Page 119 - Encyclopedia of Business and Finance

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Careers in Management

world in which we live. Certo and Certo (2006) empha- use of plant, manpower, and materials. The opera-
sized this point when they stated that our society would tions manager is responsible for production control,
not be as developed as it is today without effective man- inventory control, quality control, plant layout, and
agers to guide its organizations. site selection. New graduates will start as manage-
ment trainees. After successfully completing the pro-
gram they will be promoted to production
WHAT DO MANAGERS DO?
supervisor, then to plant manager. The top manage-
Management is a people job. The manager coordinates the
work of other people to ensure that the unit is run effi- ment position is vice president for operations.
ciently and profitably. A manager may have direct respon- • Human resources managers provide the organization
sibility for a group of people in one department or a team with competent and productive employees. The
of people from several different departments. For some duties of the human resources manager include
managers, it could mean supervising one person. human resource planning, recruiting and selecting
Managers provide overall direction and leadership for employees, training and development, designing
the organization. The manager sets clear objectives for the compensation and benefits systems, and formulating
team and makes sure they know what the focus is, assigns performance appraisal systems. In small firms one
duties to team members, and encourages them to perform person may be responsible for all the human
those duties. The manager also evaluates the team’s actual resource activities, while in large firms separate
performance against organizational objectives and decides departments deal with each function.
on promotions and salary increases where appropriate. • Financial managers deal with the financial resources
When team members are not performing satisfactorily, of the organizations. They are responsible for such
the manger makes the changes necessary to ensure that activities as accounting, cash management, and
they reach the company’s objectives. Managers use their investments. They also keep up-to-date records for
people skills and business skills, such as marketing and the use of funds, prepare financial reports, and
cost controls, to achieve the company’s objectives while at gather information to assess the financial status of
the same time making sure to stay within budget. the organization.
The manager’s job is varied. Managers are involved • Marketing managers are responsible for getting cus-
with planned and unplanned activities. These activities tomers and clients to buy the organization’s prod-
include scheduled and unscheduled meetings, inspection ucts or services. They develop the business
tours, report writing, new product launches, disagreements marketing strategy, set prices, and work closely with
among employees, customer grievances, and changes in advertising and publicity personnel to see that prod-
business trends. According to Miller and associates (1996), ucts are promoted adequately.
a manager should be able to shift continually from person
to person and from one subject or problem to another. A Apart from the career opportunities in the specialized
manager who is also the business owner makes all the daily areas of management, management careers are also avail-
decisions involved in the business. able in government agencies, hospitals, not-for-profit
Managers make things happen in organizations. They agencies, museums, educational institutions, and even
decide what will be done, who will do it, when will it be political organizations. Good managers are also needed in
done, and what resources will be used. They hire and train foreign and multinational companies. All organizations
new employees, and they coordinate their departments’ exist for certain purposes and need good managers to
activities with other departments. Managers are the heart of guide their operations to achieve the best possible results.
organizations, the force that unites everything in the organ- Regardless of the type of organization, managers are obvi-
ization to ensure optimum efficiency and profitability. ously one of its most important resources.
There are many specific management positions,
including the following:
TYPES OF MANAGEMENT CAREERS
Management trainees work under the supervision of
In large organizations, managers work in a variety of areas,
including operations, human resources, finance, and mar- an experienced manager while learning. They receive for-
keting: mal training in a variety of management areas. The man-
agement trainee position is designed to prepare trainees
• Operations managers see that the company’s prod- for work as administrators or managers. Their duties
ucts and/or services meet quality standards and sat- include providing customer service, preparing work
isfy the needs of customers and clients. They plan schedules, and assisting with coordination of support serv-
production schedules to ensure the most efficient ices.

96 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BUSINESS AND FINANCE, SECOND EDITION