Fundamentals of Management
James E. Lawrence
Management: Theory, Practice, and Application
July 18, 2005
Fundamentals of Management
The greatest asset a company possesses is its personnel. To be successful, every company must build from the top down, ensuring the right individuals are in the right positions. This all starts with management and works down from there. With the right managers performing the fundamentals of management correctly, personnel under their supervision will be motivated to perform as expected and accomplish company goals and reach milestones. Successful managers are much like circus jugglers. There are plenty of distractions and everyone is watching their performance. The basic fundamentals of management are what each manger juggles to be successful. These fundamentals are planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. Managers who can successfully learn each of these fundamentals and apply them properly to their management duties become valuable key players in any company. For instance, a casino is dependent upon its personnel for success. Table one shows a typical management or chain of command tree for a small casino.
Table One
As table one shows the position of the Surveillance Operations Manager is a top-level management position within the organization. This position not only has its own department, but it also oversees all the other departments. The fundamentals of management are critical to this position starting with planning and organizing to leadership and control.
Planning is an everyday requirement for a Surveillance Operations Manager, and is generally the first step in beginning the workday. "Planning is the process of moving an organization from where it is (mission) to where it wants to be (vision) in a given period of time by setting it on a predetermined course of action and committing its human and physical resources" (Jones Jr., 2003, p.30). Each