Comparing Management Functions in Retail: Woolworths vs. Mugg & Bean

When comparing and contrasting the work of two managers from different organizations, it is important to examine how Henri Fayol's management functions are utilized in their respective roles. Manager 1 is employed at a Woolworths Food retail store located in Featherbrooke Village, Ruimsig, Johannesburg, South Africa. Woolworths, which was established by Max Sonnenburg in 1930, is a South African retailer that specializes in clothing, food, home ware, and beauty products.

Woolworths operates 400 stores across South Africa, Africa, and the Middle East. Manager 2 is employed at Mugg & Bean, a franchise restaurant chain established by Ben Filmalter in 1996.

This particular Mugg & Bean outlet is situated in the same shopping center as the aforementioned Woolworths Food retail store. Known for their generosity and value offerings, Mugg & Bean has become a favorite among customers.

Mugg & Bean currently has locations in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. Henri Fayol's original five management functions - planning, organizing, leading, and controlling - involve forecasting and planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating,and controlling.

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Despite this framework,some argue that management involves more than just these four functions.

To forsee and provide means examining the future and drawing up the plan of action. To organise means building up the dual structure, material and human, of the undertaking. To command means maintaining activity among the personnel. To co-ordinate means binding together, unifying and harmonising all activity and effort. To control means seeing that everything occurs in conformity with established rule and expressed command. (Lamond, 2003, p. 4) Planning involves formulating a plan to achieve the goals of the organisation in mind.

Beginning with the end in mind is crucial in planning, as described by Manager 1 at Woolworths (Lamond, 2003). For Manager 1, planning involves formulating a program based on the needs of Woolworths' target market, ensuring that the customer's needs and wants are the main focus. Similarly, Manager 2 from Mugg & Bean views planning as a means to attract as many customers as possible while providing the best food and services, highlighting the end goal of maximizing customer satisfaction.

Manager 2 would need to develop a plan to achieve the goal of coordinating employees with their work tasks, deciding on assignments and methods. This aligns with Lamond's (2003) definition of organising as a key management function. Manager 1 emphasized the importance of ensuring the right teams handle the right tasks, while Mugg & Bean’s manager 2 stressed the importance of following recipes and standards accurately. Both descriptions tie in with Fayol's concept of organising, with one focusing on coordination and the other on execution.

Leading involves commanding, delegating, and motivating the organization's workforce (Lamond, 2003). According to Woolworth's manager 1, it includes daily meetings, planning activities, explaining goals, and managing work in a positive and consistent manner to promote challenging growth. Manager 2 emphasizes training employees and offering incentives for high performance, aligning with Fayol's definition of leading.

Controlling involves comparing achieved results to set goals and making corrections if needed (Lamond, 2003). The manager of Woolworth scrutinizes reports and communicates with planners, while the manager of Mugg & Bean focuses on daily quality controls. Both methods are effective, as the former compares results to the planners' plans, and the latter ensures that food and services meet required standards daily, aligning with Fayol's concept of controlling.

Based on the information presented above and in the questionnaires from the two managers, it is apparent that Henri Fayol's four functions of management are applicable to their work. However, the work of these managers may not align perfectly with Fayol's functions because their responsibilities may not be strictly divided by function. Instead, their work may be more accurately described by the interpersonal, informational, and decisional roles outlined by Henry Mintzberg (Robbins,S et al, 2012).

According to Henri Mintzberg, managers' daily work consists of Interpersonal roles (figurehead, liason, and leader), Informational roles (monitor, disseminator, and spokesman), and Decisional roles (entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator, and negotiator) (Stephen J. et al, 1987). In contrast, Henri Fayol's classical theory of management proposes that managers' work includes planning, implementation of plans, and then monitoring and taking corrective action as necessary.

Henry Mintzberg argued that managers are responsible for various tasks including taking calls, responding to emails, and communicating with stakeholders. Additionally, they may also perform tasks typically done by their subordinates. This is exemplified by the Mugg & Bean manager 2, who not only oversees operations but also gets involved in manual work to ensure top-notch services and food quality (Mintzberg, 1975).

However, Mintzberg's sub roles overlap, undermining their separation and lack a focus on achieving organizational goals (Stephen J. et al, 1987). Categorizing the work of manager 1 and manager 2 according to Henry Mintzberg's roles may be challenging due to the numerous tasks and activities that cannot be clearly identified as one specific role. Alternatively, managers' work may be classified based on the skills they possess and need to apply, as suggested by Robert L.

Katz, comprising technical, human, and conceptual skills (Robbins,S et al, 2012), are vital for effective management. The specific blend of these skills required by managers varies based on their organizational hierarchy (Peterson, T. O & Van Fleet, D. D). The relevance of Henri Fayol's four functions may be limited for managers at Woolworths and Mugg & Bean due to the evolution of management practices since Fayol initially introduced his principles.

Managers today are not limited to the four traditional functions outlined by Henri Fayol. Instead, their roles are more flexible and focused on processes. It is argued that a manager's effectiveness is now measured by their ability to execute a variety of processes that help achieve organizational goals, spanning from behavioral to organizational development processes.

Managers can take initiative, be proactive, and flexible to achieve organizational goals and effect positive change. Manager 2 at Mugg & Bean can describe 'getting as many customers as possible' as a behavioral process and take initiative to ensure the goal is met, rather than just categorizing it as part of planning according to Henri Fayol. In conclusion, Fayol's management functions are still fundamental in a manager's role, with other management theories integrated within them. These functions are relevant to both manager 1 and manager 2, prompting a consideration of the differences and similarities between them.

While manager 1 holds the title ‘Operations and Foods manager’ at the Woolworths Food store, manager 2 is the owner of the Mugg & Bean restaurant. Manager 1 is mostly focused on leading and controlling with minimal involvement in planning and organizing, whereas manager 2 is actively involved in all aspects of management. This distinction is clear as manager 1 is a first line manager employed by Woolworths, while manager 2 is the franchisee of the Mugg & Bean restaurant.

Regardless of the rank of the manager, organization type, or size, the function of management remains the same. Both managers perform the four management functions, but it is the extent to which they carry out each function that distinguishes their roles (Robbins,S et al, 2012). Management comprises demands, constraints, and choices. Demands are the tasks that managers are required to complete, constraints are limitations that may hinder their actions, and choices are optional activities that managers may engage in.

Each manager's approach to the functions of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling is influenced by the unique values, goals, and individual characteristics within an organization. As noted by Steart (1982), these differences are evident in the various examples provided by managers 1 & 2. While all four functions are still carried out, their implementation varies to meet the specific needs of each manager and organization.