Introduction to 5 Functions of Management
Organizations rely on capable managers to achieve goals, earn profits, and maintain consistent operations, regardless of business model or industry. Professionals in leadership positions who understand functions of management can better fulfill their responsibilities and deliver excellent results for their employers. If you want to be a successful manager, you should think about what a company might expect of you. In this article, we define and investigate each of the five functions of management.
Definitions of Management:
“Management has been defined as a social process involving responsibility for the economical and effective planning and regulation of an enterprise’s operation in order to achieve specific goals. It is a dynamic process that includes numerous elements and activities. These activities are distinct from operational functions such as marketing, finance, and purchasing. Rather, these activities are shared by all managers, regardless of their level or status.” or “Management is defined as the process of organizing, directing, planning, and controlling the efforts of organizational members as well as managing organizational resources in order to achieve specific goals.”
Functions of management have been classified by various experts. According to George and Jerry, “the four basic functions of management are planning, organizing, acting, and controlling.”
According to Henry Fayol, “To manage is to forecast and plan, to organize, to command, and to control,”. Luther Gullick has assigned the keyword ‘POSDCORB,’ where P stands for Planning, O stands for Organizing, S stands for Staffing, D stands for Directing, Co stands for Coordination, R stands for Reporting, and B stands for Budgeting.
However, the functions of Management described by KOONTZ and O’DONNEL are the most widely accepted, namely planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling.
Although theoretically it may be convenient to separate functions of management, in practice these functions are highly overlapping, i.e. they are highly inseparable. Each function merges into the next.
Functions of Management are a great place to start to get your bearings before diving into your role as a manager. Functions of Management keep you informed about what you need to do and how to do it so that you can guide your staff accordingly. Management experts such as Fayol and Gulick explain the functions of management so that you can become an accomplished manager.
Now, let’s look a detailed version of those 5 functions of management.
Also Read: Essential Organizational Skills for Workplace Success
5 Functions of Management
Many businesses divide five key functions of management that cover a wide range of responsibilities. Despite their differences, each function interacts with the others and has an impact on a company’s overall success.
These five functions of management are as follows:
Planning
During the planning stage, managers establish organizational goals and devise a plan of action to achieve them. During the planning phase, management makes strategic decisions to set the organization’s direction. Managers can brainstorm various alternatives to achieve the goal before deciding on the best course of action. Managers typically conduct an in-depth analysis of the organization’s current state of affairs while planning, taking into account its vision and mission and assessing what resources are available to meet its objectives.
“Planning is deciding ahead of time what to do, when to do it, and how to do it,” says KOONTZ. It bridges the gap between where we are and where we want to go. A plan is a set of actions for the future. It is a problem-solving and decision-making exercise.
The determination of courses of action to achieve desired goals is known as planning. Thus, planning is the systematic consideration of methods and means for achieving predetermined goals. Planning is required to ensure that human and non-human resources are used effectively. It is all-encompassing, it is an intellectual activity, and it also aids in the avoidance of confusion, uncertainties, risks, and waste, among other things.
Managers typically evaluate internal and external factors that may affect plan execution, such as economic growth, customers, and competitors, when planning. They also develop a realistic timetable for achieving goals based on the organization’s available funds, personnel, and resources. Managers may need to take additional steps before proceeding with the plan, such as obtaining approval from other departments, executives, or their board of directors. Planning approaches include:
Strategic planning is the process of developing goals for an entire organization. It analyzes threats to the organization, assesses its strengths and weaknesses, and develops a strategy for the organization to compete in its environment. Strategic planning typically has a three-year or longer timeframe.
Tactical planning is the shorter-term planning of an objective that will take a year or less to complete. Tactical planning is typically used by organizations to improve a department or area such as its facilities, production, finance, marketing, or personnel.
Operational planning connects strategic and tactical goals by defining the daily actions required to achieve them. Operational planning also establishes a timetable for implementing each component of the strategic goal.
Staffing
Management determines the organization’s staffing needs, determining how large of a team is required to maximize productivity and work quality. Managers create candidate profiles for each position, specifying the qualifications they want an applicant to have in addition to calculating how many employees to hire.
The primary goal of staffing is to place the right person in the right job, i.e. square pegs in square holes and round pegs in round holes. “The functions of management of staffing involves manning the organization structure through proper and effective selection, appraisal, and development of personnel to fill the roles designed in the structure,” write Koontz and O’Donell. Staffing entails:
Staffing is critical when starting a business, but it is also important throughout the company’s lifecycle. Staffing requirements change as employees change roles or leave, necessitating constant attention. The following are the primary staffing functions of management:
- Managers use a variety of channels to advertise job openings and find qualified candidates. They could advertise online, rely on professional networks for referrals, or use a referral service.
- Managers use the interview process to learn more about compelling applicants. Interviews allow organizations to confirm that someone will fit in well with their team and contribute positively.
- Hiring: Managers ensure that employees join the organization legally by collecting required documents and completing necessary paperwork.
- Training: Managers create onboarding routines that introduce new hires to the company and provide them with the necessary training. They also train existing employees to improve their skills or teach them new ones.
Managers evaluate individual employees’ performance in order to determine their future potential. They typically decide whether to promote or reassign employees who provide value, as well as which employees do not fit with the company.
Also Read: The Art of Negotiation For Managers
Organizing
Organizing is the process of structuring and dividing an enterprise’s resources in order to achieve goals efficiently. Managers must have a thorough understanding of the materials, personnel, and budgets at their disposal in order to create optimally productive systems and relationships. Managers, for example, decide how to organize departments or pair employees who work well together on assignments. Organizing frequently focuses on maintaining accountability, ensuring that each member of a team understands their responsibilities and accurately reports their progress.
According to Henry Fayol, “organizing a business means providing it with everything necessary for its operation, such as raw materials, tools, capital, and personnel.” Organizing a business entails identifying and allocating human and non-human resources to the organizational structure.
When companies are well organized, employees can collaborate productively and access all the information and resources they need to complete their jobs when companies are well-organized. When problems or questions arise, team members know who to turn to for assistance and can do so quickly. The following are the primary responsibilities:
- Delegation: In an organization, management defines roles and responsibilities for each position. It also establishes individual employees’ daily priorities, which change on a regular basis.
- Management decides which departments their organization would benefit from having or makes changes to existing ones. Managers may combine or divide departments to better focus on specific objectives.
- Distributing authority: Management establishes the reporting structures that organizations depend on for accurate communication and efficient oversight. It also grants different degrees of This gives employees in some positions the ability to make key decisions or enforce standards.
Leading
Next in the functions of management is Leading. It entails motivating and influencing employees’ behavior in order to achieve organizational goals. Typically, leadership is concerned with managing people, such as individuals and teams, rather than tasks. Though managers give orders and assign duties to team members, successful leaders connect with their employees by using interpersonal skills to encourage, inspire, and motivate team members.
Managers can foster a positive work environment by identifying instances when employees require assistance or direction and using positive reinforcement when employees perform well. To adapt to different situations, they usually use a variety of leadership and management styles. Situational leadership styles include the following:
- Directing: The manager takes the initiative and makes decisions with little input from the employees. This is an effective leadership style for new employees who require a great deal of initial guidance and training.
- Coaching: The manager is more open to employee input, sharing ideas with them in order to receive feedback and build trust. This leadership style is effective for individuals who require managerial assistance to further develop their skills.
- Supporting: The manager makes decisions in collaboration with employees but primarily focuses on team building. This leadership style works well for employees who have fully developed skills but are inconsistent in their performance.
- Delegating: The leader provides the bare minimum of guidance to employees and is more concerned with the project’s long-term vision than with day-to-day operations. This leadership style is effective when employees are able to work and perform tasks independently, allowing the leader to focus on overarching goals rather than individual tasks.
Controlling
Controlling is how managers respond to feedback, analyzing the results of their initial plans to determine what changes are needed. Because plans rarely go as planned, controlling is one of the critical functions of the management that ensures an organization’s ability to adapt as circumstances change and new challenges emerge.
According to Theo Haimann, “controlling” is the process of determining whether or not proper progress toward objectives and goals is being made and, if necessary, acting to correct any deviation.”
According to Koontz and O’Donell, “controlling is the measurement and correction of subordinates’ performance activities in order to ensure that the enterprise objectives and plans desired to achieve them are being accomplished.” As a result, controlling consists of the following steps:
Managers have complete control over all aspects of the business, including employee performance, policies, task delegation, and marketing. Managers receive a constant flow of information to evaluate because each of these activities generates feedback. Managers respond to feedback by:
- Conducting performance reviews: Managers take into account key performance indicators, which summarize how well an employee is performing their job. They meet with team members to identify areas for improvement and provide advice on how to do so.
- In order to reduce inefficiencies, managers examine production processes and workflows. They revise procedures and systems to reduce or eliminate them where possible in order to save time and money.
- Budget adjustments: Managers confirm that budgets are in line with initial spending estimates. When they discover significant differences, they adjust their spending or raise more capital.
- Creating better products: Managers collect consumer feedback to determine how their products can better meet the needs of their customers. The enhancements they make allow them to remain competitive in their market and gain the trust of their audience.
Examples of Functions of Management
Functions of Management provide a structured framework on which you can rely in your professional life. Now that we’ve gone over each function in depth, let’s look at how they’re implemented in practice.
The following are some examples of functions of Management:
- Assume you work as an Operations Manager for a company that manufactures office furniture. You will be responsible for defining the production, packaging, and delivery processes. You’ll be responsible for monitoring the assembly line’s progress and ensuring that everything is up to standard and that performance is not compromised at any stage.
- As a manager, you must set clear production goals, hire the right people for your team, and monitor progress to avoid errors. From the planning to the controlling stages, you must work with your team to gain optimum productivity.
Final Words for the Functions of Management
The functions of management of planning, organizing, leading, staffing, and controlling are widely regarded as the best way to describe the manager’s job and to categorize accumulated knowledge about the study of management. Despite significant changes in the environment faced by managers and the tools used by managers to perform their roles, managers continue to perform these critical functions.
