MANAGEMENT

Management

Management

External/Internal Factors

In an organization, it is the responsibility of management to coordinate activities and use all available resources to meet specific needs and goals while adhering to company policies. Managers play a crucial role in any organization; giving it structure and providing a uniformed line of communication necessary to maintaining operations An effective manager employs a set of principles known as the four functions of management that include planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. It is not enough for a manager to be sufficient with all four functions, but internal and external factors have to be given adequate attention to as well. Using Wal-Mart, a multibillion dollar chain of department stores, as an example, the following will explain how internal and external factors and other aspects such as globalization, technology, innovation, diversity, and ethics affect the four functions of management. Furthermore, it will describe how managers can use delegation to manage the different factors and functions previously listed.

The four functions of management (planning, organizing, leading, and controlling) and the way that they are affected by external and internal factors impacts the way that management makes decisions and delegates the work among the organization. The public's reaction to a corporation is one external factor. “As Wal-Mart grew so fast in becoming one of the world's largest corporations, some had concerns on how the Super-centers would affect the neighborhood where it was to be built, and the way it affects the smaller businesses around it” (Bateman, & Snell, 2009, p13). For Wal-mart, the world's largest retailer, the managers had to learn how to use the four functions along with internal factors such as marketing, finance, accounting research, training and so on, to become this successful. When it comes to training, Wal-Mart management has to make sure that their associates know how to do their jobs in the proper manner. The best and the only way that Wal-mart has been able to achieve their goals are the way that they delegate and treat every employee; as an asset to the organization and how successful they are.

Organizing internationally has involved buying up and re-fitting national store chains such as Woolco in Canada and Werkauf in Germany or teaming up with local partners like Cifra in Mexico, Lojas Americana in Brazil, and others in China (Bhandari, 2010, p47). Many suppliers are used locally in these countries especially in China where most of the store is dedicated to fresh produce and other groceries including live fish, toads, and seafood. Opposite to importing most products for U.S. stores, this has the effect of carrying familiar products to customers and still keeping costs low.

In leadership roles, store managers are, for the most part, hired or promoted locally and many of the international subdivisions' CEOs are from the same country. Imposing American styles of management control and discipline in other countries have generally proven difficult so Wal-Mart has chosen to adopt more local culturally accepted forms. In China, there is a concept called 'guanxi' relating to acts of ...