Mendoza, Ericka V.

BSIE V-2

1. Differentiate the following:

a. First-line managers
First-line managers are responsible for the daily management of line workers—the
employees who actually produce the product or offer the service. There are first-
line managers in every work unit in the organization. Although first-level managers
typically do not set goals for the organization, they have a very strong influence on
the company.
b. Middle managers
Middle-level managers are responsible for carrying out the goals set by top
management. They do so by setting goals for their departments and other business
units. Middle managers can motivate and assist first-line managers to achieve
business objectives. Middle managers may also communicate upward, by offering
suggestions and feedback to top managers.
c. Top managers
Top-level managers make decisions affecting the entirety of the firm. Top
managers do not direct the day-to-day activities of the firm; rather, they set goals
for the organization and direct the company to achieve them. Top managers are
ultimately responsible for the performance of the organization, and often, these
managers have very visible jobs.

2. What is the difference between efficiency and effectiveness?

a. Efficiency
Efficiency in the workplace is the time it takes to do something. Efficient employees
and managers complete tasks in the least amount of time possible with the least
amount of resources possible by utilizing certain time-saving strategies. Inefficient
employees and managers take the long road.
b. Effectiveness
Effectiveness is the level of results from the actions of employees and managers.
Employees and managers who demonstrate effectiveness in the workplace help
produce high-quality results. Companies measure effectiveness often by
conducting performance reviews.
Efficiency and effectiveness are mutually exclusive. A manager or employee who's
efficient isn’t always effective and vice versa. Efficiency increases productivity and
saves both time and money.

3. What are the functions of management?

a. Planning
Planning is how to do a work, when have to do this work, who will do this work and
by whom will do this work. Planning means the process of achieving goals,
 development and establishment. Planning means deciding how best to achieve
goals, profit and applying best strategies.
b. Organizing
Organizing is a management process that refers to the relationship between
people, work and resources that is used to achieve goals. In organizing system,
top management first fixes the common objective, way and resources.
c. Staffing
Employees are the most important resource of any organization. The right staff is
very important for a company because he/she can change and ensure the
organization’s future success. Staffing is like a function or term that refers
recruitment, selection, acquiring, training, appraising employees.
d. Directing
Directing is a process in which the managers instruct, guide and overview the
performance of the workers of a company to achieve goals. Directing is a
continuous process that run its function at top level and flows to the bottom with
organizational hierarchy.
e. Motivating
In management, motivation refers to ways in which managers promote the
productivity in their employees. Motivating is a manager's job to motivate
employees to do their jobs well and fell to perform well with happiness.
f. Coordinating
Coordinating ensures that the unity of action among individuals, department and
groups in carrying out the different tasks, in order to achieve the organizational
goals properly.
g. Controlling
Controlling is a continuous and forward looking process which is the standard of
measurement of a company or organization. There is a close link in planning and
controlling in management function process.

4. Interpersonal, informational, and decisional roles of a manager are very important.

Why?

Interpersonal roles cover the relationships that a manager has to have with
others. The three roles within this category are figurehead, leader and liaison.
Managers have to act as figureheads because of their formal authority and symbolic
position, representing their organizations. As leader, managers have to bring together
the needs of an organization and those of the individuals under their command. The
third interpersonal role, that of liaison, deals with the horizontal relationships which
work-activity studies have shown to be important for a manager. A manager has to
maintain a network of relationships outside the organization.

Managers have to collect, disseminate and transmit information and have three
corresponding informational roles, namely monitor, disseminator and spokesperson.
A manager is an important figure in monitoring what goes on in the organization,
 receiving information about both internal and external events and transmitting it to
others. This process of transmission is the dissemination role, passing on information
of both a factual and value kind. A manager often has to give information concerning
the organization to outsiders, taking on the role of spokesperson to both the general
public and those in positions of influence.

The most crucial part of managerial activity as that concerned with making
decisions. The four roles that placed in this category are based on different classes
of decision, namely, entrepreneurs, disturbance handler, resource allocator, and
negotiator. As entrepreneurs, managers make decisions about changing what is
happening in an organization. They may have to both initiate change and take an
active part in deciding exactly what is to be done. In principle, they are acting
voluntarily. This is very different from their role as a disturbance handler, where
managers have to make decisions which arise from events beyond their control and
unpredicted.

5. Why do managers need the following skills:

a. Technical skills
Technical skills are those skills needed to accomplish a specific task. It is the 'how
to' skill set that allows a manager to complete his or her job.
b. Human skills
Human skills are critical for all managers because they work with people.
Managers with good human skills understand their role inside the
manager/employee relationship and how important things, like trust, cohesion,
fairness, empathy, and good will, are to the overall success of the organization.
c. Conceptual skills
A manager's conceptual skills allow him or her to solve problems in a strategic and
calculated fashion.

6. As future managers/IE, what are the challenges you foresee?

It is only a matter of time when I’ll be taking the role of a managerial position. One
of the challenges I foresee is insubordination of my soon-to-be direct reports. Being
a fresh graduate, other workers may underestimate my skills and may not trust me
in handling crucial decisions.
Also, having taken the career of industrial engineering, it is my job to make works
easier and eliminate unnecessary elements that is existing from a company. It will
be a challenge on my part when I have to dismiss employees that are no longer
needed, if ever.
As a student and future alumna from PUP, I need to step outside my comfort zone
and take on the challenge.