Planning Is a Very Important Aspect - Report Example

Planning and Leading Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course Code: Date of Submission: Planning Planning is a very important aspect of management. This is because seeks to look into the future of the organizations, the goals to be achieved and the preparatory activities that have to be performed for these goals to be achieved (Bartol & Bretag, 2007). With planning, all activities are scheduled in such away so that they help the business accomplish it is mission within the required time. Planning is not only an aspect of an organization but can also be used in personal life in terms of what one wants to achieve in life and what needs to be done for the goals to be achieved. According to field study, which entailed an interview with Aaron Squelch, Senior Business Analyst, Monash University, it was revealed that planning is about knowing what you want to achieve within a given timeframe and the strategies that can be used. Scheduling of events For example, according to our interviewee, the plan of activities was especially important in each day in order to ensure his duties are complete and up to the expectations. According to Aaron the current and future activities are scheduled with respect to the calendar dates. This is important in ensuring that the fast and most urgent activities come first. To an organization, this response by Aaron demonstrates what planning and the role of the planners should be about. First, planning identifies what the organization wants to achieve within a given timeframe and what should be done as part of actions to realizing the stated objectives. Further, planning in an organization level according to (Bartol et al 2005) entails informing the rest of the staff and other managers on their duties and responsibilities and the time they should be performed in order to ensure that all organizations are kept on track and run well with the company goals and objectives. Time management and definition This study has also established that planning as a management function, is responsible for defining the time within which a given task must be accomplished. The interview with Aaron, reveal that in his personal planning, he normally captures what he wants to do within a given year. On the same line, monitoring comes in as a very important aspect of trying to review whether all anticipated activities go as planned. The aspect of monitoring according to Aaron is to ensure that all the activities do not deviate from the anticipated goals and objectives. Most important about monitoring according to Aaron, is that monitoring pays particular attention to measuring the progress of work towards personal goals and objectives. However, in the case of an organization according to ((Bartol et al 2009)), the company goals are particularly based on the company mission and they are always distinct when they should be achieved. Irrespective of the kind of objectives that are there, the responsibility of planning is to ensure that necessary activities are performed within a given timeframe and that they always have significant impact in achieving these goals. Finally, monitoring, in an organization is used to evaluate the progress of the objectives and if the identified activities will assist in achieving these objectives. Monitoring is actually done regularly for appropriate action to be taken if need arises. Career development Career progression, is also an important part of planning. According to this study, Aaron argues that in his position, always has a target and that after every 3 years he targets moving to move into the next position. However, in trying to climb the ladder position, he always make sure that all his responsibilities as a manager are comprehensively handled and satisfactory results produced. This to an organization can be applied from the aspect of appraisal and allocation of duties and responsibilities based on competencies, experience and skills. What this means for the organization is that planning should also entail the process of rewarding competence through promotion and appraisal (Bartol et al 2009). Risk analysis Finally, planning as a management function is responsible for identifying what are the obstacle factors and success factors to goals and objectives are. According to this study, it was established that the major obstacle to realizing his goals and objectives is the process of managing the interests of various stakeholders. This is because different expectations are always present and to satisfy them, it becomes absolutely difficult. Finally, planning is about identifying success factors. For instance, with technology it is possible to use its Microsoft ads to run and track numerous activities at one given time (Bartol et al 2009). Leading as a management function Leading is one of the functions of management and is getting all people in the organization following a given direction that can be productive for the organization. Leading is important in boosting employee morale, inspiring others and encouraging effective communication among the staff. From the field study, it was established that leading as a management function is very wide and can cover a number of aspects which include motivating the staff, establishing a strategy for leading other people, qualities of a person that can lead others and mentoring (Bartol et al 2009). Motivation Leading can be both very difficult and challenging to depending on the context and the size of the organization one is expected to lead. This is because it is not always easy to motivate people who have different interests. According to Aaron, motivation is a very important aspect of leading and can take place in different levels namely team level and personal level. Motivation the staff according to Aaron, can be achieved in many different ways which include allowing the staff to take much responsibility of what they are doing as much as a possible, complimenting the team members for the effort being put in towards achieving a given goal, encouraging organizational work-life balance policy and trying to be easy and friendly with the rest of the team members. According to (Bartol et al 2005), a manager should always make an effort to inspire his employees. This is especially because the employees are expected to follow on the ways of manager. At this point motivation is key pillar in ensuring that the employees are ready to follow him because they believe in him and in his leadership. By doing this, the manager will be helping the organization to achieve its goals. From the study, it has been demonstrated that by allowing the subordinates to take ownership of what they do is important in make them feel part of the organization and hence become more motivated. Appreciating effort and achievement is also an important strategy to motivating the subordinates because they will always strive to do more. In general, the purpose of motivating the staff is to get to accept one’s leadership and organizational goals and objectives (Bartol et al 2009). Strategy for leading people Leadership is possible if the right approach to leading people is applied in the organization. According to the field survey where the interview to establish the best approach to leading people was conducted to Aaron who Senior Business Analyst, at Monash University, it was found out that leadership should on what ought to be done and not how it is done. This implies that guiding is more preferable as opposed to directing (Bartol et al 2005). Further, following up on the activities of the team members and trying to establish where they need some assistance is fundamental. This is especially important in fostering the spirit of cooperation and the freedom to consult where there are difficulties. Further, by involving the subordinates, it is always easy to inspire the sense of belonging and also creativity and innovative ideas to emerge. The ultimate result under this approach of leadership is satisfaction and commitment to work. Qualities for leading While this study was embarked on establishing what the most preferred qualities of a good leader are, it was found out that a good a leader must posses the following qualities: ability to clearly state the direction for the team, ability to think critically, being passionate, confident and ability to create fun. All these qualities are especially important in learning to understand various scenarios which are likely to affect the performance of the team and then establish ways to managing them (Bartol et al 2005). Mentoring Leading is also expected to foster mentorship among the subordinates. Mentoring is the process of supporting and encouraging the staff to manage themselves in the most appropriate way possible so as to enhance their performance (Bartol & Bretag, 2007). According to Aaron, mentoring can occur at all levels, and it may include managers, subordinates and colleagues as well. However, mentorship is possible if feedback is encouraged and all people involved in outcome. Mentorship in an organization is especially important for new employees as they will be required to join into the working environment. Mentorship can easily be facilitated outside normal times especially lunch breaks where the leader will have some brief but friendly conversation with the mentees. This is especially important in making the mentorship as free as possible (Williams& McWilliams 2010). References Bartol, K, Martin, D, Tein, M, Matthews, G, Ritson, P and Scott-Ladd, B 2005, Management Foundations, A Pacific Rim Focus, 1st Edition, McGraw-Hill, Sydney. Bartol, K & Bretag, T 2007, Management Foundations, 2nd Edition: BMO1102 Management and Organisation Behaviour, McGraw-Hill, Sydney Bartol, K, Martin, D, Tein, M, Matthews, G, Sharma, B Ritson, P and Scott-Ladd, B 2009, Management Foundations, A Pacific Rim Focus, 2nd Edition, McGraw-Hill, Sydney. Williams, C & McWilliams, A 2010, MGMT, Asia Pacific Edition Cengage Learning, Melbourne. Read More