In the ever-changing world of business, proper management is essential to ensure that the goals of an organization are met. Managers perform several tasks in their day-to-day running of organizations. These activities are known as the functions of management. Proper implementation of these functions puts the business on its track to ensure objectives are attained. These roles include staffing, controlling, organizing, planning, as well as leading. Several management scientists have discussed them in the world of business. This paper is set to discuss the implementation of these management functions in workplaces.
Planning is regarded as the most crucial function of management. Therefore, a manager should perform the initial function to ensure the smooth performance of the other managerial functions. It is regarded as a map of the organization; guiding the practices of the organization. It questions the ‘what,' ‘where,' ‘when’ ‘how’ as well as ‘why’ of the organizations objectives. Proper planning has several benefits to the organization. It ensures efficiency and effectiveness in the performance of the organization (Bose, 2012). Planning enables an organization to stay focused in meeting its objectives. It can be far-reaching and high level. However, most of the planning done by managers is usually short-term with a focus on meeting the short-term objectives.
When a hospital designs a plan covering five years, it is regarded as a both a short and long-term planning. A public health department in a given hospital can also develop its plan for the month or a year. This is referred to as departmental plan. Plans are a directional tool of any organization or a department in an organization (Rigolosi, 2012). Even though the plans are a rough estimate of what is expected, a lot of emphases is always placed on it. It is impossible to attain knowledge of what the future holds and therefore a rough estimate would be essential. For proper implementation of plans, they need to be made flexible at the time of formulation. The business world is continuously changing, and a rigid plan has a potential to harm the business. The ability for revision of plans distinguishes a successful business operation from other unsuccessful ventures. Reasonability of the plan is also a crucial component in planning. Being realistic on how much can be done and the amount of time required can save the business from daily pressures.
In the planning process, specific and time-bound objectives should be determined to ensure the business stays on track. When the planning process is weak, the targets may not be met due to the ever-changing environment and broad objectives set by organizations (Bose, 2012). When objectives are not attained, the plans can be revised to include specific objectives. In the health care institutions, planning is essential because of the nature of the services offered. The number of patients expected in a given period cannot be estimated since disease occurrence in most regions is unpredictable. For better performances, health care plans are always made as flexible as possible. This would ensure that at no particular point in time would a given hospital run out of stock for essential products. However, this is not an indication that the health care market has unlimited resources.
For that reason, planning is a crucial process in the management of health care resources. Health is a critical issue and must be managed with great care. Additionally, the sensitivity of the health care sector makes planning an essential function. To ensure the plan is adhered to, continuous monitoring and redefining of objectives is essential. This would allow the managers as well as the heads of department to detect, report, and correct any deviances. Planning, therefore, becomes the most important function of management (Buchbinder & Shanks, 2011).
Another important function of management is organizing. It involves preparation for the implementation of decisions and resolutions made in the planning process. It establishes a platform for the performance work in an organization. In organizing, tasks are delineated, and a framework of responsibility as well as authority is established to enable people to perform tasks assigned (Buchbinder & Shanks, 2011). It is essential to analyze workload before activities can be distributed to the employees. This would ensure that only qualified individuals work in a given field. In the performance of their organizing functions, supervisors must ensure they are up to date with the qualifications of their juniors. Certain essential tools exist that are used in organizing activities. These tools include procedures, position descriptions, policies, delegation, as well as assigning of duties. In the organizational hierarchy, supervisors possess power only at their levels.
Just like planning, organizing is crucial in the delivery of healthcare services. When everyone has specific duties or roles, efficiency and effectiveness will be high due to the proper distribution of duties (McConnell, 2014). In the healthcare sector, the radiologists perform different but related roles to those of the pediatric nurses. If the radiologists were to work as nurses, then delivery of health care services would be poor. Organizing stresses on matching skills or knowledge with the kind of work that is to be done. There is also a clear line of authority in the healthcare sector. An overall chief executive officer has full control of the resources available. Below such an officer, different supervisors ensure that employees perform their tasks.
For a business to produce high quality goods and services, the level of organizing should be high. The manager should ensure that the organizing process adheres to the plan of the business formulated at the planning stage. Any deviation from the plan would result in poor delivery of services as well as the provision of services to a population different from the target group. As such, it is essential that the organizing function of management is checked for any deviation. Deviations may also lead to the distortion of the goods and services produced.
All businesses or organizations must have forces to drive the capital pumped into their ventures. One of the most important forces is the human resource. The process of selection of this important resource is referred to as staffing. It is not a one-time activity but rather continuous depending on the growth of the business as well as staff turnover. After laying down plans, rules, procedures, as well as strategies, it is essential to get the human resource to implement (McConnell, 2014). The management should ensure that the individuals selected to help the organization in the achievement of its objectives are qualified. This would make the organizing function effective and efficient. They should be trained and integrated into the culture of the business. This would enable them to feel comfortable in the performance of their duties translating into high productivity as well as performance.
In any institution, the success highly relies on the staff. It is therefore recommended that the recruitment process should be designed in a way that allows the business to get the best personnel in the market. However, overqualified candidates should be avoided since they would not be committed to the organization for the long-term. In contrast, under qualified staff may not be able to perform to the expectation of the management (Healey & Marchese, 2012). The most important factor is to select the average candidates, train and mentor them into one of the best in the market. This also presents a certain amount of risk since employees have a tendency of seeking better opportunities. The availability and productivity of personnel depend on the level of motivation in the organization. Keeping a motivated staff is one of the ways of improving performance as well as productivity.
In controlling, it is the responsibility of the manager to ensure that the activities performed by the employees are in line with the objectives of the company. The process of controlling involves checking on the deviations in the business activities, performances, as well as comparing them against the set standards to detect deviations (Rigolosi, 2012). Once these deviations are detected, correction measures are taken to ensure the business is back on track. For instance, vaccination of children above five years in a mass vaccination campaign would lead to a deviation when the target group was under 5 years. In the health care system, deviations have a great impact on the allocation and utilization of resources.
The manager must also be able to inspire and motivate employees. Influencing and inspiring others in ways that motivate them is the mark of a leader. Therefore, a manager should have the ability to display leadership skills in managing people. Business leaders use varying but effective styles of leadership in the management of their organization. Leadership inspires and assists the employees to perform to their best (Bose, 2012). There is no single most effective type of leadership. It all depends on the leadership abilities of a given business leader. As such, a manager should strive to be a great leader to employees. Leaders help in mentoring of newly recruited staff. This is common in the healthcare sector where an experienced health worker offers to assist the new employees in coping with a new place of work.
Management as an art and science must be studied and practiced in equal measure. This would ensure the success of organizations. Additionally, the functions of management should also be integrated into all training for employees. This would enable them to recognize the various roles and responsibilities of their leaders. Putting into practice, the management functions enable organizations to meet their objectives. It is, therefore, essential to ensure that managers practice them.
References
Bose, C. (2012). Principles of Management and Administration. New Dehli: PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd.
Buchbinder, S., & Shanks, H. (2011). Introduction to Health Care Management. Burlington: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Healey, B., & Marchese, C. (2012). Foundations of Health Care Management: Principles and Methods. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.
McConnell, C. R. (2014). The Effective Health Care Supervisor. Burlington: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Rigolosi, E. L. (2012). Management and Leadership in Nursing and Health Care: An Experiential Approach, Third Edition. New York: Springer Publishing Company.
