Functions of Management
Functions of Management
Paulo Fraga
University of Phoenix
Functions for effective management; what is the one most important resource a company
needs to run efficiently? The answer to that question is management. Without effective
management and an order of hierarchy companies would strain to get daily activities
completed. A management position may seem like a do nothing job to subordinates but this
is not the case. A manager has four main functions; planning, organizing, leading and
controlling. Many of todays managers are also coaches and mentors. Not only does a
manger need to implement these functions on a day to day basis but they need to excel and
master these functions. This may not seem like much responsibility but as you dissect each
function the importance and value will stand out.
Planning
Mangers work daily with different people and resources in order to meet an organizations
goal. In order for a manager to complete this enormous task they need to be both efficient
and effective in their role. There are four functions that a manger brings to the table and
the first function is planning. This is a task that has many variables depending on what
level of management you are branded; executive, high level management, mid level
management or lower management. The manager needs to determine goals and objectives
for individuals or groups to achieve the firms goal. With the goals and objectives come
unforeseen situations that a manger will need to plan for. In a way they need to anticipate
the future and come up with strategies prior to hitting a road block. The main objective for
planning is to save the company money and time. This is why they need to plan all the
action steps and resources they will need in order to meet their deadline before jumping in
the deep end of the pool. Planning falls into a big part of my industry. In the mortgage
industry there is constant planning and forecasting for the future products we will offer to
our clients. We need to have products that make sense for todays market. Our products
need to be attractive to our clients and be profitable to the firm. With the market constantly
fluctuating this is no mediocre task.
Organizing
Another role of the manager is to be an organizer. I think that (Gemmy A. 1998) says it
best, “organizing is to make the best use of the organizations resources and time toachieve
the organizations goals.” Basically the manager has to organize all the activities and
