Management Roles

● Managers are responsible for getting the work to be done mostly by other people
● They can use threats to motivate their employees
○ Though this doesn’t always work
● They have to determine the best ways to work with their employees
● Management Role - Common set of activities that makes up an important part of a
manager’s job
● Managers need to be good communicators
○ Need to make sure that important information is gathered and shared with those
who need it
○ They communicate with people both inside and outside the organization
● They are relationship builders
○ They represent the company
○ Develop a positive environment within the organization
○ Interact with other teams and managers
● Decision Makers
○ Look for areas that could be improve
○ Determine best ways to allocate resources
○ Take corrective action and recognize success

Getting Work Done

● Resources of an organization include people, money, facilities, equipment, and materials
● Employees are most important research
● Managers use the management functions when getting work done
○ Planning: managers determine the number of employees needed to complete a
task
○ Organizing: managers divide employees into work teams based on the types of
tasks they are completing
○ Leading: managers lead staff in the implementation of plans
○ Controlling: managers monitor the work of employees

Principles of Effective Management

● As businesses change, what it takes to be an effective manager changes as well
● Management Principles: the fundamental guidelines for the decisions and actions of
managers
● 6 examples of effective management practices
○ Demonstrate commitment to the continued success of the organization
○ Take responsibility for developing and implementing plans to achieve goals
○ Identify the resources the organization needs
○ Organize and coordinate the work of the organization
○ Recognize the importance of employees an balance employee needs
○ Monitor activities and results to identify ways the organization can be improve
The Supervisor’s Job
● Work directly with non management employees
● Make sure work is assigned to the area of responsibility
● Subordinate - any individual who is subject to the authority and control of another
person
● Must command respect
● Success is determined by three factors:
○ The quality of work of the supervised employees
○ The efficient use of company’s resources
○ Satisfaction of the supervisor’s employees
● Responsibilities
○ Divide time between management work and other work
○ Responsible for fulfilling plans developed by company’s executives
○ Lead and motivate employees
○ Assign work to employees
● Communicate The Goals and Directions Of Management To Employees
○ Must be able to communicate effectively with employees
○ Good supervisors can show employees the importance of the company goals
○ Help employees see how they can accomplish their own goals by helping the
company succeed
● Explain Employee Concerns And The Ideas To Management
○ Supervisors must take time to talk with the people they supervise in order to
learn about their concerns and ideas
○ They must communicate what they learn to management and follow up to find
out what actions were taken
○ Employees like to work for supervisors who are concerned about them, they will
work harder for a company that is concerned about them, involves employees in
planning and decision making, and takes their ideas and suggestions seriously
● Evaluate And Improve Employee Performance
○ Need to be sure employees are as effective as possible
○ Regularly conduct performance reviews
○ Performance Review - Procedure used to evaluate the work and
accomplishment of an employee and provide feedback and performance
■ Can reveal employees strengths and weaknesses
○ Must be positive and objective when it comes to evaluations
○ Discuss evaluations with employees in ways that contribute to effective
understanding
○ Provide help for employees who aren’t performing well and rewards for
employees who are
○ Required to discipline employees when a serious problem occurs
● Encourage Employees To Do Their Best Work
○ How employees feel about their job affects their performance
 ○ Supervisors can help to create a comfortable atmosphere in which employees
can enjoy their work
● Use Resources Efficiently
○ Control costs of business
○ Good supervisors look for ways to operate and use resources more effectively
○ Seek advice from the employees
○ Make suggestions to managers how processes can be improved and costs can
be cut

Managing Day-to-Day Activities

● Supervisors must be able to complete their own work as well as manage the work of the
employees for whom they are responsible
● Several management functions are important for a day-to-day basis
● SCHEDULING WORK
○ Supervisors complete daily planning through the use of work schedules
○ Work Schedules: documents that identify the tasks to be done, employees
assigned to the work, and the time frame for completion of the task
○ Supervisors will have to decide what days of the week employees will work and
which tasks they will complete
○ Time Management: managing work schedules to achieve maximum productivity
● COMMUNICATING WITH EMPLOYEES
○ Supervisors communicate everyday with their employees
○ Some communications are with individual employees, while others are with the
entire work group
○ Electronic communications such as emails and text messaging are most
frequently used
○ Supervisors must plan the content of their communications and determine the
best method, place, and time to communicate information
● CONTROLLING QUALITY
○ Quality Control: the process of making sure work meets acceptable standards
○ Supervisors can reduce problems by planning work carefully, developing quality
standards, and regularly checking the quality of work being produced
○ Supervisors can help employees recognize the importance of quality work, so the
employees will take responsibility for reducing errors and directly helping to
control costs

Improving Supervisory Skills

● Supervisor’s should spend time working with their employees to help with improving their
work
● They shouldn’t take over their employees work
● Must rely on employees to complete tasks so they can focus on management activities
● Work Coach - Experienced manager who meets regularly with a new manager to
provide feedback and advice
● Supervisors should learn how to have the skills through classes and watching others
Using Management Information
● Management Information Systems - Computer-based system that stores, organizes,
and provides information about a business
● Every company needs a system
○ Computerized system can help managers
● What-if Analysis - Systematic way to explore the consequences of specific choices
using computer software
● Computer analysis will provide needed information to determine whether the purchase
would be cost-effective
● Managers use information systems to reduce amount of time spent on controlling
activities
● Should be involved only when activities are not occurring
● Business Research
○ Must make decisions with enough information to make a good decision
○ Marketing research and product development research are two common ways to
study
○ Human Resource Studies are conducted on topics like supply and demand of
labor
○ Managers need to research economic factors
○ Helps executives make decisions

Decision Making
● Decisions need to be made as carefully as possible for businesses
● Problems and Decision Making
○ Problem - Difficult situations requiring a solution
○ Managers should follow a systematic approach to solving problems
● Steps In Problem Solving
○ There are seven steps in problem solving
■ Identify the problem
■ Gather relevant information or data
■ Determine alternative course of action
■ Evaluate each alternative
■ Decide best possible alternative
■ Implement alternative chosen
■ Evaluate the decision over time, making changes down the road
○ Identify the Problem
■ Managers must be careful to not identify a symptom as a problem
■ Symptom - Sign or indication of something that appears to be the
problem
■ Symptoms can’t be changed unless the problem is identified
○ Gather Relevant Information
■ Once a problem has been identified then the manager will ask a series of
questions to gather data about the symptoms
 ■ Manager can use symptoms to help determine what type of information
needs to be gathered to isolate the problem
■ Sometime managers are unaware problems exist until its too late
■ When evidence appears it suggests a problem
○ Determine Alternative Course of Action
■ Once they identified the problem managers should begin to list all
possible solutions
■ Should identify more than one solution
■ Should also identify at least two alternatives
■ Managers should review solutions that have been used in the past
○ Evaluate Each Alternative
■ The next step in to analyze the solutions which can be done by
comparing solutions and then reducing the number of solutions to the
best two or three
■ Mangers should examine the strengths and weaknesses of each solution
on its own
■ Managers need to compare solutions by how effectively they will solve
the problem
■ For important decisions, managers may want to conduct an experiment to
test one or more solutions
○ Select an Optimal Solution
■ After careful consideration managers should make a decision and put it
into action
○ Implement the Decision
■ Must determine the best way to implement the solution
■ Managers need to prepare work schedules and communicate with
employees
○ Evaluate the Decision and Make Changes
■ Managers need to determine whether the selected solution was effective
■ The solution may cause additional unintended problems that require
changes in processes
■ Measuring the results over time to evaluate the decisions and
implementation and determine if changes are needed
● Contingency Planning
○ Managers do not wait for prob;ems to occur, instead, they anticipate problems
and work in advance to develop contingency plans
○ Contingency plan: an alternative course of action to be followed if a specific
problem arises
○ Similar to problem solving
○ Just like problem solving several alternative solutions should be found
○ Development of contingency plans require time and money