Functions of Management Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing & Controlling

 Functions of Management 

Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing & Controlling

 

“Management is a set of principles relating to the functions of planning, organizing, directing, and controlling, and the applications of these principles in harnessing physical, financial, human, and informational resources efficiently and effectively to achieve organizational goals”.

Management is essential for an organized life and necessary to run all types of organizations. Managing life means getting things done to achieve life’s objectives and managing an organization means getting things done with and through other people to achieve its objectives.

Management jobs have been classified by a number of specialists. Many management experts have spent a significant amount of time and effort researching management functions. They do not, however, agree on a taxonomy of management functions. The fundamental cause of this lack of coherence is that many management experts analyzed management functions through the prism of certain organizations and views. Some of the classifications proposed by some of the writers are listed below.

According to George and Jerry, “the four key functions of management are planning, organizing, acting, and controlling.” While it may appear useful to conceptually separate the management function, in fact, both functions are intricately intertwined, i.e. they are inseparable. Each function is indistinguishable from the others, and each has an effect on how the others are carried out.

Gulick and Urwiik divided management functions into seven categories. To define management functions, they coined the word ‘PODSCORB.’

Each letter in this statement corresponds to the initial letter of the following management functions: 

P   _ Planning

O   _ Organising

D   _ Directing

S   _ Staffing 

CO _ Coordinating

R   _  Reporting and 

B   _  Budgeting.

The phrase “management principles” was developed by Henry Fayol, who described managerial functions as follows:

1. Planning (including prediction); 
2. Organizing; 
3. Staffing ; 
4. Directing and Coordinating; and 
5. Controlling.

The five management functions of Koontz and O’Donnell are summarized here. As previously said, categorizing management functions based on the acts of organizing, staffing, and managing people is the most efficient way to define them. In other words, they argue that management must perform five basic functions.

R.C. Davis divides management functions into three categories: 

1. planning, 
2. motivating, and 
3. controlling.  

G.R. Terry, on the other hand, categories management functions into four categories: 

1. planning, 
2. organizing, 
3. activating, and 
4. regulating.

According to the study’s functions, there are three to eight functions, with agreement on only three of them: planning, organizing, and controlling. The terms command, inspiration, and communication are used by authors to define the guiding functions involved in influencing human behavior toward achieving goals. Some authors have created staffing functions by distinguishing between the social and organizational aspects of their work.

Management is the art and nature of financial management of completing tasks with the help of others. Managers carry out a various functions of management in order to achieve a set of objectives.

Planning

This is management’s primary responsibility. It is concerned with planning for the future and selecting the best appropriate course of action to achieve predetermined goals. Anticipating what needs to be done, when it should be done, and how it should be done is what planned action entails.

It connects us to where we are and where we want to go. A strategy is a set of potential future activities. It entails problem-solving and decision-making. The process of determining the best course of action to take in order to achieve desired goals is known as planning. Thus, planning is a deliberate examination of the procedures and methods for achieving predetermined goals.

Planning is essential for making the best use of both human and non-human resources. In addition to being an intellectual endeavour, it aids in the avoidance of misunderstandings, uncertainties, hazards, and other types of mismanagement.

Organizing

It is the process of integrating physical, financial, and human resources and encouraging positive interaction among them in order to achieve company goals.

“To organize a business is to provide it with everything it needs to run, including raw materials, tools, money, and personnel,” explained Henry Fayol.

“Building a business entails identifying and allocating the organization’s human and non-human resources.” Organizing as a process includes the following steps: As a starting point, use

• is a method of categorizing and classifying various types of activities.
• Responsibilities are delegated.
• Delegation of authority and attribution of responsibilities
• Making the connection between power and accountability.

Staffing

It is in charge of staffing and maintaining the organizational structure. Because of technological advancements, organizational growth, and the complexity of human behavior, staffing has become increasingly important in recent years.

The fundamental goal of staffing is to match the right person to the right job; in other words, to fit square pegs into round holes and round holes into square pegs.

According to Kootz and O’Donell,’managerial responsibility for staffing’ entails appropriately and effectively staffing the organizational structure by selecting, evaluating, and training individuals to perform the responsibilities defined within the structure. It is critical to hire the following people:

• Staffing specialists in recruiting, selection, and placement.
• Training & Development
• Performance Evaluation
• Promotions & Transfers

Directing

It is the aspect of management that allows organizational processes to run smoothly in order to achieve organizational goals. It is known as the enterprise’s life-spark because it initiates human activity, whereas planning, organizing, and staffing are only preparations for task execution.

The inert-human component of management that is directly responsible for influencing, leading, monitoring, and encouraging subordinates to achieve organizational goals is referred to as direction.

The directing function is concerned with leadership, communication, motivation, and supervision so that the employees perform their activities in the most efficient manner possible, in order to achieve the desired goals.

The leadership element involves issuing of instructions and guiding the subordinates about procedures and methods.

The communication must be open both ways so that the information can be passed on to the subordinates and the feedback received from them.

Motivation is very important since highly motivated people show excellent performance with less direction from superiors.

Supervising subordinates would lead to continuous progress reports as well as assure the superiors that the directions are being properly carried out.

Controlling

To ensure that the business’s objectives are met, performance must be compared to predetermined benchmarks and deviations corrected. The goal of regulation is to ensure that everything happens in accordance with the rules. A well-designed control system allows deviations to be predicted before they occur.

Controlling, according to Theo Haimann, is the process of determining whether or not appropriate 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 evaluation and adjustment of subordinates’ performance activities to ensure that the firm’s objectives and methods for achieving them are met. As a result, controlling entails the steps listed below: The phrase is

1. 1.Developing a performance standard.
2. 2.Corrective action
3. 3.True performance evaluation.
4. 4.Comparing actual performance to established criteria and identifying discrepancies

Conclusion

No business can succeed without professional planning and direction; no strategy or management functions can be implemented haphazardly. The optimal functions of management operations and performance can be achieved primarily through the motivation, coordination, and management of its numerous tasks.