The_Four_Functions_of_Management

Functions of Management 1 The Four Functions of Management MGT/330 September 27, 2010 Carol Connell Functions of Management 2 Every company, no matter how big or small, sets organizational goals in which to achieve. Managers of these organizations are the individuals who are charged with meeting these goals in the most effective and efficient ways possible. Bateman and Snell hold that management is the process of working with people and resources to accomplish organizational objectives. The process behind meeting these goals begins with the four functions of management: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. Planning is defined as “specifying the goals to be achieved and deciding in advance the appropriate actions needed to achieve those goals (Bateman, & Snell, 2009) . In this phase, managers devise an outline in which individuals, groups teams, or in high level management, the entire organization are to adhere to in order for goals or target to be reached. To me planning is, without a doubt, the most important function of management because it sort of sets a standard for employees to follow. Having a plan not only keeps employees informed of upcoming events, but it also defines an employee's and even a manager's position within the task at hand. When management plans, they are thinking of cost-effective, time-effective, and resource-effective ways to help the company grow both monetarily and in size. There are many aspects to the planning process that managers should consider when brainstorming such as analyzing current situations, the best uses for on-hand resources, anticipating what the future holds, and determining company goals to name a few (Bateman, & Snell, 2009) . At the company in which I work, there seems to be non-stop planning. My organization has a short-term calendar as well as a long-term calendar that we use to track planned events for the future. We are now in the process of planning a customer service initiative to travel across a seven state region to visit our subordinate organizations so that we may train them and answer any questions that they may have concerning best business practices and strategies. Functions of Management 3 The second function of management is organizing. Organizing, as defined by Bateman and Snell, is “assembling and coordinating the human, financial, physical, informational, and other resources needed to achieve a goal.” Organization takes place after the planning process is complete. Many managers feel it necessary to delegate tasks to subordinate employees to better accomplish or organize the plan at hand. In my organization, the logistics and financial departments always play major roles not only in the planning phase, but also in the organizing phase. Cost-effective execution is always at the top of a manager's list in terms of business practices and event organization. My company just finished up our annual family day, an event that takes much preparation and organization to complete. We organized transportation to and from the venue; the meals were organized through a local catering company; and family games were also part of the organization process. For the event, our supervisor decided it was necessary to delegate sub-tasks to all of the employees, using us as her resources to accomplish the mission. In doing so, things went exactly according to plan because our manager assigned specific jobs to specific people based on knowledge and experience. This week's readings defines leading as stimulating people to be high performers by motivating and communicating with employees, individually and in groups (Bateman, & Snell, 2009) . The United States Army defines leadership as influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation while accomplishing the mission and improving the organization. Leading and leadership can have many meanings depending on who is defining the word, just like managers have different styles of leadership, and managers will tend to adjust their leaderships style according to the type of company they work for and according to the companies objectives. In my company there is a great amount of delegation of authority and minimal micro-management. My supervisors believes that we are all professionals and were hired into our fast-paced and high demanding positions for a good reason based Functions of Management 4 on our skills and experience; she gives us total responsibility in all aspects of our jobs, and all we (the team) is keep her updated on upcoming organizational events and deadlines to be met. The fourth and final function of management is called controlling. Controlling monitors the performance of employees and implements the necessary changes to be made (Bateman, & Snell, 2009) . Controlling is sort of like an after action review. It is a comparison of the end results with the standard performance- a comparison of what was supposed to happen to what actually happened. In my organization we have what is called performance appraisals. Performance appraisals are an annual report card, if you will, of the progression of each employee. It answers question such as, did the employee meet the organizational goals' Did the employee do only bare minimum work, or did he or she exceed expectations' Based on the answers to these questions, an employee will receive a positive or negative counseling by his or her supervisor. Following the four functions of management is vital to the success of an organization. Each function plays an important role in the accomplishment of missions and organizational objectives. A company is not guaranteed success just by following the guidelines of the four functions. Management must, however, utilize the four functions and work hard to exceed the standards set forth by the organization. Functions of Management 5 References Bateman, T.S., & Snell, S.A. (2009). Management: leading & collaborating in a competitive world. Management: Leading & Collaborating in a Competitive World.