Four Functions of Management
Abstract
The four functions of management, planning, organizing, leading, and controlling, are very essential in building strong organizations and even stronger more effective teams. Planning, organizing, leading, and controlling are the functions of management. These function activities must be preformed by all managers regardless of their industry level, title, or the task they have at hand. These four management skill are used when ever a project or a task is at hand. Even in the field we are working in, many of us may have been using the four management functions and not noticed what they were, or we may have been a part of a team that was lead by the functions of management and not noticed what was
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The planning stage is where all the other pats of management begin from and it is important at all levels of management.
The way planning is used at the college where I work, is after each semester or during the break in-between each semester we have a departmental meeting where we sit and discuss what happened during the past quarter and then we plan and discuss what we want to happen for the following semester. We set goals on how many students we want in each of the business programs and what actions we need to take in order to make our plan be a success.
Also at this particular stage our Department Chair tells us what she expect of us are team member and role models for our students.
Organizing
Organizing is identifying what jobs need to be done, and hiring the qualified people to do them.
The way organizing is used at the college is the Department Chair has to define the roles and responsibilities of each instructor and to ensure that the instructors skill matches the class they were assign to teach. This function is important in order for the semester to be successful.
Leading
Leading is defined and having to influence the people in the team to get the job done, molding the company and managing conflict and team communications
The way leading is used at the college is not only does the Department Chair assigns us a task to do or organize particular team events, but her role
“Organizational Management and Leadership” defines planning as “the development of goals, which leads to the development of an overall strategy for achieving those goals. Planning can be performed at all levels of an organization. Supervisors are planning when a weekly work schedule is put together for hourly staff. Top executives are planning when they define the mission statement of the company and determine how the organization can maintain its competitive advantage.”
According to Chester Barnard, “Organizing is a function by which the concern is able to define the role positions, the jobs related and the co- ordination between authority and responsibility. Hence, a manager always has to organize in order to get results. A manager performs organizing function with the help of following steps:-
Organizing involves the creation of an organizational structure within the company. During this function the main focus is the management of duties and how information is passed along within the company (Erven, 2008). Managers use this stage to delegate authority among fellow employees with the intent of maximizing resources in the best way possible. The chain of command witnessed by this author within her current employment indicates many levels of management, with all co-existing well and working together to discover new and creative ways to solve problems.
Organizing involves structuring resources and activities in a way that accomplishes objectives efficiently and effectively. Managers will review plans and determine what activities are needed for implementing them. Work will be divided into smaller units and assigned to specific departments, individuals, or groups. Most of the time work is organized into teams that handle core processes, rather than constructing around traditional departments, such as marketing and production.
Leading means issuing timely instructions to enable a team to proceed with their tasks efficiently and smoothly (Qureshi, 2014). Controlling involves monitoring, comparing and correcting work. (Robbins and Coulter, 2015). These two management functions are closely linked as the chairperson led this project by organising regular group meetings in order to monitor the various tasks, issue instructions and reminders. When monitoring a task, the chairperson would compare it against previous proms by using many categories such as the cost incurred and how efficiently the task was carried out. The chairperson will then correct it by doling out constructive criticisms. This method of leading and controlling has been rather effective as there is a clearly defined hierarchy, which means everyone knows what areas they’re in-charged of and who to report
Every company has some sort of goal or target that want to accomplish. In order to accomplish them, they most plan. When planning make sure facts are being gathered so that the approach is based on reality and not fantasy. What a lot of people don’t’ realize is that without planning, companies have no direction and aren’t able to bring about results as planned. So for organizations to accomplish their objectives, they must chart out a course of action by using planning techniques. The process begins by first looking at the current operating procedures that are currently in place. This gives you a full view of the reality of where you company currently stands. Next, identify what improvements need to take place
The planning process is a very powerful management tool that helps the various levels of management end up fulfilling organizations objectives (Verardo, 1997). The first stage in any decision-making process. This tool is used by the three levels of management, Top level, middle management and first level managers, and should always use the SMART approach. (Williams, 2014) Plans should be, Specific knowing what the result would be and a state after the implementation of the plan. Measurable in terms of sales, profit or market share. Attainable meaning it should make sense given the correct time duration and the right investment the company can reach the set heights. Realistic meaning it should be logical and lastly Timely
When you plan for something you have a goal in mind that you wish to achieve right? It is the same thing in business. Business leaders plan to complete business objectives in order for businesses to grow, meet requirements, control business processes and many more.
Organizing is the next important step of organizational management. It is the management function that usually follows after planning. Organizing is a well-ordered process of arranging, incorporating, managing task goals, and activities to resources. It involves the assigning of tasks, the grouping of tasks into departments and assigning a responsible authority who can distribute resources across the organization to reach a common goal. This refers to the careful use of resources to reach the best out of employees. The purpose of organizing is to achieve an organizational goal. To do so, utilizing the use of resources in a business has to take place. Work should be divided and right people should be given the right jobs to reduce the waste of resources in an organization. Good organization structure is important for growing business activity. Organization structure determines the resources needed for the growth of a business. Also, organization is essential for product growth for example starting a new product. Outsourcing has recently become a strategy companies have been using for organizing. “One definition of outsourcing is that it is a contractual relationship between an external vendor and an enterprise in which the vendor assumes responsibility for one or more business functions of the enterprise” (Edwin, 2015). This means that companies are using 3rd
“Organizing is the process of defining and grouping activities of the enterprise and establishing the authority relationship among them” [ Theo Haimann]. This suggests that all schools have to arrange all their resources so as to provide the best for students. The activities that are connected to the organization of the school will affect the school as a whole. First and foremost, organization will consist of the master schedule.
Do what is necessary to make the plan happen. Allocate the necessary resources to your team. Assign work to your team members. Recruit or train your team. Coordinate with others. Work efficiently, with minimal waste of time, money and other resources.
Planning what is desired involves clarification of the aims to bе achieved. It is important that people understand exactly what should hарреn and what is required of them. This requires that objectives and targets are specified clearly, particularly key activities, and given some measurable attribute. Planning provides the framework against which the process of control takes place. Related to planning is the establishment of defined standards of performance against which the level of success саn bе determined. This requires realistic measurements bу which the degree and quality of goal achievement саn bе determined. There саn bе nо control without them. Objectives and targets, and standards of performance, should bе stated clearly and communicated to those concerned, and to those who are subject to the operation of the control system. The generally accepted stages of the planning process are: 1. Definition of goals 2. Identification of constraints and premises 3. Development of alternative plans 4. Selection of the best plan. These steps are followed by implementation and control to make sure the goal is achieved. A widely used technique which has had a major impact on how organizations are managed is management by objectives (MBO). In Management by
Being in charge of directives, a leader must delegate a chore and a well-organized way to arrive at completion. Once a formal strategy has been put into effect, management will lead with dependable facts and influence employees through motivation, communication, leadership and discipline. The purpose of leading is to guide the behavior of all personnel to perform the organization's mission and objectives.
Executing the goals of an organization is the main responsibility of a manager, and their tasks can be broken down into four basic functions; planning, organizing, leading and controlling. While all managers at every level of a company perform these tasks, the amount of time spent on each is dependant upon the level of management and the specifics of the organization. Top level managers, such as company presidents, vice presidents, chief executive officers, and chief operating officers are responsible for the overall management of an organization. It is also necessary for them to “…focus on long-term issues and emphasize the survival, growth, and overall effectiveness of the organization” (Bateman &
Organizing is basically about who does what. “It means defining responsibilities, building structures and developing relationships”(Boutros & Purdie, 2013). The main element in organization is “people” what they do & how they work together.