If you want to become a manager, then one of the common questions you might have is – What are the management activities I will be asked to carry out? Or what are the activities of managers in organizations? We answer both these questions in detail.
A manager wears many hats and does many activities at a time. Some managers have a team under them whereas others are more strategy and client focused. Whatever be your management level in an organization, there are overall 9 Management activities which you will have to do as a Manager. Let us go through these 9 Activities of Management.
#1 Planning
The first Activity which a manager has to do is to plan. If you have many things to manage, then it is better that first you sit down and chalk a plan so that if things go haywire, you are ready.
Managers are people everyone looks up to for directions. So an unplanned manager is a disaster for the company. Planning has to be done keeping the future in mind and it is one of the important management activities.
#2 Delegating
Once a plan is ready, then it is not the manager who has to implement the plans, but his subordinates are the ones responsible to implement the plan. However, if the task has not been delegated then the work will fail. So a manager who does not delegate effectively, Is poor in his management activities.
Many times, employees complain that they were unaware of the tasks they had to do because they were not communicated by the manager. Thus, to delegate those tasks and to empower employees is the responsibility of the management.
#3 Training
One of the most common management activities in any organization is to train employees. New employees are always made to go through rigorous training exercises. These training exercises are done not only to improve employee capabilities but also to bring the employee in sync with the companies vision and mission and work culture.
If a manager wants to delegate work to employees, then he should take out time to train the employees as well. This will ensure that the employees know what is expected of them and will work accordingly.
#4 Motivating
Business is very dynamic in nature and becomes hectic and stressful. At such times, employees might lose their motivation. It is the job of the manager to judge this and thereby spend time in motivating the employees.
There are multiple means of motivation in the hands of a manager which includes the 3 R’s – Remuneration, recognition, and respect. Using these methods and several other tactics, management can keep their employees motivated which is one of the major management activities, especially in larger organizations.
#5 Organizing
Organizing is a very qualitative process more than quantitative. The best organizer is one who is able to multi-task. Take an Event Planner or an Orchestra manager as an example. Both these people are managing multiple things at a time. And all the things run in an organized manner.
Thus, after planning and delegating, organizing becomes one of the crucial management activities for any management of any firm.
#6 Managing Operations
In the consumer durables and FMCG market, operations can run at a massive scale. At one end production is happening, at another end sale, and the third end is taken by finance and collections. Running such huge operations requires a manager who is sound in operational activities.
In operations, you need to understand the whole process and ensure that the process is running in a standard manner. One of the management activities is to form standard operating procedures which can help the organization in scaling up.
#7 Managing Change
One of the toughest things to handle is to change. Every person and employee gets comfortable in his or her comfort zone. And that is dangerous for an organization. Any growth that comes within an organization comes through change.
When an employee leaves a team, then change happens. If a new product or process is introduced, change happens. One of the management activities is to manage the change and get the employees on board with the change.
I know of an organization where they introduced a new online cash reimbursement system. Each employee complained that the system will take useless time and won’t work for them. However, after 2-3 months of adapting, people stopped working manually for their reimbursements and just submitted the requests online. The cash was reimbursed automatically without any hassle. Thus, such a change has to be managed by managers.
#8 Taking Responsibility
You can take tough decisions and ensure proper implementation only if you assume responsibility for your actions. If a team overperforms or underperforms, it is to the credit of the managers of the team. Off course, it is the work of the managers to pass on the credit where due.
But bottom-line is – A manager who takes responsibility is one who is proactive and will get the work done faster and in a better manner as compared to managers who are reactive and irresponsible.
#9 Evaluating
Employee appraisals, growth, retention is all in the hands of the manager. Through proper appraisals, managers can keep their staff motivated. Furthermore, communications regarding the future of the organization and the role of employees in that organization will also help the employee evaluate themselves. Thus, evaluation is one of the main management activities of an organization.
The above were all the activities done by management and a guide to all future managers of the activities you will have to do when you manage a team or are a manager in an organization. Hope the article helped you realize the managerial activities.
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