Functions of Management

MANAGEMENT – Concept and Functions

MANAGEMENT:

Definition: “Management is the process of designing and maintaining an environment in which individuals working together in a group to accomplish the selected aims”.

Business management requires the utilization of the entity’s resources in the most efficient manner possible. Business management comprises organizing, planning, leading, staffing or controlling and directing a business effort for the purpose of accomplishing the entity’s listed goals.

 

FUNCTIONS OF MANAGEMENT:

Scientist Fayol described the functions of management as PODSCORB i.e.

P: Planning                                  

O: Organizing

D: Directing                                

S: Scheduling

CO: Controlling                   

R: Reporting                                

B: Budgeting

But the most widely accepted are functions of management given by KOONTZ and O’DONNEL i.e. Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing and Controlling as shown in Fig 1.

 

1. Planning: “It is the process of selecting the objectives and determining the course of action required to achieve these objectives”.

Planning is a detailed programme regarding future courses of action. It is rightly said “Well plan is half done”.

Management by Objectives (MBO): “Objectives are end results towards which the activities are carried out in a business.”

Management By Objectives defined as a process where as the performance, goals and objectives set by subordinates in collaboration with his superior”.

MBO Process:

1.    Define organization goal

2.    Defining employee objective and organization objective

3.    Continuous monitoring of performance and progress.

4.    Performance, evaluation and review

5.    Providing Feedback

6.    Reporting and reviewing.

Essentials of MBO: (SMART)

ü  Objective should be specific.

ü  Measurable

ü  Appropriate

ü  Realistic

ü  Time bound

ü  Revised periodically for particular changes.

   

Steps in Planning:

 

Advantages of Planning:

ü  Effective planning and control

ü  Development of other plans i.e. policy, budget.

ü  Co-ordination in a business can be achieved.

ü  It increases people’s commitment.

ü  Reveals organization deficiency.

ü  It provides motivation.

ü  It is useful for performance evaluation.

Limitations of Planning:

ü  Time consuming and expensive in nature.

ü  Less applicable in routine job.

ü  Absence of fully commitment in management level.

ü  It is difficult to make comparative rating of individual because each individual’s goals are different from others.

Plan: “Plan of an organization is the synthesis of various forecast i.e. annual, long-term, short term, special etc.”

Types of Plans:

1.    Single use plans

2.    Standing plans.

 

1.    Single use plans: These plans with specific objectives and used only once. Once achieve, it is dissolved.

Ex.:  Budget, Programme

2.    Standing Plans: These plans are designed for situation that recurs to justify a standardized approach”. They are used more than once for repetitive problems. These are further classified as policy, procedure, method and Rule.

 

2. Organizing: “It is a process of identifying and grouping of activities required to attain the objectives”.

Importance of Organization:

Organization plays important role in all phases on man’s life i.e. hospital, school, office, factories. Knowledge of organization helps manager to work effectively.

It imparts certain skills in human such as technical, motivational, conflict, human skills. It is useful to study the human behavior.

It is important to know the three different functions of organization.

a.    Authority: “Authority is power given to a person to get work from his subordinates.”

b.    Responsibility: “Responsibility is amount of work form a man by his superior.”      

c.      Accountability: It clearly means that employee is accountable to superior authority for his performance. The authority and power should match with the responsibility and accountability.

Steps in Organizing:

1. Identification of Activities: To built effective organization manager must identify the series of activities to achieve the desired activities.

2. Grouping Activities: The activities are grouped together in various departments. It is further classified on the basis of section of department.

3. Assigning Activities: The person or manpower that carries out these activities are to be identified.

4. Delegation of Authority: To carry out any activity one should have sufficient enough authority. At the same time creation of responsibility to perform duties satisfactorily.

3. Staffing: “Staffing is the managerial function of hiring, training and developing the required personnel to fill the various positions in the organizations.

In simple world it is also defined as a process which ensures that placing the right kind of people at right place in right time to achieve the objective of the company.

The main aim is to employ, deploy and monitoring competent staff to perform managerial activities. Staffing is a continuous activity throughout the life of an organization due to the transfers and promotions that take place.

The basis of staffing function is efficient management of personnel’s. The process of staffing person includes series of steps i.e. recruitment, selection, placement, induction, training and development, performance appraisal, career management, remuneration.  

4. Directing: “It is the process of instructing, guiding and inspiring subordinates to accomplish the business objectives”.

Directing is required at all levels of organization. Directing function is related to subordinates and therefore it is related to human factor. Direction function helps in converting plans into performance.

Direction has following elements:

1. Supervision: Implies overseeing the work of subordinates by their superiors. 

2. Motivation: It means inspiring, stimulating or encouraging the sub-ordinates with confidence to work.

3. Leadership: It is a process by which manager guides and influences the work of subordinates in desired direction.

4. Communication: It is the process of passing information, experience, opinion etc from one person to another.

5. Controlling: “It is a measurement and correction of performance standards and corrective action to accomplish the company’s objectives”.

Controlling is an end function and is made in conformities with plans.  Controlling is a pervasive function which means it is performed by managers at all levels and in all type of concerns. Controlling is forward looking so that follow-up can be made whenever required.  Controlling requires taking reviewable methods; changes have to be made wherever possible.

Following are the sub functions of controlling.

1)    Determination of objectives or standards

2)    Measurement of actual performance

3)    Comparison of actual performance with standards set

4)    Determination of difference between the two and reasons for the same

5)    Taking corrective actions so that standards set are attained. 

Reference Video:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDul7uf7pcbM_kWCEaA9WvA