Management Functions

       An organization whether a big or small business, new or old, should always actively perform the basic management functions in order for it to run efficiently and effectively. The management functions; planning, organizing, leading and motivating are primary tasks of a manager that need to be carried out to achieve the organization goals. Managers do not just perform their task or responsibilities haphazardly, they will learn to know inside out of the management functions to be a successful one. They are many successful managers today that has portrayed those management functions to be where they are today.

      The first and most basic management functions is planning, Steve Jobs, who was the CEO of Apple Inc. has shown this function. Jobs has performed an extraordinary planning in replacing his own succession when he steps down by assembling a management team and company culture that adopt his imagination and creativity for the future of the company and the technologies he creates. He always surrounded himself with people who have the same passion and desire in design, excellence and user experience to find the right successor (Robert Strohmeyer, 2011). Besides that, he had also outlined strategy in an e-mail to 100 senior employees in the company about the post PC era, danger of holding on too long on old paradigm and to further engage customers into their ecosystem.(Seward, 2014)

       One manager that shown great organizing quality is the CEO of Sony Corporation, Kazuo Hirai. Quality management mechanism including planning, design, development and manufacturing has been reviewed by Kazuo Hirai to reconfigure the company’s quality management system. This includes re-explaining the responsibilities, roles and authority of those responsible for service and product quality and establishing guidelines. For an example, Kazuo Hirai appointed a Corporate Executive to be responsible of Product Quality and Safety and is tasked to coordinate efforts to improve product and customer service quality with timely responses to problems. (Sony, 2014)        

      Richard Branson, CEO of Virgin Group, portrayed the leading function very clearly. He is rather a participative leader. For an example, he allows his employees to voice out on what the company can improve internally and share new ideas that can be applied or performed in the company which can increase the productivity of the workforce.  He believes by giving opportunities to the employees, it will make them feel that they have a strong connection towards the company and it also enable his employees to have an impact on how the company operates. Richard Branson also claims that good communication is achieved by communicating verbally and not through emailing or texting. As he said before, "The quality of business communication has grown poorer in recent years as people avoid phone calls and face-to-face meetings".