The Management Theory Jungle Analysis

The level of managers and their responsibilities

In his article “The Management Theory Jungle”, Harold Koontz clearly elaborates Management as “the art of getting things done through and with people in formally organized groups” (Koontz, 1961). In order to do this managers perform certain type of functions which includes planning, organizing, staffing, leading and controlling.

Many managers work in an organization and regardless of organization or company size they are responsible for meeting organizational goals. However, the amount of time a manager contributes to achieve these objectives depends on their managerial positions and the needs of the organization. The hierarchy of these managerial positions is called Levels of Management. Generally,

The Chief Executive Officer is otherwise called as General Manager (GM) or Managing Director (MD) or President.

The Board of Directors are a group of people who are elected by the shareholders of the company as their representatives. Similarly, the Chief Executive Officer is selected by the Board of Directors in an organization.

The top management is the ultimate source of authority and it manages goals and policies of an organization. Also it devotes more time on planning and coordinating functions. Therefore, they are also called as Administrators and the brain of the organization.

The following are the main duties and responsibilities of the top level management:

1. Lays down the objectives, broad policies and plans of the organization.

2. Mobilizes all the available resources.

3. Issues necessary instructions to prepare department budgets, procedures, schedules etc.

4. Prepares long-term strategic plans which are generally made for 5 to 20 years.

5. Appoints the Executives for middles level i.e. department heads.

6. Responsible for maintaining a contact with the outside world.

7. Responsible towards shareholders, Government and general public.

8. Controls the activities of all the departments and provides guidance and

Directs the workers or employees and develop morale in them.

2. Maintains the link between workers and the middle level management.

3. Makes daily, weekly and monthly plans.

4. Assigns jobs and tasks to various workers and guide them to help in reaching the desired goal.

5. Arrange necessary materials or machines for getting the things done.

6. Prepares periodical reports about the performance of workers.

7. Helps solve the problems of workers and communicates the workers problem suggestions to higher levels.

8. Responsible for maintaining a good relation in the organization.

For example the Marketing Department of the Delifresh company plays a very crucial role in the success of its business which is under the control of Marketing Manager. As a restaurant marketer, they help the restaurant to achieve their objectives by developing its target customer base. In order to do this the supervisors in the department discuss and get ideas from the employees and carries this to Marketing manager. Sometimes the Marketing Manager discuss their ideas with top level management for approval or he approves the ideas by himself. After approval the supervisors assigns jobs and tasks to various employees and get the work done. The tasks of a Marketing Department includes discussing with the chefs about their unique menu concepts, helping to set the prices that fit the target audiences and promoting the restaurant using various