Management_Within_an_Organization

Management within an Organization MGT/330 December 8, 20111 David Pease Management within an Organization This dissertation will discuss how internal and external forces affect the four functions of management. It will examine the factors of globalization, technology, innovation, diversity, and ethics, and their ability to affect the four functions of management as well as a review of how managers at Walmart can use delegation to manage each factor effectively. This entire summary will show readers how to identify factors that may be harmful to his or her ability to manage and maintain a competitive advantage in the workplace. Internal and External Factors Many forces both internal and external affect the four function of management within an organization. Internal forces that affect the four functions may include an organizations technological capacity, culture, management systems, finances, or employee morale. Whereas external forces that affect the four functions are competition, economy, demographics, or technological changes. One external force that affects the planning function is the economy; it directly affects a manager’s ability to operate effectively, and influences his or her planned selections (Thomas S. Bateman, Scott A. Snell, 2009). Managers must review the organizations ability to service a specific market effectively, the level of interest of the consumer with the market, are there any pre-existing organizations in the same area, and their current sales (Thomas S. Bateman, Scott A. Snell, 2009). One internal example would be that of employee morale, if employees are discontent with his or her job situation, he or she may become unmotivated and unproductive. This makes the planning process harder and can add stress to upper management. The next function affect by external and internal forces is the organizing function. The external environment is and external force that affects the organizing processes of a company. The external environment is important to a manager’s ability to organizing and is capable of causing insecurities in managers. Managers endure agressive situations that change quickly and are sometimes extremly problematic, whereas some managers endure fairly steady situation. (Barnett, 2011). Aggressive situations can cause managers to stress and impair their ability to manage effectivley. One internal factor that affects the organizing function is the organizations size. Small organizations have a tendency to display fewer structural traits such as reinforcement, control, and complexity within its structure, which can make trouble for any managers (Barnett, 2011). The third management function affected by internal and external forces is the leading function. One internal force that affects a manager’s ability to lead is interpersonal relationships; managers must be able to control his or her relationships with other employees. According to Gregorio Billikopf from the University of California; “An effective supervisor needs to abstain from showing favoritism; make difficult, sometimes unpopular, decisions; show concern for subordinates without appearing to pry; and avoid misusing supervisorial power” (Billikopf, 2006, para. 2). An external force that affects the leading function is technology, more specifically the HRIS or human resources information systems. In many ways, the HRIS helps an organization deal with tedious tasks of data entry and payroll; however, it can affect the hiring process of each department within an organization. Insight Consulting Partners found that many process were repeated or redundant during the hiring process and even view the ability of the HRIS as “some really messy business processes” (Partners, 2010, p. 1). The final function that is affected by internal and external forces is the controlling function. The controlling function is affected internally by an organizations structure. The construction of an organization can affect the amount of employees who are employed, the degree of higher management, how well employees and managers communicate, and the responsibilities of each employee (Anya Baldwin, Demand Media, 2011).The bigger an organization is, the more challenging it becomes for a manager to control operations and employees. An external force that affects the controlling function is economy; it is difficult if not impossible for managers to control the affects the economy plays on both his or her organization as well as those of clients. Managers have the ability to present deals or advertisements, and publicize the company’s value, but when there are periods of economic deficiency clients may desire to purchase or buy resources in a different location (Anya Baldwin, Demand Media, 2011). Globalization and Diversity The importance of managers understanding globalization and diversity is increasing as organizations create strategies to expand outside the United States. Creating a global strategy requires one to manage effectively the process of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. As Walmart, plans to lower costs of goods by expanding sustainability and sourcing efforts outside the United States resulting in lower prices for consumers are factors that affect the four functions of management. As Walmart explored the opportunity of expanding their operations within China, they dedicated multiple resources to aid in the planning and organizing of such incitives to determine the impacts of their expansion on China economy (Otis, 2007). Incorporating diversity as part of a business plan is key to the success of others respecting and adapting the business plan of an organization. The ability to plan, organize, lead, and control enabled Walmart to expand and improve successfully the economy within China (Otis, 2007). Managers within Walmart are expected to increase the diversity of associates by giving every associate the opportunity to learn, grow, and advance (Walmart Corporate, 2011). Incorporating factors such as globalization and diversity within functions of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling are vital to the success of achieving organizational strategies. Technology and Innovation Technology and innovation are two factors that have a huge impact on an organizations ability to maintain a competitive advantage through management. The advancement of technology has transformed the way organizations are created and how business is done. Walmart looked into the use the RFID tags (Niemeyer, Pak, & Ramaswamy, 2003). This technology advancement would permit Walmart and suppliers the opportunity to communicate information on a light speed scale. One scan would alert the supplier that Walmart supply was low; Walmart can use this technology to see the location of tagged items instantly (Niemeyer, Pak, & Ramaswamy, 2003). The implementation of the RFID tags was first seen in the planning stage of management. The RFID was new so was the resources needed for this new goal. Although the planning stage will be first used, the following three will also have important activities that aid in completing the goal. Innovations can be creating a new good or service (Bateman & Snell, 2009). In the case of Walmart, it was identifying something’s wasteful and making a change (Goode, 2009). Walmart has been a leading organization today because of how successfully it has adapted to the forces. An example of how Walmart has been impacted by innovation and how the functions of management adapted is by becoming efficient in waste. Walmart managers noticed that products such as deodorant were sent in boxes that were thrown away (Goode, 2009). The boxes used to pack the product in were no more protecting the product than the can the product sold in (Goode, 2009). During the controlling function, managers became aware of waste and how eliminating this process could result in becoming more efficient. This external force inspired Walmart to be innovative by not creating a new product but to offer a new way of manufacturing goods efficiently. This innovative strategy along with many others has led Walmart in being one of the most efficient organizations today (Goode, 2009). Ethics The ability for associates to demonstrate ethical behavior is very important as it creates a positive image for consumers, investors, and potential customers of an organization. Ethics affects the four functions of management in many ways. The process of planning will allow associates to identify potential opportunities properly and how to resolve those opportunities in an ethical manner prior to feeling under (Bateman & Snell, 2009). Making ethical decisions is a factor that affects the function of management from a perspective of leading a high-performance team. An ethical leader will encourage his or her associates to make ethical decisions and will lead by example (Bateman & Snell, 2009). Managers within Walmart are expected to lead their group of associates to conduct business in an ethical manner (Loveless, 2011). One way leader’s of Walmart conduct business ethically is by denying gifts of any form from suppliers (Loveless, 2011). Leading associates to act ethically will reduce the perception that one is being given an advantage over another person. A manager who takes action by addressing allegations of unethical behavior is an example of one who is controlling his or her team (Bateman & Snell, 2009). Walmart enables managers within the organization to control associates by monitoring the performance of associates and enabling one the ability to address unethical behavior as a way of coaching for improvement (Walmart Corporate, 2011). Conducting business in an ethical manner is an important factor directly affecting the functions of management and should exist within every organization. Delegating Managers can use delegation to manage the different factors and functions when managing. The organizational design of Walmart is divided into a Walmart North, Walmart South, and so on to help divide the regions (Goode, 2009). Managers must delegate for goals to be met. One of the first steps in delegating should be defining the goal, selecting a person capable of performing the task, discuss the selected persons approaches to achieve the task, equip the person with authority to achieve the task, and have meetings to check progress. In each of the listed factors managers would consider each of the above steps in delegating before assigning the task service (Bateman & Snell, 2009). One important part of delegating is to delegate to the appropriate person. If delegating a task that deals with globalization or diversity it would not be beneficial for a manager to delegate a task in cultures outside of his or her knowledge. When assigning a person the task of researching RFID tags, managers would benefit delegating this task to someone who is well educated in technology. Many factors can affect a manager’s ability to manage effectively his or her organizations employees. Factors may include technology, diversity, innovation, ethics, or globalization. Many internal and external forces also affect a manager’s ability to manage and use the four functions of management in his or her day-to-day routines. Successful managers learn to delegation techniques to overcome problems that arise because of both factors and internal and external forces. Reference Anya Baldwin, Demand Media. (2011). Internal & External Factors That Affect an Organization. Retrieved December 4, 2011, from Internal & External Factors That Affect an Organization | Small ...: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/internal-external-factors-affect-organization-16641.html Barnett, T. (2011). ORGANIZING. Retrieved December 3, 2011, from Organizing – strategy, organization, levels, advantages, manager ...: http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Or-Pr/Organizing.html#b Bateman, T. S., & Snell, S. A. (2009). Management: Leading & Collaborating in a Competitive world. Retrieved from https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/content/eBookLibrary2/content/TOC.aspx'assetdataid=0dd00b95-d78d-40a8-bf5e-3f72f654d901&assetmetaid=f65d6fdb-d2b7-4710-8429-2e86eeb1129c Billikopf, G. (2006, August 11). Interacting With Employees. Retrieved December 04, 2011, from http://cnr.berkeley.edu/ucce50/ag-labor/7labor/12.htm Goode, A. (2009, January 1). Wal-Mart: A case study in innovation and change. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer'sid= -c087-4ba5-8312-5de5c53ed0ce%40sessionmgr12&vid=4&hid=15 Loveless, R. (2011, June 20). Walmart’s top ten building blocks for success. MMR, 28(9), 60-62. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx'direct=true&db=bth&AN=65093639&site=ehost-live Niemeyer, A., Pak, M. H., & Ramaswamy, S. E. (2003). Smart tags for your supply chain. Mckinsey Quarterly, (4), 6-9. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ehost/detail'sid=aa82a996-90b4-4e69-8c3d-07a6f9d1ff83%40sessionmgr4&vid=4&hid=14&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=bth&AN=11143695 Otis, E.M. (2007). Walmart in China. Bringing the cactory to the retail shopfloor. American Sociological Association, 1. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/lgin.aspx'direct=true&db=sih&AN=34595586&site=ehost-live Thomas S. Bateman, Scott A. Snell. (2009). Management: Leading and Collaborating in a Competitive World, Eighth Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Walmart Corporate. (2011). Global ethics office. Retrieved December 3, 2011, from http://walmartstores.com/AboutUs/280.aspx Walmart Corporate. (2011). Global office of diversity. Retrieved December 3, 2011, from http://walmartstores.com/Diversity/302.aspx