Middle Management
Table of Contents Executive Summary ii Introduction 1 Purpose and Scope 1 Assumption 1 Management Overview 1 Today’s Manager 1 Management Levels 2 Manager Titles 3 Managers Roles 3 Manager’s Skills 4 Managers: Planning 4 Planning Process 4 Objectives and Action Plans 5 Problem Solving 5 Managers: Organizing 6 Organizing Process 6 Power and Authority 7 Delegating 7 Communication 8 Managing Stress 9 Managers: Directing 9 Teambuilding 9 Selecting 10 Training 10 Leading 11 Motivation 12 Counseling 13 Managers: Controlling 13 Controlling Process 13 Discipline 13 Terminating 14 Conclusion and Recommendations 16 References 17 List of Illustrations Figure 1 2 Chart 1 15 Middle Management Overall Plan of Operations Executive Summary To implement an overall plan of operations, the ABC Company should train the middle managers to accomplish the goals of the firm. ... The middle managers skills and responsibilities are important to reach these goals. Because one of a firms goals is to seek profit maximization, it’s reasonable to think that the firms employees; from top management to labor workers would want to achieve this goal. There are several reasons the sales projected was not reached, but the main reason was poor management. To increase overall production, the middle management needs to know how important their positions are. They also need to understand the four functions as a middle manager (Nickels & McHugh, 1999, pp. ... However, the firms’ middle management suffers from lack of knowledge of the skills and responsibilities required to be the best manager for the firm. ... Purpose and Scope The purpose of this report is to recommend an overall plan of operations with the middle managers as our main target of discussion. In this report I will focus on the four functions of middle management: planning, organizing, directing, and controlling. ... Management: Overview Today’s Manager Today, business and management continue to be transformed by high technology (Norton, 1999). ... Management Levels The extent to which managers perform the functions of management: planning, organizing, directing, and controlling, varies by level in the management hierarchy. The term supervisor could be applied at all management levels of the organization to those who direct the work of others. However, the title tends to be used only in the first level of middle management. ... They are the only level of management managing non-managers. Most of the middle managers (line) time is allocated to the functions of directing and controlling. ... Top management is accountable for the overall management of the organization. Middle management (staff) implements top management goals. Middle managers (line) direct the actual work of the organization at the operating level. Line managers are the level of management linking the operations of each department to the rest of the organization. Figure 1 Managers Titles: Here are a few management titles and there descriptions that need to be recognized. ... The performance of managerial roles and the requirements of these roles can be played at different times by the same manager and to different degrees depending on the level and function of management. Manager’s Skills In order to perform the functions of management and to assume multiple roles, managers must be skilled. Three managerial skills that are essential to successful management are technical, human, and conceptual (Nickels & McHugh, 1999). ... All levels of management need human skills in order to interact and communicate with other people successfully. ... It sets the direction for the other functions of management and for teamwork. ... All levels of management engage in planning. Top management carries out strategic planning (Van Fleet & Peterson, 1999. ... Staff management needs detailed reports in order to develop tactical plans. ... Short-term goals are aligned with the long-term goals of top management and can be achieved within one year. ... Day-to-day situations involving management decisions include employee morale, the allocation of effort, the materials used on the job, and the coordination of schedules and wok areas. ... Therefore, it is difficult for middle managers to make good decision without planning. ... The organization carries information from within the department back up to top management. Management furnishes information about how things are going, notifies the manager of what the problems are, and provides requests for clarification and help. ... The key point in differentiating between leadership and management is the idea that employees willingly follow leaders because they want to, not because they have to. ... If the middle managers are properly trained, in their field of study, then the problems facing the ABC Company will if not cease then minimize. The four functions involved in middle management (planning, organizing, directing, and controlling) are an important part of the managers’ duties. ... Evaluate current middle management. Evaluating current middle management, to see if a possibility of training is necessary, is in the best interest of the ABC Company. ... Hiring more middle managers. As for hiring more middle managers, my suggestion would be to seek internal possibilities first. ... Human resource management (7th ed. ... Business communication, management, and success. ... Small business management:An entrepreneur’s guide to success (2nd ed. ... Contemporary management (3rd ed.