What do managers do?

In the following essay, I am going to describe and critically discuss my views about what attributes, skills and what managers actually do, in relation to established management literatures. What is management? Some people say that management is getting the job done through others(Dessler, 1985), but I say that management is just another word for leadership, and leadership is inspiring others into taking action through own example.

Some people see management as a modern concept, where others see it as an old profession, first practiced by the owners of slaves, forcing them into building their pyramids and fulfilling all their daily needs. But what does a manager actually do? There are certain basic functions all managers perform. These are planning, organizing, staffing, leading and controlling. In total, they represent what is often called the management process. All managers-whether they are supervisors at IBM, city managers, school principals, or bank managers-carry out the following five basic functions. (Dessler, 1985). Of course these are the basic functions a manager must be able to carry out, but there are several other abilities one must obtain in order to become a successful manager, such as critical and fast thinking, spontaneity, good time management skills, and most of all, good instincts. The manager is the glue that holds the whole enterprise together.

Management has evolved over the years, becoming an art, and as any art, it can be looked at in many different ways. Machiavelli(1496-1512) believed that one of his greatest strengths was to bind people into joining his cause. It is one thing to capture a country by force of arms but quite another to rule it as a settled state(Greener, 2010).

Coming up to more recent times, the next memorable person to consider is F W Taylor(1856 1915). He was the first to consciously try to make management a scientific art form. He did that through An emphasis on productivity. He observed what the best workers did and how they did it and then tried to roll this process out to all other workers in the factory(Greener, 2010).

In conclusion, the short essay above helps you better understand what a manager does and how different managers have different ideas and concepts, turning management into an art. This art requires a certain set of skills which only the people who have the potential to become managers possess.

References: -Gary Dessler(1985), Management Fundamentals, Florida International University -Tony Greener(2010), Understanding organizations-what do managers do?, Ventus Publishing Aps

Viorel Daniel Holerga, Student Number 110320731