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Management
has been described as a social process involving responsibility for
economical and effective planning & regulation of operation of an
enterprise in the fulfillment of given purposes. It is a dynamic process
consisting of various elements and activities. These activities are different
from operative functions like marketing, finance, purchase etc. Rather these
activities are common to each and every manger irrespective of his level or
status.
Different
experts have classified functions of management. According to George &
Jerry, “There are four fundamental functions of management i.e. planning,
organizing, actuating and controlling”. According to Henry Fayol, “To manage
is to forecast and plan, to organize, to command, & to control”. Whereas
Luther Gullick has given a keyword ’POSDCORB’ where P stands for
Planning, O for Organizing, S for Staffing, D for Directing, Co for
Co-ordination, R for reporting & B for Budgeting. But the most widely
accepted are functions of management given by KOONTZ and O’DONNEL i.e. Planning,
Organizing, Staffing, Directing and Controlling.
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For
theoretical purposes, it may be convenient to separate the function of
management but practically these functions are overlapping in nature i.e. they
are highly inseparable. Each function blends into the other & each affects
the performance of others.
1. Planning
It is the basic function of management. It deals
with chalking out a future course of action & deciding in advance the most
appropriate course of actions for achievement of pre-determined goals.
According to KOONTZ, “Planning is deciding in advance - what to do, when to do
& how to do. It bridges the gap from where we are & where we want to
be”. A plan is a future course of actions. It is an exercise in problem solving
& decision making. Planning is determination of courses of action to
achieve desired goals. Thus, planning is a systematic thinking about ways &
means for accomplishment of pre-determined goals. Planning is necessary to
ensure proper utilization of human & non-human resources. It is all
pervasive, it is an intellectual activity and it also helps in avoiding
confusion, uncertainties, risks, wastages etc.
2. Organizing
It is the process of bringing together physical,
financial and human resources and developing productive relationship amongst
them for achievement of organizational goals. According to Henry Fayol, “To
organize a business is to provide it with everything useful or its functioning
i.e. raw material, tools, capital and personnel’s”. To organize a business
involves determining & providing human and non-human resources to the
organizational structure. Organizing as a process involves:
·
Identification
of activities.
·
Classification
of grouping of activities.
·
Assignment
of duties.
·
Delegation
of authority and creation of responsibility.
·
Coordinating
authority and responsibility relationships.
3. Staffing
It is the function of manning the organization
structure and keeping it manned. Staffing has assumed greater importance in the
recent years due to advancement of technology, increase in size of business,
complexity of human behavior etc. The main purpose o staffing is to put right
man on right job i.e. square pegs in square holes and round pegs in round
holes. According to Kootz & O’Donell, “Managerial function of staffing
involves manning the organization structure through proper and effective
selection, appraisal & development of personnel to fill the roles designed
un the structure”. Staffing involves:
·
Manpower Planning (estimating man power in terms
of searching, choose the person and giving the right place).
·
Recruitment,
Selection & Placement.
·
Remuneration.
·
Promotions
& Transfer.
4. Directing
It is that part of managerial function which
actuates the organizational methods to work efficiently for achievement of
organizational purposes. It is considered life-spark of the enterprise which
sets it in motion the action of people because planning, organizing and
staffing are the mere preparations for doing the work. Direction is that
inert-personnel aspect of management which deals directly with influencing,
guiding, supervising, motivating sub-ordinate for the achievement of
organizational goals. Direction has following elements:
·
Supervision
Supervision- implies overseeing the work of subordinates by
their superiors. It is the act of watching & directing work & workers.
Motivation- means inspiring, stimulating or encouraging the
sub-ordinates with zeal to work. Positive, negative, monetary, non-monetary
incentives may be used for this purpose.
Leadership- may be defined as a process by which manager
guides and influences the work of subordinates in desired direction.
Communications- is the process of passing information, experience,
opinion etc from one person to another. It is a bridge of understanding.
5. Controlling
It implies measurement of accomplishment against
the standards and correction of deviation if any to ensure achievement of
organizational goals. The purpose of controlling is to ensure that everything
occurs in conformities with the standards. An efficient system of control helps
to predict deviations before they actually occur. According to Theo Haimann,
“Controlling is the process of checking whether or not proper progress is being
made towards the objectives and goals and acting if necessary, to correct any
deviation”. According to Koontz & O’Donell “Controlling is the measurement
& correction of performance activities of subordinates in order to make
sure that the enterprise objectives and plans desired to obtain them as being
accomplished”. Therefore controlling has following steps:
a.
Establishment
of standard performance.
b.
Measurement
of actual performance.
c.
Comparison
of actual performance with the standards and finding out deviation if any.
d.
Corrective
action.
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