Management Processes (Functions of Management)

Functions of Management

Planning Deciding in advance : What to do How to do When to do Who is going to do it Bridges a gap between where we are today and where we want to reach. Sets the goal of an organization

Planning Planning involves : choosing tasks that must be performed to attain organizational goals, outlining how the tasks must be performed, and indicating when they should be performed. It is needed, firstly for committing and allocating the organisation's limited resources towards achieving its objectives in the best possible manner and, secondly for anticipating the future opportunities and problems. Thus Planning implies: Making choices Committing resources A time horizon

Planning Planning ensures the most efficient use of scarce resources. Planning implies coordinated, inter-related effort towards achievement of the common objective Planning is the only way by which an organisation can exercise control to check that it is on the desired course of action. Only when there are objectives to work for, and plans to achieve these objectives

Planning To ensure that a plan is effective and succeeds in achieving its objectives, it must have the following components: Planning must start from the top. Planning must be flexible. Short-term planning must be integrated with long range planning. The long range plans, must be broken down into short-term plans on the basis of which the managers can take action. Plans are good only if they are properly implemented by the people down the line. An effective way to ensure this is to involve the people responsible for implementation in the entire process of planning.

Organizing Organising refers to the process of arranging people and physical resources to carry out plans and accomplish the organizational goals and includes: the types of organisation structure, degree of centralisation, levels of management, span of control, delegation of authority, unity of command, line and staff relationship, and staffing.

Organizing involves: Defining tasks required for achieving goals. What task to be done? Grouping the activities in logical pattern Determining manpower requirement Establishing authority and responsibility for each position. Who reports to whom? Assigning the activities to specific position and people

Organizing Coordinating their activities authority relations Organizing efficiency and reducing the operation cost through avoiding repetition and duplication of activities. 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

Leading Leadership is guiding and influencing people to achieve goals willingly and enthusiastically in a given situation 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.

Leading Leading consists of : Leadership, Motivation and Communication Leadership is the ability to influence a group toward achievement of goals. Motivation is the acts of stimulating people to contribute at some higher rate. Communication consists of conveying information from top to bottom, bottom to top and at horizontal and lateral.

Controlling Controls provide a means of checking the progress of the plans and correcting any deviations that may occur along the way. E.g. Usage of Biometric machine Controlling consists of actions and decision, manager undertaken to ensure actual result. It ensures the right thing is done in the right manner and at the right time. The steps of controlling: Establishing standards Measuring actual performance Finding and analyzing deviations Corrective action

Importance of Management Optimum utilization of resources Competitive strength Cordial organizational relation Motivation of employees Introduction of new techniques Effective management : society gets the benefits Expansion of business Brings stability and prosperity Develops team spirit Ensures effective use of managers Ensures smooth functioning (raises the efficiency, productivity and profitability) Reduces turnover and absenteeism Creates sound organisation

Decision making Decision-making implies making a choice between alternatives. The choice is made rationally after due consideration of all the pros and cons In making a decision, the manager : first of all define the issue on which the decision needs to be made. Then he should generate all the possible alternatives available to tackle the issue at hand. The third step involves a careful evaluation of each alternative to choose that which offers the best chance of achieving the objectives. Follow up of the decision to ensure that it is properly carried out is very important. The final step is to gather feedback on the impact generated by the decision.