Business Finance Homework Help

Summary:

• Where are you in your management and leadership capabilities?
• What have you learned about effective management?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses?
• How can you use the four principles of management?
• How can you use the other management theories to create value in your organization?
• How do you want to develop and improve as you continue your leadership and management capabilities moving forward in your chosen field?

Review this final draft and comment on the following :

1. What are the strengths of the research paper?
2. What are the weakness of the research paper?
3. What are your recommendations?

FINAL DRAFT:

Having effective management is key for the success of any business. The foundation of a manger’s job is to perform management functions and roles, while achieving competitive advantage (Bateman, p 18). Managers are not only accountable for the work that they do but are also accountable for the employees who they manage. If the manager is not performing well, neither will those under them. To be an effective manager, you must learn your employees’ strengths and weaknesses to help them develop a strategy to become an effective employee. “A manager is not only responsible for a team’s output, but they are also responsible for supporting the individuals within their teams” (Michael Page, n.d.).

While I have not held a position as a manager, I believe that I do possess some of the capabilities that a manager needs to be successful. I have technical skills to become an effective manager. I will graduate with my Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. The courses I have taken to obtain this degree have prepared me to be effective in the business world. I have taken classes in Accounting, Marketing and Management. In addition to the technical skills, I have learned while attending college, I have worked in a business environment as a low level employee. When looking for new employees, hiring managers look for candidates who can move right into their new position on day one and start helping the company achieve its goals meaning they work to find people with the right technical skills to do this (Doyle, 2021). Technical skills generally are skills that relate to scientific tasks, information technology, mathematical or mechanical tasks.

According to the textbook, conceptual and decision skills are defined as those skills that “involve the ability to identify and resolve problems for the benefit of the organization and everyone concerned” (Bateman, p 18). Conceptual skills include analysis, communication, creative thinking, problem solving and leadership. I feel that I possess many skills in this category, I also have a lot to work on here. I have only been in one manager position in my work history. While I was the office manager, I really did not have anyone or anything to manage. It was a title without the full responsibilities. I do have strong communication skills. I have worked in some type of customer service for much of my work experience. To work in customer service, you must possess the ability to be an active listener and be able to effectively communicate with the customer as well as your coworkers to effectively meet the needs of that customer. Having strong communication skills not only includes possessing the ability to communicate verbally, but also communicate via written communication. Another skill that I feel I possess is creative thinking. Conceptual skills involve creativity, by thinking “outside of the box”. This involves considering how everyone within an organization work together to solve a problem (Doyle, 2020). I am openminded and always exploring new ways to do solve a problem. While I feel that I do possess many of the skills needed to be an effective manager, I feel that I do lack in leadership skills. Delegating responsibilities is one area that I do need to become more effective. I would rather do the work myself than delegate it to someone else. I work well as a team member, but I currently am not an effective team leader. These are skills that I need to work on developing. I want to be able to be an effective leader, but I lack the self-confidence it takes.

I have learned that effective management includes a broad range of skills and functions. To be an effective manager you must have leadership skills to motivate your employees to work together as a whole to achieve the goals of the company. You must be a great motivator and be able to persuade people to also believe in the vision. For management to be effective, they must continue to learn. Technology is changing every day. Management must be able to learn how to adapt to the change in technology as well as the environmental changes and social changes. As the textbook states, “Effective managers must continually acquire knowledge and skills to adapt to new circumstances” (Batemen, p 4). Management that is not opened to adapt to these changes, will fail. Management is not only being responsible for employees under you, but also about working together as a team to achieve the goals set for the company. For managers to be successful they must produce quality performance to create a competitive advantage in the industry. Being an effective manager is not simply just telling others what to do. How effective management is can be assessed by looking at company results, organization in the work environment and employee development and satisfaction (CFI, 2021). How successful a company is can be a direct reflection of effective management within the organization. Employee satisfaction and longevity is also a reflection of effective management. If employees are not happy with their work environment, that makes them less likely to strive to provide quality work. High turnover rates among employees can also reflect badly on management.

When it comes to myself, I believe that I have many of the necessary strengths to become an effective manager. My strengths include the ability to effectively communicate with others, whether it be customers or coworkers. I also work well with others. There are tasks where I can do the work myself, but on many other tasks I find it much easier and beneficial to work as a team. I am openminded and about to work with people have differing ideas and points of view than my own. Work as a team with others who have differing views can bring new ideas and points of view for the task at hand. They may have an idea for how to resolve an issue that I never would have thought of on my own. I feel that I am customer focused. I have always done my job with my customer in mind. If it were not for the customer, there would be no need for my job. Also, working in the healthcare industry makes being customer-focused essential. I have to be aware of laws and regulations that are in place to protect the client and their information as well as do the best I can to provide the best and most effective services to meet their needs. I pride myself on being trustworthy. I can also adapt well to change, and I have the ability to learn new processes and programs or equipment quickly. I am always looking to learn new things. I have excellent problem-solving skills as well. For example, shortly before I began my current job, they acquired a new software program. There was a specific issue that no one was able to figure out. I worked with the program for a couple of days, trying different things and eventually I figured out how to do the specific function that was needed.

While I do feel that I have a lot of strengths needed to be an effective leader, there are a few areas where I feel I can improve. I tend to be more focused on the process of how to get to the results, instead of focusing on the outcome. I also lack the strength of delegation. When given a task, I have always tried to do the work myself instead of delegating or asking for help. Having courage to make difficult decisions is especially important to being an effective leader. I do not always have the courage to make difficult decisions when they need to be made. As stated earlier, I have never been in a leadership role before. I want to be able to develop this skill and use my knowledge and skills as a follower to know how to lead others. I want to become a leader who can effectively lead, manage and motivate my employees.

Most departments or positions within a company are tasked with specific duties on based on specific knowledge, expertise or company needs, manager have a broader set of responsibilities. In addition to specialized knowledge, “management requires an ability to navigate numerous procedural, structural, and interpersonal challenges in the process of guiding one’s team to the completion of various goals” (AIT, 2021). The principles of management provide a framework for the decision-making process in an organization. The four functions of management are: planning, organizing, leading and controlling. Within the planning function, there are different kinds of planning that exist. Operational planning addresses the tasks needed to be performed daily to keep everything running smoothly. Strategic planning is long-term planning that looks at the overall company and its mission, vision and values. Tactical planning focuses on the current tasks needed to carry out the strategic plan. Contingency planning is ever changing. You must make changes as necessary when something unexpected happens, for example, new competitors, new government regulations, a major supplier goes out of business (Glassdoor, 2021). Effective management must take all of these types of planning into account.

Organizing includes bringing together all the resources needed for the business to reach the goal. This includes delegating responsibility to employees. Organizing is continual. As a manager, you cannot delegate the workload, define the technology and equipment used and just expect it to all work out. Organizing never stops and may have to change as the plan changes. This is where you must know your employees and their skillsets. I would have open communication with my team members so that I will know which employees are best suited for the tasks that need to be done so that everything will run smoothly to reach the end goal.

Managers must be able to comfortably and confidently lead their employees during daily task as well as during times when changes and challenges appear. Leadership can demonstrate itself several ways. Leaders must be able to recognize when employees many need a boost of reinforcement and praise or when they are needed to handle conflict between team members fairly (AIU, 2021). Leaders must be able to motivate their team members to work together toward the end goal. You must build relationships with your employees. This can build trust and when an employee has trust in their management team, they are more likely to remain involved and working towards that goal.

I can use the other management theories to create value in my organization by understanding that not all organizations are built the same. What works for one company is not what works for all companies. Also, what works for one employee does not always work for all employees in the same sense. As a manager, I will work to understand what effect the system has on my team members and how my team members influence each other. As a manager, I want to motivate my employees to do their best, while also making sure that the goals are being met for the organization. I will be fair with my team members; I will provide fair praise as well as discipline while also setting clear boundaries. I will also provide and expect clear and open communication among my team. Clear communication is important to any organization. Clearly communicating what is expected and receiving feedback from the team will show understanding of the roles each team member has in the organization.

To develop and improve as I continue in my leadership and management capabilities, I will use self-reflection to learn what are my strengths and weaknesses as a leader; as well as what motivates me. I want to gain more understanding and experience as a leader. I will attend leadership training or courses to develop the skills I will need to be an effective leader. As a leader, I will have a constant open line of communication with my team members to learn from them that I can improve on as well. A leader can learn just as much from their team members as the team members can learn from the leader. I will accept failure and learn from it what I can do better for next time. Not every decision made will have the best outcome and it is important to acknowledge and accept it (DiFranza, 2019). I will admit my mistakes as well. It is important to admit when you have made a mistake and learn from the experience. I will respect my co-worker and team members opinions. I will encourage feedback from my colleagues and maintain an open line of communication between myself and the team. I want to make sure that team members feel heard and respected.

References

Bateman, T., & Kanopaske, R. (2021). Management: Leading & Collaborating in a Competitive World. (14^th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education

What makes an effective manager? (n.d. para. 3). MichaelPage. Retrieved from https://www.michaelpage.co.uk/advice/management-advice/development-and-retention/what-makes-effective-manager

Doyle, A. (2021, Mar 17). Important Technical Skills With Examples. The Balance Careers. https://www.thebalancecareers.com/technical-skills-list-2063775

Doyle, A. (2020, Jan 14). Top Conceptual Skills Employers Value With Examples. The Balance Careers. https://www.thebalancecareers.com/conceptual-skills-list-and-examples-4142004

How to Assess Effective Management? (2021). Corporate Finance Institute. Retrieved from https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/credit/how-to-assess-effective-management/

The Four Functions of Management: What Managers Need to Know. (2021). American InterContinental University. https://www.aiuniv.edu/degrees/business/articles/functions-of-management

Understanding the Four Functions of Management. (2021). Glassdoor. Retrieved from https://www.glassdoor.com/blog/guide/four-functions-of-management/

DiFranza, A. (2019, Jul 31). How to Become a More Effective Leader. Northeastern University. https://www.northeastern.edu/graduate/blog/how-to-become-effective-leader/