Fundamentals of Management

Functions of Management

There are four different functions of management. In this paper, I will define these functions; planning, organizing, leading and controlling. I will also explain how each of these functions relates to my own organization. Bateman and Snell (2004) define management as the process of working with people and resources to accomplish organizational goals. By utilizing the four different functions of management companies can work with their employees and other resources to reach the organizations goals.

Planning can be used to help the organization map out a way to efficiently achieve their goals. The beginning of the planning process should include analyzing of the current situation. From this information the company can determine the goals and start to outline the steps that need to be taken to ensure that the goal will be met. Other planning activities that should be completed are determining the company's objectives and were they want to be in the future. This will help them to choose their business objectives and strategies. In addition, the company should look at the resources that they have available and determine if they are sufficient to achieve the organizations goals.

This leads to organizing. Organizing is done through assembling and coordinating financial, human, physical, informational and other resources need to achieve the goals. (Bateman & Snell, 2004) Recruiting is a large part of organizing. Human resources are an important role. The company must try to attract the people needed to properly staff the organization to be able to meet the goals. The employees in an organization can be considered the most valuable asset at times. In addition, by specifying job tasks and grouping them into work units it helps to better organize the work load and resources. In order to do this the organization must management the tasks and personnel.

Leading is mobilizing or stimulating people to achieve their best. Managers need to be able to motivate their employees to achieve the business group and overall organizational goals. One way for a manager to do this is through close contact and communication on a daily basis. Workers that get positive feedback and motivation from their managers are going to be more willing to help the team achieve the goal at hand. Through leading their employees the manager can ensure that the team is working well together and is efficiently reaching their goals. If the manager is working closely with the team they will know when something is not working and can take immediate action to correct it.

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