Understanding the Management Functions

Management has been defined as a social process that entails responsibility for the efficient and effective planning and regulation of an organisation’s operations to meet specific goals. It includes a set of principles relating to the planning and organising, staffing and directing, and controlling functions and how these principles are applied to efficiently and effectively harness physical, financial, human, and informational resources to achieve organisational goals.

Management could be a dynamic process involving a spread of elements and activities. These activities don’t include operational functions like marketing, finance, and buying. Rather, no matter their level or status, every manager participates in these activities.

Several experts have classified management functions. According to George and Jerry, ‘management has four fundamental functions: planning, organising, actuating, and controlling’. In the words of Henry Fayol, ‘managing’ refers to ‘forecasting and planning, organising, commanding, and controlling’.

Luther Gullick’s keyword ‘POSDCORB’, which refers to Planning, Organising, Staffing, Directing, Coordination, Reporting, Budgeting, comes in handy for easy recollection. However, O’Donnell and Koontz’s management functions of designing, planning and organising, staffing and directing, and controlling are widely accepted.

Functions of Management

• Planning

It is the most fundamental management function. It is concerned with planning a future course of action and determining the most appropriate course of action for achieving predetermined objectives. ‘Planning,’ says Koontz, ‘is deciding ahead of time what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. It connects the dots between where we are and where we want to be.’

In order to engage in planning, and organising later on, a strategy is a must. A strategy is a set of actions taken in the future. It’s a problem-solving and decision-making exercise. Planning entails deciding on a course of action to achieve objectives. As a result, planning is a systematic consideration of ways and means for accomplishing set objectives. Human and non-human resources must be properly utilised, which necessitates planning.

• Organising

Physical, financial, and human resources must be integrated to build productive relationships to achieve your organisation’s goals. ‘Starting a business means providing raw materials, tools, capital, people, and everything else that helps them function’, states Henry Fayol. 

The corporate organisation involves identifying and allocating human and inhuman resources to organisational structures. As a process, organising includes the following: 

• Identify the activity; 
• Group activities into categories;
• Assign tasks;
• Delegate authority and establish accountability; 
• The relationship between competence and responsibility must be coordinated.

• Staffing

An organisation is responsible for staffing and maintaining the organisational structure. In recent years, staffing has become more important due to technological advances, the expansion of enterprises, and the complexity of human behaviour. The main goal of this function is to match the right person with the right position i.e. a square pin in a square hole and a round pin in a round hole. 

‘Staffing management functions’, according to Kootz and O’Donnell, include the ‘operation of organisational structure through appropriate and effective personnel selection, evaluation, and training to play the roles provided in the organisational structure.’ 

To move forward with the function of staffing, an organisation must create workforce plans. These are estimates related to searching, selecting people, and assigning appropriate locations. They include: 

• Recruitment, selection and placement are important steps in the recruitment process; 
• Education and training are important aspects of every company;
• Compensation;
• Performance evaluation;
• Promotions and transfers are two of the most common modes of transportation.

• Directing

It is the part of managerial functions that enables organisational methods to function effectively to achieve organisational goals. Since planning, organising, and staffing are simply functions that cultivate the preparations for doing the actual work, directing is considered the enterprise’s life-spark that sets the actions of people in motion. 

The inert-personnel aspect of management that directly influences, guides, supervises, and motivates subordinates to achieve organisational goals is called direction. It includes the following aspects:

• The term ‘supervision’ refers to superiors overseeing the work of subordinates. It is the act of keeping an eye on and directing work and workers.
• Motivation is defined as inspiring, stimulating, or encouraging subordinates to work vigorously. For this purpose, positive, negative, monetary, and non-monetary incentives may be used.
• Leadership is a process by which a manager directs and influences subordinates’ work in the desired direction.

• Controlling

It entails comparing accomplishments to standards and, if necessary, correcting deviations to ensure that organisational objectives are met. Theo Haimann defines ‘controlling’ as ‘the process of determining whether or not proper progress toward objectives and goals is being made and, if necessary, acting to correct any deviation.’

Conclusion

Management is about coming up with new ways to solve problems. Planning and organising, leading, staffing, and controlling are the management functions that enable creative problem-solving. The desired outcome is for an organisation’s resources to achieve its mission and objectives.