Management has been described as a social process involving
responsibility for economical and effective planning & regulation of
operation of an enterprise in the fulfillment of given purposes. It is a
dynamic process consisting of various elements and activities. These activities
are different from operative functions like marketing, finance, purchase etc.
Rather these activities are common to each and every manger irrespective of his
level or status.
Different experts have classified functions of management.
According to George & Jerry, “There are four fundamental functions of
management i.e. planning, organizing, actuating and controlling”. According to
Henry Fayol, “To manage is to forecast and plan, to organize, to command, &
to control”. Whereas Luther Gullick has given a keyword ’POSDCORB’ where P
stands for Planning, O for Organizing, S for Staffing, D for Directing, Co for
Co-ordination, R for reporting & B for Budgeting. But the most widely
accepted are functions of management given by KOONTZ and O’DONNEL i.e.
Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing and Controlling.
For theoretical purposes, it may be convenient to separate
the function of management but practically these functions are overlapping in
nature i.e. they are highly inseparable. Each function blends into the other
& each affects the performance of others.
èPlanning
It is the basic function of management. It deals with
chalking out a future course of action & deciding in advance the most
appropriate course of actions for achievement of pre-determined goals.
According to KOONTZ, “Planning is deciding in advance - what to do, when to do
& how to do. It bridges the gap from where we are & where we want to
be”. A plan is a future course of actions. It is an exercise in problem solving
& decision making. Planning is determination of courses of action to
achieve desired goals. Thus, planning is a systematic thinking about ways &
means for accomplishment of pre-determined goals. Planning is necessary to
ensure proper utilization of human & non-human resources. It is all
pervasive, it is an intellectual activity and it also helps in avoiding
confusion, uncertainties, risks, wastages etc.
èOrganizing
It is the process of bringing together physical, financial
and human resources and developing productive relationship amongst them for
achievement of organizational goals. According to Henry Fayol, “To organize a
business is to provide it with everything useful or its functioning i.e. raw
material, tools, capital and personnel’s”. To organize a business involves
determining & providing human and non-human resources to the organizational
structure. 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.
èStaffing
It is the function of manning the organization structure
and keeping it manned. Staffing has assumed greater importance in the recent
years due to advancement of technology, increase in size of business,
complexity of human behavior etc. The main purpose o staffing is to put right
man on right job i.e. square pegs in square holes and round pegs in round
holes. According to Koontz & O’Donnell, “Managerial function of staffing
involves manning the organization structure through proper and effective
selection, appraisal & development of personnel to fill the roles designed
un the structure”. Staffing involves:
·
Manpower Planning (estimating man power in terms of
searching, choose the person and giving the right place).
·
Recruitment, selection & placement.
·
Training & development.
·
Remuneration.
·
Performance appraisal.
·
Promotions & transfer.
èDirecting
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. Direction
has following elements:
·
Supervision
·
Motivation
·
Leadership
·
Communication
·
Supervision- implies overseeing the work of subordinates by their
superiors. It is the act of watching & directing work & workers.
·
Motivation- means inspiring, stimulating or encouraging the
sub-ordinates with zeal to work. Positive, negative, monetary, non-monetary
incentives may be used for this purpose.
·
Leadership- may be defined as a process by which manager guides and
influences the work of subordinates in desired direction.
·
Communications- is the process of passing information,
experience, opinion etc from one person to another. It is a bridge of
understanding.
èControlling
It implies measurement of accomplishment against the
standards and correction of deviation if any to ensure achievement of
organizational goals. The purpose of controlling is to ensure that everything
occurs in conformities with the standards. An efficient system of control helps
to predict deviations before they actually occur. According to Theo Haimann,
“Controlling is the process of checking whether or not proper progress is being
made towards the objectives and goals and acting if necessary, to correct any
deviation”. According to Koontz & O’Donnell “Controlling is the measurement
& correction of performance activities of subordinates in order to make
sure that the enterprise objectives and plans desired to obtain them as being
accomplished”. Therefore controlling has following steps:
·
Establishment of standard performance.
·
Measurement of actual performance.
·
Comparison of actual performance with the standards and
finding out deviation if any.
·
Corrective action.
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