WANT TO BE A TOP LEVEL MANAGER?

The best managers can turn improve productivity, keep staff working happily and effectively, and dramatically increase profitability.

In this course you will learn management theories and procedures, problem solving and decision making tactics, staff management, and more. Developed by professionals with a substantial amount of industry experience, it is the perfect foundation for a successful career. Ensure your management style is grounded in the 'tried and true.'

CONTENT

There are 7 lessons in this module as follows:

1. Introduction and Organisational Structures

• Types of Organisations
• Legal Status
• Liability for Staff Actions
• Basic Contract Law
• Role of a Manager
• Management Objectives
• Management Processes
• Mission Statements
• Types of Managers
• Levels of Management
• Organisational Structures; formal and informal
• Division of Responsibilities
• Understanding the Workplace
• Unions
• Committees
• Scope of Office Work
• Report Writing

2. Management Theories and Procedures

• Motivating Employees
• Classic School of Management Theory
• Behavioural School of Management Theory
• Management Science School of Management Theory
• Other Management Theorists and their Ideas; Weber, Barnard, Follett, Mazlow, Herzberg
• Contingency Planning
• Introducing Change
• Giving Orders
• Types of Orders

3. Problem Solving and Decision Making

• Decision Making
• Problem Solving Technique
• Types of Managers
• Group Decision Making and Problem Solving
• Conflict Resolution Techniques
• The Planning Process
• Implementing a Plan
• Time Management
• Planning for Your Organisation
• The Importance of Planning
• Developing a Business Plan
• Lateral Thinking

4. Management Styles and External Influences

• Management Styles
• Target Oriented Management
• Process Oriented Management
• Interactive Oriented Management
• Management as Leaders
• Perception
• Perceptual Barriers
• Perceptual Change
• Motivating Employees to Change their Perception
• Other Factors affecting Managers Effectiveness; Stress, Self Esteem, Career Management, Security etc

 5. Employing People and Interview Skills

• Advertising for New Staff
• Anti Discrimination
• Interviewing
• Communication at an Interview
• Common Communication Barriers
• Induction
• Staff Training
• Training Programs
• Conversation with Trainees

6. Staff Management

• Scope and Nature
• Learn to Plan
• Steps for Successful Goal Achievement
• Managing Staff Levels
• Importance of Clear Procedures
• Writing Procedures
• Quality Assurance
• Job Satisfaction
• Professional Supervision
• Mentoring
• Dealing with Grievances
• Productivity
• Workplace Health and Safety

7. Ethics and Equity

• Code of Conduct
• Interpreting Code of Conduct
• Refund Policy
• Honesty and Fairness
• Respect
• Intellectual Property Rights
• Privacy

In addition to seven assignments (at the conclusion of each lesson); you are also required to prepare a management report on a different enterprise for each lesson. These reports provide an opportunity to network with, and investigate the industry you work or hope to work in. The reports are well constructed and designed to be achievable by students in any place or circumstance. Each report will consider things such as the scope of work, number of employees, organisation structure, scope of financial activity, viability, etc. You are not expected to be able to always find all the information that might be desirable; but rather to systematically investigate an organisation as best you can within a limited time frame; and then evaluate that organisation's management with the limited information available.

Course Aims

• Identify the processes and procedures that are associated with the effective management of staff in the workplace.
• Describe the use of motivation in the workplace and the effects this can have on staff performance.
• Describe how to recruit and interview a new staff member for a specific job in an organization.
• Discuss work group project preparation, costing, performance analysis and goal completion from a managerial perspective.
• Describe the principles of Occupational Health and Safety policies, and their application in the learner's proposed industry sector.

Some things that you will do in this course:

• Write up management reports
• Compare management styles in the three workplaces
• Plan and role play a recruitment interview on tape
• Obtain information about Quality Assurance in your country
• Write a procedure for either "handling complaints" or "Dealing with an accident resulting in injury to a worker".
• Research legal considerations that are relevant to your workplace.

What Type of Manager?

Managers operate on all levels in the workplace, with varying degrees of responsibility. There are many different aspects of an organisation which need to be managed (i.e. finances, buying, equipment and materials, marketing and public relations and, not the least, people who work there). Some types of managers control many different things whilst some manage only one aspect of an organisation.

Whatever level of management you are involved with; this course is a great starting point for building your capacity to be a better manager.

MOTIVATING EMPLOYEES

During the late sixties and early seventies the young generation from many Western societies rejected the then current work ethics. They wanted freedom to express dissatisfaction with Governments in power and also the choice of whether to work or not. Motivation was left up to the individual. This has rubbed off onto most people in the twenty-first century. Motivating yourself and others is a key facet to success!!

We all have certain needs which need to be satisfied ‑ being treated with respect, doing interesting work, good working conditions and fair pay. These are all motivational factors. Virtually everything we do is to satisfy some need or motive! If you don't do something it means you can see no personal advantage and there is nothing in it for you.

THREE MAIN SCHOOLS OF MANAGEMENT THEORY

The following section examines the three main schools of management theory.

The Classical School

Under The Classical School, the manager is responsible for planning, directing, controlling and staffing. This school of thought involves a rational, organisation focused approach which might not always take into account the situation of the individual employee.

Management has occurred since prehistoric times. Classical management can be divided into two schools ‑the classic organisation theory and the scientific school. Scientific management has been said to depend on four basic principles as follows:

1. Development of a "Science of Management" so that the best method of performing each task can be determined.

2. Scientific Selection of Workers...so each employee is given tasks to which they are most suited.

3. Scientific development of the employee....so they are educated and trained to achieve continuing improvements in performance.

4. Friendly relations between management and workers.

Henri Fayol was a leader in the development of the classical organisation theory. Fayol divided business operation into the following six activities.

•  Technical ‑production or manufacture of commodities.
•  Commercial ‑buying raw materials and selling products.
•  Financial ‑Obtaining and using capital.
•  Security ‑protection of employees and property.
•  Accounting ‑recording and taking stock of money and keeping statistics.
•  Management.

Fayol listed the functions of management as: planning, organising, commanding, coordinating and controlling. Fayol listed 14 principles of management as follows:

1. Division of labour.

2. Authority.

3. Discipline.

4. Unity of Command.

5. Unity of Direction.

6. Individual interest comes second to interest of the common good.

7. Remuneration.

8. Centralization.

9. The hierarchy.

10. Order.

11. Equity.

12. Stability of staff.

13. Initiative.

14. Team Spirit.

All of the above need to be achieved.

The Behavioural School (Also Called the Human Relations Approach)

The Behavioural or Humanistic approach to management is more focused on the individual and social groups; attempting to achieve organisational goals through applying an understanding and sensitivity to the people who are involved.

This approach aims to balance the needs of the individuals and social groups those individuals belong to, with the needs of the enterprise or organisation in which they are working. This was developed primarily because managers found that the classic approach did not achieve complete harmony in the workplace. However, this method still has difficulties because people do not always follow predicted paths of behaviour.

The behavioural approach concentrates on managing through understanding and application of sociology and psychology. A behavioural approach might be:

• Finding the best person for a job ‑with the best mental attitude towards their work.
• Creating the best work ‑the ultimate environment and conditions for the worker.
• Utilising psychological influence ‑to achieve the best affect from the manager/worker relationship.

The Management Science School

The third main school of thought is defined in different ways and given different titles (depends on the text or authority you refer to). All variations share common ground in that this school is more complex, aiming to apply and balance thinking from both other schools. This way of thinking may be referred to as “Contingency Theory”, Situational Approach” or “Management Science”.

This involves a team of specialists with different backgrounds pooling their knowledge and opinions to analyse a problem and suggest a solution.