Fundamentals of Management Studies and Skills - Essay Sample

Introduction

Managerial functions are crucial to the success of a majority of business firms and companies. As a mainstream of industries is evolving due to intense competition, the ability to achieve efficiency, profitability, and sustainability is dependent on how top-level executives carry out their managerial functions. Disciplines such as management studies have gained enormous relevance over the years with the primary purpose of ensuring, that a company is at its core in operational effectiveness and profitability. Theories such as Maslow's Hierarchy of needs and the Management Theory by Henry Mintzberg equip managers with the necessary skills in leadership and management that ensure a company as a whole gets to realize its vision, mission, and overall goals and objectives. However, scholars suggest that despite managers being linked as the brains and the success of a majority of corporations, it is the subordinates and the human resource in general that deserves more credit. A company cannot thrive in a culture that fails to motivate its employee to achieve more while still putting their need into consideration. Using a case study of Franklin Climate System, the essay attempts to resolve fundamental operational problems in the company while offering the best alternative cause of action.

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Franklin Climate System is a strategic business unit of FB holdings that is facing financial and operational problems. The company current CFO Noelle considers the culture of the company to be at the core of all its financial and operational issues, despite the apparent assumptions of accounts and finances being the problems. In liaise with top-level company officials, Noelle is looking forward to arriving at the best cause of actions to solve the matters at hand. Noelle suggests that in the purpose of ensuring that Franklin Climate System is brought back to its feet of financial sustainability, it is the culture of the company that needs to change. As the business division is well acknowledged to take less pride in its people, many layoffs do not strike as new news. Noelle implies that the toxic culture of firing employees is detrimental to the success of the company. Additionally, the company CFO recommends that the only way to achieve business success is through a positive culture and no matter what industry a company is in its a people business.

Key Aspects of Noelle's Work as a Manager

Viewing the case study at a theoretical perspective, the management of the company may be failing to meet employee needs that further results in a negative culture and lack of motivation to achieve organizational goals. Maslow's hierarchy of needs implies that different set of employees in an organization can be grouped according to their needs. These needs act as a basis of motivation to employees when fully catered for that ensures their optimum best is achieved. Maslow poised that human needs tend to exists in a hierarchy that includes psychological needs, safety needs, love and belonging, Ego Needs and Self-Actualization (Hanachor & Aruma, 2017,p 22). Being a renowned psychologist, Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a theory used to motivate and create a sense of entitlement and belonging to employees in an organization. Franklin Climate system ought to instill some of these employment needs in their company culture to ensure employee are even more motivated to work.

Noelle being the CFO and amongst the reputed executives expected to bring about a fundamental change in Franklin Climate System, I would advocate she anchor her strategies on resolving motivation issues. It is with no doubt that the company faces motivational problems as inadequate compensation due to exemplary performance and excess micromanaging by top-level executives. As in the case with the sales executive who only got $36 as compensation for sealing a significant deal, employees lack the hunger even to achieve more. Henry Fayol 14 principles of management acknowledge motivation as a critical factor in ensuring the success of an organization. The scholar suggests that for management to realize the full potential of employees, there should exist a useful framework that compensates an employee for a job well done. Fayol 14 principles suggest that a job well done should be rewarded through remuneration in both monetary and non-monetary means (Taneja & Pryor, 2010, 492). Failure to encourage employees to work more through compensations reduces the sense of entitlement to their roles as their efforts go unnoticed. Noelle can, however, approach the issue in Franklin Climate System be putting up motivational parameters. Monetary remunerations may include bonuses, compensation, stock options, increased salaries, good commissions on exceeding set target and perquisites (Taneja & Pryor, 2010,p. 493). Stock options work best for top-level executives on steering the company to heighten profitability through a percentage share of the profits attained. Subordinates, on the other hand, get to enjoy increased salaries, perquisites, and promotions. In a case where Noelle wants to be cost-effective in her motivational tactics, non-remuneration methods such as the employee of the year certificate and giving credits to an employee who has exceeded performance improves the company status quo. Even though there is no financial benefit attached, at least employees get a sense of belonging.

Maslow hierarchy of needs, on the other hand, identified safety needs as amongst the critical requirements of human beings. In safety needs, he purports that people are in lack of security from physical dangers, chaotic conditions and social disorder that may include war, kidnapping, terrorism and clashes (Jerome, 2013 p. 39). In an organizational context, employees need protection from health hazard that may result in the workplace. Insurance coverage offered by companies to employees is amongst the many ways that management ensures safety needs of their employees are well addressed, and there exists a compensation plan on accounts health hazards befall their employees in the workplace. Additionally, good working conditions that include the provision of protective gears when dealing with toxic processes and availability of security from external attacks are well accounted for in Maslow's safety needs. Hence, the majority of organizations to date use general findings of Maslow's to ensure every employee safety needs is protected.

However, Franklin Climate System falls short in addressing the security needs of their personnel as their employees bear in mind their employment contract can be terminated any time. As Maslow's Hierarchy of needs also advocate for job security in the organizational context, the company culture has proven inefficient in protecting the jobs of its personnel (Jerome, 2013, p 40). It is the dream of every employee to be guaranteed job security through permanent employment. Thus, most employees are not able to execute their roles to their optimum best if terms of the profession are contractual or casual. The case in Franklin Climate System is however different as the culture of the company allows it to fire employees in what it deems as a re-engineering strategy to achieve operational efficiency. Thus it is the work of Noelle to ensure that employees are protected from abrupt termination of employment and layoffs. As she acknowledges no employee or highly talented workforce would love to work with a company that frequently calls for layoffs of its employees as the day breaks she is more entitled to protect the work of existing employees from restructuring and downsizing.

Noelle is furthermore entitled to ensure employees get the motivation to work even harder through addressing their Ego and love needs. Maslow's hierarchy of needs implies that human beings require love and belonging, while their ego needs are also essential to address (Hanachor & Aruma, 2017,p. 18). Especially amongst younger employees, Noelle is obliged to design strategies and put up a culture that appreciates and caters for love needs. Such needs are best addressed through family-friendly company policies that ensure employees get to have an opportunity with their families and loved ones. Company retreats, outdoor activities and team building programs facilitate bonding of employees and enhance shared love and belonging among team members. As Noelle in the case study implies that she hears employees quitting and threating to leave every time, it is a sign that an employee lacks a sense of belonging to the firm.

Additionally, employees tend to work best and achieve higher when their ego is preserved. Through initiatives such as giving awards, prizes, promotions and assigning new titles employees to get to boast publicly for a job well done creating a sense of pride. Noelle is thus obligated to ensure these managerial functions are carried out across Franklin Climate System in a bid to ensure there is a positive culture that enhances employee motivation.

Which Management Skills Would Noelle Need To Apply To Fix The Toxic Culture At The Little Rock Arkansas Plant Of Franklin Climate Systems?

For Noelle to effectively fix the toxic culture in Franklin Climate System, it is expected of her to possess managerial skills that will provide direction towards a more positive culture in the organization. The case study has highlighted a majority of the personnel contribute to the toxic culture due to lack of motivation and sense of belonging to the company. Therefore, Noel should be well versed in the ability to motivate and empower others. Fayol 14 principles management suggest that the ability of a manager to know the name of a subordinate is motivation enough for the worker to feel a sense of entitlement and belonging (Rodrigues, 2001 p.883). In the worker perspective recognition is an indicator that makes an employee feel part of the organization. In the quest of ensuring the employees of Franklin Climate System are motivated and empowered to work, Noelle ought to interact with his team members and subordinates. Of course, not all of them as Franklin Climate System may contain thousands of employees, but it is the work of every unit manager and supervisor to ensure that they get to interact with the employees under their department.

As earlier noted in the essay, addressing employees' needs is amongst the principal ways in motivating and empowering employees to work. Needs of people in the organization can be grouped according to different levels and addressing those needs motivates employees to achieve their optimum best. Offering job security is enough motivation for personnel who have recently joined the company to cater to their safety needs while offering various leaves and family holiday vacations to employees caters for their love needs. Additionally, through self-actualization, a company may meet or facilitate the desires of an employee who wishes to pursue a happy ever after state through actualizing his or her potential. Maslow suggests that self-actualization needs will greatly vary from one person to another, as one may wish to be a mother while the other may be expressed in inventions (Jerome, 2013 p 42). The need being closely associated with an experienced and senior in the organization, it is vital for the Noelle to cater to these grouped needs in the company. From a Maslow's hierarchy of needs perspectives, identifying and catering the different level of requirements to employees is motivation enough to ensure they are favorable to the culture.

As Franklin Climate System is facing financial problems, effectively remunerating all employees proves to be a problem. Noelle, however, may motivate employees towards a more positive culture through performance-based remunerations. As the compa...