Management
An organized group of activities is called Management, which is One of the most essential aspects of the economic life of humans. In the modern social organization, management is considered an essential institution. When efforts of humans are carried out cooperatively to satisfy the needs through productive activities, professional or occupation is either one or other form of fundamental management. Management regulates the activities of productivity of every individual through the coordinated use of materials and resources.
Functions of Management
It is necessary to understand the functions of management in order to manage any task, activity, or function in the organization. The functions of Management are:
- Planning
- Organizing
- Directing
- Staffing
- Coordinating
- Controlling
The key for any organization to advance towards welfare, satisfy the needs of the individuals, fulfill the requirements, and productivity with profitability we need to implement functions of management.
However, Henri Foyal (French mining engineer) proposed five functions of management and replaced directing and staffing with a commanding, they are:
- Planning
- Organizing
- Commanding
- Coordinating
- Controlling
With the passage of time and presently, these functions of management further narrowed down into four by adding leading and removing commanding and coordinating, which are:
- Planning
- Organizing
- Leading
- Controlling
Clear communication has a vital role to play in each function of management to implement it perfectly or for continuous improvement. The beginning of these exercising is to identify the end goal.
For example, a company has decided ultimate goal which could be improving sales, improving team culture, generating new leads, etc. Implementation of the functions of management eventually plays an essential role in the competitive and functional team to achieve those goals of the company.
Four Functions of Management
Planning
Without a strategy, alone planning is not enough. When the company is implementing these functions, there shall be a solid strategy so in case of ideas go wrong, the company shall have a fallback. For this purpose, management may use the FIOA model:
- Facts – create a list of the major problems that need to be solved.
- Issues – internal or external, everyone shall be encouraged to dot down the issues they might have.
- Options – look everywhere, inside or outside of the company, for different options.
- Action – create a SMART action plan. i.e. Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely.
The most important step is to carefully identify what the responsibilities are, the level of priorities, and the deadline (realistic) to meet the company’s goals. The tools that shall be used is brainstorming with key people from the different department of the company and having a proper discussion on what needs to be done. Some things need to make adjustments in the current role in teams or it could be a reallocation of tasks.
However, whatever adjustments are needed to be carried out, it is again very crucial for management to identify the prospective impact of the transition on everyone connected to that adjustment. This process shall be planned ahead. There shall be personnel re-training requirements for those who are set with new roles, new processes, or affected in anyhow.
Organizing
For some employees or members of management, organizing is as simple as delegating responsibilities to relevant or concerned employees within the team but this is not the case. In response to existing and upcoming challenges, it compasses reorganizing processes. It is the company’s clearly written plan which indicates if there is any need for restructuring in internal processes or alteration in the role of any job. It includes marginal adjustments in:
- Timeline – for activities
- Resources – to carry out tasks
- Designation – tasks and responsibilities to the key people
- Organizational structure – a chain of communication
- Team members – responsibilities, duties, relationship
Leading
This is the very highlighted part of the functions of management in any company. Leaders not only motivate team members in achieving the goals of the business but also inspires them to enhance their skills and professional abilities to perform assigned tasks. This is the essential responsibility of the leader throughout the process to project a strong sense of leadership and direction in the best interest of the company’s values and objectives. For example, if the company values every employee being heard so, it is the responsibility of the leader to open himself to hear the ideas of others regardless of their roles.
On the other hand, give employees or team members the free will to create wise decisions because directing them is not limited to being followed all the time.
Controlling
It determines either action are followed according to plan or not. It is again the responsibility of the leaders or management to must-have check on the performances of the team members. Controlling may begin with asking these simple questions:
- Are the KPIs of the company met?
- Does every employee provide quality work?
- Is every member of the team carrying out tasks efficiently?
- Is there any need to change or make an adjustment in the current process?
It would make pitfalls easier to identify by asking these questions with yes-or-no answers in starting. By this, time would be saved and leaders can allot more time to find ways how to solve these issues.
Controlling Processes
- Establish standards – to measure performance and/or work quality
- Measure – actual performance with the company’s KPIs
- Comparison – performance with company’s standards
- Corrective – taking actions when necessary
Conclusion
Peter Ducker says “No institution can possibly survive if it needs geniuses or supermen to manage it. It must be organized in such a way as to be able to get along under a leadership composed of average human beings.” Remember, management cannot have effective control without measurement. These are controls that need to be results and output focused.
Implementing functions of management is not an easy job. However, commitment and dedication to the goals, values, and objectives of the company result in high- performance of the team and management, whatever the difficulty may occur.
Hence, a true leader alongside the team works as a mentor and a coach to dedicate to achieve a common goal of the organization to success. It is a team, not one person by which a company is manned.
