Essay about Management Class

Submitted By lawclass2013
Words: 1072
Pages: 5

Functional Areas of Business
There are several reasons a person may decide to pursue a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) degree, such as to get further in their career, to seek new job opportunities, or to increase skill and knowledge. While getting an MBA degree, one will get to understand an array of functional areas of business. Some of the interesting functional areas of business are accounting, management, and leadership. One interesting functional areas of business is accounting. As described in the “MBA Overview” (n.d.) on University of Phoenix’s website, accounting can be divided into two parts: financial accounting and managerial accounting. Financial accounting focuses on the preparation and reporting of financial information, such as income statements, balance sheets, and statements of cash flows. Managerial accounting, on the other hand, focuses on studying the financial statements in order to help managers make inform decisions about the company ("MBA Overview", n.d.). The accounting information helps managers to formulate strategies, plan and control financial activities, make decisions, and optimize utilization of resources (Rotaru, Voicu, & Kalapis, 2011). More specifically, managers can utilize accounting for “cost analysis, budgeting and planning, the formulation of decisional judgments, analysis of resources use, analysis of price formation, control of all activities by specific methods and the supply of information regarding deviations and methods of correcting them, and financial analysis of investment” (Rotaru, Voicu, & Kalapis, 2011, p. 1). Along with accounting, management is another interesting functional area of business. Management is focused on functions such as “planning, organizing, and controlling. In general, management is concerned with making decisions about processes and functions in order to improve operational efficiency and effectiveness” (Anantatmula, 2010, p. 2). Tiffan (2011), in the article “Four Important Roles of a Manager,” explains the four important roles of a manger: Set clear expectations, monitor and measure performance, support performance, and acknowledge performance. Tiffan notes that “a proactive manager greatly reduces the number of unforeseen problems and is prepared to react appropriately and decisively when action is needed” (Tiffan, 2011, p. 2). By setting clear expectations, managers can avoid misunderstandings, identify and celebrate accomplishments. In order to set clear expectations, managers must decide and explain what each member of a team must do for an assignment and what are the expected outcomes. Managers should confirm that the person understands the expectations and include a feedback loop. Once the expectations are set, managers should strategy on ways to monitor and measure performance to ensure there is alignment between expectation and performance. Managers should support performance by offering training, coaching, and other tools and resources for employees to succeed. Lastly, managers must acknowledge performance by promptly providing feedback to the employees as well as recognize and reward good performance, and setting and managing consequences when performance expectations are not met. Managers can be effective if these four roles are followed proactively (Tiffan, 2011). Another functional area of interest is leadership. Leadership is about “motivating and guiding people to realize their potential and achieve tougher and challenging organizational goals” (Anantatmula, 2010, p. 2). There are three functions of leadership: establish direction, align people, and motivate and inspire. First, in order to establish directions, leaders create a vision, clarify the big picture, and set strategies. Second, to align people, leaders communicate goals, seek commitment, and build teams and coalitions. Lastly, to motivate and inspire, leaders energize and empower subordinates and satisfy unmet needs (Kotter, 1990). A manger’s