Functional Areas of Management

People think that a manager’s job is to supervise employees. Management is more than supervising people, it is a mixture of different elements that come together to run an organization smoothly and competently. An equipped manager will possess the knowledge of the different functional areas of management, including the four functional areas of management to the different content areas of management. People usually think as finance and marketing, for example, to be core areas of management. However, operations management and strategic planning are an essential part of business management and managers must use it to their advantage for a successful operation. Kumpf (2004) defines” strategic planning as developing a structured scheme or method for effectively achieving a specific goal or objective.” It is very important for a manager to strategize within the different struggles that an organization could present. On the other hand, it is also important for a manager to strategize to achieve goals, for corporate growth, and better services. No matter what the situation may be strategic planning must be a prime concern on any manager’s mind.

Strategic planning provides a pathway for a manager and his employees, it creates a goal focused outlook, and it provides structure for an organization and its employees. As a manager I would implement strategic planning from the start of a project on forward; from drafting a mission and vision statement, to monitoring and the implementation process, and to resolve conflicts when they arise. Furthermore, I would involve the stakeholders in the strategic planning process and make it a team effort to achieve the positive outcomes for the organization and avoid confusion of what the manager expects from each of the players. I would use the plan as a guide toward success for my organization. “Businesses that lack strategic plans are more likely to fail because achieving goals then becomes a hit-or-miss process at best” (p. 70). Operations managers are concerned with reaching the objective of an organization. Operations managers use different tools and resources to obtain success “profitability, maximization of market value, or possibly just a simple survival of organizations, but especially organizations competitiveness maintaining or increasing under the hard conditions of growing pressures of globalization” (Horvathova para.

1). To me the most interesting and complete area of management is operations management. Operations managers oversee and interact in every sphere of business. Like a strategic planning manager, the operations manager is involved in deciding location for example; the manager is involved with the production and marketing of goods and products with services and for the organization to run smoothly and successfully. I like working with people and as an operational manager I can engage in behavior, competences, and have interpersonal contact with my employees and corporation. According to Dilworth, “operations managers deal with two basic fields of activities. The first range of tasks to be solved is a design of operations system, the second one is then planning and control of operations” (Horvathora para. 13).

Operations managers should work with their product in mind and with a short and long term vision and goals to lead an organization and its resources to their goals. In conclusion, all areas of business management are important concerning a competent manager. Nevertheless, my managerial interests are tied together one with another. I do not just want to be competent in one area of business management but be an exceptional manager: leader, planner, researcher, finance, human resources, strategist, and so forth. I am sure that University of Phoenix will give me the necessary tools and information I need to go out into the managerial world and become an exemplary and successful manager.

References

Kumpf, W. A. (2004, August). Strategic Planning. ASHRAE Journal, 46(70), . Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/docview/220444807?accountid=35812 Horváthová, P. (2010). The use of operations management procedures in order to increase

organizations competitiveness under the conditions of growing pressures of globalization. Global Business and Management Research, 2(1), 33-40. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/916926057?accountid=35812a