Functions of management in organizational operations

Functions of Management

It can be difficult for a manager to ensure common work practices are followed by workers in different nations for several reasons. Differences in the legal environments can put constraints on the work practices. There may also be cultural differences that make a given work practice easier or more logical for workers in one region compared to another. Compounding the challenge is that the manager is operating at a distance, and therefore must rely on subordinate managers for the day-to-day management of work practices.

To get around these challenges, the manager should first do his/her best to develop work practices that are both legal and practical in all regions. Once this has been done, the two best tools to ensure common work practices are followed are training and communication the work practices may be the same in each jurisdiction, but the training procedure may not be, and should be tailored to each region. Clear, consistent and regular communication with the subordinate managers is also essential. There should be no ambiguity with regards to the necessity of maintaining global consistency with regard to work practices. As well, the subordinate managers should also be aware of how important consistency is to the company's overall strategy.

2) Because most organizations have finite resources, a CEO may be faced with two mutually exclusive investments, one with a good short-term payoff but no longer term value; the other with a good long-term payoff but no short run value. If the firm's results are shaping up to be disappointing over the next few quarters, significant conflict may arise for the CEO in trying to decide which alternative is best. Further, short-term orientation may directly benefit the CEO, who may have his/her compensation tied more to short-term performance.