Functions of Management PAGE 6
Functions of Management PaperNeresa ClarkeUniversity Of PhoenixMGT 330Sharon Donnelly MBASeptember 11, 2008Functions of Management PaperOrganizations need to continually grow and change in order to survive in today's complex business environment. Management's role is to continually build and maintain the organization they work for. Management is the process of working with people and resources to accomplish organizational Goals (Bateman & Snell, 2008).The management techniques vary significantly in different companies. The major functions of management that companies engage in are planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. In the Operational Support Unit (OSU) at the Hartford Insurance Company, these management functions are crucial practices for me.I currently work for The Hartford Insurance Company as an OSU Claims Technician. There are number of task that I assist with in the OSU department. Some of the task that I am responsible for include, issuing manual checks, processing underwriting errors, and various financial reports. In addition, I complete manual check request that are sent from the adjusters in the building.PLANNINGPlanning is the management function of systematically making decisions about the goals and activities that an individual, a group, a work unit, or the overall organization will pursue (Bateman & Snell, 2008). Planning activities that I am involved in OSU include analyzing recent situations, and determining the resources needed to achieve the company goals. For example, if there is a hurricane that is projected to make landfall in Florida, the field adjuster supervisors is contacted first. The supervisors get prepared to deploy hundreds of adjusters to various areas surrounding the potential hurricane areas to assist and support the insureds. In addition, conference calls were held at least once a day making critical decisions and discussing the possible impact of the storm. In the OSU department, I have to make sure that there are enough blank manual checks for the adjusters. I also have to make sure that the adjusters received them before the storm makes landfall. Over the Labor Day holiday weekend, The Hartford had employees traveling, working and preparing as Gustav approached.ORGANIZINGThe management functions of assembling and coordinating human, financial, physical, informational, and other resources needed to achieve goals (Bateman & Snell, 2008). Organization is a matter of assigning individuals to certain assignments or responsibilities that blend together. By doing so, this puts the OSU department in a better position to accomplish the company goals. One way that the Hartford achieves this is through staffing, training, and organizing the employees into a productive team. For instance, everyone on my team is assigned individual responsibilities. My supervisor, Shirley Justo, constantly checks each team members work flow so that the work loads are evenly...