Slide 1
The title of my presentation is “Functions of Management”.
Slide 2
Management can be described as a social process that involves responsibility for effective and economic planning and regulation of a company in the fulfillment of certain purposes. It a dynamic process and consists of various activities and elements. These activities differ from operative functions such as finance, marketing, purchase, etc., but they are common to every manager regardless of his status or level. Numerous researchers have classified functions of management in a different way. According to Fayol, for example, there are four functions, but the most accepted are the ones given by Koontz and O’Donnel (1972): planning, organizing, staffing, directing, controlling.
Slide 3
Planning is the process of determining organization objectives and selecting a future course of actions for their accomplishment. Organizing is the process by which employees and their jobs are related to each other for accomplishing organizational objectives. Staffing is the process of assuring that competent employees are selected, developed, motivated, and rewarded for accomplishing organizational objectives. Directing (or leading) is the process of inducing groups and individuals to assist willingly in accomplishing certain organizational objectives. Controlling can be defined as the process of assuring the efficient and timely accomplishment of organizational objectives.
Slide 4
Planning is the basic function of management. Koontz & O’Donnel (1972) defined planning as “deciding in advance - what to do, when to do and how to do. It bridges the gap between where we are and where we want to be”. Thus, it is the systematic setting performance objectives and thinking about the means and ways to achieve them. Planning is important because it helps to avoid uncertainties, confusion, risks, etc. What is more, during this phase, a new strategic plan and vision can be created, without which the changes will not be successful. To sustain changes, organizational structures should be modified, including plans, procedures, and policies.
Slide 5
Organizing is the process of bringing together human, physical, and financial resources as well as developing the relationship among them in order to achieve organizational goals. “Success begins with organizing, the process of assigning tasks, allocating resources, and coordinating the activities of individuals and groups. When managers organize, they bring people and resources together to put plans into action” (Schermerhorn, 2011). To organize means to 1. Identify activities, 2. Assign duties, 3. Delegate authority and create responsibility, 4. Coordinate responsibility and authority relationships.
Slide 6
The function of stuffing is to keep the organization manned. It has acquired greater importance due to technological advancement, the complexity of human behavior, increase in the size of business, etc. According to Kootz & O’Donell (1972), “Managerial function of staffing involves manning the organization structure through proper and effective selection, appraisal and development of personnel to fill the roles designed in the structure”. Staffing involves: evaluating, recruiting, selecting, training, and placing the personnel. To successfully implement changes, the leaders of the organization should identify the need for changes and communicate it. Besides, they must engage employees at all organizational levels and involve them in the process of designing of the implementation strategy.
Slide 7
Directing actuates the methods of the organization to work efficiently in order to achieve organizational objectives. It deals with guiding, influencing, motivating, supervising, etc. it consists of supervision, motivation, leadership, and communication. Supervision means overseeing the work of employees by their superiors. Motivation implies inspiration, encouraging and stimulating workers to work hard to achieve common goals. Leadership is the “process of arousing enthusiasm and inspiring efforts to achieve goals” (Schermerhorn, 2011). Communication means passing experience, information, opinions from one person to another to reach the understanding.
Slide 8
Controlling means the measurement of accomplishments according to the standards and correction of deviations. Its purpose is to ensure achievement of organizational goals. According to Koontz & O’Donell (1972), “Controlling is the measurement and correction of performance activities of subordinates in order to make sure that the enterprise objectives and plans desired to obtain them as being accomplished”. Controlling includes the following steps: 1. Establishment of standard performance, 2. Measurement of actual performance, 3. Comparison of actual performance with the standards and finding out deviations, 4. Corrective actions.
Slide 9
The modern world is now characterized by hyper competition, discontinuous change, and the explosion of information. These factors forced a new management paradigm to become updated by means of the virtual structures. To withstand rapid changes in a wired and borderless world, it should rely on virtual structures. Such technologies as the Internet, e-mail, voice mail, and telecommuting have generated such products as the virtual companies, offices, and teams. Therefore, the new management paradigm revolves around participation, teamwork, learning, collaboration, partnering, communication, and integration. The twenty-first-century managers are expected to nurture a combination of functional, technical, and social-cultural skills because the new paradigm has changed their responsibilities and increased risks.
Summary
Management can be described as a social process that involves responsibility for effective and economic planning and regulation of a company in the fulfillment of certain purposes. According to Fayol, for example, there are four functions, but the most accepted are the ones given by Koontz and O’Donnel (1972): planning, organizing, staffing, directing, controlling.
Planning is the basic function of management. Koontz & O’Donnel (1972) defined planning as “deciding in advance - what to do, when to do and how to do. It bridges the gap between where we are and where we want to be”. Thus, it is the systematic setting performance objectives and thinking about the means and ways to achieve them. What is more, during this phase, a new strategic plan and vision can be created, without which the changes will not be successful. To sustain changes, organizational structures should be modified, including plans, procedures, and policies.
Organizing is the process of bringing together human, physical, and financial resources as well as developing the relationship among them in order to achieve organizational goals. “Success begins with organizing, the process of assigning tasks, allocating resources, and coordinating the activities of individuals and groups. When managers organize, they bring people and resources together to put plans into action” (Schermerhorn, 2011). To organize means to 1. Identify activities, 2. Assign duties, 3. Delegate authority and create responsibility, 4. Coordinate responsibility and authority relationships.
The function of stuffing is to keep the organization manned. According to Kootz & O’Donell (1972), “Managerial function of staffing involves manning the organization structure through proper and effective selection, appraisal and development of personnel to fill the roles designed in the structure”. Staffing involves: evaluating, recruiting, selecting, training, and placing the personnel. To successfully implement changes, the leaders of the organization should identify the need for changes and communicate it. Besides, they must engage employees at all organizational levels and involve them in the process of designing of the implementation strategy.
Directing actuates the methods of the organization to work efficiently in order to achieve organizational objectives. It consists of supervision, motivation, leadership, and communication. Supervision means overseeing the work of employees by their superiors. Motivation implies inspiration, encouraging and stimulating workers to work hard to achieve common goals. Leadership is the “process of arousing enthusiasm and inspiring efforts to achieve goals” (Schermerhorn, 2011). Communication means passing experience, information, opinions from one person to another to reach the understanding.
Controlling means the measurement of accomplishments according to the standards and correction of deviations. According to Koontz & O’Donell (1972), “Controlling is the measurement and correction of performance activities of subordinates in order to make sure that the enterprise objectives and plans desired to obtain them as being accomplished”. Controlling includes the following steps: 1. Establishment of standard performance, 2. Measurement of actual performance, 3. Comparison of actual performance with the standards and finding out deviations, 4. Corrective actions.
The modern world is now characterized by hyper competition, discontinuous change, and the explosion of information. These factors forced a new management paradigm to become updated by means of the virtual structures. Such technologies as the Internet, e-mail, voice mail, and telecommuting have generated such products as the virtual companies, offices, and teams. Therefore, the new management paradigm revolves around participation, teamwork, learning, collaboration, partnering, communication, and integration. The twenty-first-century managers are expected to nurture a combination of functional, technical, and social-cultural skills because the new paradigm has changed their responsibilities and increased risks.
References
Koontz, H., & O'Donnell, C. (1972). Principles of management: An analysis of managerial functions. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Schermerhorn, J. R. (2011). Exploring management. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
