Lesson 2: Management Responsibilities

Management Responsibilities

You have considered the organizational structure of a business and the management functions of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.


But, for what tasks would a manager be responsible? What would a manager be planning, organizing, leading, and controlling? A manager may be accountable for many areas within an organization. This lesson focuses on management responsibilities in the functional areas of

  • production or manufacturing
  • finance and accounting
  • marketing
  • purchasing
  • human resources
  • research and development

A large organization may have all these departments with managers in charge of each. However, a smaller company could have a manager overseeing several of these areas or even one manager for all.

Managers share information and collaborate with various departments to complete their responsibilities. Working as a team ensures a successful business.

Image Source: Pixabay

 

Research and Development
Research and Development is the process of searching for new materials, new products, or new ways of operating or manufacturing. Businesses use research to develop new products, better-quality products, and lower-priced products. This promotes more sales and, therefore, more profit.
Research and Development
Research and Development The terms production or manufacturing are often used interchangeably. They involve the process of making products and services from a variety of resources for consumption. This could be for a product such as assembling various parts to make an engine or acquiring human resources such as hair stylists for services in a hair salon. Both types of businesses must have something in place inputs) before they can make a sale (outputs). They are committed to provide the highest quality product or service possible while still generating a profit.

The main tasks of production include planning, product design, quality control, maintenance, and production cost control. A large organization must spend considerable time planning for new products, developing new production processes, and making changes in equipment. All these areas likely are the responsibility of the Production Manager (or Manufacturing Manager). Depending on the size of the organization, several front-line supervisors and employees assist with this, but ultimately, the manager is accountable. Therefore, the Production Manager plans, organizes, leads, and controls the product or service for the company.
Production or Manufacturing
Human Resources The Human Resources Department is responsible for the recruitment, selection, development, and motivation of people in an organization. It involves planning for future staffing needs of an organization, setting recruitment and hiring procedures, developing training and evaluation methods, setting policies for pay structure, benefits, health, and safety, and moving employees in and out of the organization. The success of a business depends greatly on its employees. Employees tend to work effectively and produce more when they like their jobs, reasonable wages and salaries, and have positive work environments.
Human Resources
Finance & Accounting Businesses face financial decisions every day. To make the right decisions, they must have accurate and up-to-date financial information. In a small business, the owner usually handles finances and arranges for loans. In large corporations, qualified experts handle financial records, and usually a finance or accounting department manages the financial aspects. The Finance and Accounting Department is responsible for keeping records of costs and expenses, acquiring funds, and analyzing operations.
Finance & Accounting
Purchasing Purchasing involves acquiring raw materials and supplies necessary to produce the final product and to operate the plant. Businesses also must purchase supplies such as paper, pens, office equipment, and other materials. A successful purchasing department seeks suppliers who can meet shipping dates and quantities, negotiates acceptable prices for raw materials, and aims to find less costly substitutes that achieve the same results.
Purchasing
Marketing Marketing means getting the right product to the right customer at the right time and at the right place. Many activities are involved in marketing: information gathering, packaging, storing, pricing, advertising and promotion, and distribution. A business must develop a marketing strategy that involves a target market and then combining the right mix of the four Ps, which are product, price, promotion, and place. Marketing products and services is costly and often accounts for more than half the cost of a product.
Marketing