Lack of Departmental Managers, Article Review Example

Review of the Literature

Lack of departmental managers in any corporations is a factor that normally causes many businesses to fail. Departmental managers are there in order to provide efficiency and control throughout the company’s daily dealings, procedures, and management. When a company does not have departmental managers such as mangers in sales and marketing, finance, human resources, and many other departments throughout a business, the company sets itself up for stress, non-compliance, and ultimate failure. It is true that some businesses do not need all of the specific departmental managers as some companies are too small to budget for these. However, when companies such as Wal-Mart, Ford, and many department stores do not have departmental managers, they are bound to run into problems on a day to day basis that causes the company many problems. It is important to have departmental managers in these roles in order to provide a safe, secure, profitable business. All of the departmental managers are able to work together in order to make the company a successful entity. All in all, most companies need departmental managers or a team of managers in order to provide excellent service to the customers as well as in order to keep the company afloat and to continue seeing progress.

The Successful Manager

The manager’s role is very important in all departments. Managers are put in specific positions in order to be a leader, to run the department or company, and to get things done within departments. According to an article entitled “Posts Tagged ‘departmental managers’” (2011), “every experienced manager knows that it is not enough to see that the business runs smoothly, that efficiency is maintained in the staff, and that the general equipment is of a high order in every other respect” (1). These managers must possess initiative, judgment, and courage in order to be effective managers. “The management in their outlook must be always a long way ahead of their staff, engaged in their day-to-day work. It is the business of the management to look ahead, to originate and plan schemes for future operations” (“Posts Tagged ‘departmental managers’” 1). The successful manager must have a certain amount of training and expertise in their field in order to help a company run efficiently and effectively. Many have said that as long as they have the drive, they can do it. However, this is not the case in most of the literature found. These managers have to have some sort of training and experience to make a successful manager for a company. This is one of the major problems for lack of departmental managers. Most individuals who apply for jobs in the management area are not qualified to do the job. They do not have the experience or the training in order to help the company; therefore, the company does not hire any. This is a detrimental concept. Companies must be willing to train those individuals that do have some training or experience in the fields in order to provide the company with successful departmental managers. Finally, leadership is of utmost importance in the characteristics of a successful manager. Most individuals have not been trained in developmental leadership, they are not able to delegate as managers should do, and they are not capable of leading a team of other individuals. Moreover, many companies do not want to hire individuals that are not leadership driven or even leadership trained in some form. Therefore, this creates a lack of departmental managers in the positions that need to have them. Companies want to hire individuals that are leadership driven, so that they have a better chance for success.

Main Functions of Management

According to Ashani Wijesinghe in the article entitled “Main Functions of Management” (2010), the four main functions of management include planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. These are four main functions that keep a company running smoothly and effectively. Departmental managers should be employed in order to accomplish these four basic areas of management so that the company can prosper. Unfortunately, when there is a lack of departmental managers, these things are not accomplished and this sets the company up for failure. Managers are needed in the planning process as this allows the company to “make objectives clear and specific, make activities meaningful, reduce the risk of uncertainty, facilitators coordination, facilitators decision making, promotes creativity, provides basis of control, leads to economy and efficiency, improves adoptive behavior, and facilitates integration” (Wijesinghe, 2010, 2). Just as managers are needed in the planning process, they are needed in the organizing process as well. According to Wijesinghe (2010), the importance of the organization process and structure is vital for a company and it “promotes specialization, defines jobs, classifies authority and power, facilitates coordination, acts as a source of support security satisfaction, facilitates adaptation, facilitates growth, and stimulates creativity” (2). The organization process is very important to a company and if there are not department managers to help in this process, the company has the opportunity to fail. As stated earlier, leading is a main factor as well and it is very important within a company in order to succeed. This leadership can also be categorized as directing. Directing and leading make the company run and if there aren’t managers who are capable of this, the company lacks the motivational division for success. Finally, controlling is the last function that should be discussed and brought to light in reference to the importance of departmental managers. According to Wijesinghe (2010), “managerial control is the follow-up process of examining performance, comparing actual against planned actions, and taking corrective actions as necessary” (3). The managerial control process is composed of several stages that Wijesinghe feels are important. These include “determining performance standards, measuring actual performance, comparing actual performance against desired performance (performance standards) to determine deviations, and evaluating the deviations” (3). A manager must be competent in these areas in order to manage the controlling aspect of the business and many are not trained to do so. But, without these managers, the company is not able to perform to standards that are required by the state, law, or the company at large. It is also important to lightly touch on the functions of the finance department and its managers. According to an article entitled “What are the Functions of a Finance Department?” the finance department is important to a company as it provides “strategic financial support regarding operational and general business planning, provides daily financial service functions, and meets and surpasses the internal and external needs and financial reporting requirements of the company at large” (1). Department managers are certainly needed here and there are way too many businesses that go without the proper individuals running these departments. A company has to be able to hire the right people for these positions so that the company can succeed financially. There must be a finance director, a deputy finance director, an accountant, and a finance specialist. These are essential for success and should be employed in every business, but they aren’t. This causes the problems that many companies have as they decline into nothingness.

Organizational Decline

According to David Whetten (1980), “it is apparent that neither slow nor fast growing organizations are immune to decline, although the two types of organizations face different problems” (23). Unlike the slow growing companies, the fast growing companies are experienced in dealing with crisis situations. Therefore, they are better able to solve problems in a much more efficient and quick manner. Many fast growing organizations already have specific departmental managers in place and this allows them more room to maneuver and organize in a time of crisis. This shows just how much departmental managers are needed in any businesses. Each specializes in different aspects of business and are able to provide input where needed based on their specific department. Unfortunately, slow growing organizations or businesses do not have this luxury as they may either be just starting out or they do not have the people in place where need be in order to work through the problems. Slow growing organizations “have so little slack that they may not be able to survive long enough to respond to the problem” (23). It is very important for companies to have managers and a specific hierarchy in the company in order to manage the company professionally and effectively. In order for a company to succeed, it needs people. It needs people who understand what they are doing, have experience in the fields, and can make prompt, accurate, competent decisions when needed. Lack of managers in an organization or business can be detrimental to the company. An organization’s decline can depend on many different aspects of the company, but if there is not a good team, one that works together in order to accomplish certain goals, and one that is able to manage their own individual teams separately, and failure is bound to be the result.

The Importance of Performance Management and Work Reviews

Just as it is important for companies to hire departmental managers, it is also important for them to keep those departmental managers. Individuals have to want to work for a company in order for the company to be successful. If they do not have the drive to work there or they are not receiving feedback in reviews that articulates their performance, the company will surely lose these individuals and will be heading for decline. The article by Factors entitled “Importance of Performance Management Process & Best Practices to Optimize Monitoring Performance Work Reviews/Feedback and Goal Management,” (n.d.) feedback and “practices that support performance also positively impact job satisfaction, employee retention and loyalty” (1). Some of the recommended practices include: “delivering regular reviews relevant to job feedback, setting and communicating clear performance expectations, linking performance to compensation clearly, identifying organizational career paths for employees, evaluating performance and delivering incentives in a fair and consistent manner, providing appropriate learning and development opportunities, and recognizing and rewarding top performers” (1). Individuals want to work for a company that does these things on a regular basis. Departmental managers need to know they are appreciated and they will be more inclined to stay with a company if they are hired. Companies need to be smart about the hiring process and hire competent managers so that their business will expand.

Conclusion

In conclusion, departmental managers are integral parts of a business’s success or failure. These individuals help each department run successfully and are there to pick up the pieces when all goes wrong. Departmental managers are there in order to provide feedback, leadership, support, guidance, managerial skills, and extra hands and mind for a company. All companies should have departmental managers as these individuals are able to use their expertise in ways that many others cannot. One person cannot run a business. This person has to have right hand men and women that are able to work on things the owner or general manager cannot. Departmental managers give a certain aura to the foundation of a company. These individuals must be hired, helped, encouraged, and guided as well as respected in order for their jobs to be fulfilling and meaningful. If a company has these individuals behind them, they are more likely to succeed in its business ventures.

References

Factors. (n.d.). Importance of performance management process & best practices to optimize monitoring performance work reviews/feedback and goal management. Retrieved from http://www.successfactors.com/articles/optimize-performance-management/

Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management. (2011, March 21). Posts tagged ‘departmental managers’. Retrieved from http://www.psam9.org/tag/departmental-managers

What are the functions of a finance department? (2012). In Your dictionary Retrieved from http://answers.yourdictionary.com/answers/business/what-are-the-functions-of-a-finance-department.html

Whetten, D. A. (1980). Sources, responses, and effects of organizational decline. In Organizational Life Cycle (pp. 342-374). Retrieved from http://hevra.haifa.ac.il

Wijesinghe, A. (2010). Main functions of management. Ezine Articles, Retrieved from http://ezinearticles.com/?Main-Functions-of-Management&id=4379082