1.What is the role of Marketing Management in Organizations?
2.What is the role of the Marketing Manager? 3.What is Marketing Mix?
Successful businesses focus on getting the basics of marketing right.
THE ROLE OF MARKETING MANAGEMENT IN AN ORGANIZATION IS -- based on identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer needs effectively and profitably. It encompasses market research, pricing, promotion, distribution, customer care, your brand image and much more.
This also include
*Market research to determine consumer needs. [MR to determine needs]
*Prototype product development
*Product testing [MR to determine consumer taste]
*Product development
*Product planning
*Test Marketing [MR to determine the right marketing mix ]
*Development of Market Planning
*Sales Planning [MR to determine sales methods ]
*Distribution Planning [MR to determine the distribution needs]
*Advertising planning [MR to determine -theme,message,media etc]
*Sales Promotions Planning [MR to determine the success]
*Merchandising Planning [MR to determine the success]
*Retail marketing [MR to determine the retail impact]
*Marketing Research. [Consumer satisfaction]
The marketing research is applied at all stages of marketing to test / fine tune the marketing. This is highlighted in the above list. [In brackets]
ALSO THE RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE
*Review brand, its image and what it stands for
*Consider the consistent use of a strap line in your advertisements
*Launch a website and think about e-marketing and interactive website pages to add value
*Adopt the correct pricing strategy for your market sector, competitors, customers & profit
*Create a database of all your customers so that you can market to them again
*Know your customers - find out where they are spending their time and money
*Employ specialists for website creation or use external experts in the field
*Use external professionals for press releases
*Support anyone wanting to train in marketing
*Have a consistent brand message on all literature, websites, business cards & letter heads
*Create a mission statement
*Always plan properly, there are packages such as Microsoft Project which can help
*Use market research to understand your competitors, spot opportunities and lessen risks
*Use the database to market either by postal campaigns, e-mail or even mobile marketing
*Advertise in the correct places, and analyse and learn from each campaign
*Enlist professional designers for your literature, business cards and logos
THE ROLE OF A MARKETING MANAGER IN AN ORGANIZATION
The Primary Objective is to -
Develop, direct and control the sales and marketing business strategies and activities of the organization to achieve revenues, sales and profit targets.
Specific accountabilities
Direct the activities of sales and marketing for the achievement of short and long term business objectives, increased profit, and market control. And co ordinate the sales and marketing objectives, policies and programmes within the context of the overall corporate plan and, where appropriate, recommend standards and set targets and quotas.
Prepare, or arrange for preparation of the budgets, reports and forecasts and ensure they are presented in a timely manner to the Chief Executive.
Appraise the activities of the staff according to overall sales and marketing strategies. Monitor and evaluate the performance, and the efficiency of staff and procedures.
Co ordinate subordinate staff to optimize the use of human and material resources to achieve goals. Consult with subordinate staff and review recommendations and reports.
Direct the preparation of operational matters including market research, advertising, promotion, distribution, pricing and selling.
Direct sales activities by setting product mix, geographical sales areas and customer service standards.
Control and monitor sales methods, key customer strategies and arrangements by recommending prices and credit arrangements.
Direct and control marketing by planning and running advertising campaigns and promotional activities, product management and market analysis and research.
Monitor customer service, invoicing, payments and administration costs.
Direct the development of initiatives such as new products, new marketing techniques, new advertising campaigns, incentive bonus schemes and the dropping of unprofitable products.
Maintain necessary contact with major suppliers, key customers, industry associations and government representatives to achieve the objectives of the division.
Select, or approve the selection and training of senior staff. Establish lines of control and delegate responsibilities to staff.
Ensure all the activities of the sales and marketing group comply with relevant Acts, legal demands and ethical standards.
MARKETING MIX
The Marketing Mix model (also known as the 4 P's) can be used by marketers as a tool to assist in implementing the marketing strategy. Marketing managers use this method to attempt to generate the optimal response in the target market by blending 4 (or 5, or 7) variables in an optimal way. It is important to understand that the Marketing Mix principles are controllable variables. The Marketing Mix can be adjusted on a frequent basis to meet the changing needs of the target group and the other dynamics of the marketing environment.
P 1 --- Product
Historically, the thinking was: a good product will sell itself. However there are no bad products anymore in today's highly competitive markets. Plus there are many laws giving customers the right to send back products that he perceives as bad. Therefore the question on product has become: does the organization create what its intended customers want? Define the characteristics of your product or service that meets the needs of your customers.
Functionality; Quality; Appearance; Packaging; Brand; Service; Support; Warranty.
P 2 --- Price
How much are the intended customers willing to pay? Here we decide on a pricing strategy - do not let it just happen! Even if you decide not to ask (enough) money for a product or service, you must realize that this is a conscious decision and forms part of the pricing strategy. Although competing on price is as old as mankind, the consumer is often still sensitive for price discounts and special offers. Price has also an irrational side: something that is expensive must be good. Permanently competing on price is for many companies not a very sensible approach.
List Price; Discounts; Financing; Leasing Options; Allowances.
P 3 --- Place Available at the right place, at the right time, in the right quantities? Some of the recent major changes in business have come about by changing Place. Think of the Internet and mobile telephones.
Locations; Logistics; Channel members; Channel Motivation; Market Coverage; Service Levels; Internet; Mobile.
P 4 --- Promotion
(How) are the chosen target groups informed or educated about the organization and its products? This includes all the weapons in the marketing armory - advertising, selling, sales promotions, Direct Marketing, Public Relations, etc. While the other three P's have lost much of their meanings in today's markets, Promotion has become the most important P to focus on.
Advertising; Public Relations; Message; Direct Sales; Sales; Media; Budget.
The function of the Marketing Mix is to help develop a package (mix) that will not only satisfy the needs of the customers within the target markets, but simultaneously to maximize the performance of the organization. There have been many attempts to increase the number of P's from 4 to 5P's in the Marketing Mix model.
ON THE JOB - KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES OF MARKETING AND BRAND MANAGER
Marketing and brand managers set the strategic direction of their brand and work with many departments to make sure that the strategy is executed. As a marketing or brand manager below are some of your responsibilities:
Product development: Brand managers work extensively with research and development (R&D) to develop new products - the beloved babies of the brand. Managers must sift through extensive marketing data. Brand managers work with R&D and market research departments to determine what functional benefits a product offers. As a marketing or brand manager, you must always have a detailed knowledge of your products' ingredients, what your product is currently capable of performing, and what future developments can make your product even more desirable to your target consumer.
Marketers interpret data about every aspect of a prospective product - its color, texture, smell, and packaging - in order to make the product as appealing to consumers as possible. During product launches, brand managers meet often with R&D scientists to ensure the scientists are moving in the right direction. (Even at high-tech firms, product development is sometimes led by marketers. Usually known as product managers, these marketers find out what the customers want, and then give specifications to engineers on what to make.)
The extension: More common than the new product is the brand extension, which builds on pre-existing products: a new flavor of granola bar; a smaller-sized bottle of ketchup. Brand extensions serve two main functions. They can expand market share into a new market (Frosted Cheerios goes after those who want sweet cereal), and they can help invigorate a sluggish brand. The promise of something new splashed across packages and TV screens opens marketing avenues for the original brand. Then there are product changes. These can be small additions, can serve to revitalize a brand (purple horseshoes in your Lucky Charms), but can also involve a complete overhaul of a product. The latter change is a risky one: Even Mountains of market research can't prevent egregious misinterpretations of brand identity. While consumers may have preferred New Coke in a blind taste test, they shunned it when it arrived on the scene in 1985 - and Coke was forced into an embarrassing withdrawal of the newfangled drink just a year before its 100th anniversary.
Strategy development: Once you understand how your product works and to whom it appeals, you (and your brand management team) must develop a communications strategy that conveys the benefits to appropriate consumers. This requires working extensively with market research to understand your consumer needs and how your product can deliver on them. Once you have created the strategy, you will need to work with your ad agency and PR firm to help communicate this plan.
Package design: It is crucial that the packaging on your product reflects the product strategy you have developed. The packaging must be simple to read, but also stand out amongst the competition on the shelf. What color should the packaging be? Should it be bilingual? Will the package withstand wear and tear? Is the size and location of the handle convenient? Not only is package design concerned with function, but aesthetics can be ultra-important as well, and can be a strong part of a brand's identity (Coke's contour bottle and the Hershey's aluminum wrapper with inserted paper strip are classic examples of packages that have become synonymous with the product). A particularly appealing package design can often drive product sales. The process of package design is identical to that followed during product launches: research and more research, meetings with R&D scientists, and test trials.
Market research: As a marketing manager, you must understand what consumer studies and tracking devices can be used to glean the most information about your product. Whether you conduct focus groups to test the latest product concept, track trial and satisfaction rates for your latest launch, measure market share in a certain market, or assess competitive activity, understanding and executing market research will be a huge part of your job.
Sales Force management: Because you know your product's functional and emotional attributes better than anyone else does, it makes sense that you should be the one to educate the sales force. Attending meetings to explain what your sales goals are, and helping to design promotions that will motivate your sales force to hit the pavement are also part of the job.
Business forecasts: Brand managers determine how much of a product you will sell over a certain time period. By doing extensive research on the state of the market, the intensity of competition and how seasonality affects product sales, you will be able to effectively predict market share and profitability.
Financial analysis: Chances are that as a brand manager, you will be given profit and loss responsibility. You will have to create a budget with your team and get it approved by senior management. From this budget, you will determine just how extensive your communications campaign and product development pipeline can be.
Promotions: So, you want to encourage kids to eat twice as much Lucky Charms? Or, you want to get more people to buy bottles of Sprite, not cans. Promotions may be the best way to accomplish your goal. For example, you may want to have a coupon made or have a direct mail piece sent to individual consumers' homes. As a brand or marketing manager, you will work with your PR agency and your promotions department to develop a strategy and execute such an event.
Advertising: Whether it's print, TV, radio, Internet, or outdoor advertising, the marketers work with advertisers to create a strategy, execute a commercial, and put it on the air. Advertising may be done in-house or through an outside agency.
Media: You have an advertising strategy and $15 million to spend on it. What media vehicles do you use and what are your communication goals? You'll work with the internal media department as well as the media planning and buying departments at the ad agency to make sure that you develop a media plan that reaches exactly who you want to reach.
Pricing: If we decide to take a 5 percent price cut on Lysol disinfectant spray to celebrate the spring cleaning season, how will that affect our overall sales and profitability? You have a crucial role in determining the price sensitivity of your consumer target and what price point reinforces your brand's positioning in relation to the competition.
Manufacturing: How many boxes of Pampers can you get out the door in a month? How many cases need to be shipped to what parts of the country? If you wanted to switch to a new plastic bottle, how long would that take manufacturing to implement? As a brand manager, you will handle lots of operational questions like these.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Is Management For Me?
Examine The Pros And Cons Of Taking A Management Path In Your Career.
Are you wondering whether you want to be a manager,deciding if a management path is right for your career? Maybe the company has suggested a supervisory position for you. Maybe someone in your life is pushing you to "make more out of your life." Or are you trying to decide whether to get you Masters degree in your technical specialty or go for an MBA instead.
Whatever the reason you are considering a management career, this site will help you decide whether or not management is for you.
Are you wondering whether you want to be a manager,deciding if a management path is right for your career? Maybe the company has suggested a supervisory position for you. Maybe someone in your life is pushing you to "make more out of your life." Or are you trying to decide whether to get you Masters degree in your technical specialty or go for an MBA instead.
Whatever the reason you are considering a management career, this site will help you decide whether or not management is for you.
How to Manage
We are beginning a new feature on this blog - a series of "how to" articles designed to give you a short lesson in how to handle the basic tasks of management. Each will be linked to more in-depth information if you wish to dig deeper into a particular topic.
What do I want to do?
Perhaps the first thing you need to do is to figure out what you want your people to accomplish. A mission statement is a short document that tells your people, your customers (internal and external), and your suppliers what you are about. It makes it easier for everyone to pull together if everyone knows what the objective is. How to Draft a Mission Statement lists twelve things you can do to start drafting a mission statement for your group.
How should I set it up?
After you figure out where you are going and you write up your mission statement, you need to look at whether your organization supports that objective. If your organization does not support your objective, you need to change it so it does. When you have rearranged your organization so it does support your objective, you need to communicate that organization structure to everyone involved. This is done through an organization chart, an org chart for short. How to Build an Org Chart is a quick guideline on how to draw an org chart for a department. You can easily expand it out for an entire company.
How does this look?
If anyone in your organization deals with the public, you should have a dress code for all employees. A dress code is a simple document that tells people in various functions what is appropriate work attire, and why. How to Set a Dress Code guides you through the steps of creating a workable dress code for your company.
What else?
If you have any questions or comments this blog is designed to help you be a better manager.What other topics would you like to see addressed? What else would you like to know "how to"? Let me know at adeniyisolabunm@yahoo.com
What do I want to do?
Perhaps the first thing you need to do is to figure out what you want your people to accomplish. A mission statement is a short document that tells your people, your customers (internal and external), and your suppliers what you are about. It makes it easier for everyone to pull together if everyone knows what the objective is. How to Draft a Mission Statement lists twelve things you can do to start drafting a mission statement for your group.
How should I set it up?
After you figure out where you are going and you write up your mission statement, you need to look at whether your organization supports that objective. If your organization does not support your objective, you need to change it so it does. When you have rearranged your organization so it does support your objective, you need to communicate that organization structure to everyone involved. This is done through an organization chart, an org chart for short. How to Build an Org Chart is a quick guideline on how to draw an org chart for a department. You can easily expand it out for an entire company.
How does this look?
If anyone in your organization deals with the public, you should have a dress code for all employees. A dress code is a simple document that tells people in various functions what is appropriate work attire, and why. How to Set a Dress Code guides you through the steps of creating a workable dress code for your company.
What else?
If you have any questions or comments this blog is designed to help you be a better manager.What other topics would you like to see addressed? What else would you like to know "how to"? Let me know at adeniyisolabunm@yahoo.com
The Upside of Being a Manager
There are many positives to being a manager.Managers generally are paid more than others in the company.They appear to have more power. And the power and pay differences tend to give the position more status or prestige.
Pay Certainly the top manager in a company, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is paid more than anyone else in the company. Managers below the CEO are generally paid more than everyone in their group as well, but not always. I have seen a situation where someone was hired to manage a group of scientists in which the very top scientists were paid more than him. Smart companies pay their people based on their value to the company, not on their title or position,
Power Most people, including most managers, believe that managers have more power than the people in their groups. While it's true that managers commonly have certain functional authority delegated to them, like setting work schedules for the group, true power cannot be delegated to you from above. You are only as powerful as you are capable of making your group more successful. And while your ability to lead the group greatly influences it, your power comes from the willingness of the people in your group to grant it to you.
Status/Prestige In our society, people value titles. A title of Senior Vice President, Worldwide Marketing sounds much more impressive than Research Chemist. However, the marketing person may work for a 3-person company and make $30,000 per year while the chemist works for a major oil company, supervises 4 other chemists, and makes well over $100,000 per year.
Sense of Personal Accomplishment If your goal is to be CEO of General Motors, you probably should start now on a management career. If you want to be President of the United States, a management track isn't required. Several recent Presidents have managed nothing but their campaigns. If you want to brag to your mother-in-law about what a success you are, and power, prestige, and money are important to your definition of success, management may be they way to go. If you measure success by friendships and how soundly you sleep at night, a management career can give you that, but so can many others.
How To Be A Better Manager
Here are some key skills and abilities that help anyone be a better manager.
The need for good managers is not going away. It is intensifying. With ‘flatter’ organizations and self-directed teams becoming common; with personal computers and networks making information available to more people more quickly; the raw number of managers needed is decreasing. However, the need for good managers, people who can manage themselves and others in a high stress environment, is increasing.
I believe anyone can be a good manager. It is as much trainable skill as it is inherent ability; as much science as art. Here are some things that make you a better manager:
As a person:
• You have confidence in yourself and your abilities. You are happy with whom you are, but you are still learning and getting better.
• You are something of an extrovert. You don’t have to be the life of the party, but you can’t be a wallflower. Management is a people skill - it’s not the job for someone who doesn’t enjoy people.
• You are honest and straight forward. Your success depends heavily on the trust of others.
• You are an includer not an excluder. You bring others into what you do. You don’t exclude other because they lack certain attributes.
• You have a ‘presence’. Managers must lead. Effective leaders have a quality about them that makes people notice when they enter a room.
On the job:
• You are consistent, but not rigid; dependable, but can change your mind. You make decisions, but easily accept input from others.
• You are a little bit crazy. You think out-of-the box. You try new things and if they fail, you admit the mistake, but don’t apologize for having tried.
• You are not afraid to “do the math”. You make plans and schedules and work toward them.
• You are nimble and can change plans quickly, but you are not flighty.
• You see information as a tool to be used, not as power to be hoarded.
Take a look at yourself against this list. Find the places where you can improve and then get going. And, if you need help, remember that's what this site is all about -
Helping new managers get started and experienced managers get better.
Pay Certainly the top manager in a company, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is paid more than anyone else in the company. Managers below the CEO are generally paid more than everyone in their group as well, but not always. I have seen a situation where someone was hired to manage a group of scientists in which the very top scientists were paid more than him. Smart companies pay their people based on their value to the company, not on their title or position,
Power Most people, including most managers, believe that managers have more power than the people in their groups. While it's true that managers commonly have certain functional authority delegated to them, like setting work schedules for the group, true power cannot be delegated to you from above. You are only as powerful as you are capable of making your group more successful. And while your ability to lead the group greatly influences it, your power comes from the willingness of the people in your group to grant it to you.
Status/Prestige In our society, people value titles. A title of Senior Vice President, Worldwide Marketing sounds much more impressive than Research Chemist. However, the marketing person may work for a 3-person company and make $30,000 per year while the chemist works for a major oil company, supervises 4 other chemists, and makes well over $100,000 per year.
Sense of Personal Accomplishment If your goal is to be CEO of General Motors, you probably should start now on a management career. If you want to be President of the United States, a management track isn't required. Several recent Presidents have managed nothing but their campaigns. If you want to brag to your mother-in-law about what a success you are, and power, prestige, and money are important to your definition of success, management may be they way to go. If you measure success by friendships and how soundly you sleep at night, a management career can give you that, but so can many others.
How To Be A Better Manager
Here are some key skills and abilities that help anyone be a better manager.
The need for good managers is not going away. It is intensifying. With ‘flatter’ organizations and self-directed teams becoming common; with personal computers and networks making information available to more people more quickly; the raw number of managers needed is decreasing. However, the need for good managers, people who can manage themselves and others in a high stress environment, is increasing.
I believe anyone can be a good manager. It is as much trainable skill as it is inherent ability; as much science as art. Here are some things that make you a better manager:
As a person:
• You have confidence in yourself and your abilities. You are happy with whom you are, but you are still learning and getting better.
• You are something of an extrovert. You don’t have to be the life of the party, but you can’t be a wallflower. Management is a people skill - it’s not the job for someone who doesn’t enjoy people.
• You are honest and straight forward. Your success depends heavily on the trust of others.
• You are an includer not an excluder. You bring others into what you do. You don’t exclude other because they lack certain attributes.
• You have a ‘presence’. Managers must lead. Effective leaders have a quality about them that makes people notice when they enter a room.
On the job:
• You are consistent, but not rigid; dependable, but can change your mind. You make decisions, but easily accept input from others.
• You are a little bit crazy. You think out-of-the box. You try new things and if they fail, you admit the mistake, but don’t apologize for having tried.
• You are not afraid to “do the math”. You make plans and schedules and work toward them.
• You are nimble and can change plans quickly, but you are not flighty.
• You see information as a tool to be used, not as power to be hoarded.
Take a look at yourself against this list. Find the places where you can improve and then get going. And, if you need help, remember that's what this site is all about -
Helping new managers get started and experienced managers get better.
How to Draft a Mission Statement
Writing a Mission Statement is a complex activity involving every level of the organization. Here's how to get started.
Here's How:
1. List the organization's core competencies; its unique strengths and weaknesses.
2. List the organization's primary customers, internal or external, by type, not by name.
3. Review how each customer relates to each of the organization's strengths. Ask them if possible.
4. Write a one-sentence description of each customer/strength pairing.
5. Combine any that are essentially the same.
6. List the sentences in order of importance to the organization's vision, if one exists.
7. Combine the top three to five sentences into a paragraph.
8. Ask your customers if they would want to do business with an organization with that mission.
9. Ask your employees if they understand and support it and can act on it.
10. Ask your suppliers if it makes sense to them.
11. Incorporate the feedback from customers, employees and suppliers and repeat the process.
12. When you have refined the paragraph into statements that clearly articulates the way the company wants to relate to those it affects, publish it to everyone. Post it on the wall, email it to everyone, etc.
Tips:
1. A good mission statement provides strategic vision and direction for the organization and should not have to be revised every few years. Goals and objectives are the short-term measures used to get there.
2. Revise the organization's mission statement when it is no longer appropriate or relevant
Here's How:
1. List the organization's core competencies; its unique strengths and weaknesses.
2. List the organization's primary customers, internal or external, by type, not by name.
3. Review how each customer relates to each of the organization's strengths. Ask them if possible.
4. Write a one-sentence description of each customer/strength pairing.
5. Combine any that are essentially the same.
6. List the sentences in order of importance to the organization's vision, if one exists.
7. Combine the top three to five sentences into a paragraph.
8. Ask your customers if they would want to do business with an organization with that mission.
9. Ask your employees if they understand and support it and can act on it.
10. Ask your suppliers if it makes sense to them.
11. Incorporate the feedback from customers, employees and suppliers and repeat the process.
12. When you have refined the paragraph into statements that clearly articulates the way the company wants to relate to those it affects, publish it to everyone. Post it on the wall, email it to everyone, etc.
Tips:
1. A good mission statement provides strategic vision and direction for the organization and should not have to be revised every few years. Goals and objectives are the short-term measures used to get there.
2. Revise the organization's mission statement when it is no longer appropriate or relevant
INTRODUCTION TO MANAGEMENT STEP 1
Welcome to talking management blog were we discussed everything about management, today let take a look at management from a layman context.
1.What is management?
2.What do managers do?
3.How do I manage?
These are standard questions that most of us in the management profession have been asked more than once. And questions we asked once in our careers too. Here, then, is a basic look at management, a primer, Management step 1 from my perspective.
Art and Science
Management is both art and science. It is the art of making people more effective than they would have been without you. The science is in how you do that. There are four basic pillars: plan, organize, direct, and monitor.
Make Them More Effective
Four workers can make 6 units in an eight-hour shift without a manager. If I hire you to manage them and they still make 6 units a day, what is the benefit to my business of having hired you? On the other hand, if they now make 8 units per day, you, the manager, have value.
The same analogy applies to service, or retail, or teaching, or any other kind of work. Can your group handle more customer calls with you than without? Sell higher value merchandise? Impart knowledge more effectively? etc. That is the value of management - making a group of individual more effective.
Plan
Management starts with planning. Good management starts with good planning. And proper prior planning prevents… well, you know the rest of that one.
Without a plan you will never succeed. If you happen to make it to the goal, it will have been by luck or chance and is not repeatable. You may make it as a flash-in-the-pan, an overnight sensation, but you will never have the track record of accomplishments of which success is made.
Figure out what your goal is (or listen when your boss tells you). Then figure out the best way to get there. What resources do you have? What can you get? Compare strengths and weaknesses of individuals and other resources. Will putting four workers on a task that takes 14 hours cost less than renting a machine that can do the same task with one worker in 6 hours? If you change the first shift from an 8 AM start to a 10 AM start, can they handle the early evening rush so you don't have to hire an extra person for the second shift?
Look at all the probable scenarios. Plan for them. Figure out the worst possible scenario and plan for that too. Evaluate your different plans and develop what, in your best judgment, will work the best and what you will do if it doesn't.
TIP: One of the most often overlooked management planning tools is the most effective. Ask the people doing the work for their input.
Organize
Now that you have a plan; you have to make it happen. Is everything ready ahead of your group so the right stuff will get to your group at the right time? Is your group prepared to do its part of the plan? Is the downstream organization ready for what your group will deliver and when it will arrive?
Are the workers trained? Are they motivated? Do they have the equipment they need? Are there spare parts available for the equipment? Has purchasing ordered the material? Is it the right stuff? Will it get here on the appropriate schedule?
Do the legwork to make sure everything needed to execute the plan is ready to go, or will be when it is needed. Check back to make sure that everyone understands their role and the importance of their role to the overall success.
Direct
Now flip the "ON" switch. Tell people what they need to do. I like to think of this part like conducting an orchestra. Everyone in the orchestra has the music in front of them. They know which section is playing which piece and when. They know when to come in, what to play, and when to stop again. The conductor cues each section to make the music happen. That's your job here. You've given all your musicians (workers) the sheet music (the plan). You have the right number of musicians (workers) in each section (department), and you've arranged the sections on stage so the music will sound best (you have organized the work). Now you need only to tap the podium lightly with your baton to get their attention and give the downbeat.
Monitor
Now that you have everything moving, you have to keep an eye on things. Make sure everything is going according to the plan. When it isn't going according to plan, you need to step in and adjust the plan, just as the orchestra conductor will adjust the tempo.
Problems will come up. Someone will get sick. A part won't be delivered on time. A key customer will go bankrupt. That is why you developed a contingency plan in the first place. You, as the manager, have to be always aware of what's going on so you can make the adjustments required.
This is an iterative process. When something is out of sync, you need to Plan a fix, organize the resources to make it work, Direct the people who will make it happen, and continue to monitor the effect of the change.
Is it worth it
managing people is not easy. However, it can be done successfully. And it can be a very rewarding experience. Remember that management, like any other skill, is something that you can improve at with study and practice.
1.What is management?
2.What do managers do?
3.How do I manage?
These are standard questions that most of us in the management profession have been asked more than once. And questions we asked once in our careers too. Here, then, is a basic look at management, a primer, Management step 1 from my perspective.
Art and Science
Management is both art and science. It is the art of making people more effective than they would have been without you. The science is in how you do that. There are four basic pillars: plan, organize, direct, and monitor.
Make Them More Effective
Four workers can make 6 units in an eight-hour shift without a manager. If I hire you to manage them and they still make 6 units a day, what is the benefit to my business of having hired you? On the other hand, if they now make 8 units per day, you, the manager, have value.
The same analogy applies to service, or retail, or teaching, or any other kind of work. Can your group handle more customer calls with you than without? Sell higher value merchandise? Impart knowledge more effectively? etc. That is the value of management - making a group of individual more effective.
Plan
Management starts with planning. Good management starts with good planning. And proper prior planning prevents… well, you know the rest of that one.
Without a plan you will never succeed. If you happen to make it to the goal, it will have been by luck or chance and is not repeatable. You may make it as a flash-in-the-pan, an overnight sensation, but you will never have the track record of accomplishments of which success is made.
Figure out what your goal is (or listen when your boss tells you). Then figure out the best way to get there. What resources do you have? What can you get? Compare strengths and weaknesses of individuals and other resources. Will putting four workers on a task that takes 14 hours cost less than renting a machine that can do the same task with one worker in 6 hours? If you change the first shift from an 8 AM start to a 10 AM start, can they handle the early evening rush so you don't have to hire an extra person for the second shift?
Look at all the probable scenarios. Plan for them. Figure out the worst possible scenario and plan for that too. Evaluate your different plans and develop what, in your best judgment, will work the best and what you will do if it doesn't.
TIP: One of the most often overlooked management planning tools is the most effective. Ask the people doing the work for their input.
Organize
Now that you have a plan; you have to make it happen. Is everything ready ahead of your group so the right stuff will get to your group at the right time? Is your group prepared to do its part of the plan? Is the downstream organization ready for what your group will deliver and when it will arrive?
Are the workers trained? Are they motivated? Do they have the equipment they need? Are there spare parts available for the equipment? Has purchasing ordered the material? Is it the right stuff? Will it get here on the appropriate schedule?
Do the legwork to make sure everything needed to execute the plan is ready to go, or will be when it is needed. Check back to make sure that everyone understands their role and the importance of their role to the overall success.
Direct
Now flip the "ON" switch. Tell people what they need to do. I like to think of this part like conducting an orchestra. Everyone in the orchestra has the music in front of them. They know which section is playing which piece and when. They know when to come in, what to play, and when to stop again. The conductor cues each section to make the music happen. That's your job here. You've given all your musicians (workers) the sheet music (the plan). You have the right number of musicians (workers) in each section (department), and you've arranged the sections on stage so the music will sound best (you have organized the work). Now you need only to tap the podium lightly with your baton to get their attention and give the downbeat.
Monitor
Now that you have everything moving, you have to keep an eye on things. Make sure everything is going according to the plan. When it isn't going according to plan, you need to step in and adjust the plan, just as the orchestra conductor will adjust the tempo.
Problems will come up. Someone will get sick. A part won't be delivered on time. A key customer will go bankrupt. That is why you developed a contingency plan in the first place. You, as the manager, have to be always aware of what's going on so you can make the adjustments required.
This is an iterative process. When something is out of sync, you need to Plan a fix, organize the resources to make it work, Direct the people who will make it happen, and continue to monitor the effect of the change.
Is it worth it
managing people is not easy. However, it can be done successfully. And it can be a very rewarding experience. Remember that management, like any other skill, is something that you can improve at with study and practice.
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