Which managerial skill/s in this situation will challenge you to develop and use to successfully manage your team to higher levels of marketing performance?
According to Schermerhorn, the most fundamental skills of a manager are; interpersonal, conceptual, decision making, technical, communication skills, and the ability to properly manage time.
Interpersonal skills- In order to be in a position to manage the personnel, managers have to possess interpersonal skills since the personnel they are to manage to have diverse demographic and cultural backgrounds.
Technical skills- A manager is always expected to be a role model. Thus, managers need to develop the technical know-how so that they can be able to understand what the personnel answerable are supposed to do.
Communication skills- Diverse demographic and cultural background require diverse ways of communication. Thus, the manager does not need communication skills only, but also the skills should accommodate the diverse cultures represented among the personnel. The manager should deliver information in a way that all employees can understand and also receive feedback from all the employees.
Time management skills- Management involves an intense workload and a lot of performance pressure and this requires that the manager knows what is to be prioritized and should delegate appropriately. This will ensure that the urgent issues are dealt with and all deadlines are met.
Decision-making skills- The manager needs to be a good decision-maker. The personnel has a lot of experience and for the manager to command their respect he must be able to make the right decisions all the time. Moreover, given the fact that the manager is new to the position, he may make a wrong decision but if he is able to promptly implement corrective measures then he will make a good decision-maker (Schermerhorn 2011).
Conceptual skills- The manager needs to think diversely for him to be able to make the right decisions that can accommodate all sectors of the organization, especially the diverse human resource department.
In order to achieve the intended outcomes, you will apply the functions of the management process. Discuss how the relationship between these functions can best be described.
Planning enables the manager to determine the resources that will be required during the implementation phase and to project the problems that may be encountered and possible solutions to the problem and it is during planning that goals are made.
Organizing involves coordinating the resources to ensure the goals in the planning phase are achieved while leading involves motivating employees towards achieving the goals of an organization. One of the most effective ways of ensuring employees are motivated to achieve organizational goals is by involving them in the planning process (Schermerhorn 2011).
Controlling ensures that the organization is working towards the set goals and is impossible if no prior plan existed. In this case, planning will ensure that the diverse human resources are accommodated in the plans, and this will in turn guide the controlling.
Based on your study of the different approaches and foundations of management thinking which managerial approach would you apply? Justify your answer.
I would apply the contingency approach or the situational approach to management. This approach says that there is no specific way in which management should be done since different organizations have different experiences and problems and managers should perform their role based on the situation at hand.
The diverse cultural and geographic backgrounds and the diverse work experiences are an indication that the situations that will arise will be diverse and this will require open-mindedness and a different approach in each situation. Hence, the preferred approach is the situational approach.
Briefly explain how information may affect the approach you will adopt in solving problems and making decisions.
The approach to be used in solving problems will be affected by information on the goals of the organization and rules guiding the conduct of employees during working hours. The decisions should be in line with organizational goals. Information on past similar problems and decisions will come in handy to guide the decisions to be made in the future. The employees have diverse work experiences thus information from them regarding their past experiences will guide the decision-making process (Schermerhorn 2011).
Works Cited
Schermerhorn, John. Management. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2011. Print.