Essential Management Concepts: Functions, Motivation, and Operations
Functions of Management
Management involves four core functions (Planning, Organizing, Leading, and Controlling) necessary to achieve organizational goals.
Planning
Setting performance objectives and deciding how to achieve them.
- Advantages: Clarifies objectives and resource needs; serves as the first step in goal attainment.
- Implementation: Developing short-term, long-term, and operational plans.
Controlling
Measuring performance and taking action to ensure desired results.
- Advantages: Facilitates performance evaluation and continuous improvement; keeps goals aligned; motivates employees via clear feedback.
- Implementation: Monitoring, evaluating, and regulating processes.
Organizing
Arranging tasks, people, and other resources to accomplish the work.
Essential Managerial Competencies
Communication Skills
The ability to share ideas and findings in written and oral expression.
- Includes: Writing, oral presentation, giving and receiving feedback, and technology utilization.
- Advantages: Fosters understanding and efficiency; builds a positive organizational culture where feedback is exchanged.
- Implementation: Encourage active listening via training; utilize digital tools for communication.
Teamwork
The ability to work effectively as a team member and team leader.
- Includes: Team contribution, leadership, conflict management, negotiation, and consensus building.
- Advantages: Builds trust and morale; increases creativity and satisfaction.
- Implementation: Promote collaboration via shared tasks and projects; strengthen dynamics with team-building activities and workshops.
Leadership Ability
The ability to influence and support others to perform complex and ambiguous tasks.
- Includes: Diversity awareness, global understanding, and strategic action.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and Motivation
This framework is used for understanding motivation and guiding management strategies.
Physiological Needs
The most basic of all human needs; the need for biological maintenance: food, water, and physical well-being.
- Implementation: Adequate breaks and rest facilities.
Safety Needs
The need for security, protection, and stability in the events of day-to-day life.
- Implementation: Job security (long contracts, benefits, insurance, retirement plans), stable environment, and clear policies.
Social Needs
The need for love, affection, and a sense of belongingness in relationships with other people.
- Implementation: Supportive culture, teamwork opportunities, social events, parties, and trips.
Esteem Needs
The need for respect in the eyes of others, prestige, and recognition; the need for self-esteem and mastery.
- Implementation: Constructive feedback, public praise (e.g., Employee of the Month), and a supportive culture.
Self-Actualization Needs
The highest level; the need for self-fulfillment, to grow, and to use abilities to the fullest and most creative extent.
- Implementation: Long-term employees serving as trainers or representatives, learning opportunities, and career support.
Organizational Culture and the Iceberg Model
Defining Organizational Culture
Organizational culture is the system of shared beliefs and values that shapes and guides behavior in organizations.
The Iceberg Model Elements
The Iceberg Model is a metaphor for organizational culture, separating it into visible and invisible elements.
Observable Culture (Visible Elements)
These elements are visible and readily apparent at the surface of the organization. They are expressed by:
- The way people dress at work, office arrangement, and how they speak and behave toward one another.
- Stories, heroes, rituals, ceremonies, and symbols.
Examples (HTW): Orientations, graduations, awards, scholarships, welcome week, buddy programs, and semester parties (rites and rituals). Symbols include the logo, colors, and landmarks.
Core Culture (Underlying Assumptions)
This consists of core values, underlying assumptions, and beliefs that shape and guide behavior.
Examples: Performance excellence, innovation, social responsibility, integrity, worker involvement, customer service, and teamwork.
Examples (HTW):
- Ethics and integrity via a code of conduct and mission statement.
- Innovation via an incubator, innovation center, and entrepreneurship site.
- Social responsibility via urban gardens, beekeeping, and sustainability courses/certificates (open to all since 2022).
- Performance excellence via #1 BWL rating and accreditation.
- Support via mental health services, alumni association, and cooperation center for applied science.
Importance: Every organization has a culture; multi-organizational cultures (like HTW) represent all members regardless of background or position.
Key Traits of Successful Leaders
Self-Confidence and Drive
- Self-Confidence: Successful leaders trust themselves and have confidence in their abilities.
- Drive: Successful leaders have high energy, display initiative, and are tenacious.
Creativity and Cognitive Ability
- Creativity: Successful leaders are creative and original in their thinking.
- Cognitive Ability: Successful leaders have the intelligence to integrate and interpret information.
- Advantages: Aids strategic decision-making and innovation; helps adaptation to a dynamic environment.
- Implementation: Provide ongoing learning opportunities; foster a culture of problem-solving; encourage innovative thinking.
Job Knowledge, Honesty, and Flexibility
- Job Relevant Knowledge, Motivation, Honesty, and Integrity.
- Flexibility: Successful leaders adapt to the needs of followers and the demands of situations.
- Advantages: Helps navigate change, seize opportunities, increases engagement and creativity, accommodates diverse perspectives, and promotes openness to change.
- Implementation: Adaptive leadership training; encourage new approaches.
Operations Management and Lean Production
Defining Operations Management
Operations management is the design, operation, and improvement of the system that creates and delivers the firm’s primary products and services.
- Operations (Ops): Transform inputs into outputs, increasing value.
- Value Chain: Activities from supplier to customer that add value.
Core Elements of Lean Production
Lean production is an integrated system focused on doing more with less (inventory, workers, space) by eliminating waste and promoting continuous improvement.
1. Eliminate Waste
Reducing waste (overproduction, inventory, movement, defects, waiting).
- Benefit: Cost savings, reduced inventory costs, less rework, and lower overhead.
2. Increase Flexibility
Using flexible resources and cell layouts to adapt to customer demand.
- Flexible Resources: Multi-functional workers, general-purpose machines, and Takt time.
- Cell Layouts: Grouping machines and adjusting cycle time.
- Benefit: Quick adaptation to the market and remaining competitive.
3. Smooth the Flow
Achieving steady production via pull systems, Kanbans, small lots, quick setups, and uniform production.
- Pull System: Customer-driven production (e.g., BMW orders). (Contrast with Push System, which is based on forecasts.)
- Kanban: Information card or barcode for component supply (e.g., Amazon tracking).
- Small Lots: Increases quality and reduces lead, setup, wait, and move times.
- Quick Setups: Shifting internal setup tasks to external tasks, reducing setup time.
- Uniform Production: Balancing the final assembly line.
- Benefit: Shorter lead times, faster response, and on-time delivery.
4. Continuously Improve
Focusing on quality at the source, Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), and a strong supplier network.
- Quality at the Source: Small lots and visual controls (e.g., Coca-Cola fill-level and label checks).
- TPM: Preventive maintenance and total quality (e.g., notes on machines, yearly shutdowns).
- Supplier Network: Long-term contracts, certified suppliers, and synchronized production (e.g., Coca-Cola approved suppliers).
- Benefit: Increased quality and fewer defects.
Ethical Frameworks and Corporate Social Responsibility
Four Alternative Views of Ethics
Individualism View
Promotes one’s long-term self-interest.
Utilitarian View
Focuses on the greatest good for the most people.
Justice View
Shows fairness and impartiality. This view requires treating individuals equitably, adhering to rules and laws, and ensuring a fair distribution of benefits and burdens. It prioritizes legal and moral rights, social justice, and an environment where all are treated fairly and with respect regardless of status.
Moral Rights View
Maintains the fundamental rights of all human beings.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
CSR is the obligation of an organization to serve society and its own interests; it involves integrating social, environmental, and ethical concerns into operations and stakeholder relations.
- Stakeholders: Employees, government, customers, owners, media, suppliers, local community, and special interest groups.
- Advantages of CSR: Engaging stakeholders for input, setting clear goals, and adapting initiatives with feedback. This boosts brand reputation, loyalty, and investor confidence, and drives innovation and sustainability.
Key Business Functions
Accounting
Financial Accounting (Fin Acc)
Information prepared for external users (stakeholders, banks, government, suppliers). It is past-oriented, less flexible, uses summary reports, and adheres to GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles).
Managerial Accounting (Manag Acc)
Information prepared for internal managers. It is the process of identifying, measuring, analyzing, preparing, and communicating information to help fulfill organizational objectives. It is future-oriented, flexible, and uses detailed reports.
Marketing
Marketing Definition and Value
Marketing is the organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and stakeholders.
- Value: Connecting a product or service to customer needs and wants. This increases satisfaction, generates revenue, fosters loyalty, and contributes to economic growth.
The Dark Side of Marketing Ethics
Refers to unethical or manipulative practices harming customers, society, or the environment.
Examples include:
- Exploitative advertising (e.g., tobacco or alcohol in poor areas).
- Deceptive advertisements (false claims, diet pills, beauty exaggeration).
- Environmental degradation (over-packaging, unsustainable consumption).
- Exploitation of people (e.g., selling babies or body parts, midget bowling).
- Anti-consumption (e.g., spray paint, product tampering).
- Terrorism, addictive consumption, or illegal activities.