Introduction
The success of an organization is dependent on the quality, timeliness, and responsiveness of decisions made by its leaders. When managers make effective decisions that respond to the prevailing challenges, their organization enjoy high competitiveness to their competitors.
According to Sanchez & Mahoney, 1996, managerial roles can be classified into four main categories as planning, organizing, leading, and controlling/monitoring; efficient managers are able to effectively combine the four dimensions of management for the benefit of their organization. Organizing function of management involves putting factors of production into optimal use to attain competitiveness (Sanchez & Mahoney, 1996). This paper discusses the organizing function of management.
Organizing function of management
According to Robey & Sayles, 1994, firms have human, information, physical, and financial resources; it is through the resources that they are expected to take advantage of market opportunities and mitigate any risk associated with the market.
To manage and take advantage of prevailing business opportunities as well as mitigate against business risks, resources need to be managed effectively. Management have the role of enacting policies and strategies that optimally utilize their resources to add value to their customers; they have the task of optimally managing resources and ensuring that maximum gain has been derived from them.
Organizing function of management ensures that activities are optimally managed; processes and allocation of factors of production are managed to produce expected results. Organizations should ensure activities are well thought and coordinated for positive results and mitigate any business threats (Robey & Sayles, 1994).
Van Fleet & Bedeian, 1977, suggest that leaders within an organization have the role of establishing the right channels through which their business processes should follow for the benefit of their firms. Effectively managed organizations have their resources optimally utilized and well planned to attain high results.
When planning management should be in the forefront making strategies that should be followed to attain the desired result; contemporary business environment has numerous challenges that needs to be critically approached. To critically handle issues, management have the role of organizing their organisations strengths for the good of stakeholders.
Organizing is an act that results to well coordinate activities; the activities are operated in such a way that they will attain certain desired results. In the input-out analysis, managers have the role of ensuring the inputs they have put in a process has given the desired output; in the event that some deficit have been noted, it should be the start point of remedy (Van & Bedeian, 1977).
Organization goals, missions, and visions can only be attained if the management organizes processes effectively; this includes undertaking input-output analysis and undertaking numerous internal and external environment analysis using management policies like S.W.O.T. (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis, P.E.S.T.L.E. (Political, social, Ecological, Technological, legal, and environmental) analysis, and using porters five forces.
Organizing takes the form of continuous process where the management engages in day-to-day activities and looks into the right method or process to improve the performance of the processes. When processes are undertaken effectively and expected results have been attained; management should not relax and think they have attained the optimal process; they should aim at developing other better methods of attaining their goals and objectives.
Business competitiveness is attained when a company is able to enact policies that organize their processes and resources to attain low production cost, improved value, and increase human resources motivation. When a company is able to produce resources at low costs, it can sell them at relatively low costs than its competitors thus making it more competitive.
On the other hand when value within an organization and its processes is improved, customers are satisfied with the products they get from the system. When customers are satisfied with the output of a company, they develop customer loyalty to the company’s products which is a competitive tool.
Although the three articles by Sanchez & Mahoney, Van Fleet & Bedeian, Robey & Sayles, have emphasized the need for management to make strategic organizing decisions, all the three articles have ignored the role that staffs/human resources (subordinates) play in the organizing functions.
To effectively manage resources, organizations need the right systems, and the right employees; the right employees are the ones who can assist management come up with decisions that are responsive to the organization needs. If management make quality decisions and they lack a framework through which the decision will be implemented, then the results of the quality decisions will not be good (Weygandt, Kimmel & Kieso, 2009).
Conclusion
Managerial decisions determine the degree at which corporate goals and objective will be attained; one characteristic of effective managers is effective organization. Managers are expected to they combine human, psychical, and financial resources optimally to attain desired corporate results. When undertaking the organizing role, managers should be guided by industrial treads and undertake input-output analysis to make the right decisions.
References
Robey,D.,& Sayles, C.A.(1994). Designing organizations. Irwin: Burr Ridge.
Sanchez,R.,& Mahoney,J.(1996). Modularity, flexibility and knowledge management in product and organization design. Strategic Management Journal, 17(1), 63-76.
Van Fleet, D.,& Bedeian, A. (1977). A history of the span of management. Academy of management Review, 2(1), 356-375.
Weygandt, J., Kimmel, P., & Kieso, D. (2009). Managerial Accounting: Tools for Business Decision Making. New York: John Wiley and Sons.