The Manager’s Functions-- A Multi-faceted Segment of Management

The Manager’s Functions: a Multi-faceted Segment of Management

The continuous and dynamic competition in the global business arena has been very stiff and complex. In this regard, the organization must be able to utilize a strategy and management system that will enhance the performance of the business so as to outgrow its rivals (Pearce & Robinson, 2000; Thompson & Strickland, 2003). One of the contemporary management concerns in the business world today is the concept of a good manager. What makes a good and functional manager?

The evolution of ideas and innovativeness have been rapidly changing, different organizations have to cultivate ideas that can meet the demands of the market. To meet these challenges and achieve a competitive edge, they must formulate and implement strategies based on innovation, technology and the development of intellectual capital. Few companies, even those at the leading edge of knowledge management, have all the management processes, culture and tools in place to create and harness knowledge in a systematic way. Those starting out on the knowledge management path assume it is a simple extension of information management. In reality, effective knowledge management can involve major changes in process, culture, and technology.

Management thought has evolved over the years. With this, there emerged a modern definition management: that management is the process of planning, organizing, leading and controlling the organizational members and organizational resources to achieve some started goal. Management is the organizational process that includes strategic planning, setting; objectives, managing resources, deploying the human and financial assets needed to achieve objectives, and measuring results (Henderson, 1996). Management also includes recording and storing facts and information for later use or for others within the organization.

In lieu with this, the main purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive discussion of the tasks that managers do. The roles and responsibilities of the manager are elaborated based on the human resource management (HRM) functions that apply to managers on the human resource management functions. It will be assessed in terms of its application, practice, importance, and effects in the organization.

Management and the Manager: A Brief Literature Overview

The vast collection of printed books and scholastic journals in the field of management present a wide variety of sources. There are various segments of management that were studied and continuously attract researchers to delve into more researching and probing. From general management to international management up to the specifics namely human resources management (HRM), strategic management, operations management, financial management, marketing management, and information technology management, it dynamically affect and serve as a contributory factor in the further development of the current trends that eventually improve the science of management as whole. Today, there are other management fields such as change management, product management, career management, project management, knowledge management, risk management and the like that are considered significant and served as sub-fields and by-products of the general concept of a successful and inclusive management.

Managers and management have been studied extensively from several perspectives. Other stream of research has focused on the behavior of managers and their role in organizations. Specifically, previous and early academic researches involved Mintzberg (1973) who examined the implementation of the managerial function or how managers perform their tasks and responsibilities. Further, other studies by Harbison and Myers (1959) have looked at managers as an interest group, class, or elite, and at least one classic inquiry) and treated managers as an economic resource. A great deal of the work on managers and management has examined these perspectives across societies and cultures are presented in the studies of Massie and Luytjes in 1972 and Negandhi and Prasad in 1971. Other literatures include the topics of employment practice (Blum, 1981; Doeringer, 1981; Dunlop & Galenson, 1978; Martin & Kassalow, 1980; Smith, 1981; Windmuller & Gladstone, 1984) and managers as employees or worker (Roomkin, 1989). Nearly all have focused on the non-managerial labor force or on managerial unionism. Ronen (1986) provides an academic treatise of the main research literature in comparative and international management. Adler (1991) offers important lessons in consciousness-raising for students and managers alike. Dowling and Schuler (1990) cover important topics like selection, training, compensation, and labor relations implications for firms operating internationally. Managerial values in different countries are the topic researches of Ralston et al., (1992), Bigoness and Blakely (1996) and Mathur, Neelankavil & Zhang (2000). They tackled the emerging management in selected countries of the West and East economies.

Historically, the developments in international business operations have dramatically changed in the latter years of the twentieth century (Peterson, 1996). Companies have established an international division to manage operations in a variety of countries. Hence, the managers became international is nature. There were several worldwide developments in the management science that contributed to the eventual progress and essential changes in the management role. Peterson named some of the most profound changes that affected international management and that include: (1) the breakup of the economic and military Eastern Bloc nations, and their subsequent move toward the market economy; (2) the integration of the EEC (Common Market) in 1992; (3) the possibility of a North American free trade zone that would include Canada, the United States, and Mexico; and (4) possible integration in East Asia (Peterson, 1996). The significance of these events for the study of managers in the international arena lays in the increasing recognition by national leaders of the crucial role that managers and all other employees will play in the coming years in the global economy.

Currently, researches in management focus on the specific areas such as strategic and change managements. The reason behind this is to update the people in the all management environment and go along with the challenges of the global business environment. Strategic management, for example can be defined as the art and science of formulating, implementing and evaluating cross-functional decisions that enables any organization to attain its objectives (Prahalad & Hamel, 1990; Abell, 1999; Boxal & Purcell, 2000; Liou, 2000). Strategic management guides an organization relative to challenges and opportunities appearing in the contingent environment (Pearce & Robinson, 2000; David, 2001; Drejer, 2002; and Thompson & Strickland, 2003). This is a systematic, comprehensive and encompassing process that is device to combat the inevitable challenges of global competition. Managers allocate a significant proportion of their abilities to go with the current trends affecting the organization in which they work and affiliate themselves. Meanwhile, change management (or innovation management) is the formulation and assimilation of change in a methodical process (Burnes, 1996; Collins, 1996; Moran & Brightman, 2001; Matveev, 2002; and Butcher & Clarke, 2003). The major objective of change management is the introduction of innovative means and systems in the work organization. Businesses must normally undergo change in order to evolve to a higher level of for instance, stability, management or production. Appointing a new head officer, for example, can greatly enhance his subordinates based on his management principles and personality. Same as strategic management, managers today consider change as an indicator of the expected functions, productivity and future performances in the organization.

Management as a science and the role of managers continue to develop as changes in the global marketplace occur. It is a dynamic area of study that will continuously dedicate an enormous proportion of time for further researches and discoveries to develop, alter, and achieve optimal performance in management. Further, it is expected that there will still be new and on-going management studies and probes as managers maintain their prescribed functions and responsibilities in relation to the principles of management.

Wanted: Perfect Manager

What is a manager? Defining such term lies on a specific filed of application. There are several subjects in which “manager” are used. For instance, there are managers who handle teams in collegiate institutions or sports in general. There are also managers who are involved in public management. However, the simplest and most common definition of manager is found in the dictionary. According to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, a manager is “one who handles, controls, or directs”, especially a “business or other enterprise”; “one who controls resources and expenditures, as of a household”; and “one who is in charge of the business affairs of an entertainer”.

On this paper, the term “manager” is directed as a subject in relation to the overall function of management in a business enterprise. In different economies, the definition of manager varies. Peterson (1993) edited and presented a comprehensive anthology of the term “manager” from various authors in the book entitled Managers and National Culture: a Global Perspective. He and his colleagues documented the various definitions and applications of the term “manager” in several countries. To sum up the content of the book, here are the identified definitions and applications of the term “manager”.

In the United States, the meaning of the word "manager" is not easy to generalize. According to Roomkin (1989), the various definitions of American managers include legal, organizational, and statistical approaches. As an instance, the Wage and Hour Law states that the term "manager" includes the broad category of executive, administrative, and professional personnel who are not subject to the requirement of being paid overtime wages and salaries for work beyond eight hours per day and forty hours per week. Some analysts use the term narrowly to identify those members of an organization who supervise one or more employees. Others are likely to lump executive, administrative, and professional staff into the broad category of manager. For our purposes, we think of managers as those personnel above the first level of supervision (e.g., foremen) who act in executive, administrative, or professional capacities.

In Great Britain, the term manager includes professionals who play specific formal roles in corporate organization and direction, excluding supervisory personnel, except for our discussion of managerial training and development (Peterson, 1996). Further, the term manager in France is not similar and understood solely in the American perspective. Its definition lies on the exact role it describes with respect to French business circles, custom, and law. In Poland, managers are mainly people who hold managerial posts at middle and higher levels in state-owned industrial enterprises. Asian communities such as Malaysia defined manager in terms of all administrative and managerial positions. This is distinct from the classifications of workers such as professional and technical positions, sales positions, service positions, and production workers.

In the case of Sweden, a manager is subject to specification on whether it is pertaining to the public sector or private sector. However, the public sector comprises a considerable part of organizational life. There is no sharp demarcation line between these two sectors, since a significant part of the state-owned companies are competing on the open market and are expected to make a profit, as present in the cases of the Swedish Railways, Telecom, and the Postal Service. Manager in Austria has two basic groups that it forms: (1) small companies, which are mostly family-owned businesses, and (2) medium and large companies which are led by employed managers who are responsible to one of three types of owners: private domestic, foreign, or public, including direct or indirect governmental control. Managers in small companies are also the owner-managers are they considered it the very definition of manager.

On Japanese business perspective, a manager is similar to a manager in the United States with regard to duties and roles in the organization. The term was used to refer to the employee who is at or near the level of kacho (a section chief) and works for a large firm (over 1,000 employees). A kacho can have from around 5 to over 100 subordinates, with the larger number being most typical in the production areas of the firm. However, the description of manager also includes the two positions just above the kacho level, the jicho (assistant department head) and the bucho (department head), as well as the one just preceding it, the kakaricho (assistant section chief).

Furthermore, the term manager in Israel is not uniformly defined in respect to the previous definitions. The managers usually refer to those who occupy and work at the middle- to top-level organizational positions. According to the the Statistical Abstract of Israel, which provides statistical data on the country's labor force, uses a general undefined category, managers are called administrators and/or managers. Hence, "manager" is used in broader perspective.

Conversely, because of the special nature of the political and economic system in China, the managers, or "cadres", include both conventional supervisors in business units and supervisory personnel in regulatory agencies within the state and party apparatus who indirectly manage enterprises in this still centrally planned economy. They are individuals who are holding at least a first-line supervisory position in either state-owned or collective enterprises in the non-rural sector of the Chinese economy.

With the comprehensive presentation of the diverse definition of manager in Peterson and colleagues’ work, this will serve as a foundational basis in the discussion of the roles and functions of the manager in relation to business environment or the profit generating industries. In general, managers are involved in the performance of management functions as directed by the expectations and goals of the organization as well as the principles of management.

The Nature of the Work

As a preconceived thought, a managers’ work is an all-encompassing supervision role that involves people, materials and office administration. In reality, this conception is just a part of the parcel that enumerates the broad and multi-faceted roles and responsibilities. According to wikipedia.org, a manager in a profit oriented organization is the one who satisfy the expectations of the upper management or the stakeholders. Primarily, the general work of the manager could be classified in to three different but interconnected sections:

- for organization’s shareholder is to generate profits;

- for consumers, to create high standard products at the lowest production costs and price as possible; and

- for the employees of the organization, to provide equal opportunities in employment taking into account the welfare and improvement of the whole work team.

Further, a manager as specified in the provided definitions above also holds the responsibility to initiate changes or consider innovations for the improvement of the functioning organization. However, it must be identified that a manager is expected to work in the eventual achievement of the existing goals and objectives of the organization.

Some working conditions associated by managers are the process on how they hold such position. People who specialize in the field of management are equated to be competent and expert in specified areas. In an organization, a manager is elected, promoted, and/or selected by the board of directors. Diverse as its functions, a manager is positioned and named in various and specified areas of the organization. Among these designations given to people who handles managerial functions are: Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Marketing Manager, Promotion Manager, Public Relations (PR) Manager, Sales Manager, Account Manager, Creative Director, Media Director and the likes. These descriptions are dependent to the nature of the organization and the scope of market or operations coverage.

Management Functions

The job of every manager involves what is known as the functions of management: planning, organizing, directing/leading, coordinating and controlling. These functions are goal-directed, interrelated and interdependent with each other. They also are viewed as being critical and universal for all levels of managers, from supervisor to CEO in all types of organizations – business, government, educational, charitable – of any size. This is usually called the universality of management. The basic process of management is the same, even though the context within which it is practiced is very different from management level to management level and from organization to organization (Anthony et al., 1988).

Universally, the manager’s job consists of planning, organizing, directing, coordinating, and controlling the resources of the organization. These resources include people, jobs or positions, technology, facilities and equipment, materials and supplies, information, and money. Managers work in a dynamic environment and must anticipate and adapt to challenges. Moreover, managers create and maintain an internal environment, commonly called the organization, so that others can work efficiently in it.

Planning. Planning is commonly known as the process of formulating in advance as organized behavior action. While it is true that people do not always plan their actions, it is inherent for any organizations to plan. However, whether dealing with the context by which planning is occurring or whether on the individual or organizational level, the process takes shape according to the prevailing attitudes, beliefs and goals that are involved. The firm's objectives should reflect standards of success in financial and competitive performance, as well as acceptable levels of risk and rates of long-term growth (Roney, 2004). The manager’s role in planning for the management function is to define goals for future performance of the organization (Anthony et al., 1988). He/she also decides on the task and the resources to be utilized in achieving the predetermined goals. In meeting such goals, the manager applies significant materials or resources for the training of employees. Then, he/she gives incentives and rewards to motivate and enhance the work productivity of every member.

It is a fact that lack of formal planning (Baird et al., 1993) or poor planning process alone can decrease organizational performance or the worst, defunct it. The role of the manager is to ensure the best people, materials, procedures, and applications in implementing plans. The presence of strategic planning in management minimizes the potential pitfalls of the said process such as uncertainty (Matthews & Scott, 1995; Roney, 2004). The success of several organizations lies on the effectiveness of the manager to plan, evaluate and materialize arrangement in connection to the achievement of the organization’s goal.

Organizing. Thematically, organizing is the act of putting similar elements following one or more rules (Morgenstern, 1998). In an organizational perspective, it is the management function that usually follows after the planning process. Generally, organizing includes the specification and distribution of tasks to appropriate departments. It is also the assignment of authority and allocation of resources. The said ways are the immediate responsibilities of the manager.

Process and decision models are useful to the manager in organizing the work and intellectual contributions to be drawn from all levels of the management organization (Roney, 2004). Organizing is crucial in developing inputs to planning, making planning decisions, and implementing strategy. To be effective, however, comprehensive management function in the business must be a continuous process. However, the organization process that is conducted within the company is dependent on the plans that must be implemented.

Directing/Leading. The role of the manager in directing/leading a management function is reliant to the development and implementation of designs or plans made. It is important that the manager must consider cost effective and time efficient ways in leading. His/her day-to-day responsibility of running the organization and leading the group in developing the plans for the long term future of the organization is accounted to his/her leadership abilities and managerial prowess. While it is true that the manager can direct/lead the entire workforce, he/she is also connected to other factors such as the customers, the company’s budget and assets, and all other company’s resources (Roney, 2004). Furthermore, the manager is encouraged to adapt participative approaches to directing/leading in order to elicit useful characteristics and elements that are useful for the firm’s success. The leadership styles the manager chooses to utilize is also a vital determinant of effective directing process. Thus, it is still fundamental to study the feasible applications to be implemented in accordance to the achievement of organization’s prime motives.

Coordinating. Coordination is the regulation of all the various aspects of the organization into integrated and harmonious operations. It is the integrating and establishing of linkages to diverse sections of the organization in order to accomplish a communal set of objectives. For instance, in coordinating information to all members of the organization, the manager’s role is to see to it that there is unity on all aspects of management. Managing the information that the company uses in its daily operations is crucial in any business organization especially to the manager. Information is the blood stream of every company on which every staff, employee, and supervisor work on in order to meet the demands of the clients and customers of the business. This is the reason why there should be proper management flow within the organization’s manager and the rest of the manpower. Direct link between the managers, supervisors, and the subordinate employees should be efficient enough to answer to the daily work loads of the members of the organization. Communication between and among the members of the organization is prioritized in order to provide a well-functioning business operation within and outside the working organization. However, there are some significant elements that are barriers to coordination. Among these are intervening factors such as personal indifferences, cultural pluralism, and behavioral diversity among members of the group (Trebing, 1996). But still, the expertise of the manager to amalgamate such loopholes is a challenge to his/her managerial function.

Controlling. Managers manage, in other words, by controlling and limiting the efforts of those below them (Witzel, 2003). As a manager, it is a sole responsibility to implement plans but at the same time limiting the possible negative consequences. It has been demonstrated that the emphasis in successful management lies on the man, not on the work; that efficiency is best secured by placing the emphasis on the man, and modifying the equipment, materials and methods to make the most of the man. It has, further, been recognized that the man's mind is a controlling factor in his efficiency, and has, by teaching, enabled the man to make the most of his powers (Gilbreth, 1914, 3).

In the same manner, managers should be the pivot around which the organization revolves, rather than directors controlling from the top down or officers leading from the front. All in all, the essential function of the manager is to implement the plan by following a systematic procedure with respect to the classical management functions.

Human Resource Management Function

Managing people effectively and correctly is one of the most crucial and difficult aspects of being a manager in any organization. It entails not only knowledge but more of skills and good attitude. There should be clarity and transparency in leadership. However, the challenge lies more in being a more effective and productive people manager. One may be able to perform well in his own job but such does not necessarily mean that one is good at people management. To be a successful people manager, one should possess a broad and wide range of various skill and techniques which enhance the different interpersonal relationships and those which gives encouragement to people in reaching their full potentials and more importantly, achieve whatever individual goals they have.

Companies with the best people management deliver nearly twice as much value to shareholders as their average competitors, according to a study by consultants Watson Wyatt. And the gap between the best and the rest is growing. Being among the best for people management adds tremendous value. But average performers for people management are little better than poor performers in terms of creating shareholder value.

The best asset that every company has is its employees, its people. Managing one’s resources is highly important; it determines one’s success or failure in business. It is in this respect that people management should be carefully studied and analyzed, to be able to maximize an individual’s potentials and capabilities.

The Human Resources Management (HRM) is a part of the organization assigned with the task of managing its workforce. HRM is known and accepted in the broadest sense of the term, as a form of management that includes “all management decisions and actions that affect the nature of the relationship between the organization and the employees – its human resources” (Beer et al., 1984). It is defined as the process of coordinating an organization’s human resources, or employees, to meet organizational goals. A weak workforce simply means less productivity and progress, while a strong workforce means more. Obviously, the task of the HR practitioners is to make the workforce of the company strong by making sure that they are talented, skilled, and bounded by effective regulations and company policies. However, that was the traditional human resource management approach.

Today, the HR’s role has increased and has been redefined. HR emerged as a general manager’s responsibility. The manager implements most company functions, while HR representatives coordinate and administer it (Hornsby & Kuratko, 2005). Basically, every manager is considered as a first-line HR manager. However, the link between managers and the HR is that simple. When top management implements something new, HR faces new challenges. This is where the role of managers as first-line HR managers is most emphasized.

Believing that the most important asset of any organization is the people, HR managers achieve sustained success by implementing the core philosophy of HRM. Realizing this leads to a strategic management of people within the organization as the prime task of the manager. Its philosophy is based on the simple belief that human resources are the most important asset in achieving and sustaining the success of an organization. This realization became the driving force behind the creation of HRM resulting in organizations taking a strategic approach to the management of their people. Human resource professionals and managers basically deal with such areas as employee recruitment and selection, performance evaluation, compensation and benefits, professional development, safety and health, forecasting, and labor relations (Lipiec, 2001).

Recruitment and Selection. According to Daniel and Metcalf (2001), recruiting is part of the over-all management function of staffing that serves a major role in ensuring the implementation of the company strategies. Spencer (2004) also emphasized that staffing requires both the process of attracting and selecting prospective personnel’s capabilities and competencies with the company position. It is perhaps the most important function because it is the starting point in the whole HR process. Its importance is noted by Drucker (1992) as he said that “every organization is in competition for its most essential resource: qualified, knowledgeable people” (Drucker, 1992). Recruitment is defined as the process of discovering, developing, seeking and attracting individuals to fill actual and/or anticipated job vacancies (Sims, 2002). It has three general purposes: to fulfill job vacancies; to acquire new skills; and to allow organizational growth.

Selection, on the other hand is the partner of recruitment. It is a critical process for the organization because good selection decisions ensure the company of their financial investments in their employees (Dean & Snell, 1993). The wrong selection process can lead to frustration, repetitive training, documentation, low morale and a waste of time and financial resources. Moreover, an effective selection also decreases the risk of lawsuits of either discriminatory or criminal in nature. Each organization has a selection system, wherein the applicants are subjected to both the basic criteria of an employee in the organization and the specific criteria for the job description.

As a manager, the recruitment and selection of potential employees is linked with the current needs of the business. It is predefined that the manager is the sole decision maker in the employment process. He/she predicts the things that may happen in connection to the contribution of an applicant towards the organization’s achievement of goal. All in all, every manager in connection to recruitment in HR must be equipped with the skills and abilities that will suit the needs of the workforce and the organization as a whole.

Performance Appraisal. This principle is a process of assessing whether organizational objectives are met. It would evaluate how the employee’s performance has fared to satisfy the organization (Debrah, et al., 2003). Evaluation seeks to monitor and improve effectiveness by giving the employee feedback on his/her performance. This process should be carried out at regular intervals and should follow specific protocols to maintain objectivity in the evaluation process.

The manager of the company should have a clear set of evaluation or assessment tools that will be used in all levels of the organization. The process should either be carried out as an individual consultation or a face-to-face evaluation. Lastly, a standard review mechanism conducted by a third party should be commissioned for the reassurance of fair play and objectivity in the evaluation (Spencer, 2004). This concept has its strengths as defined by Caruth and Handlogten (1997) for it helps the manager to be able to identify individual present performance along with the employee’s future potential. Evaluation also assesses the weaknesses and the accompanying disciplinary actions. The third strength is that it can determine which training aspect should be developed for the particular employee. It also increases the communication line between the employer and the employee because of the feedback and evaluation process.

Moreover, Spencer (2004) deemed that performance appraisal is also a way for the organization to assess the role of the manager as well for evaluation and supervision. Another advantage of evaluation is the aim to establish trust among the entire organization because objectivity and fair play are called into this task. Lastly, the evaluation process is a good way of providing employee satisfaction and maturation which will improve the performance in the future.

Training and Development. In order to effectively implement changes, HR managers need to have systematic procedures to get these done. According to Hornsby and Kuratko (2005), training and development activities can help companies acquire a staff with the right combination of skills and motivations which a company needs to be competitive. They further explained that this process includes three different types of activities namely: orienting the new employees; helping employees acquire new skills and helping the employees strengthen existing skills.

There are many trends in training which companies employ today. Goldstein and Gilliam have suggested that training has to adapt to four major trends: (1) changes in the demographic characteristics of the workforce; (2) increased technology; (3) shifts from manufacturing to service-oriented jobs; and (4) the increased influence of international markets. Managers today invest in training their staff in order to be updated with the latest developments in whatever sector they are in. All the trends that exist nowadays are relevant in the overall performance of managerial roles of the manager especially in global business environment. Included in training and development is the aspect of discipline which is becoming more troublesome in the recent years because managers consider it a trial to enforce while the employees consider it unfair and inconsistent in application (Hornsby & Kuratko, 2005). Some disciplinary procedures can result to high turnover, loss of morale, lower performance levels, legal problems and loss of employee respect for managers. Companies have many alternatives in ensuring that a degree of discipline is instilled in the office either by someone whose performance is not up to standards or by someone who exhibited inappropriate behavior. Thus, the manager is in-charge not only to the development of the organization but to the totality of his/her workforce as well.

Labor Relations. Labor relation is an important HR function that the manager practices. Involving his/her self in labor relations includes a wide array of responsibilities such as consultant, negotiator, contract administrator, mediator, facilitator, educator, and advocate (Smith, 2001). In performance of such tasks, the manager must be knowledgeable in the management of rights and responsibilities of all parties under existing laws and policies of the organization. The manager is also direct in access to all management decision-making that affects the interests of everyone. Smith believes that labor relation is an integral part in management of organization, it is important for managers to develop the attitudes needed for the betterment of the organization. Thus, the manager’s function in labor relations is to maintain the proper implementation of all the laws and policies affecting the organization and the individuals.

Leadership: the Manager’s Armor

As implied in the previous definitions of a manager, a manager is a LEADER. Leadership comprises the aptitude and ability to inspire and influence the thinking, attitudes, and behavior of other people (Adler, 1991; Bass, 1985; Bass and Stogdill, 1989; Bennis & Nanus, 1985; Kotter, 1988). Leadership is a process of social influence in which one person is able to enlist the aid and support of other individuals in the achievement of a common task (Chemers, 1997). The major points of this definition are that leadership is a group activity, is based on social influence, and revolves around a common task. Although this specification seems relatively simple, the reality of leadership is very complex. The leadership styles sometimes can make an organizational change be successful or be a total failure.

Leadership is an important aspect of management. As stated by a few authors (e.g. Cohen & Brand, 1993; Hyde, 1992), management requires full leader participation and involvement instead of designating individual groups who will shoulder all the responsibilities. The involvement of leaders serves a number of purposes. For instance, this helps in preventing the resistance of employees to changes brought about by the implementation of quality systems. The enthusiasm and determination of the leaders to make the project work can positively influence other company staff. Furthermore, this also helps in creating a sense of commitment and loyalty (Hill, 1991).

In leading, there are several leadership styles that are utilized by the manager. Leadership style is the pattern of behavior used by a leader in attempting to influence group members and make decision regarding the mission, strategy, and operations of group activities (Scholl, 2000). The presence of leadership in management is also one effective factor in addressing technical and non-technical issues. It is important however that the appropriate leadership style is used. The following discussion is the styles in leadership that managers implement in the organization.

Transactional and Transformational Leadership. In transformational leadership, strong personal identification of the leader is involved. Furthermore, the relationship in this leadership style is more than the fulfillment of self-interest or provision of rewards (Hater & Bass, 1988).

Transactional leadership, the counterpart of the transformational style, is more on controlling people and giving out orders. This style has two main categories. One is called the management-by-exception where leaders tend to make use of their authority to reward or penalize people under them. Managers or leaders who use this category of transactional leadership tend to focus on asserting power, pointing out errors and disciplining subordinates with poor performance (Bass, 1985). Contingent reward leadership is the other category of this leadership style. In this style, the focus is on the communication of work standards and the provision of rewards if these standards are followed. Leaders applying this style ensure that the subordinates know what is expected of them and the consequences should they fail to meet these expectations. Naturally, rewards are given for good performance while punishments are given for poor performance (Avolio, 1999).

From this brief description, it becomes clear that transformational leadership is the most effective for all types of managers. Unlike transactional leaders, transformational managers value the interests of their employees as well as matters that will benefit the entire group. They tend to create realistic visions and encourage others to support them (Yammarino & Bass, 1990). Clearly, there is a direct interaction and open communication between the leaders and the followers in transformational leadership. Such leadership style is useful for implementing quality management systems, particularly in task delegation, training and project monitoring.

Other Types of Leadership Styles. The ever-changing trends in the business communities worldwide permit every organization to use the most suited leadership styles. There are other types of leadership styles that can be utilized by the manager; however such styles are dependent to the strategic implementations of the organization’s mission and vision. Among these styles are: aristocratic (monarchy), autocratic/paternalistic (dictatorial), democratic or participative, laissez-faire, and/or combination of both. But then again, the leadership style that a manager applies is defined by the nature and operations of the organization he/she belong.

For instance, the role of manager in public management in connection to leadership include implementing policies, communicating policy to staff, and assisting elected officials in policy making (Desantis & Leal, 1998). It is similarly focused into the leadership functions in the society’s city and county managers. However, with the dynamic changes of the society, there are also considered alterations in the traditional roles of the public management manager. Among these are leadership change, crisis-external and internal, and planned changes (Luthy, 1993). Again, the fact that there are new patterns and approaches continuously emerging in management science, every managerial function is subject for further development for immediate satisfactory effect. Research coupled with experience convinced managers for worthy considerations and trials.

Communication: the Way of Understanding

Communication within an organization goes beyond the concepts of effective speaking or listening, or what is commonly considered as linear communication. It is an interactive model which deals with feedback and reciprocal exchanges. According to surveys focusing on areas of improvement among corporations, communication is usually ranked first as an important element within the organization (Harris, 1993). Specifically, communication is recognized as an important aspect of an organization as it keeps employees well-informed and open to communication channels (Pettit, Goris & Vough 1997).

Hence, the manager must insure that there are open avenues for employees to communicate new ideas, grievances, input and feedback in line with the change management process (Carnevale & Stone, 1994). It is important that the communication provided by the organization is clear and consistent from within all levels of the organization. It must address both organizational and individual employee concerns. Management behavior will influence employee behavior more than the words included in a communication. Managers as well as employees assess the communication to see if the change meets their needs.

There are two types of communication that the manager can consider in dealing with the matters of the organization – internal and external. Internal communication is linked to performance, job satisfaction, job avoidance, market conditions, commitment, culture and turnover. Communication process is useful to the success the change process (Robbins, 1999). Herein, a clearly articulated mission or vision statement is an essential part of building the image of the innovation in the minds of the employees. Therefore, effective internal communication is needed during, before and after the change process has been done. If poor internal communications exist, it could lead to lack of job satisfaction, increased job avoidance, reduced performance and commitment and an increase in turnover (Robbins, 1999). Meanwhile, external communication refers to those stakeholders and other individuals which can be an essential part of the implementation of the change process. In this manner, the opinion of the key stakeholders who are not necessarily working within the organization must also be valued. Laszlo and Jean-Franhois (2000) advised that customer involvement provides an opportunity for service companies to get direct and immediate feedback which may be helpful for the implementation of a certain project. Effective internal and external communications educate customers and other stakeholders about the changes that are implemented within the company. The role of the manager in explaining to them the importance of such innovation can also help in gaining the support of the external environment (Orphen, 1997).

Through communication, team participation and involvement are promoted. In addition, a number of authors concluded that communication helps in establishing trust and bonds among team members (Bandow, 1998; Nath & Lederer, 1996). The manager must not only have the right leadership skills but human and communication skills as well. It is necessary that these skills are flexible enough to tolerate constant changes, considering that task managers would have to communicate with different types of people.

Motivation and Performance: the Manager’s Prize

For most managers, experience suggests that members of staff may be less amenable to direction than to persuasion and influence. The study of motivation, which underlies the practice of management, would suggest that a more voluntaristic approach is likely to make managing people easier (Randall, 2004). Managers are well used to the concepts of working in teams, managing teams and the critical nature of teamwork for achieving competitive success and much popular management literature asserts that belief, sometimes quite uncritically (Hamel & Prahaled, 1994).

Motivation can be assumed as the reason or the force behind why a person does what he or she does. It also means making the person perform better and more efficient. Basically, there are three assumptions in human motivation established in research (Wiley, 1997). The first one assumes that motivation is inferred from a systematic analysis of how personal, task and environmental characteristics influence behavior and job performance. The next one infers that motivation is not a fixed trait; but rather it refers to a dynamic internal state resulting from the influence of personal and situational factors. This means that motivation may change with changes in personal, social or other factors. Finally, motivation affects behavior, rather than performance (Nicholson et al., 1995; Wiley, 1997).

The definition of motivation varies. Robbins (1998) stated: motivation as “the willingness to exert high levels of effort toward organizational goals, conditioned by the effort’s ability to satisfy some individual need”. On the other hand, Greenberg and Baron (1997) defined the motivation as “the set of processes that arouse, direct and maintain human behavior toward attaining some goal”. This definition contents three key essential aspects namely: arousal, direction and maintaining. Arousal is to do with the drive/energy behind people’s actions such as their interests to do the things or they do it just want making a good impression on others or to feel successful at what they do. Direction means the choices people make to meet the person’s goal. Maintaining behavior could keep people persisting at attempting to meet their goal hence to satisfy the need that stimulated behavior in the first place. Furthermore, Mitchell defines motivation as ‘the degree to which an individual wants and chooses to engage in certain specified behaviors’ (Mullins, 1999). From this theory, Mitchell identifies four common characteristics which underline the above definition of motivation:

- Motivation is typified as an individual phenomenon. Every person is unique and all the major theories of motivation allow for this uniqueness to be demonstrated in one way or another.

- Motivation is described, usually, as intentional. Motivation is assumed to be under the worker’s control, and behaviors that are influenced by motivation, such as effort expended, are seen as choices of action.

- Motivation is multifaceted. The two factors of greatest importance are (1) what gets people activated (arousal); and (2) the force of an individual to engage in desired behavior (direction or choice of behavior).

- The purpose of motivational theories is to predict behavior. Motivation is not the behavior itself, and it is not performance. Motivation concerns action, and the internal and external forces that influence a person’s choice of action.

From the definitions mentioned, it can be analyzed that motivation is necessary for the growth of the employee in the organization. The employee starts his career through learning, basically the culture of the organization and his responsibilities. Motivation is a vital element to learning because if an organization does not possess the ability to motivate its employees, the knowledge within the organization is not practically used to the fullest. (Osteraker, 1999) Thus, in every successful learning organization, finding the factors that will motivate its employees to partake in continuous learning and to take advantage of this knowledge, accordingly, becomes their aim (Osteraker, 1999).

The manager evaluates and motivates its employees. It is believed that motivation is the key to beneficial retention of employees to work and to like their work. The theories of motivation gave some ideas of how a motivation program can be implemented within an organization. This can be started by surveying the employees and ask them what they think about the company. Through research conducted by the manager, the basic needs of employees can be identified and satisfied through the development and implementation of motivation programs. The initial act that should be done is to make employees realize their personal worth by empowering them. For instance, employees should be given the freedom to voice out their opinions, although there should be a standard on how conversations should be ethically observed, as well as respect to superiors. Former General Manager of General Electric, Jack Welch uses this approach to empower employees. Through this, little and huge issues that affect employees everyday work behaviors were identified and solved (Slater et al., 1998). This is fundamentally a great way to identify employees’ needs.

On the other hand, leadership also plays a fundamental part in motivating employees. The manager should know how to recognize success and how to praise those who deserve praises. Several studies found positive linkage between leadership styles and job satisfaction, except for the initiating structure leadership style, which similarly shows negative effect on job satisfaction (Holdnak et al., 1993; Pool, 1997; Lok & Crawford, 2004). Deserving employees can be effectively praised and recognized through awards and bonuses. Developing a program were a particular employee with good performance would be branded as employee of the week can also be a good idea. Of course, this should also come with small rewards to make employees feel that their efforts pay off. Furthermore, a feedback rater group should be established to identify those who deserve praise, but should be anonymous. Ratings should be on employee behavior and work performance. Further, reforming the compensation scheme should also be considered. Wiley (1997) stated that employees overall expressed the importance of pay as a motivator, and an effective compensation program is critical. A good way to change compensation is to make sure that it affects the employees’ hierarchy of needs. For instance, a daily meal allowance can satisfy their physiological needs, while an increase in salary or extra bonuses can increase the employee’s esteem and safety as such actions symbolically tell them that their efforts are being recognized and that they are secure in the company. Promotion should also be given to those skilled workers who deserve promotion. This action can basically satisfy their social needs.

The involvement of fun at work as a part of motivation and performance is an emerging idea that is retroactive to the role of the manager. In a study conducted by Newstrom (2002), he evaluated the effects of fun, play, celebration, laughter, humor, and the brighter side of life in terms of comical relief and its effects on overall performance at work. This concept is very essential in the motivation role of the manager. During complex and pressuring situations in the workplace, the concept of fun is necessary to be brought out by the manager and the rest of the group. There are some suggested activities and ideas presented by Newstrom. On the other hand, excessive fun at work brings about some negative consequences. Uncontrolled fun may affect vital roles and several aspects of the organization paying particular on productivity and the consumers. According to Newtrom (2002), managerial carelessness in not defining the boundaries and failing to limit fun at work can result in hurt feelings, mixed messages about the organization's priorities, perceptions of harassment (Smeltzer & Leap, 1988), offended customers, and a generally unprofessional work atmosphere. Peters and Austin (1986) claims that it is legitimate for workers to have fun while being paid to do something productive. People need to have a healthy dose of fun, zest, and enthusiasm in their work lives. They believe that managers at all organizational levels hold a key responsibility for creating a "culture of fun" in their workplaces. More recently, several authors have suggested that the beneficial effects of fun include increases in employee retention (Mariotti, 1999), stress management, and profitability (Avolio, Howell, & Sosik, 1999; McGhee, 2000). The role of manager is to substantially balance work and fun. As a motivating factor, fun at work is handled by the manager as a positive reinforcement directed to increase productivity, stress management, and esprit de corps among the people who compose the working environment.

With the jurisdiction and decision of the upper management in small and big companies, managers should address the aforementioned solutions and recommendations to enhance employee motivation. It is important to realize that managing a business is not just managing the figures but also managing the human side. Business processes are operated by humans and not by machines. Humans are creatures of emotions and intellect, and such fact should not be taken for granted. As a manager, if an employee feels or thinks that the company cannot meet his/her needs, his/her next move would most likely be resignation and that is the least thing to be expected to happen. By effectively identifying people’s needs and slowly satisfying them, the manager and company gives the employees’, especially the skilled ones, more reasons to stay. Skilled employees have more strength to withdraw because they know they can be easily hired by other companies. The company should ensure that those employees, as well as average employees are well-motivated to have a daily smooth flow of company operations. The cost of creating a motivation program should be necessarily estimated first, but the company must also remember that turnover wastes more costs. Motivation must be seen as the key to satisfaction and retention of important employees. Furthermore, implementing a motivation program on employees might have an overall positive effect on supervision, benefits, work design and work conditions. Generally speaking, the primary role of the manager is to maintain a harmonious relationship to his/her workforce that will ultimately pave way to the elementary process of motivation. A democratic environment, constant communication, tap in the shoulder, greetings, and some other gestures or actions of appreciation enhances the productivity of every employees. Through these ways, the manager’s function to motivate and uplift the morale his/her employees is guaranteed.

Mentoring and Coaching: the Manager and Workforce

The roles of a manager in mentoring and coaching are different in several ways. First, the manager in mentoring acts mainly as a counselor. This means providing advice on different areas such as development opportunities and career paths (Condrey, 2001, 48). Race (1994) stated that mentoring provides more than just additional knowledge as it also allow the employee to master a particular learning sector. Mentors typically have a wider experience in the company, and this empowers them to assign persons under them into tasks that help their development. Thus, an important element in the mentoring relationship is the establishment of mutual respect between the person and the mentor.

The manager in relation to coaching, on the other hand, is more of a tutor. Managers observe an individual’s work and actions, and along the process provide comments regarding execution skills which may be lacking. It is important that in the coaching relationship, the coach has to have opportunities to observe the work of his / her tutee and be open to feedbacks. For instance, in task management in organizations, coaching and mentoring are often done in order to cope up with the changes brought about by mergers and acquisitions as well as the rising need to provide key workers with support in response to a change of role. These situations often inspire companies and organizations to seek coaching or mentoring. Coaching and mentoring are also closely linked with task management initiatives in order to help the workers adapt to changes in a method consistent with their personal values and goals.

Coaching and mentoring when implemented effectively, has the capability to enhance motivation and productivity and minimize staff turnover as workers feel valued and aware of both small and large changes within the organization. This role is critically provided by coaches or mentors. Coaching is able to maintain a balance between fulfilling management goals and objectives while at the same time taking into consideration the development needs of individual workers. It is practically a two-way relationship with both the company and the workers obtaining significant benefits. Thus, the manager definitely involves his/her self in the said processes in order to gain the desired outcomes.

Culture and Values: the Manager’s Challenge

According to Randall (2004), the culture of an organization defines appropriate behavior, bonds and motivates individuals and asserts solutions where there is ambiguity. It governs the way a company processes information, its internal relations and its values. It functions at all levels from subconscious to visible. In the world of increasingly 'flat' companies and sophisticated 'knowledge-based' products, control and understanding of an organization’s corporate culture are a key responsibility of leaders, as well as a vital tool for management if it is to encourage high performance and maintain shareholder value.

The concept of culture seems to lend itself to very different uses as collectively shared forms of for example, ideas and cognition, as symbols and meanings, as values and ideologies, as rules and norms, as emotions and expressiveness, as the collective unconscious, as behavior patterns, structures and practices, etc. all of which may be made targets to study (Alvesson, 2002, 3).

Brandeis (1914), author of Business: A Profession, believed that professional managers would introduce a different set of values into the business world, and other intellectuals shared his optimism. The values of the manager towards his/her tasks, co-workers, and the organization is equated to the corporate relationship of everybody. Additionally, an organizational culture can be described and mapped out using different categories and classification systems, but all cultures are in fact responses to business dilemmas (Hampden-Turner, 1990). The role of the organization’s manager is to administer conflicting needs in a synergistic way, creating an environment in which opposing forces can be reconciled to create rapid and strong growth.

The Manager and Change Management: an Emerging Phenomenon

According to United Directories Incorporated (no date), “the business environment is in constant flux, demanding that business owners sharpen their change management skills as part of their strategy for success. These skills include leadership development to instill confidence, marketing and sales abilities to sell your change initiatives, and communication skills to build support for change.” The role of the manager to identify, evaluate and implement changes is similarly important as his/her managerial functions. It is predetermined that the manager’s function covers the conditions of the existing working environment. Thus, his/her observations are essential in developing better outputs of the organization as well as his/her managerial tasks.

Organizational change is part of and a result of struggles between contradictory forces – working conditions and the workforce. Change management practice is related with endeavoring to manage the competing demands of the existing situation. In understanding why and how to change organizations, it is first necessary to understand its structures, management, and behavior. According to Burnes (1996) these systems of ideas are crucial to change management in two respects. They provide models of how organization should be structured and managed. Then they provide guidelines for judging and prescribing the behavior and effectiveness of individuals and groups in an organization. The task of the manager in change management is to see to it that the prescribed changes are beneficial and contributory to the immediate improvement and productivity of the whole organization. In doing such, there are important values to be taken at hand.

Coordination. Most of the successful business endeavors depend greatly on good interpersonal communication and relationship between the service or product providers and their clients. Managers as heads of the service/product provider are the instrument who will intervene with the customers. For example, in an entrepreneurial activity, persuading customers on trying the offered services and products is only a start on putting up a successful managerial activity. Gaining the trust of the clients and maintaining patrons is very important to ideal business transaction flows. The manager serves as the moderator between the company and the services/products rendered to the clients. But all these will be put to waste if issues and problems brought about by surrounding circumstances such as cultural differences arise between him/her and his/her employees and same as true in reference to the people who patronize the service/product.

In order to be most efficient in terms of the information management function, the manager should have an idea of the future use of the information or files and documents he/she is working. Earl (1998) discussed the importance of good information management in the ever-increasing demands of the global business industries which are common nowadays. He emphasized the relevance of the search for global efficiency, local responsiveness, transfer learning and external alliances through proper information management in a particular business organization. Managerial functions in coordinating all aspects of the business like the information needs of the employees and consumers are requisites in a successful relationships and growth for the business.

Commitment. Management as a role for the managers of organizations involves control over others’ behaviors and actions. For most people, a position of leadership centers on the management role. Its tasks and techniques as well as its technology are considered. It conjures up ideas like controlling interpersonal relations, making decisions, aligning individual member actions and perceptions with corporate goals, planning, budgeting and directing the effort of the several followers engaged in the work with people (Senge, 1990). The manager’s role involves insuring that group and its activities are timed, controlled and predictable.

An organization’s culture is about how much members trust each other, if indeed they trust others at all. They are about attitudes and emotions and the impact on team performance. Organizations are defined best in these terms and in ideas like change, trust, cohesion, conformity and adaptability. Managers in a changing business environment are required to have the capacity to be adaptable which allows for quick and intelligent responses to what is perceived as constant change. It involves the ability to identify and seize opportunities as they are presented, hence the aforementioned shift from being plan-centric to intent-centric.

The manager’s task as the leader is to create a culture that integrates all individuals into a natural unity so individual actions can strengthen the results of the whole and when the prevailing culture is incompatible with the leader’s vision, the task is to change the culture to insure that it promotes needed integration and harmony as leadership involves changing people to find unity in apparent chaos (Wheatley, 1993). Commitment of the members with the organization to ensure loyalty to the company should be inculcated and maintained among people by the manager.

Competency. The employees need to avail of the opportunities of developing their skills further and enriching their knowledge through the training programs and exercises that their company invests on is also dependent on the role of the manager. This will ensure their competitiveness in the fast-paced and ever-changing description and scope of their work and may also sustain their personal desire of improving themselves as productive individuals. Minimum stress level could also be expected in the workplace atmosphere when they are competent in all tasks being offered.

According to Levine (1995), correctly applied and operational employee participation increases productivity as supported by empirical literature. Similarly, Champion-Hughes (2001) highlighted the importance of high work life quality through good supervision, working conditions, pay and benefits as well as challenging and rewarding jobs. She said that these conditions will provide opportunities for employees to contribute in the overall effectiveness of the organization as they become more motivated and productive members of the company’s work force with positive self-esteem and improved morale. It is apparent that the business organization as a whole will in general gain from utilizing the said training and bonding practices. The smooth working operations and transactions inside the company that resulted from the availed workplace learning and training activities guarantee that the higher productivity level of the organization in general. Thus, the manager must be highly competent in all his/her managerial assignments in order to manage the diverse production team. His/her concept of managerial function is broad enough to supplement his/her competence in managing and leading the group.

The Concept of Managerial Function

The growth in size and complexity of organizations and bureaucracies has made it necessary to develop tools for analyzing them. Managerial functions have emerged as a means for both the study and development and its popularity and widespread application among government and non-government agencies, businesses and non-profit organization.

J. David Edwards defines the concept of managerialism in three ways: managerialism as a business practice, managerialism as opposed to leadership, and managerialism as an ideology. As a business practice, it is the idea of designing programs and methods to increase profitability and efficiency, leading to organizational re-engineering and increased control and regulation. Managers and leaders are different because managers try to maintain the status quo while leaders take risks, because managers are more likely to work by emphasizing relationship roles within the organization (hierarchies and control mechanisms) while leaders motivate by looking at the personalities of the workers, and because managers are focused on means, while leaders looks at ends, the bigger picture. As an ideology it is the idea that analytical tools that help in decision making are the best means for evaluating performance, and the idea that community ideals are more important than individual ones (Edwards, n.d.). Its main value is efficiency or greatest value for your resources, it includes a high degree of faith in the evaluative tools that are at its disposal, and it values the whole group over each particular person. The manager’s role is one who works for the greatest good of the organization by applying techniques that are pre-approved for and by that organization.

Managerialism has been associated with what is known as New Public Management (NPM), or an organizational idea shift from “policy” to “management” (Fitzsimmons). Here, norms and standards are listed precisely, rewards and penalties are economic in nature and there is an emphasis on using quantitative measures to evaluate performance. In a business sense, we may use Entemann’s idea that describes managerialism as an ideology that includes notion that a society should be evaluated as the sum of its transactions (Entemann, 1993). It is a structuralist idea that emphasizes relationships between defined roles in the organization. Each part is defined by its specific role in production, results are judged to be the sum of the parts and the manager’s role is to maximize the productivity of each part.

The roots of managerialism are grounded in the development of capitalism, so it is no surprise that it is most relevant in a business context. The goal of a business is to make profit; therefore, the greater the profit produced, the better the organization has performed in achieving this goal the better the management. Capitalist goals are confluent with managerial ones. It is especially applicable if the employees are willing to sacrifice individual initiatives for the profit motive of the company. In managerialism, “efficiency” is usually equated with “utilitarianism” (“What’s wrong?”) and it is the manager’s task to make sure that the costs produce maximum profit. William Scott writes that managerialism represents the primacy of community values at the cost of individualism, a trade-off of freedoms, and believes that human cooperation within organizations must be highly valued (Scott, 1992).

One of the primary faults of managerialism is the fact that it is over-simplistic; it attempts to reduce understanding of the complexity and size of organizations to a single point, efficiency, or profit. While this may work for businesses, it makes it difficult to translate to other types, but it has. One example is the case of Dr. Douglas Cameron, an English consultant psychiatrist in substance misuse. He and his colleagues developed a few methods 25 years ago that were outrageous at the time: controlled drinking, home detox, and client based treatment instead of standard treatments. He bemoans their healthcare system now as “highly politicized” and claims that “managerialism is a virus” and that it removes and devalues individual and scholarly activity (“I see”).

Managerialism puts a lot of faith in centralized management and its processes. Its adherents believe that so many costs can be minimized and profits maximized by managers simply by the application of techniques. However, these techniques are not fool-proof; if a process fails, if an evaluation proves inaccurate, management becomes powerless. Managerialism also has a very dangerous underlying philosophy, emotivism (“What’s Wrong”), the notion that moral values are unquantifiable; therefore only definable means should be used. There is also the power paradox of managerialism: when investment is made in managerial programs in lower departments, people in higher departments are likely to reassert their power over them because of a loss of control brought about by greater independence because of the investment in the managerial program.

The manager’s role has been implicitly stated throughout the pros and cons listed above, but let me restate the effect of managerialism on the manager. Once it was the duty of the manager to individually evaluate his/her personnel and understand the significance of the fluctuating performances of the people under him/her and make adjustments accordingly. In a place with managerialism the manager must select and use pre-approved programs for the analysis and assessment of his/her subordinates, and make sure that these are implemented throughout the organization.

The Changing Role of the Manager in the Future

The manager of the future will likely have different training than that provided in the past. He/she may still be educated in engineering or business, but foreign language training, as well as an undergraduate degree in international studies. But again, the essence of the managerial function in the eventual success of the organization is still phenomenal. With the various trends that are present in the highly competitive business environment, the ultimate goal of the manager in contributing to the success of the organization is necessary. Thus, continuous development on the skills, attitudes and other relevant characteristics of the future manager holds bright and promising future to his/her self and to the organization as well. Being a manager is no easy task and being an efficient manager is the ultimate challenge for people who push through a corporate managerial career.

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