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Functions of Management

Management has been described as a social process involving responsibility for economical and e ective planning &
regulation of operation of an enterprise in the ful llment of given purposes. It is a dynamic process consisting of
various elements and activities. These activities are di erent from operative functions like marketing, nance,
purchase etc. Rather these activities are common to each and every manger irrespective of his level or status.

Di erent experts have classi ed 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 Sta ng, 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, Sta ng, Directing and Controlling.

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 a ects
the performance of others.
1. Planning (planning_function.htm)

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 (organizing_function.htm)

It is the process of bringing together physical, nancial 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:

Identi cation of activities.

Classi cation of grouping of activities.
Assignment of duties.
Delegation of authority and creation of responsibility.
Coordinating authority and responsibility relationships.

3. Sta ng (sta ng-function.htm)

It is the function of manning the organization structure and keeping it manned. Sta ng 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 sta ng 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 sta ng involves
manning the organization structure through proper and e ective selection, appraisal & development of
personnel to ll the roles designed un the structure”. Sta ng involves:

Manpower Planning (http://www.managementstudyguide.com/manpower-planning.htm) (estimating

man power in terms of searching, choose the person and giving the right place).
 Recruitment, Selection & Placement.
Training & Development (training-and-development.htm).
Remuneration (employee-remuneration.htm).
Performance Appraisal (performance-appraisal.htm).
Promotions & Transfer.

4. Directing (directing_function.htm)
It is that part of managerial function which actuates the organizational methods to work e ciently 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 sta ng are the mere preparations for doing the work.
Direction is that inert-personnel aspect of management which deals directly with in uencing, guiding,
supervising, motivating sub-ordinate for the achievement of organizational goals. Direction has following
elements:

Supervision
Motivation (what_is_motivation.htm)
Leadership (leadership_basics.htm)
Communication (understanding-communication.htm)

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 de ned as a process by which manager guides and in uences 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 (controlling_function.htm)
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 e cient 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 nding out deviation if any.
d. Corrective action.
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Similar Articles Under - Management Basics

 Planning Function of Management (planning_function.htm)

 Organizing Function of Management (organizing_function.htm)

 Sta ng Function of Management (sta ng-function.htm)

  Directing Function of Management (directing_function.htm)

 Controlling Function of Management (controlling_function.htm)

 Principles of Management (management_principles.htm)

 Importance of Management (management_importance.htm)

 Management and Administration (management_administration.htm)

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Management Basics

 What is Management ? (what_is_management.htm)

 Features of Management (management_features.htm)

 Levels of Management (management_levels.htm)

 Objectives of Management (management_objectives.htm)

 Importance of Management (management_importance.htm)

 Management and Administration (management_administration.htm)

 Functions of Management (management_functions.htm)

 Co-ordination - Introduction (coordination.htm)

 Co-ordination and Co-operation (coordination_cooperation.htm)

 Management Principles (management_principles.htm)

 Management Principles - Features (managementprinciples_features.htm)

 Importance of Management Principles (managementprinciples_importance.htm)

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