Functions of Management

Functions of Management

The world of business has undergone radical and dramatic changes in the last decade changes that present extraordinary challenges for the contemporary manager. A manager is an organizational member who is responsible for planning, organizing, leading, and controlling the activities of the organization so that the goals can be achieved. According to a widely referenced study by Henry Mintzberg, managers serve three primary roles: interpersonal, informational, and decision-making. Management is process of administrating and coordinating resources effectively and efficiently in an effort to achieve the goals of the organization.

The concept of management within an organization typically occurs in an organizational setting. Organizations compromise a group of individuals who work together toward common goals. The concept of management within an organization can also be looked upon as a context as well as a process. Within the process of management there are four major functions planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.

Managers at all levels of the organizational hierarchy must engage in planning. Planning involves setting goals and defining the actions necessary to achieve those goals. In planning the top-level manager establishes the overall goals and strategies for the organization. While on the other hand the other managers in the hierarchy develop operational plans for their work groups, which has a responsibility to help the organization. All the managers must develop goals that are supportive in the over all strategy of the organization.

Organizing involves determining the tasks to be done, which will do them, and how those tasks will be managed and coordinated. Managers of an organization have to put a work team together so that proper information, resources, and tasks can flow properly and efficiently in an organization.

Managers should be able to lead the members of their work groups toward the accomplishment of the organization's goals. Leading is defined as motivating and directing the members of the organization so that they contribute to the achievement of the goals of the organization. In order for leaders and managers to be effective they must understand the dynamics of individual and group behavior, to be able to motivate their employees, and be effective communicators. It is said that a good leader can communicate very well with their employees as well as their customers.

Managers should observe the performance of the organization, as well as their progress in implementing strategic and operational plans. Controlling is monitoring the performance of the organization, identifying deviations between planned and actual results, and taking corrective action when necessary. With all these four functions that are involved in the process of management, if all are followed correctly the organization will be properly ran and will have few complications. In every organization there are managers, and every manager is classed on different levels in terms of the skills they need and the activities they are involved in. Managers exist at various levels in the organization hierarchy. A small organization may have one layer of management, where as a large organization may have several. In most organizations there are three levels of managers. The three levels of managers are, first line manager, middle manager, and finally the top-level manager. Managers at different job levels have different job responsibilities and therefore require different skills. First-line managers supervise the individuals who are directly responsible for producing the organization's product or delivering its service.

They carry titles such as production supervisor, line manager, section chief, or account manager. First-line managers along with all the other managers are involved in three skills conceptual, human, and technical. In each three different levels of management, each one of these skills is applied differently. For the first-line management the