Four Functions of Management

The Four Functions of Management

Management involves accomplishing organizational goals by working with people and resources. Managers exist in every business, from small nail salons to large oil companies. Although the role of a manager can vary from business to business, the four basic functions- planning, organizing, leading, and controlling are universal and applicable in every work environment. Each of these components is equally important to achieving an organization's goals, and dependent on each other for effective management.

Planning

Planning, defined as delivering strategic value to meet an organization's goals, is the first function of a manager (Bateman & Snell, 2009). This function can include analyzing situations, anticipating the future, determining business objectives, and choosing corporate and business strategies. The importance of this function cannot be over emphasized, as it can make or break an organization. At a former employer, improper planning of an e-business initiative led to unexpected financial strain on the company. The owner of the company did not properly research the expenses involved with setting up a website with transactional functionality. When he realized the total investment required, the project was already too far along to back out of it, and required a premature partnership with another company to meet the financial requirements to complete. It is imperative for a manager to understand that effective planning is not a quick, one-person activity; it is a continual process that involves gathering and analyzing information from stakeholders throughout the company, including suppliers and customers, to identify opportunities and develop strategies to gain and sustain competitive advantage.

Organizing

Organizing is the second function of a manager, which is the act of assembling and coordination of people, information, financial, and other resources to achieve goals (Bateman & Snell, 2009). These activities can include recruiting, delegating job responsibilities, allocating resources, and ensuring that people and things work together for maximum success of the company. It is important for a manager to possess good organization skills because it demonstrates professionalism and earns the respect of superiors, peers, and subordinates. As an office manager for a YMCA, my responsibilities included coordinating activity schedules for all departments of the facility. This required extensive communication with department heads to organize and staff various programs, while maximizing the use of available program areas within the facility. The process could become quite complicated with potential conflicts of time and space to accommodate every department; however, if a scheduling conflict arose between departments, the executive director delegated final decisions to me because of his confidence in my ability to utilize the organization's resources efficiently. The key to organizing is flexibility and the ability to adapt to accommodate the needs of the organization and customers.

Leading

The third function of a manager is leading, or stimulating the performance of staff (Bateman & Snell, 2009). Leaders must inspire employees