Functions of a Manager
Planning– Managers are responsible for coming up with a plan for the company to meet its goals and objectives. It involves distributing employees, resources, and relegating responsibilities. They also set realistic timelines and standards for completion of projects. Managers must continuously check the progress of employees to make necessary adjustment when needed, keeping in mind a clear picture of the company’s bigger goals.
Organizing– Managers organize the internal processes and structures keeping in mind which teams or employees are the best for tasks. They provide the necessary resources for the employees and reorganize the team when new challenges arise.
Leading– Managers are supposed to comfortably command team members tasks whenever the need arises. They should give the employees a sense of direction and leadership as they set goals and communicate new products, services and processes. Leadership should also manifest through recognizing when employees require reinforcement or praise and to settle conflicts at work decisively.
Controlling– Managers constantly monitor employee performance, the efficiency and reliability of completed projects, and the quality of work. They make sure the ultimate goals are met and make the necessary changes once they are not met.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
Distribution and Reach: G4S has many outlets in almost every state, supported by a strong distribution network that makes sure that its products are available easily to many customers in a timely manner.
Cost Structure: G4S’s low-cost structure helps it produce at a low cost and sell its products at a low price, making it affordable for its customers.
Dealer Community: G4S has a strong relationship with its dealers that not only provide them with supplies but also focus on promoting the company’s products and training.
Financial Position: G4S has a strong financial position with consecutive profits in the past 5 years, along with accumulated profit reserves that can be used to finance future capital expenditures.
G4S has a large asset base, which provides it with better solvency.
The geography and location of G4S provide it with a cost advantage in serving its customers, when compared to that with the competition.
G4S has a well-established IT system that ensures efficiency in its internal and external operations.
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats
Categories of Planning
Strategic Planning
The planning looks into the reason behind things happening. The long-term thinking focuses on the bigger picture and has a mission and a vision. It looks into the high-level decisions of the entire business, and is employed to come up with long-term decisions spanning between two and ten years.
Tactical Planning
Tactical plans are based on what is going to happen on a short-term basis. They are specific, short-term, and focused where the work is being done. They support strategic planning and are chunks of the high-level strategic plans.
Operation Planning
Operational planning is focused on how things are supposed to happen to attain the mission. It describes the daily operations of the organization. They are created for short term plans such as events or ongoing activities such as policies, rules, and regulations.
Contingency Planning
Contingency plans are made when something random happens or when there is need for something to be changed. It should be expected even when other primary types of planning are engaged in moments when changes cannot be foreseen.
Benchmarking and Core Competencies
Benchmarking is the process of measuring the services, products, and processes based on organizations that are the best known in the field of operation. It involves comparing the best industry practices to the organizations practices. Core competencies are the skills, products, services, capabilities, and resources that make up the strategic advantages of a business. They are the tools that businesses use to keep up or stay ahead of competition.
Managers’ Concerns with Adapting Change
Change in an organization initiates many positive aspects in the organization. It keeps the employees and the organization on the competitive edge and helps them to remain relevant in the business’ field of operation. Change motivates innovation, fosters development of better skills among staff, and leads to better business opportunities. It also promotes staff morale.
Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory
Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory suggests that people are motivated by five categories of needs: physiological, safety, esteem, love, and self-actualization. Physiological needs are basic physical needs such as drinking when thirsty. Some of these needs are ones that involve efforts to meet the body’s need for homeostasis. They are the most important needs and are given the priority to meet. Safety is the second requirement that one needs to meet. Since childhood, it is visible that children need to be in safe environments, react with anxiety and fear once the needs are not met. Adults demonstrate the need for safety by purchasing insurance and preferring to purchase familiar things and find it hard to try new things (Kenrick et al., 2010).
Love and belonging lies third in the hierarchy. It includes romantic relationships and attachment to friends and family. Having social connections is related to better physical health and its absence is associated to poor health and general well-being. Esteem follows in the hierarchy. It involves the need for humans to feel good about themselves. It involves self-confidence and feeling good and happy about ourselves. There is also the need to feel loved by others and that the achievements and contributions are noticed by other people. When the need is not met the person suffers feelings of inferiority. Self-actualization is the last item in the hierarchy. It is the feeling that one is fulfilled and living up to their potential. It is unique for every person. It is very rare is achieved by feeling that one is doing what one is meant to do.
Theory X and Theory Y Managers
Theory X managers operate from a pessimistic point of view of their employees (Lawter et al., 2017). They assume that the employees are unmotivated and hate their work. They think that the employees require to be prompted, punished, or rewarded constantly to ensure they complete their tasks. The managers are authoritarian and actively ensure that things are done.
Theory Y managers embrace an optimistic opinion of their workers. They engage in a decentralized, participative approach of management. There is a collaborative relationship that engages trust with the team members. Appraisals are frequent but they are meant to motivate open communication.
Six Steps in Selecting Employees
Announcing the job
Once a vacancy is determined in the company, the management comes up with the qualifications for the job. The human resources team decides where to advertise the job and may include staffing agencies or recruiters at this stage (Daniels et al., 2017).
Reviewing Candidate Applications
Involves going through the resumes, applications, and cover letters to reduce the candidate pool. It is done by discarding those that stray far away from the required minimum expectations.
Conducting Initial Candidate Screening
Phone interviews are used in this phase to narrow down the pool. It enables the screening of how well the interviewees communicate. However, the interviews cannot be used as the sole method of judging personality or professionalism, but it gives an insight of the candidate’s appropriateness.
Conducting In-person Interviews.
With a reduced number of candidates, it is possible to set up in-person interviews for better assessment of their qualifications. Interaction with the candidate enables assessing the candidate’s ability to communicate and whether the company culture suits him. It is necessary that an employee who will be working with them will be precent in the interviewing process.
Making Final Candidate Selection
Once the interviews are completed, the hiring manager narrows down to the best fit for the job. It is necessary that there is a runner up just in case the selected candidate declines the job offer.
Testing the Candidate
Before an applicant is brought in as a new employee, the management offers an employment offer which is conditional on passing tests or a background check. If they pass the test, the job is theirs.
The Kodak Corporation
Kodak lacked understanding of the fact that their once effective strategy of traditional film cameras was depriving the company of success. They failed to embrace the new technology of digital cameras which was invented by an employee in the company and stuck to traditional cameras. By the time they upgraded to digital cameras, it was too late since competitors had already established themselves (Roychowdhury, 2019).
I would embrace the new technology and shift to manufacturing digital cameras. I would have helped to build a reputation in the digital cameras field keeping up with competitors.
Businesses should embrace change and keep up with the constantly and rapidly changing technologies. They should also listen to employees’ suggestions and listen be ready to take risks in using new inventions.
The Most Important Interview Question of all Time
Accomplishment
My most significant accomplishment in my professional career is receiving a promotion at my workplace. I was employed as a manager of the tracking department but I am now the unit manager of the entire branch. I earned my promotion by working hard and getting noticed by the seniors. I was promoted the moment the previous manager left due to my determination of working to be the best.