Introduction
The functions of management expressly describe the jobs of managers. The most commonly noted functions of management are planning, staffing, leading, organizing and controlling, even though some pinpoint additional functions. The functions of management outline the process of management as definite from other business functions such as accounting, marketing, and finance. Management functions are considered as a sphere of actions in which every component leads to the other. Even though the functions can be recognized as independent sets of actions for reasons of analysis, a manager in actual practice should perform these activities in a unified and complex manner within the complete process of managing (Drucker & Maciariello, 2008).
Organizations carry out the management functions differently; some routinely or periodically and others even do ignore one or more of the management functions. This paper, therefore, aims to analyze how the management functions or concepts were applied in an organization where I worked.
- Planning Function
Planning is the function of management that entails setting objectives and determining a course for attaining these objectives. The function demands that managers be aware of environment circumstances facing their organization and predict future conditions. It also demands that managers be good decision-makers. Planning is a process involving several steps. The process starts with scanning of the environmental that simply implies that managers must be aware of the crucial contingencies facing their organization in terms of their competitors, economic conditions and their customers. Managers must, therefore, try to predict future conditions for planning (David, 2005).
The planning function in an organization where I worked was further divided into mainly three types of planning as follows:
Strategic Planning
It involved analyzing competitive opportunities, threats, weaknesses and strengths of the organization, and then finding out how to position the organization to compete properly in their environment.
Tactical Planning
It was the intermediate-range planning that was intended to develop relatively specific and concrete methods to execute the strategic plan.
Operational Planning
Operational planning of the organization assumed the presence of objectives and specified ways to attain them. It was intended to develop specific actions that supported tactical and strategic plans. It had a very short period, usually from one week to one year.
The managers established objectives that were statements of what needs to be attained, and they also identified courses of action for attaining objectives. In addition, they formulated important steps and ensured effective implementation of plans. However, it is worth noting that they forgot one of the essential aspects of the planning function, which is constantly evaluating the success of their plans and taking corrective measures where applicable. Lack of constant evaluation of the success of plans and corrective measures in the organization resulted into the organization failing to attain some of its key objectives.
- Organizing Function
Organizing as a management function entails establishing an organizational structure and assigning human resources to guarantee the achievement of objectives. The organization structure is the framework within which effort of employees is coordinated. The structure is often depicted by an organization chart that illustrates a graphic representation of the chain of command in an organization. It also entails the design of individual jobs in the organization. Decisions must be made regarding the responsibilities and duties of individual jobs as well as the method in which roles should be carried out (Ward, 2005).
Organizing at the organization level involves deciding how best to departmentalize, or group jobs into departments to effectively coordinate effort. Some of the ways to departmentalize an organization include organizing by product, function, customer or geography. Many bigger organizations apply multiple ways of departmentalization. Organizing at the job level involves how best to design individual jobs to use most appropriately human resources (Drucker & Maciariello, 2008).
In the organization where I worked, job designed was based on the principles of specialization and division of labour, which assumed that the more precise the job content, the more effective a person performing the job could become. But, from the experience it was clear that it is not easy for jobs to become too specialized and narrow. This resulted into negative outcomes including decreased job satisfaction and increased turnover and absenteeism.
- Staffing Function
Staffing function is a key aspect of management in an organization since it involves finding the right individuals for the right jobs. The success of a manager is greatly related to effective human resource planning, regardless of whether it is the hiring of senior staff or a junior staff.
The staffing function consists of the following elements in the organization where I worked.
Staff Selection
The process of staff selection involved evaluating candidates through interviews and selecting the best candidate for a specific job. There was a list of criteria and a score sheet for each person. However, successful hiring was usually a very innate act and involved some degree of risk.
Staff Orientation
This is the process of officially introducing the selected people to the specific colleagues, unit and to the organization. The selected people were supposed to be aware of the objectives of the organization and their unit in particular. Additionally, they were required to be aware of the nature of their responsibilities, the degree of their accountability, and the procedures and systems followed to accomplish the tasks related with the job.
- Leading Function
Leading function entails influencing others toward the achievement of organizational objectives. Proper leading demands that the manager motivates subordinates, communicate appropriately and effectively use the authority. If managers are effectively leading, their subordinates will be passionate about endeavoring effort toward the achievement of organizational objectives. In order to become effective at leading, managers must understand the personalities, attitudes, values and emotions of their subordinates (Robbins & Decenzo, 2001).
In an organization where I worked, leading function was applied well; however, some of its aspects such as persuasive communicating led to the managers of the organization not being good leaders. This resulted into subordinates not being motivated toward the attainment of organizational objectives and goals.
- Controlling Function
Controlling function involves ensuring that performance does not diverge from standards. Controlling function entails three steps, which include creating performance standards, matching actual performance against standards, and taking corrective measures when appropriate. Performance standards are usually depicted in monetary terms for example, costs, revenues, or profits, however may also be depicted in other terms, such as levels of customer service, units produced and number of defective products. The measurement of performance can be carried out in different methods, depending on the performance standards, including production results, sales reports, customer satisfaction, financial statements, and formal performance appraisals (Morris, 2005).
The function of controlling should not be confused with control in the manipulative sense or behavioral. The function does not imply that managers should try to manipulate or control the personalities, attitudes, emotions or values of their subordinates as was evidenced in the organization where I worked. Instead, the controlling function is about the manager’s role in taking necessary measures to ensure that job-related activities are coherent with and contributing toward the achievement of departmental and organizational objectives.
Effective controlling demands the presence of plans, since planning offers the necessary performance standards or objectives. There were suitable plans in the organization where I previously worked, but there was an important aspect of controlling function that was missing. There was no clear understanding of where responsibility for deviation from standards lies. Even though, controlling is usually thought in terms of financial benchmark, managers must also control operations/production processes, criteria for delivery of services, conformity with organization policies, and many other actions within the organization.
Conclusion
Organizations steadily face forces driving them to change. Since a change implies doing something new, the natural reaction is to resist it. Managers must overcome the resistance and adopt management techniques that involve integrating all the management concepts in order for them to remain high performance. They must improve personal and management skills if they hope to adapt themselves to the changing world.
Managers need to obtain relevant information that exists in journals, books and people who are within and outside the organization. They have to make decisions established on the information that is both astounding and complete. Additionally, managers need to obtain cooperation from subordinates, superiors, peers and even people over whom they may have no formal authority.
References
David, F. (2005). Strategic management. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Drucker, P., & Maciariello, J. (2008). Management. New York, NY: Collins.
Morris, B. (2005). Concepts for Operations Management. Management Learning, 9(2), 116-122. Doi: 10.1177/135050767800900207
Robbins, S., & DeCenzo, D. (2001). Fundamentals of management. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall.
Ward, T. (2003). MANAGEMENT CONCEPTS: Management by objectives. Management Decision, 2(2), 94-94. Doi: 10.1108/eb000841
