Functions of Management

The Functions of Management

The Functions of Management were first defined in 1916 by Henri Fayol. His book, Administration Industrielle et Generale, lists these functions as: planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating, and controlling (Barnett, 2007, Ð'¶ 2). Since that time, experts have concluded that coordinating plays a role in all functions of management (Barnett, 2007, Ð'¶ 5). Coordinating was dropped and it has now become the four functions of management as we know them today, planning, organizing, leading and controlling. All four can be seen in the management process at Orrtax.

Planning requires managers to set goals or objectives and devise a way to accomplish those goals (Bateman & Snell, 2007). External environments, such as the IRS, State and Local Taxing Authorities, determine the objectives of managers in the tax development department. This department must pass a series of tests in a short amount of time, before receiving federal, state and local approval of their software. Accomplishing this is one of the many challenges of management and planning plays a vital role. Before each compliance season, managers determine what resources are needed and create a process, or plan.

At Orrtax, process documents are created and handed out to the department. These documents convey to upper management the timeline and milestone dates. They inform the teams about tools and resources available and they outline the processes the department will follow. This function is referred to as organization. Organization has a huge impact on the company’s ability to meet its deadlines and keep the project moving. During this phase “managers decide: Division of Labor, Delegation of Authority, Departmentation, Span of Control and Coordination” (Erven, 1994, Ð'¶ 2). A great deal goes into organizing at Orrtax, from preparing the equipment to assigning teams. Once everything is in place the managers must begin to lead their employees to success.

Leading is defined as “motivating and communicating with employees” (Bateman & Snell, 2007, p. 17). This should be one of the most important functions of management at Orrtax, however, in this area; managers in the tax development department seem to struggle. Peter Drucker, a retired professor from Claremont Graduate School and hailed as the “Father of Modern Management” (Cohen, 2008, p. 2), believes there are Eight Universal Laws of Leadership. They are integrity, job knowledge, communicating expectations, committing to the project, expecting a positive outcome, taking care of ones staff, acting in the best interest of the staff as well as customers and upper management, and to be out in front (Cohen, 2008, p. 187). Management at Orrtax has none. They do not communicate with their staff after the initial process document has been handed out. They either can’t, because of influence from upper management, or won’t listen to suggestions from the staff regarding the progression of the project and they use fear as a motivator by threatening individual’s jobs. These negative traits also affect their ability to control the project.

The fourth function of management is control. During this phase managers establish performance standards, monitor performance and make corrections as necessary (Barnett, 2007, Ð'¶ 7).