What are the responsibilities of manager and why is managaing so important? Essay

"A manager is more than just someone who manages people" (Francisco Leyva). I had the opportunity of interviewing the Production Manager for a produce processing facility named Latin Specialties, Francisco Leyva. I asked about he's duties as a manager and how they satisfied the functions of management. He explained his daily responsibilities and his long term goals, and gave me an overall perspective as manager in a manufacturing facility. The functions of management are essential guidelines for any manager like him to perform his duties adequately and achieve the organization's goals. An organization's manager should be able to carry out successfully the specific functions of management planning, organizing, leading, and controlling to accomplish the mission of the organization.
Planning is the foundation for the rest of the functions of management it is the function that involves determining the organization's goal and the mapping out the actions to take in order to achieve the goal. "Planning, well here's how I determine what I want to accomplish" (Leyva). He determines the goals he will achieve and develop an action plan to achieve does goals. He goes on to say that he plans daily, when he receives an order he then has to estimate how much raw product and how much labor it will require to complete the order. Not only does he estimate the amount of production power it will take and the cost of producing the product, but also in what the order of the actions he needs to take. According to him it all depends on the type of product that needs to be processed, which greatly influences how long each step will take and how it will be done. He has to take into consideration how long it will take to set up the machinery, the prep-work, the actual processing stage, the packaging, and labelling. He has to make sure he plans accordingly so that the work doesn't get too hectic for the employees or that creates a shortage of work for that day. "Sometimes I have to divide an order's work for multiple days. I need to know exactly what I will be processing that day it takes a lot planning ahead" (Leyva). He has to take several things into consideration when he setting a plan he has to plan not only daily but in the long run. His planning must be an ongoing process of developing the organization's mission and objectives. There's a certain percentage of production he is expected to achieve on the daily and is expected that he maintains that percentage to an acceptable number all throughout the year. "If I don't plan accordingly, the percentage won't be achieved meaning that production is not generating any profit and that's never good for the company." He must ensure he's planning promotes the overall mission of the organization and is solid enough to forecast future conditions. Planning effectively is essential for Mr. Leyva to continue in the execution of the next step in the functions of management cycle, organizing.