Summary - Management Process

Organizational behavior (OB) is a field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on behavior within an organization, then applies that knowledge to make organizations work more effectively (Robbins, 2003). An affective and efficient manager should focus
on two key results. The first is task performance—the quality and quantity of the work produced or the services provided by the work unit as a whole. The second is job satisfaction—how people feel about their work and the work setting. management functions have been grouped into four categories: planning, organizing, leading and controlling.


Planning involves the process of defining goals, establishing strategies for achieving these goals, and developing plans to integrate and coordinate activities. Every organization needs to plan for change in order to reach its set goal. Effective planning enables an organization adapt to change by identifying opportunities and avoiding problems. It provides the direction for the other functions of management and for effective teamwork. Planning also enhances the decision-making process. All levels of management engage in planning in their own way for achieving their preset goals. 


Organizing involves designing, structuring, and coordinating the work components to achieve organizational goal. It is the process of determining
what tasks are to be done, who is to do, how the tasks are to be grouped, who reports to whom, and where decisions are to be made. A key issue in accomplishing the goals identified in the planning process is structuring the work of the organization. Organizations are groups of people, with ideas
and resources, working toward common goals. The purpose of the organizing function is to make the best use of the organization's resources to achieve organizational goals. Organizational structure is the formal decision-making
framework by which job tasks are divided, grouped, and coordinated.
Formalization is an important aspect of structure. It is the extent to which the units of the organization are explicitly defined and its policies, procedures, and goals are clearly stated. It is the official organizational structure conceived and built by top management. The formal organization can be seen and represented in chart form. An organization chart displays the organizational structure and shows job titles, lines of authority, and relationships between departments.


Leading involves team building, consensus building, selecting and training. An organization has the greatest chance of being successful when all of the employees work toward achieving its goals. Since leadership involves the exercise of influence by one person over others, the quality of leadership exhibited by supervisors is a critical determinant of organizational success. 


Controlling
involves monitoring the employees’ behavior and organizational processes and take necessary actions to improve them, if needed. Control is the process through which standards for performance of people and processes are set, communicated, and applied. Effective control systems use mechanisms to monitor activities and take corrective action, if necessary. According to Mintzberg (1973), managerial roles are: Informational roles, Decisional roles and Interpersonal roles. Katz (1974) has identified three essential management skills: technical, human, and conceptual. Luthans (1988) found that all managers engage in four managerial activities: (i) Traditional management— This activity consists of planning, decision making, and controlling, (ii) Communication—This activity consists of exchanging routine information and processing paperwork, (iii) Human resource management—this activity consists of motivating, disciplining, managing conflict, staffing, and training, and (iv) Networking—this activity involves socializing, politicking, and interacting with outsiders.