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Four Functions of Management
Management can be defined as the process of working with people and resources to
accomplish organizational goals. Management as a profession is a relatively recent
development in the history of managing. For centuries, managing was basically
trial-and-error. It wasnt until the Industrial Revolution that managers needed to become
more disciplined and scientific. Since the turn of the century, many approaches have been
defined and implemented. Much of what is in use today has it roots on these past
approaches. The current model for success defines four basic functions of management as
described below.
Planning
The first function of management, planning, can be defined as specifying the goals that
need to be achieved and the actions required to meet those goals. Planning is often cited as
the most important function management can perform. For without a direction, how can
managers know where to lead or what to control? While planning is indeed critical, an
organization that excels in only this function is doomed to fail. For example, managers
who over plan, can stifle innovation and creativity by insisting employees stick to the plan.
But these skills are critical to succeed in today competitive markets.
In my organization, the strategic planning is done each year by the Executive Committee.
Four to five goals are defined and communicated to the organization. Each division then
maps their goals to the corporate goals. Then each department maps their goals to
thedivision and corporate goals.
Organizing
The second function of management, organizing, can be defined as pulling together all of
