Functions Management What Are the Different Functions

Functions Management

What are the different functions involved in management? How do they help one to achieve success in the workplace? In what ways does each of them enhance the organizational culture? One will study in depth the various aspects of managing others and apply them to a city Police Department setting.

The four areas of management consist of planning, organizing, leading and controlling. Anyone that is in law enforcement has some level of planning on a regular basis, whether he or she is the chief or a police officer in his or her district. This means establishing goals to get crime down (Dessler, 2005). Each person is law enforcement is held to a higher standard with their ethical conduct, and within a given location citizens are allowed to complain to those in authority to reprimand anyone behaving unethical and unprofessional (Forte, 2001). However, anyone that is above the person (who is considered a supervisor or manager), he or she is allowed to set policies and procedures besides reinforcing the law. A department may exist to discipline those that are not complying with the organization, and he or she may face terrible consequences through write-ups or having to take time off depending on the severity of it (Dessler, 2005). In essence, this consists of strategy and how to meet the needs of others in the city and county as well as state in order to do everything possible to help others by keeping everyone safe in their neighborhoods.

The next area is organizing. This means giving a subordinate a specific task (Dessler, 2005). One will establish their department on what it is they hope to do for the community they serve daily or through a given target market. A hierarchy is established so that subordinates know whom they are accountable to when going to work (Dessler, 2005). In a police department the head is considered the chief; furthermore, those that are in charge of the other officers are the captains and the deputy sheriffs' as well as the regular police within the business itself. An employee handbook may exist at this point before people are hired at the staffing stage. Human Resources (HR) is in charge of putting all of this together. At least 50% of the work is done within their department and the additional half is done by other areas within the company (Dessler, 2005). For example, when it comes to coming up with "channels of authority," they would have to work with the Chief in order to for coming up with a chain of command, and do whatever he or she tells them to do (Dessler, 2005). With both of these departments working together, they are able to achieve ways to coordinate other peoples work in an efficient manner by coming up with a method in which to evaluate others objectively (Dessler, 2005).

One has to staff a firm in order for revenue to come in on a regular basis. In a Police Department, the individuals are paid by the state because of their service to the community through reinforcing the law. They usually put the candidate through a number of tests in order to determine if they are physically, emotionally and mentally competent to handle the problems of crime within their population. Sometimes individuals are recruited for this particular vocation by means of going through mental health testing and background checks. Performance standards are set when each officer goes through training (Dessler, 2005). Furthermore, they are required to stay current with their skills learned from the organization in order to maintain their position. As a result, they are compensated for the number of hours they put in daily, weekly and monthly from the city and state (Dessler, 2005). The ultimate goal is to retain employees and to make them holistically strong before, during and after dealing with criminals.

Someone has to become a leader in every discipline. This is another area of managing others to become a success. One learns to get the job done and to do it well. As leaders emerge, the company goes through changes because one learns how to improve the work environment for the good of those in administration and the subordinate (Forte, 2001). Through this, people are motivated to do their work better and to stick with the company longer (Dessler, 2005). Every year Police Departments recognize their outstanding officers at a banquet and reward them with a higher ranking. They are usually honored and thankful for this opportunity.

Controlling others is not an easy task, especially if they are an adult and set in their ways (Dessler, 2005). Standards are set, such as performance evaluations, writing up those who choose not to obey to authority or act unethical (Forte, 2001). This allows for a company to maintain a good reputation in the community they serve. Police officers who act unprofessional can get turned in by their co-workers and the citizens, and this is taken seriously, especially if they failed to comply with policies and procedures. The goal is to have everyone behaving in a professional manner no matter where the subordinate works in the city or state doing law enforcement.