Management Levels Concept
Depending on the hierarchy level occupied in the organization’s structure (which is coincident, usually, with the authority and responsibility level) management can be divided in general management (or top) and functional management.
Can still be considered a third management level, normally, designated by the supervisors which corresponds to a category of managers who perform directly with the employees.
General Management or Top Management: corresponds to the organizations’ top management, incumbent upon adoption and implementation of the general scope management measures and strategic interest and still the coordination of the functional areas.
Functional Management: corresponds to the functional management areas, whose can be divided, according the classic* approach, in:
- Production management, which includes analysis functions, choice and implementation of the technologies and productive processes more efficient in the combination and transformation of the productive factors (inputs) to obtain the maximum goods and services (outputs), either in quantity either in quality.
- Financial resources management, which includes a group of financial scope activities that seek to assure profitability (relation between invested capitals and the results generated by them) financial stability either in short either in long term, as well as the activity’s funding and investments and the application of the exceeding funds.
- Human resources management, which occurs directly from the integration need of the social aims in the economic goals and includes the definition and implementation of the social and employment policies, recruitment and personnel selection, salary and incentives management and the performance of training and development plans.
- Commercial/marketing and markets management, whose most important duties are the market study, and its main tendencies, namely the analysis of the needs evolution and consumers preferences, marketing strategies and policies developed by the competitors, evaluation of the different marketing measures carried out by the organization, suppliers’ market study, and still the preparation and performance of specific policies of commercial and marketing scope as a way to maximize the sales volume through the adequate satisfaction needs of the consumers.
Recently, with the development provided by the technological advances and with the economy’s globalization, have emerged other functional management areas, from which are highlighted the information management, computer technologies management, innovation management, international business management, among others.
Supervisors: are the managers who have the direct contact with the employees being responsible for the implementation of the indications or orders from the top managers and functional managers. Depending on the higher or lower decentralization level in the decision taking, can also take decisions at the tasks organization level and participate on the activities’ planning.
* Functional classic division is here presented simply as example. Actually exist many other organizational structures that make the division by other ways.
