PRINCIPLES
AND PRACTICES OF MANAGEMENT
Planning
is the act of looking ahead and finding out the courses of action to be
followed in future. It determines when, how and how will do a particular task.
It is associated with some ideas such as
preparation or examining the future which means planning is all about the
forecast of course of action for the future which requires a construction of
the operating procedures of the programs. According to Henri, Fayol planning
should be flexible, current, relevant and accurate because it brings together
the organization by concentrating on the nature, objectives, and requirements
of the business both short and long-term predictions of the industry.
For
a manager to plan effectively, they should have skills in handling people, have
significant energy and a high capacity of moral courage, have perpetual
incumbency. They should be competent with specialized requirements of the
central business, possess general experience in the enterprise and should be
able to generate creative and innovative ideas. Poor planning and decision
making can negatively affect the body. Situations can also fail, and the best
plan becomes useless. Therefore, managers should be very keen while making
decisions and implementing the program.
Planning
is a primary tool in the organizational process because it assists employees to
focus on the set objectives and the goals of the organization. Without a plan
people can lose focus but when provided and it is clearly stated it assist the
staff to concentrate on achieving the set goals and objectives of the business.
These assist the organization in meeting their needs and remain competitive.
Organization will be able to take proactive measures and be innovative and
creative. Planning is all about forecasting thus organization will be able to
curb for uncertainty and the risks which cannot be predicted avoided. It gives
the organization an active and meaningful guide to the activities being
undertaken by the employees for accomplishing the business strategy. It is because with planning there is clear role
definition that will assist reducing conflicting responsibilities. It also
matches all the managerial activities thus relating the external changes with
internal processes. All these forms a base for meaningful decision making thus
provides the best alternative to the future course of action.
PLANNING
EFFECTIVELY
Planning
is a continuous process that is very
complex, and managers are required to plan effectively by first understanding
the environment that is continuously changing. For managers to plan effectively strategies on
innovation, research and development costs are vital. It helps the organization come up with new products which makes it to stay relevant in the
market and thus they will succeed. Strategic planning will help the organization
to remain in the right direction. Research and development evaluation is
critical because it assists the company to minimize risks and uncertainty. For effective planning research, development
and innovation cost is necessary to support innovative initiatives being run in
the organization. They should analyze and come up with strategies which involve
many steps. It reduces the gap between the current position and the future
state of an organization and thus making things possible.
Managers
can plan effectively by following these steps; Identifying objectives: managers need to set goals and objectives
for the whole group and the various functional units of the organization.
Objectives must specify the activities to be done, as well as the expected outcomes.
Focus should be on the outcome to be expected, and objectives determine both
long-term and short-term goals that must be achieved.
Developing the premises for
planning: premises as
assumptions about the environment where the program will be implemented. The
environment is dynamic, and it’s continuously changing thus calling for
planning the facilities. It involves both internal and external environments.
Internal factors are controllable and may include the policy of capital
investment, management and labor relations and theories of management. External
factors are non-controllable and may include political, social, cultural and
economic factors.
Establishing choices:
when setting the objectives, various options should be identified. This is to
assist in choosing the best alternative which is not always apparent. The planner is supposed to select the best
suitable alternative which is a hard task. Forth is, evaluating the alternatives: each alternative should be analyzed to
determine how it will best contribute to meeting the organizational goals and
objectives. Their weakness and strengths should be compared. Selecting
the best alternative: After evaluating the different options the best is
selected, the manager is responsible for deciding which option to choose. They
are supposed to choose more than one because the planning premise may not
exactly suit the current situation of the firm, they should also ready always
with the option the best suits a different situation.
The
next step is, establishing a detailed
plan. These plans are the one that will assist in achieving its desired
outcome because they contain all the activities to be carried out in the
various functional units of the firm.
They include policies, budget, rules and regulations, standard operating
procedures and programs. Lastly, appraisal
plan is developed that is used to make follow up. When the plan is
implemented, it should be appraised to determine its effectiveness. In the case
of any mistakes, corrective measures are taken so as to avoid deviating from
the course of action.
In conclusion, for managers to plan
effectively they consider the different situations because the organization is
influenced by dynamic environment. It is characterized by uncertainty and
manager should have contingency plans to assist in such situations.
Contingencies are unavoidable, but the level of damage can be reduced if
designed effectively before time. It calls for creativity and innovation
skills.
ASSESSING EXTERNAL
ENVIRONMENT: FIVE PORTER’S FORCES.
Dynamic
environment is the one that is continuously changing and impacts due to varies
influences. For managers to effectively formulate strategies they must do
environmental scanning. It will help them to understand the realities in the
business environment. Analysis of external environment helps to identify the
potential threats and opportunities outside the organization threats hidden in
the environment and assist in learning about the events and trends in the
environment and predict the future position for those factors of the
environment. External environment consists of factors that are outside the
enterprise and they not within the control of the management at a short-term.
The five porter’s forces is one of the techniques
used in assessing the external environment that affects the business whether
new or existing. Michael E. Porter says, five factors help to determine whether
a company is making profits or not based on other competitors in the market.
These forces are;
Competitive
rivalry: it examines the competition that is existing
currently in the industry and is determined by the total number of competitors
that exist in the market and what they are capable of doing. The rivalry of
completion is high when there are few businesses in the same market but in a
growing industry, customers can go to the competitor’s products and services
that have low prices. When there is high rivalry competition, advertising and
price competition occurs, but it cannot affect the business negatively.
Bargaining power of suppliers:
this analyzes how much power and control do the supplier has with the potential
of raising prices. This lowers the profitability of the business. It also
determines the number of existing suppliers, when they are few they have more
power. The sources of energy include switching cost of firms, availability of
substitute and cost of supply about the substitutes. Bargaining power of the customers: the forces examine the power of
the consumers to affect the prices of products and their quality.
The threat of new entrants:
this analyzes the chances of a new competitor of joining the industry. When
barrier of entry is less, it makes it easy for a new competitor to enter the
market its increases the risk of share market depletion of business. Barriers
to entry and exit are frequently applied, and they include ultimate cost
advantage, access to inputs, economies of scale and brand recognition. The threat of substitutes: this
determines how easy it is for consumers to change from a business product or
service to that of the competitor. It compares the number of existing
competitors, their prices, the profits, and quality to that of the business being
examined. They are informed by switching costs and buyer biases to change, and
this determines their ability to lower the prices.
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
This
is a superiority possessed by an organization when it can provide the same
values products or services as the competitor but at a lower price or high
prices because they offer high quality through product differentiation. There
are three types are; Cost competitive
advantages: this is when an organization can utilize its skilled personnel,
cheap raw materials, controlled costs, and efficient operations to offer real
value to the consumer. Companies can use this to achieve their success by
providing large selection and low to the retailer’s strengths and size. They
can cut their prizes in the following ways product which involves continually
improving the product as there is field advancement design, re-engineering that
is redesigning and improving the product and creating new delivery methods for
goods and services .
Product/service differentiation:
for a company to attain competitive advantage their goods or services should be
valuable and unique. It will help them win customer loyalty, and product
differentiation will be achieved. Cost
advantages that easily vanish when there are new competitors in the industry.
If the company’s services/products are unique, it is difficult to maintain an
edge based on prices only in the market. Theses are achieved by having
respected brand names this will bring product reliability. The company is
supposed to be creative and innovative so as to meet customer needs and to
adapt to changes in technology with time and this will make them attain
competitive advantage.
Niches/focus:
in this case, the business aims at differentiating a particular target of the
market sections. Business can offer
customer needs of the small section that are different from those offered by
the competitor who offers to a larger part of the consumers. Such companies
produce customized products for the small part of the market. They become successful
when the quantities are required small or when the extent of differentiation
required is beyond capabilities of the industry. It tries to meet the varying
customers’ needs and wants thus satisfying them.
ORGANIZATIONAL
STRUCTURE
DIAGRAM
OF FLAT ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE
This
is how the group is organized, and it gives members explicit directions on how
to go ahead, bring and unifies them together, and it’s usually inevitable. To
change the structure of the organization, current ways of doing things needs to
be examined, discuss the structural change with stakeholders and learn and
explore the organizational structure for bringing change. For Natural life Sdn
Bhd Company a flat structure is suitable for the organization.
Advantages
of the flat structure include; staff are involved and allowed to take on more
responsibility, communication is high and significant and increased teamwork
and unity. There is also less
bureaucracy and comfortable decision making as well as low cost of maintenance.
Disadvantages of this structure are that it is only limited to small
organizations, decisions can get stuck as a result of consulting with many
staff members, and it is very expensive to implement.
LEADERSHIP STYLES.
Authoritarian
leadership: the primary emphasis is on
distinguishing between the leader and the employees. It is being used by Mr.
Ganeson the CEO of Agri-Malaysia agricultural company. Laissez-faire
leadership: all the rights and power to make the decision is given to the
employer and this is being used by En.nordin raze, the software company.
Paternalistic leadership: the leader acts as father and shows concern for its
employees. It is being used by Mr. Lee chairman of the Office manufacturer of
inkjet.
Pros
of authoritarian leadership are that it allows quick decision-making and
provides motivation and satisfaction to leaders who dictates the employees. It
also yields better profits when high speed is required. Cons of authoritarian
leadership are, frustration, demoralization, and conflict among employees and
staff tend to goldbrick responsibilities and initiatives. Pros of laisser-faire
leadership are that it gives job satisfaction and encouragement to
employees.Employees are given a chance to take action and development of
workers in all the areas. Cons include; no leadership at all, no one provides guidance and support to
staff, and chances of problems and conflicts are high especially when employs
move in different directions.
Pros
of paternalistic leadership are; Providing feedback that is used to generate
morale decreased absenteeism of employees.Employees interest are considered
when they are given the chance to make decisions and are rewarded when well
behaved.Cons are; when there is no constant connection to management employees
becomes less motivated, if wrong decisions are made staff will not be
satisfied, increased supervision of workers is required due to overdependence
and times the leader might spank the staff leading due problems due to employee
rights and legislation.
Bibliography
Fayol, Henri. General
Principles of Management. Anderson, S.C.: Tutor/Tapes, 1976.
Porter, Michael E. The
Competitive Advantage of Nations. New York: Free Press, 1990.
Hays, Forbes B.
Community Leadership; The Regional Plan Association of New York. New York:
Columbia University Press, 1965.
Kotler, Philip. Marketing Management: Analysis,
Planning, and Control. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1980. Bibliography
Mouzelis,
Nicos P. Organisation and Bureaucracy; An Analysis of Modern Theories.
Chicago: Aldine Pub. Co, 1968.
Robbins,
Stephen P., and Mary K. Coulter. Management. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005.
Roundtable
Productions. Styles of Leadership. Beverly Hills, Calif: Roundtable
Films, 1980.
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