, and placing employees. Employee relations, work benefits,

health-care, and development are also managed by them.

Talent management is a continuous process comprising the recruitment and retention

of efficient workers. It helps in the enhancement of professional knowledge

and continuous encouragement to increase performance. The key goal of talent

management is to establish a workforce of motivated employees that will continue to

enhance the in the long run.

Organizational Culture

The organizational culture could be characterized as the set of guidelines, beliefs,

perceptions, traditions, protocols, and objectives to coordinate the subordinates'

behaviors as per the organizational policy. The vision, mission, and the objectives of
the company is also a part of the organization’s culture. A employees must work

according to the culture of the organization to attain the overall goals and objectives

of the organization successfully. There are four types of organization culture.

Fig 4. The Organizational Culture Based on Values

The clan culture encourages collaboration between the employees. Members who

share common attributes among each other, tend to work together in various activities

and take part in teamwork actively. They believe in friendly communication and

mentorship. The adhocracy culture is based on the creativity and the energy that the

employees possess. In this kind of organizational culture, the leaders and the mentors

encourage the employees to take the risk and innovate together. The employees can

implement experimentation and innovation in decision making and other processes.

For example, Facebook follows a similar organizational culture. The market culture

concentrates more on achieving the outcomes and focusing on the market

competition. This organization of culture motivates employees to successfully achieve

the goals at all costs and gain a competitive edge over all the other rivals. For
example, General Electric and Oracle follow a similar organizational culture. The

hierarchy culture of an organization portrays a formal working environment. It has

strict policies and rules and emphasizes efficiency and effectiveness. The values

portrayed by this kind of organizational culture is uniform and consistent. For

example, bureaucratic organizations like McDonald’s follows a similar organizational

culture.

The consequences of a strong vs weak organizational culture

Having a strong organizational culture has its own advantage. When the

organizational culture of a company is weak, the employees tend to deviate from the

core values, mission, and vision of the organization. A weak organizational culture

affects the productivity and the profitability of the organization negatively. It also

creates a negative influence on the consumers about the products and services. Not

only, that, but the employees working in such a culture also are not at all committed to

the work. They are lethargic in fulfilling the overall goals and objectives of the

company. Whereas a strong organizational culture deeply influences the employees to

work as per the core values of the company. The employees are encouraged to act as

per the values, rules, and principles of the company. They are not allowed to deviate

from the vision and mission of the company. It increases the productivity and the

profitability of the business enterprise as well.

Conclusion

The above document has helped to understand the role and significance of

management and its various functions. It has also helped to categorize the different

departments based on the different functions that help to achieve the overall goals and
objectives. It has also provided a thorough knowledge about Henri Fayol’s

management functions that are universal in nature.