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Week 1: Management: Theory, Practice, and Application

Management: Theory, Practice, and Application
Mr. Robert Manning
Week 1/Functions of Management
Frederick R. Paige III












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The study of management and business covers a vast spectrum of topics. Within the
scope of management there are four main functions, which someone can use to be an efficient
and effictive manager and have the skills to properly oversee people and operations. Throughout
time and throughout business the core principals of management have not changed. They are
planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.
Websters dictionary defines planning as: the act or process of making or carrying out
plans; specifically: the establishment of goals, policies, and procedures for a social or economic
unit. In a business setting, planning is an essential part of daily operations and future
operations. Depending on the business, managers must plan accordingly. Thus, improper
planning within the organization can result in strategic financial compromise. All business
operations rely heavily on proper planning whether it is for employee scheduling, meetings,
shipping, production, or any other need that may arise.
Managers throughout the military now primarily communicate and plan through
sequential planning, which is a step-by-step process where higher ranks communicate one at a
time from highest to lowest. The military prides itself on precise planning and logistics. Having
one of the best and strongest military forces is also something that the United States prides itself
in.
Price Jr. (2012) stated that However, a comprehensive human resource strategy [would
address] shortfalls in the selection, education, training, professional development, and personnel
management of Joint contingency planners. Unfortunately, the care and feeding of the military
planning community has not changed, and the overload of planning staffs became the only
fulfilled promise of Ap.
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Organizing is yet another function of a highly effective and efficient manager, whether it
be organizing personnel, or organizing to be effective. Some managers focus on excelling in one
managerial trait and then find they lack greater potential if they would have put more emphasis
on all manager traits. In the military, organization is a huge part of operations. People,
resources, and logistics are just some of the items that need to be planned.
The military is organized by an echelon rank structure in which the higher rank you
achieve the more responsibility you have. This is also the case for police departments; a
structure is set in place to organize its people. Another way the military and police organize is
through logistics. Accountability for assets through some type of computer system in place helps
to keep things organized. Logistics is an essential part of organization because without
accountability and logistics, money gets wasted. According to Bateman and Snell (2009)
Managing your costs and keeping them down requires being efficient; accomplishing your goals
by using your resources wisely and minimizing waste. Little things can save big money, but cost
cuts involve trade-offs.
Of course management requires leadership skills, and there are many different leadership
styles that a manager can take after. Leading by example is a popular method and one that
carries a clich. Managers must rely on more than one leadership style to be effective and
efficient in leading various types of people. Not all employees will have the same following
capability and a manager must realize each employees process it takes to be effective.
Leading is stimulating people to be high performers. It includes motivating and
communicating with employees, individual and in groups. Leading involves close day-to-day
contact with people, helping to guide and inspire them toward achieving team and organizational
goals. Leading takes place in teams, departments, and divisions, as well as at the tops of large
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organizations. Bateman & Snell (2009). The military is broken up into divisions, groups, teams
and squadrons and this is a great example of how leadership roles can be broken down from the
biggest division to the smallest learning group. Leadership comes in all styles and a manager
must learn to adapt to the employees to help inspire and produce production from employees.
Employees that seem to be satisfied with its leadership tends to strive to be better workers and
performers. Building teamwork amongst employees will inspire confidence in their abilities.
As a manager, you must implement a control method to be profitable, effective and
productive. Controlling your people and resources is the last leadership trait that one must obtain
to be successful. Having a control method in place, helps to control safety, regulations and
changes that can occur in a workplace. By implementing controls, it sets a standard in which a
company must operate under. Whether that standard be safety or production, something must be
in place. Without a standard of control someone will fail; whether it be the business or the
consumer.
Bateman & Snell (2009) state But new technologies and other innovations make it
possible to achieve controls in more effective ways and to help all the people throughout the
company, and across company boundaries (including customers and suppliers), to use their
brains, learn, make a variety of new contributions, and help the organization change in ways that
forge a successful future. The military has adopted change in the way it does business by its
ever changing General Regulations guide in the Army, Marine Corps Orders and Navy
Regulations handbook, which constantly updates with the growing change that technology
brings.
These primary functions of a good manger planning, organizing, leading, and controlling
can make anyone better. Using these traits to advance your people and organization can further
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add growth and profit to any business, corporation, or career. Adhering to these basic traits a
manager can produce a better environment for any and everyone involved.











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References
Prince Jr, Lt. C. J. F. (2012). The Downfall of Adaptive Planning. Air & Space Power Journal.

Bateman, T. S., & Snell, S. A. (2009). Management: Leading & Collaborating in a Competitive
World (8th ed.). Retrieved from https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/content/eBookLibrary2