Management Functions - Case Study Example

? Case Study The fundamental management functional attributes have ever been observed to play a pivotal role for the organizations in terms of attaining their long-term business objectives. With reference to the theories of management functions, the report tends to recommend and highlight the importance of fundamental management related concepts that lead towards greater enhancement in the overall business performance of a particular organization. Case Study Management functions can be stated as a set of core and most essential elements for various organizations that not only enable them to achieve their desired business goals but also facilitate in building long-term sustainability in the competitive environment. The set of an effective management functions comprises four fundamental elements that include controlling, planning, organizing along with leading (Rutter, 2003). With reference to the major attributes of management functions, this paper intends to present a series of recommendations to Amanda Smith (Amanda) in response to the concerns identified from the case. Brief Overview of the Case Amanda Smith (Amanda) had started a new small sized accounting firm named “Smith's Accounting and Tax Service” after she got six years of experience through working in a renowned accounting firm. As the intention of Amanda is to conduct own business within the community, she opened her accounting firm by engaging one employee named Lisa. At the starting face of the business, Amanda has developed a mission statement along with a strategy for her business. The mission statement of Smith’s Accounting and Tax Service was to ensure the deliverance of adequate accounting and tax services to the small business owners within community. However, the organization has faced certain challenges due to its inappropriate management and control process. Owing to this context, it has been recognized that lack of planning can be considered as one of the major factors that led the firm to face different concerns related to its accounting services. The ineffective management of operational processes such as maintaining records of the tax returns for such a small accounting firm can also be viewed to generate greater risks. The issue concerning employment layoff has also been witnessed in the case due to certain errors in the accounting work prepared by the employees of the firm. Recommendations to Amanda in Response to the above identified Concerns In relation to the fundamental concept of management, there are basically four functions that ensure to provide adequate support to the organizations in efficiently obtaining their predetermined business targets. In this regard, an effective set of management functions comprise four major and most essential elements such as controlling, planning, organizing along with leading that supports the organizations to sustain in this competitive landscape (Morgeson, DeRue, & Karam, 2010). According to the case scenario, the inappropriate planning of conducting operational procedures along with incorrect setting of organizational goals have eventually contributed in creating problems for Amanda and her firm. In relation to the case of Amanda, inappropriate execution of the organizing functions including personnel management can be duly considered as the major aspect hindering to generate positive outcomes for her company by a certain degree. Moreover, it can be stated that the inadequate organizing process of the firm has further witnessed to prioritize the importance of recruitment, job design and descriptions along with delivering proper training to the staffs. It can also be apparently observed that lack of motivational skills has also negatively impact on the overall performance of Amanda and her firm at large. In this context, the leadership functions of Amanda could focus on making effective decisions which could enable the organization to develop its operational and managerial activities towards the accomplishment of organizational goals. Furthermore, with regard to the case of Amanda, the inadequate controlling of the accounting staffs regarding their deliverance of different accounting services and overlooking potential threats have further identified to generate challenging situations for Amanda. Importance of Management Functions With reference to the case scenario of “Smith's Accounting and Tax Service”, the inappropriate management process and insufficient controlling of different organizational activities had eventually led the organization to face multiple challenges. Therefore, it can be recommended that an effective integration of fundamental management principles within the organizational processes can support in delivering positive outcomes to the company of Amanda. The significance of four management functions has been discussed hereunder. Planning. The planning process can be duly considered as one of the fundamental and imperative steps for the organizations to sustain in the competitive market. The function significantly comprises different activities including development of organizational mission, vision, business targets along with appropriate framework to achieve desired business targets (Cengage Learning, n.d.). Organizing. The organizing process of a firm incorporates effective structuring of organizational design which helps the organizations to efficiently perform different business activities (Cengage Learning, n.d.). Leading. The leading process in the management function typically defines the procedure wherein the leaders are focused on making effective decisions resulting in developing the overall performance of the organizations (Cengage Learning, n.d.). Controlling. Controlling can be termed as one of the essential management functions which monitor and measure organizational achievements in accordance with the predefined organizational standards (Cengage Learning, n.d.). Recommendations to Amanda for Improving the Management of Her Small Business The incorporation of the aforesaid management functions can help Amanda to efficiently improve the management process of her firm i.e. “Smith's Accounting and Tax Service”. In this regard, Amanda should highly focus on developing effective plans aligning with different aspects of business. At the planning stage, the incorporation of making effective decisions and establishing greater communication can support Amanda to obtain her predetermined business goals. Amanda should also need to strengthen her organizing process in order to maintain adequate performance of each individual staff. In this context, deliverance of proper training to the staffs and appropriate utilization of the accessible organizational resources would enable Amanda to fulfill her predefined business objectives by a certain degree. Additionally, the compliance of an effective leadership approach would also enable and ensure Amanda to achieve positive outcomes from her small business. The leading competency of Amanda should incorporate adequate motivational and transformational skills and functions which can improve the performance of each individual employee. Furthermore, the incorporation of an effective controlling mechanism regarding the performance of the employees along with the quality of different accounting services provided to the customers would further enable Amanda to obtain positive outcomes from the business. In this context, the process of monitoring staffs’ performance regarding the deliverance of quality services to the clients would also enable the organization to maintain long-term sustainability in the respective business field. Evaluating Learning Outcomes in the Course by Applying Theories With regard to the case of Amanda, it has been viewed that Amanda had faced certain problems while performing different business activities. In this regard, it has been clearly witnessed that the inappropriate compliance of the management functions eventually led her to face different problems. Specially mentioning, the incorporation of fundamental management functions such as controlling, planning, organizing along with leading would not only assist Amanda to increase organizational productivity, but would also ensure in attaining superior competitive position in the respective business field (Somech, 2006). In relation to the case of Amanda, it can be affirmed that the incorporation of these management functional attributes can reinforce the accounting services rendered by her firm to the customers i.e. the small business owners resulting in creating positive outcomes for her company. Summary and Conclusion In relation to the aforesaid discussion of this study, it has been proactively determined that the fundamental management functions such as planning, organizing, leading and controlling are core functional aspects that can provide adequate support to Amanda in developing her business. In this regard, the controlling functions can play a decisive role in terms of formulating effective organizational standards and guidelines for generating positive outcomes from her small sized accounting firm. An effective controlling process incorporates different essential functions such as formulation of effective standards, guidelines along with managing and reviewing individual performance that helps in improving the conduct of business operations at large (Pride, Hughes, & Kapoor, 2010). Moreover, the importance of acquiring accurate information about the performance of each individual also ensures an organization to continuously develop its overall performance. It can be affirmed that this particular process would facilitate the management of organizations to strengthen its planning and controlling processes (Griffin, n.d.). Therefore, it can be stated from the above analysis that the incorporation of the fundamental management functions plays an imperative role for the organizations to determine their sustainability in the business environment. In relation to the case of Amanda, the incorporation of the aforesaid management functions would certainly enable her to efficiently deal with the challenges. References Cengage Learning. (n.d.). Introduction to management. Retrieved from http://www.cengage.com/management/discipline_content/mgmt_demo/0324656521_ch01.pdf Griffin, R. W. (n.d.). Fundamental of management. The United States of America: Cengage Learning. Morgeson, F. P., DeRue, D. S., & Karam, E. P. (2010). Leadership in teams: A functional approach to understanding leadership structures and processes. Journal of Management 36(1), 5-39. Pride, W. M., Hughes, R. J., & Kapoor, J. R. (2010). Business. The United States of America: Cengage Learning. Rutter, G. (2003). The basic of management (planning, organising, leading, controlling). David Kadalie on Leadership, 1-44. Somech, A. (2006). The effects of leadership style and team process on performance and innovation in functionally heterogeneous teams. Journal of Management 32(1), 132-157. Read More