Introduction
The management of a company is vital for its existence and productivity. The four major functions of management will therefore form a fundamental prop in the successful implementation of company policies for a healthy business. This essay develops a thorough scrutiny and analysis into the way a residential air conditioning service and installation company is managed, ran, and the different spaces of interactions of its employees. A major emphasis is laid on the four functions of management; planning, organizing, directing and controlling.
The air conditioning and service company is managed by one owner, with five technicians and one secretary. Planning is the most important stage in the management level of a company. This is the advance that determines the objectives of a company (Jayashree, 2011). In this company, there is normally an annual plan that is implemented by the management and the employees. An annual plan oversees the projects that are put on course and how they are implemented. It involves drawing up of the budget and determining the things or projects to be funded, launching up the marketing teamwork, distribution, and expansion thoughts.
The process of planning is an unending one (Jayashree, 2011). Managers should always be in a constant state of reviewing their work plans so as to have a directed vision of where the company is headed. There are also the internal and external factors that influence the planning style of a company. For instance in this company, the market demands have been on the increase while the number of employees has been on a lower scale. This has prompted the management team to hire additional technicians from three to five. There have been efforts to also increase the marketing team to a bigger number so as to cover many households as possible. This has been attributed to the increase in the number of customers subscribing into the service industry. The external competition from rival companies has also been on the higher trend. This has increased the concerns on the quality of service being offered to clients. Consequently the company added the role of a secretary to follow the proceedings at every level and to be in constant communication with the customers and technicians at the same time. This way the clients would be in control of what they want and how they want their air condition system to be implemented. Complaints and comments can therefore be directly channeled to the company. Planning therefore is always kept constant throughout the operating period of the company.
The second step in management is organizing. This is the determination of the working tools for the particular job (Daft and Marcic, 2011). It entails the provision of what a job require in order to be accomplished. There are various resources involved in the organizing level: human resource materials; capital; and tools of implementation. After planning, the company has to put in place the different resources that are needed in order to accomplish the work (Jayashree, 2011). This will include the staffing, capital identity and the tools of trade. In this company, there is usually a work allocation according to specialization and skills. The technicians are involved in the physical installation of the air conditions and their configuration. The other employees, the service techs and the secretary have a different role to play as far as their jobs are stipulated. Every person has a role determined from their specialization. This is possible through organization. Organizing enables a company to harmoniously implement its objectives and meet the demands of its clients (Heerkens, 2006).
It is important to note is that different types of work demand a different organizing. An air conditioning service industry would demand a different organizing skill from a manufacturing one. This is because the nature of work done by each is different thus requiring a variety of skills and resources that are of a divergent background. Management levels are also determined in this stage. This is done through determining the right departments to hand over responsibility and authority.
Another step in management is directing. After planning and organizing is done in the company, the manager engages his staff in the actual implementation of the plans and objectives of the company (Werr, Stjernberg, and Docherty, 1997). This process involves more than just directing. The manager for instance is involved in communication with the employees in allocating duties and also offering leadership in the process of directing (Heerkens, 2006).Communication in the company is highly developed. There is normally every morning communication from the manager to the technicians and other junior employees. The information passed from the seniors is mainly focused on the way to achieve the work scheduled for the day. There is duty allocation and a general guidance on to what should be paid attention to (Heerkens, 2006).Workers are also motivated to perform their job with precision. Workers who are motivated will usually work with determination and even surpass the expectations of the employer (Jayashree, 2011). It is therefore important that managers should motivate their junior staff in order for better job performance to be realized in the company.
In this company, directions flow from the manager to the other employees. There is a platform upon which directions are passed through oral communication, memos, and summons. These methods of communication have been effective while others have not been. The summonses have often been perceived as being authoritative and skewed. This has led to a feeling of being bossed around by the workers. As a result it has led to dissatisfaction among workers killing the morale for job performance. The overall impact is that the people concerned have felt disenfranchised from the company leading to a negative view towards the management. When the staff is inhibited by lack of morale and low levels of communication to rectify the situation, then there is an aura of stagnancy in the workability poised by the workers concerned (Daft and Marcic, 2011).
This usually marks the beginning of the death of the company.
After planning and successful implementation of the jobs allocated, there needs to be control in the way the job is performed. Controlling involves three functions. These include; the establishing of job performance, measuring performance to pre-established levels and rectification actions. A manager should establish a job performance level. This gives the workers a clear vision of what level of quality and extent they must meet for the job to be complete. In this company, the manager is constantly in check to determine that all the technicians (both the service and installation technicians) are at their working areas at the stipulated time. The quality of work that is done is in constant check from quality surveyors and reports are drawn for the manager who then satisfies that the job performance has been effectively met (Daft and Marcic, 2011).
The manager is also involved in evaluating the current job performance with a pre-established norm of job functions. This involves, the deliberate process of gauging a technicians’ output on pre-established levels of performance. This ensures that quality of service is maintained throughout the periods of operation of the company. When there are errors or situations that need to be rectified, the manager should institute mechanisms that immediately rectify the situation. The air conditioning service industry has a very strong managerial position. When for instance, there are problems with the air conditioning gadgets, the managers are always ready to assist. Normally there is a provision of new gadgets, new expertise in order to install new gadgets that require more skills than the current one. This has therefore been a very strong stance in supporting employees of the company.
In instances where there is no control in terms of how the resources flow or even in establishing how jobs are performed and monitored, laxity and incongruence in the way work is done is a common scenario. There should be a sound control on the job in order to guarantee the realization of the objectives set by the company. There should be a monitoring of job performance to determine that all essential things and resources are available. Standards are set in this level. This will ensure that the goals and objectives of the job are realized effectively, hence leading to good business thrive.
Conclusion
The management at the air conditioning service industry has been shown to be good but still lacking some form of better managerial techniques especially in the area of employee motivation. There have been qualms over the motivation of the staff, especially in the way communication and managerial observation is handled. However despite all these, the Company has practiced good management skills. Its existence is therefore pegged on the management mechanisms that have been implemented in the course of time. The applicability of the four functions has therefore been well implemented leading to a relatively stable company. This is the basis upon which its business functioning is based, thus further highlighting the pertinence of the four management functions.
References
Daft, L.R., & Marcic, D. (2011).Understanding Management. USA: South Cengage Learning Center.
Heerkens, G. (2006). Fundamentals of Organizational Management. New York, United States, New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., The Professional Book Group. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/749493993?accountid=45049
Jayashree Pakhare (2011).Management Concepts-The Four Functions Of Management. Retrieved from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/management-concepts-the-four-functions-of-management.html
P N P & Reddy Tripath (2007). Principles of Management. Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Companies.Pp 2-33
Werr, A., Stjernberg, T., & Docherty, P. (1997). The functions of methods of change in management consulting. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 10(4), 288-307. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/197630234?accountid=45049
