‘Critically discuss the factors that make a manager effective in his or her job.

What is management? What do effective managers do? Why are managers so important to an
organisation? These are some of the questions that draw attention to the key stakeholders, for
example: managers, shareholders, employees, researchers etc. In this assignment I will
discuss what really makes a manager effective in his / her role and what are the differences
between an effective and an ineffective manager.

A simple definition of management is “the

activity of using resources in an efficient and
effective ways so that the end product is worth
more than the initial resources”. (Mike Smith, 2007). This definition clearly defines that the
outputs should be greater value than the inputs. However, this definition is too broad as it
includes anything and everyone; therefore it needs to be more specific to management of
businesses. The definition of ‘effective’ in a dictionary is: “adequate to accomplish a
purpose”. Just about anyone can learn the basics to management but only certain people have
the skills and knowledge that makes them an effective manager.

Mary Parker Follett (1941) described management as: “Getting things done by other people”.
To finalise management can be described as: “the activity of getting other people to
transform resources so that the results add value to the organisation in terms of reaching its
organisational goals” (Mike Smith, 2007).

An example of an effective manager can be F.W. Taylor who is considered as the father of
scientific management. He was seen as an effective manager because he went beyond just
managing employees. He carried out experiments on staff to see how efficiently they are
working, and he found solutions on how they could increase productivity, while working the
same number of hours.

Henry Fayol was an important classical theorist, who identified some of the main processes
of management. These processes have been amended over the years and are now seen as:
• Planning ● Organising
• Staffing ● Deciding
• Controlling ● Reporting & Communication
• Budgeting

Planning: An effective manager needs to look at the long-term view of the business, though
it is likely that the higher the manager, the further he/she may have to look. Effective
managers will have to review the set targets to see if they are suitable for the future success.
There are several methods of strategic planning; the two most common methods are SWOT
analysis and PESTEL analysis. These methods can be used to identify businesses’
competitive advantages / disadvantages. SWOT Analysis covers four main factors: Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (Refer to Appendix 1). PESTEL Analysis covers six
main factors: Political, Economical, Sociological, Technological, Environmental and Legal.

Currently most managers need to plan on how to overcome the financial crisis and inflation,
and an effective manager would use cost leadership strategies to ensure that customers aren’t
lost to competitors. Planning was very difficult, but today with the help of a team of planners
and advanced software that makes planning process easier and efficient.
Organising: This process decides; who will perform the tasks, the resources that will be used
and the way the tasks will be managed and directed (Mike Smith, 2007). Organising is not
directly concerned with meeting goals but concerned with how things need to be organised so
tasks can efficiently carried out to meets these goals. Organising allocates tasks to people and
help co-ordinate them. It concerns resources and other people. (Mike Smith, 2007). An
example of poor organising process was Pilkingtons, who were shut down by strike action
due to division in hierarchical structure. This was later resolved by implementing changes to
the organisational structure.

Staffing: One of the most important roles of managers is to recruit and select candidates that
are most suitable for a job. Process of staffing has four stages:
1) Producing job descriptions 3) Attracting a field of candidates
2) Producing personal specifications 4) Choosing among candidates.
Due to global recession currently managers in many businesses face important decisions on
making many staff redundant and deciding on keeping some staff. An effective manager will
make a moral decision along with ensuring the survival of the business.

Deciding: Effective managers will never have enough time, money, staff and/or other
resources to meet their demanding goals. Therefore they need to make decisions on the
limited available resources they have. They need to be able to detect problems, diagnose them
and evaluate decisions. Good managers will evaluate their business and make decision on
whether they should expand or not. For example Elmwood Fine Teas who expanded from
retail to wholesale and publishing books.

Controlling: This is seen as the final process of management and if there is no control, there
will be no end result. “Control ensures that the right things are done at the right time and in
the right way.” (Mike Smith, 2007). Control process measures and corrects errors so that
targets can be met as desired. Effective managers are ones that can detect faults and make
quick decisions so company’s reputation is not lost.

Reporting & Communication: Everyone needs some kind of information to do their jobs,
either from one department/ person to another. Managers tend to spend most of their time
communicating. Mintzberg (1973) estimated that managers spend 59% of their time
scheduling meeting, 10% in informal meetings and 6% telephoning. So according to his
estimate 75% of managers’ time is spent on communication. However, Mintzberg theories
can be considered as out-of-date because his research does not show modern methods of
communication, such as uses of computers which help managers get things done faster.

Budgeting: Good managers will always carefully budget the resources being used by the
organisation, so the resources are not wasted. Budgeting is described as: “A single-use,
numerical and time limited plan that commits resources to a project or activity.” Mike Smith
(2007). Budgeting helps plan for future actions, they always involve numbers, they are fixed
time-interval and they commit resources to specific projects.
It is really important that managers are competent. “Boyatzis in his book ‘The Competent
Manager’ (1982) defined managerial competences as characteristics that differentiate
superior from average and poor managerial performance.” (Lipshitz, R et al, 1992).
Effective managers will have to be innovative and be efficient in setting targets that are
challenging but realistic. An ineffective manager will wait and see how things turn out,
whereas an effective manager will be proactive and take actions to accomplish tasks.
Managers need to be a role model and an effective manager will take interest in influencing
others, and motivate others to perform better. Ineffective managers are ones that lack self-
confidence and use very little oral presentations.

According to Luthans (1990), successful managers use more networking and more
communications, and less associated with human resource management. However, he also
reported that effective managers are more correlated with human resource management and
less with traditional management. Luthans believed that only 10% of managers are both
effective and successful, who show a complete balance with managerial activities.

Managers need to be strong leaders so they can manage a group of people or a number of
departments. Managers can not be arrogant when making decisions, even if they believe they
have a better idea, they must consult with their employees. This makes them good mangers as
it shows employees that they are contributing towards the success of the department and thus
the overall company.

Just about anyone can have basic managerial skills, but effective managers have the extra
charisma to lead staff. They have to be strategic thinkers so they are planning not only for the
short-term but also for the long-term. These are just some of the key factors that make
managers effective in his or her job.

Currently all managers are making critical decisions on how to overcome the financial crisis,
inflation and ride out the economic storm. Ineffective managers will wait to see how the
government resolves the crisis, this is poor management that could result in business failure.
More research is needed on how managers are currently dealing with the recession and how
managers have dealt with bank crisis, especially those who have been affected.

References
Smith, M (2007) Fundamentals of Management, New York, McGraw Hill
Follett, M.P. (1941) Collected Works, New York: Harper & Row
Lipshitz, R and B. Nevo (1992), “Who is a "Good Manager"?”, Leadership & Organization
Development Journal, Vol. 13 [6], 3-7
Mintzberg, H.H. (1973) The Nature of Managerial Work, New York: Harper & Row.
Shubert, David. ‘What makes a "good manager"?’. 20th April 2006
(http://www.articlealley.com/article_45876_36.html)
Blair, Gerard M. ‘What makes a great manager’
(http://www.see.ed.ac.uk/~gerard/Management/art9.html)
Luthans, F. (1990), "Successful vs. Effective Real Managers", Academy of Management
Executive, Vol. 2 [2], 127-32