Plan Organize Lead Control, Essay Example

Section 1 – Environment

Internet access market is among the very perspective ones on the US territory. With about 300 million citizens  and about as many computers internet access providers still gain great profits, though there already are quite a lot of companies on the market. The true potential of this area was identified about a decade ago and quite a lot of business all around the country are engaged in this activity.

Still, according to the Federal Trade Commission report, no monopolies are present on the market. No artificial barriers, accept for the basic starting capital requirements are present. Moreover, three federal agencies (Federal Trade Commission website) closely monitor the market, preventing any type of misbalance from happening. No extra policies to regulate the market are present, as extra governmental control will likely harm the industry to a serious extent.

The tight competition on the market will make the environment rather hard to operate in. Most of the customers already have a stable internet connection, so it might be hard for the XYZ Internet market to gain its share of the market. All types of service are already present, as the internet providers provide extra content apart from fast broadband connection. Dialup services are also widely present throughout the entire country. The relatively new type of services is the Wi-Fi internet, which grants relatively fast connection speed and is very convenient. However, the most recent trend with the greatest perspective is the Internet connection through 3G signal. This service is already available to the users of one of the largest operators of Internet access – T-Mobile. (Pertony, 2009)

Section 2 – Planning

Planning is the first and highly essential management function. This tool is used first, in order to figure out in which direction the company has to be moving.(Richman, L. 2002 p.50) Without a clear outline of the actions needed and direction in which the company should be moving, it will obviously fail. First steps in planning for the XYZ Internet Company should be setting a vision and mission statement. Mission clearly defines what we eventually wish to achieve, while vision provides a very general set of ideas over how it will be achieved.

As the external factors of influence have already been reviewed in the environment section, the next step could be actually implementing the knowledge of the company’s potential. This can be performed through SWOT analysis. $ (Wilson, R.F. 2000)

Section 3 – Organizing

In order to reach all the objectives set during the planning process, the manager out to organize all the activities within the company. As a managerial function, organizing involves several important stages:

1. Division of labor
2. Departmentalization
3. Delegation of powers
4. Setting the control range

Depending on the level of the corporate integration, the employee-management relations can be presented in the following manner (Woodward J. 1982. p.97):

• Manager simply takes the decision
• Manager “sells” the decision to the employees
• Manager welcomes discussions
• Manager allows the group to make the decision within the set framework.

Small business like the XYZ Internet Company may keep relying on the linear organization of the company for the beginning, as it is easier to figure out the structure of operations this way. However, as the time progresses and the company grows, more complex structure is necessary: functional or divisional might suit well.

Section 4 – Leading

Leadership is extremely important in any company. Simply telling the employees what to do can not be described as leading them. Simple commands often lack efficiency, as the subordinates have little motivation in following the orders. Authority is one of the main features of leadership and these are it basic forms:

• Authority based on compulsion
• Authority based on reward
• Expert Authority
•  Etalon authority

Most efficient leadership style involves either expert or etalon authority. In case of the expert authority employees are willing to follow their leader, as he is professional in the field that he gives orders in. Etalon authority is extremely useful during the tough times, as the employees respect their leader/manager so much that are willing to follow him/her anywhere.

In order to asses leader’s qualities, the following criteria can be used (Tannenbaum, R. 1961, p.71): level of the leader’s confidence in employees, leadership inclination, behavior in stressful situations.

Section 5 – Controlling

Control is the final stage of the management process. It is essential to estimate the results achieved compared to the goals set. It is especially useful, as it allows finding out the reason for malfunctions and fixing them later.

There are two basic types of control: instant and final. Instant control allows adjusting the company’s operations while the operation process. Final one allows drawing up conclusions.

It is obvious that the employees usually feel rather negative about control, as it somewhat shows distrust and may lead to punishments. In order for the control functions to remain effective different types of control has to be used: organizational control allows observing the system as it keeps working; social control motivates the employees for greater results; financial control analyzes the efficiency of operations using the basic financial indicators(). Each of this types is equally important and is to be used in XYZ Internet Company.

References

Dalton G. W.; Lawrence P. R. “Motivation and Control in Organizations”. 1971, 417 pages

Woodward J. “Industrial Organization: Theory and Practice”. Oxford University Press, 1982.  286 pages

Tannenbaum, R. 196.”Leadership and Organization: A Behavioral Science Approach” McGraw-Hill, 1961.  460 pages

Petrony, 2009. “3G Internet now accessible to T-Mobile USA customers”. Ecommerce Journal. Retrieved May 25, 2009 at: http://www.ecommerce-          journal.com/news/14189_3g_internet_now_accessible_to_t_mobile_usa_customers

Federal Trade Commission report, 2007.  “Report Urges Caution on Network Neutrality Regulation”. Retrieved May 25, 2009 from: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2007/06/broadband.shtm

Wilson, R.F. 2000 “Doing a SWOT Analysis” – Web Marketing Today. Retrieved May 25, 2009 from: http://www.wilsonweb.com/wmt5/plan-swot.htm