Management is the process of working with people and resources to accomplish the goals of an organization by performing four primary functions: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling/monitoring

Top managers are the corporate officers who are responsible for the organization as a whole. Middle managers are the top managers of the major divisions or segments of an organization. First-line managers supervise the employees who carry out the day-to-day operations of a company.

Successful managers need to possess a variety of skills, including conceptual, technical, time management, interpersonal, and decision-making skills

Managers use planning, goals, and objectives to help achieve the corporate vision and stay on task. Planning is the process of establishing goals and objectives and determining the best ways to accomplish them. Goals are broad, long-term accomplishments an organization wants to achieve in about a five-year time frame. Objectives are the short-term targets that are designed to help achieve goals.

Top managers put together a strategic plan, or a main course of action, that maps out the way in which the corporation will achieve its goals.

Before the strategic plan is in place, a firm’s managers must define the organization’s purpose, basic goals, and philosophies through vision and mission statements. The corporate vision is what the business wants to be in the future. A mission statement is a description of the organization’s current purpose, basic goals, and philosophies.

Part of the strategic planning process includes conducting a SWOT analysis to help management determine the strategic fit between an organization’s internal capabilities and external possibilities. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Tactical plans specifically determine the resources and the actions required to implement particular aspects of a strategic plan. Tactical plans are made with a one- to three-year horizon in mind and are formulated by middle managers.

Operational plans determine the process by which tactical plans can be achieved. Operational plans depend on daily or weekly schedules and focus more on specific departments or employees. Operational plans are formulated by first-line managers.

Contingency planning is planning that ensures that an organization will run as smoothly as possible during a crisis or disruption and determines how a firm’s managers will communicate, both internally and externally.

Organizing is the process of structuring the capital, personnel, raw materials, and other resources needed to implement a company’s plans in a way that best matches the nature of the work. An organizational chart shows how groups of employees fit into the larger organization structure and to whom they report.

A vertical organization is organized by specific functions, such as marketing, finance, purchasing, IT, and human resources. However, integrating the functions and divisions is not always easy because communication and decision making must travel up long chain-of-command lines.

A horizontal organization is flatter, and there are fewer managerial levels. Most employees work in teams or groups and have more responsibility for the outcome of their work. Because the chain of command is shorter, approvals for decisions can be sought and received much faster.

Matrix organization is type of management system in which people are pooled into groups by their skills and then assigned to projects as needed.

Network organizations are collections of independent, mostly single-function firms that collaborate with one another to produce a product or a service.

In an inverted organization, the role of managers is to empower and encourage employees to do what they do best and to be accountable to them.

Controlling (also called monitoring) is the process by which managers measure a company’s performance and ensure that its plans and strategies are working.

Performance standards are measured with reporting tools, such as financial statements and sales reports. Quality measures are also in place to ensure that products or services meet customer requirements. Total quality management (TQM) focuses on quality control throughout the entire production process. Basic mathematical and graphical tools, such as scatter plots and Pareto charts, are used to monitor quality goals. Six Sigma is a statistically based process to establish high quality production in a business and prevent future problems.