Management Roles and Functions Quiz

Management and Administration in Nursing

• Management is a distinct process used to achieve stated objectives, utilizing human and other resources.
• It includes goal setting, accomplishment, performance appraisal, and developing an operating philosophy to ensure organizational survival.

Definitions

• Management is a process that determines and fulfills stated objectives utilizing human and resources.
• Management involves organizational activities focused on goal setting, fulfillment, performance evaluation, and creating an operational philosophy ensuring organizational sustainability.

Management

• Management is the procedure of utilizing organizational resources to manage personnel and their work processes toward a shared objective.
• Managers are professionals who handle the entire organizational system utilizing their expertise.

Administration

• Administration is the systematic process of managing businesses, educational institutions (like schools), government offices, or non-profit organizations.
• Administration comprises the highest level of management in the organizational hierarchy.
• Administration focuses on setting objectives, creating policies/procedures, and enforcing regulations.

Key Differences Between Management and Administration

• Management: A systematic approach managing personnel and resources within an organization. Concentrates on implementing policies. An executive role. A group of employees within the organization.
• Administration: A group managing the entire organization. Formulates policies. Responsible for laws and decisions. Represents the owners/organization leadership.

Key Differences Between Management and Administration (Continued)

• Management: Makes decisions within predefined administrative parameters. Operates within profit-generating organizations (businesses). Decides who does what job.
• Administration: Makes all critical organizational decisions. Present in government, military, clubs, and hospitals. Decides what job should be done.

Management (Characteristics)

• Key activities include planning, organizing, leading, motivating, controlling, coordinating, and decision-making.
• The five Ms of organization are Men, Materials, Machines, Methods and Money.
• The goal is desired output and ensuring all measures are taken.

Features of Management

• Universal: Applicable in all organizations (social, religious, commercial, educational, political)
• Integrative: Harmonizes individual goals with organizational goals
• Action-Oriented: Organizes and uses resources to reach predetermined objectives
• People-Centric: Occurs through the efforts of people
• Dynamic: Ongoing and changes according to the business context.
• Science and Art: Uses underlying knowledge; essential management skills are specific to individuals.

Basic Management Actions

• Identify tasks and actions for completion
• Organize resources
• Ensure efficient/effective task completion
• Plan for future needs
• Address arising problems

Management Skills

• Technical: Ability to utilize resources within an area of expertise. Specialized knowledge and proficiency to complete tasks effectively.
• Human: Ability to interact effectively with people. Leading, motivating, managing conflict, and cooperative teamwork.
• Conceptual: Ability to see the organization as a whole, noting the reliance of different functions on one another. Creating ideas, understanding relationships of parts, visualizing company's relationship to industry, community and the nation's political, social and economic forces.
• Diagnostic: Investigating problems with focus on developing solutions. Requires technical, human and conceptual skills in problem resolution.
• Political: Acquiring influence required to achieve objectives. Establishing connections and impressing appropriate individuals.

Managerial Roles (Interpersonal)

• Figurehead: Symbolic head of the organization, representing the organization (e.g., conferences, ceremonies)
• Leader: Directs employees, manages staffing, motivates, and promotes.
• Liaison: Maintains outside contacts, interacts with peers/colleagues outside the organization to gain support, share and receive information. Develops and sustains external connections.

Managerial Roles (Informational)

• Monitor: Receives and disseminates information (briefings, brainstorming, reports, data analysis, media relations)
• Disseminator: Receives and transmits information from internal sources to other parts of the organization.
• Spokesperson: Provides information concerning the organization's work to internal/external groups, transmitting information on plans, policies, actions, and results.

Managerial Roles (Decisional)

• Entrepreneur: Initiates and designs changes within the organization (organizational structure, training, development programs, performance appraisals, work design, risk-taking). Exploits opportunities.
• Disturbance Handler: Addresses threats and unplanned changes (politics, competition, labor unions conflicts, etc). Responsible for corrective action during unexpected disturbances.
• Negotiator: Negotiates on behalf of the organization (internally and externally - e.g. with unions, purchasing, training, equipment acquisition).

Functions/Principles of Management (Controlling)

• Controlling: Guiding employees to follow instructions as directed by management.
• Feedback Control: Gathering info about completed tasks, evaluating findings, using them to improve future tasks.
• Concurrent Control: Real-time control mechanisms detecting and addressing issues immediately to prevent losses.

Types of Management Control

• Predictive Control: Preventing problems by anticipating them.
• Steering Control: Guiding the process to the correct path.
• Yes/No Control: Determining whether an activity should proceed.
• Budgetary Control: Controlling organizational resources, including financial budgets.
• Strategic Control: Guaranteeing company alignment with goals through strategic planning.

Check List for Effective Control

• Reflects nature/needs of the activity
• Reports deviations promptly
• Forward-looking/future-oriented
• Exposes exceptions at strategic points
• Objective

Check List for Effective Control (Continued)

• Flexible
• Reflects organizational structure
• Economical
• Understandable
• Indicates corrective action

Two Basic Control Approaches

• Traditional Approach:
• Set standards/targets/goals
• Measure actual performance vs standards
• Take corrective action
• Commitment-Based Approach:
• Gain commitment to quality
• Hire and invest in committed personnel
• Foster self-control
• Build a sense of community/shared fate

Commitment-Based Approach (Continued)

• Guarantee organizational justice
• Use financial rewards/profit-sharing
• Encourage self-actualization

Scope of Area of Control

• Policies and procedures
• Organization
• Staff
• Methods
• Expenditure/income
• Research/development

Processes of Controlling in Management

• Formulate Standards: Creating a report on project standards and employee performance expectations.
• Measure Actual Performance: Evaluating employee performance and collecting task reports.
• Compare Performance: Comparing actual outcomes with established standards and noting the differences.
• Take Corrective Action: Evaluating performance gaps and addressing them based on organizational policy and past performance.

Functions/Principles of Management (Directing)

• Guiding, inspiring, overseeing, and instructing personnel toward accomplishing organizational objectives.

Characteristics of Direction

• Pervasive Function: Essential at all organizational levels; each manager provides direction and motivation to subordinates.
• Continuous Activity: Ongoing throughout the life of an organization.
• Human Factor: Directing is crucial to manage unpredictable human behavior.
• Creative Activity: Transforming plans into performance, ensuring resources are used meaningfully and prevent inactivity.
• Executive Function: All managers and executives conduct the directing function. Subordinates receive instructions only from superiors.

Importance of Directing Function

• Initiates Actions: Subordinates start work based on instructions, understanding tasks, and accomplishing them.
• Integrates Efforts: Integrates efforts across departments, leading to effectiveness/stability.
• Coping with Changes: Facilitates organizational adaption to internal/external changes.
• Efficient Resource Utilization: Clarifies roles, minimizing overlap and preventing wasted resources.

Functions/Principles of Management (Planning)

• Setting objectives and devising a plan for achievement. Managers must identify/forecast environmental conditions for effective planning.

Steps in Planning

• Environmental scanning: Analyzing economic conditions, competitors, and customers to anticipate contingencies.
• Establish objectives: Defining statements of what needs to be achieved, when, and how.

Steps in Planning (Continued)

• Identify alternative courses of action: Exploring and evaluating alternative strategies/options.
• Decision-making: Deciding on the best course of action to achieve objectives.
• Evaluation: Regularly assessing plan effectiveness and adjusting as needed.

Types of Planning

• Strategic planning: Understanding the competitive environment, assessing company strengths/weaknesses.
• Tactical planning: Developing specific means to implement the strategic plan. Often carried out by middle-level managers. Intermediate-range.
• Operational planning: Short-term plans outlining specific steps to support strategic and tactical plans (less than a year).

Other Types of Planning

• Standing plans: Established routines; formulas, procedures used in recurring situations. Standardize actions, and deal with unexpected events (management by exception). Must be updated regularly.
• Single-use plans: Developed for one-time occasions/purposes. Purpose may involve major changes/budgets. Importance depends on nature/time required to implement.
• Day by day planning: High priority of first-line supervisor. Includes prioritizing actions and adjusting standing plans to suit the current day. Simplifies planning with routines. Increases predictability.

Importance of Planning

• Aids Decision-Making: Guides managers to consider the future and select from alternative action plans.
• Decreases Risk: Allows anticipation of changes and their implications.
• Encourages Innovation: Management's core function is developing plans and strategies.
• Provides Direction: Defines clear objectives, outlines a framework for necessary actions.

Importance of Planning (Continued)

• Decreases Overlap/Waste: Foundation for organizing activities/goals within departments and among individuals. Prevents chaos.
• Sets Standards: Defines standards for controlling, measuring actual performance against established standards.

Planning for Change

• Thoroughness required for planning for change; like other planning, with an emphasis on forecasting extent, assessing risk, and understanding the implications of the change.

###Planning for Change (Continued)

• Worker Response and Resistance: Workers may resist change due to insecurity, anxiety and resentment, often responding through resistance, rumors and uncertainty.
• Dealing with Resistance: Solutions include establishing open communication, emphasizing benefits (without exaggerating) and involving workers in the process.

Functions/Principles of Management (Organizing)

• Distributing employees and allocating resources to promote productivity, efficiency and achieving organizational goals.

Steps in Organizing

• Identify activities: Establishing activities needed within an organization and recording them (records, quality control).
• Departmental organization: Organizing related activities into departments to improve efficiency.
• Classify authority: Establishing a hierarchy by ranking managerial positions and their powers.
• Coordination: Establishing relationships to facilitate smooth interactions toward organizational goals.

Importance of Organizing

• Specialization: Division of labor benefits from area expertise.
• Well-defined roles: Clear definition of roles and responsibilities, reducing uncertainty.
• Clarified authority: Clear job roles/responsibilities, promoting efficiency and diminishing misuse of power.
• Coordination: Effective relationships/communication ensure smooth functioning.
• Effective Administration: Clarifies manager roles, developing specialization.
• Growth and diversification: Smooth functioning leads to growth and diversification.
• Sense of security: Clear roles enhance job satisfaction and provide security.

Quality Assurance

• A quality management process establishing standards, guidelines and procedures to prevent quality issues and maintain product/service integrity.
• Focuses on product/service fit-for-purpose and right-first-time principles.

Methods of Quality Assurance

• Total Quality Management (TQM): A company-wide approach developing a quality mindset, with trained personnel maintaining standards/achieving continual improvements.
• Failure testing: Testing products under extreme stress to expose areas of weakness or flaws.
• Process and Product Quality Assurance (PPQA): Establishing quality standards at the organizational level to determine and address quality issues; evaluates/solves quality management issues in the organizational setting.
• Statistical Process Control (SPC): Using statistical tools to identify quality issues; improving effectiveness of production procedures/process.

Statistical Process Control (SPC)

• Employing statistical tools for determining/managing quality issues, measuring effectiveness of processes, and improving production procedures.
• Differentiates Quality Assurance (QA) from Quality Control (QC). QA is any systematic method ensuring products/services meet requirements, while QC focuses on evaluating the product's quality after production (upon completion).

Importance of QA

• Meets customer needs/expectations/requirements.
• Excellent quality products enhance customer loyalty and builds trust.
• Reduces product defects.

Auditing

• A systematic and disciplined approach to evaluating/improving processes and controls. Performed by independent individuals who meet professional standards/certifications.

Characteristics of Auditing

• Professionals independent of the operation perform audits.
• Formal, systematic/structured approach to auditing.
• Includes planning/sampling/testing/validation.
• Formal communication (recommendations, corrective action, measures).
• Accountability typically resides with the Chief Audit Executive and the Audit Committee.

Types of Audits

• Internal audits: Employees within a company or organization. Primarily for internal stakeholders; no distribution outside the company.
• External audits: External organizations/third parties conduct independent unbiased assessments. Internal auditors may not have the same objectivity.
• Government audits: Ensures financial statements are accurate, thereby preventing misrepresentation of taxable income.

Monitoring and Evaluation

• Effective monitoring and evaluation is critical for successful projects/programs.
• Organizations collect/analyze data to confirm achievement of goals. Monitoring begins at the onset of the project and continues throughout its duration. Evaluation (coming after) assesses the project/program's success.

Importance of Monitoring and Evaluation

• Enhances transparency/accountability.
• Enables early identification of problems.
• Ensures efficient resource utilization.

Importance of Monitoring and Evaluation (Continued)

• Promotes learning from mistakes.
• Improves decision-making.
• Maintains organizational structure.
• Helps replicate effective projects/programs.

Problem-Solving

• Defining the problem, identifying the cause, prioritizing solutions and implementing the chosen solution.

Steps In Problem-Solving

• Defining the problem: Identifying the core underlying problem (not just symptoms), distinguishing facts from opinions, specifying causes, consulting affected parties for information then clearly stating the underlying problem.
• Generating alternative solutions: Delay choosing a solution until various options have been presented (short-term & long-term). Brainstorm solutions, ensure consistency with organizational goals.
• Evaluating and selecting an alternative: Skilled problem-solvers evaluate multiple alternatives based on proven and possible outcomes. Explicitly state the chosen solution.
• Implementing and following up on the solution: Leaders ensure implementation and gather feedback from affected parties to guarantee consensus/acceptance; implementation needs to be managed.

Thank You

• Acknowledgement statement thanking the listeners.

Test your knowledge on various managerial roles and functions in the context of management. This quiz covers aspects such as the diagnostic role, interpersonal role, and the different types of control in management. Challenge yourself to identify key responsibilities and characteristics of effective management.