RESPONSIBILITY OF A PROFESSIONAL MANAGER

As a part of our talk on role of manager we have already talked on so many important factors and role. Those are belonging to society segment like professional management, manager role, quality management, product management etc… Today we are going to talk on another factor which is also play a important role between the company and consumer and that is the professional manager. 

Your responsibilities a manager arise out of the various social interactions in which your firm is engaged in the pursuit of its business. You may be directly involved in these as in the case of interactions with employees, shareholders, customers, etc. where the interaction is based on a fair and obvious exchange of money, goods and services. The interaction can also be indirect as in case of interaction with society where both the firm and society impinge upon and affect each other in hundreds of different ways. For example a blinds company hires professional manager to bridge for selling of their roman shades and vertical blinds products with the customer. That manager is supposed to keep relation between their clients and company.

A firm which wants to maintain a positive image in the society must assume and discharge with utmost sincerity its social responsibility. Gone are the days when firms confined themselves solely to running their business without a thought for the society in which they existed. Today every firm, big or small, is expected to make its contribution towards a better quality of life for the entire society. Big companies are having their own philanthropy or trust to help needy people.

RESPONSIBILITY TOWARDS SOCIETY-1

The pattern and extent of rainfall is changing, leading to frequent droughts in widespread areas. Rare species of animals, birds and plants have become extinct in the wake of the destruction of their natural habitat. People are deprived of their traditional means of livelihood and the rich cultural heritage is destroyed for ever.

All this does not imply that there should be no factories, industry or no economic development. Certainly we need development, economic as well as ecological and environmental. The solution lies in matching economic development with development of the environment. When a firm puts up its factory it must also install a plant for treating and disposing of its industrial waste. When timber merchant cuts 15 trees he must plant at least that many new saplings. Offices who want to use roller shades and woven wood shades and other blinds it looks good if they plan that many new plants in their areas. Nature’s resources are limited. When we consume them faster than they can be replenished or provided anew, it is our responsibility to ensure that our children inherit a world which is healthy, green and safe for all living creatures. 

It is your responsibility as a manager to make sure that the operations of your firm do not in any way obstruct, disturb, disrupt or destroy physical structures (historical buildings, monuments), the flora and fauna, and animal and human life.

RESPONSIBILITY TOWARDS SOCIETY

Apart form the specific society segments with whom the firm interacts in the course of conducting its business, the manager also has responsibility towards his surroundings and the people living in the vicinity of his factory and office. 

Firms behave irresponsibly when they pollute their physical environment by releasing harmful smoke and gas into the atmosphere, discharging toxic effluents into nearby rivers, lakes or seas, and dumping their waste matter in surrounding lands. All these have a detrimental effect on the environment and affect the health of the people by polluting the air they breathe, the water they drink and the food they eat. The Bhopal tragedy where poisonous gas leaking  from the factory of Union Carbide caused the death of thousands of innocent people is and example of the extent of damage which can be caused if proper precautions are not taken. 

The government is only now realizing the irreparable harm which firms, in pursuit of their business, are causing to the environment and the ecological balance. Vast forests have been indiscriminately felled by firms in their narrow, single-minded pursuit of profit. This has created and imbalance in the ecology of the area. Floods have become a recurrent feature in areas which had never been known to be flood-prone.

RESPONSIBILITY TOWARDS UNION

Your first responsibility towards your employees’ union is to acknowledge it as a friend rather than as a foe of the firm. Most problems with unions arise because of the assumption of the managers that unions have no constructive contribution to make but are interested only in playing a negative role. As a responsible manager you must understand and appreciate the fact that the management and union have a great degree of mutual dependence and the union cannot further its interests at the cost of the firm’s interests and vice versa.  

A responsible manager always advises their union member to go with term life insurance. Only a relationship based on mutual trust and cooperation will best serve the interests of the firm and the union. Window blinds and Roller Shades companies who are having big team size need to have good and smooth relation between manager and union.

The union represents the collective strength of all the individual workers. In dealing with the union the manager must recognize and acknowledge the bargaining power of the union arising out of its collective strength. The union will always bargain with you for the maximum benefit. As a manager you should not try to block this bargaining process but aid it by providing the union with the correct facts and figures about costs and profits and thus aim for a realistic, workable agreement which suits both the parties.

RESPONSIBILITY TOWARDS INDUSTRY AND COMPETITION-2

Today we continue our discussion on Responsibility towards Industry and Competition. Healthy competition encourages firms to improve their performance and nurtures progress and it is the responsibility of each firm to ensure that the competition it indulges in is fair and ethical. Resorting to unfair practices, trying to push out other firms on the basis of political influence or financial strength may yield some short-term gains but will eventually tarnish the image of the entire industry. All you actions must be guided by concern for the stability and prosperity of the industry.

A firm fulfils a need or needs of the society. It exists within the society and has a two-way interaction with it. It seeks inputs in the form of money, men, materials, machines, technology from the society and processes then to produce goods and services for consumption by the society.

Still today already we have discussed on different types of marketing relation with various society segments like responsibility towards customer, responsibility towards shareholders, responsibility towards employees, responsibility towards suppliers, responsibility towards distributors and retailers, responsibility towards industry and competitions. We will talk on other society segments like responsibility towards union, responsibility towards government, responsibility towards society etc…. in next posts.

RESPONSIBILITY TOWARDS INDUSTRY AND COMPETITION-1

Other firms within the industry are your competitors in the market place but are your associates when you have to lobby for or represent and an industry and not as individual firms. Most industries have their own associations at the local, regional, national and international level. The objectives of organizing such bodies are to protect and promote the interests of the industry, seek concessions from government and represent against any discrimination, and provide a forum for sharing and disseminating information on the latest technological and market trends. 

As a manager it is your responsibility to register your firm as a member of your industry association and comply with all its rules and regulations. The information which you provide to your association must be correct so that the association can improved technology you may consider sharing it with other fellow firms. 

All industry associations are voluntary bodies formed with the idea of providing support to individual firms within the industry. The onus of successfully managing the association is on all managers of individual firm members. You must be always willing to step forward and take an active responsibility in the association. It may impinge on your already tight schedule but it is good to remember that the interests of your firm are best served when the interests of the industry as a whole are served. 

blinds, roller shades, woven wood shades

RESPONSIBILITY TOWARDS DISTRUBUTORS AND RETAILERS-2

Today we continue our talk on responsibility towards distributor ands retailers. The company had to absorb the increased cost of the heavier carton, but it was more than compensated by the fact that return of stock sharply declined and the distributors had no more cause for complaints. A television marketing company provides service engineers to all its outstation distributors for testing each TV before it is dispatched onwards for dale. This adds an extra cost but ensures that the distributors and retailers receive sets which are trouble-free. 

The distributors and retailers who sell your products are in it for business and they must earn a fair return. Apart from the fixed percentage which you provide to your dealers, target based incentives, commissions and rewards will motivate your dealers to push your products harder. Providing support to the dealers by way of extending credit, sharing promotion cost, after sales service and help for decorating the showroom also form part of your responsibility. You must also nurture and maintain cordial relationship with all your dealers. Many companies hold regular dealer meets in an attempt to build up dealer relations for better corporate gains.

MAINTAINING RELATIONS WITH VARIOUS SOCIETY SEGMENTS

A firm fulfils a need or needs of the society. It exists within the society and has a two-way interaction with it. It seeks inputs in the form of money, men, materials, machines, technology from the society and processes then to produce goods and services for consumption by the society.

 

In course of his interaction the manager has to deal with various society segments, such as the labour market from which it recruits its people, suppliers of machines and technology, banks and financial institutions who supply money, the government which defines the scope and parameters within which the company has to operate, the retail outlets or agencies which stock and sell the products and the customers who buy the products. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but just an indicative listing of the various types of society segments with which you have to maintain relations.

 

In fulfilling the needs of the society and interacting with various society segments a firm creates impacts. Some of these impacts are intended while others are not. When a firm advertises through newspapers and magazines it is creating an awareness for its product. This awareness is an intended impact. However, when the magazines and newspapers carry editorial articles about the company and its products, it creates an impact which was never intended by the firm. Since some of these unintended impacts may be unfavorable to the company’s image or spread information which is incorrect or inaccurate, the manager’s attempt should always be to minimize these impacts. Interactions with various society segments and their intended and unintended impacts are taken up for discussion in the next post.