The Job of a Manager Essay -- Business Mangement

As the world moves through the 21st Century, business is becoming more dependent upon professional managers, who can bring success to an organization. Issues such as globalization and decentralization adds to the need for organization's to hire flexible managers capable of leading. A 21st century manager should possess three traits and utilize them to lead organizations: the ability to stimulate change, excellent planning capabilities, and ethics. What a manager does and how it is done can be categorized by Henri Fayol's four functions of management: Planning, Organizing, Leading and Controlling. Through these functions managers can be catalysts for change or by definition change agents - "People who act as catalysts and manage the change process." (Robbins, Bergman, Stagg and Coulter, 2000, p.438) Whether performing the role of the change agent or not, change is an integral part of a manager's job. Change is "An alteration in people, structure or technology." (Robbins et al., 2000, p.437) Change occurs within and around organizations today at an unprecedented speed and complexity. Change poses threats and creates opportunities. The fact that change creates opportunities is reason why managers need to encourage change. What a manager can change falls distinctively into the three categories stated in the definition of change: people, structure, and technology. The manager can make alterations in these areas in an attempt to adapt to or facilitate change. The change of people involves changing attitudes, expectations, perceptions and behavior. These changes are used to help people within organizations to work together more effecti... ...t ethical standards and social responsibilities would guide every manager throughout his/her career. Professional conduct should be governed by a code of ethics that reflects positively on the practitioner and managerial profession. Simply stated, nothing should prevent a manager from maintaining high ethical standards and social responsibility in the quest for high performance and quality. In conclusion, it is obvious the ability to stimulate change, excellent planning capabilities, and ethics are essential traits a manger should possess and utilize in leading organizations in the 21st Century. These traits help the manager focus on success for their organization; as well, they are traits subordinates look for in their leader. By using these traits, a manager can place him/herself on a path that can lead to success.