ACOBA, ANGELICA A. HOMEWORK NO.

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4-AAC AUGUST 3, 2018

BASIC FUNCTIONS OF MANAGEMENT

1.) PLANNING

Planning means defining performance goals for the organization and determining what

actions and resources are needed to achieve the goals. Through planning, management defines

what the future of the organization should be and how to get there. Strategic plans are long-term

and affect the entire organization. A strategic plan bridges the gap between what an organization

is and what it will become. Tactical plans translate strategic plans into specific actions that need

to be implemented by departments throughout the organization. The tactical plan defines what

has to be done, who will do it, and the resources needed to do it.

EXAMPLE:

The management of the company set a goal of increasing the sales by 20% in the

following month. You will need to look at the different ways you and the team could achieve this

goal. This might include things like creating a new advertisement campaign, reducing prices or

speaking to customers about their shopping plans. Your role is to pick the processes that you find

the most appropriate and to organize them into a logical pattern. You must also identify the

timeline for these processes.

2.) ORGANIZING

Once plans are made, decisions must be made about how to best implement the plans.

The organizing function involves deciding how the organization will be structured (by

departments, matrix teams, job responsibilities, etc.). Organizing involves assigning authority

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and responsibility to various departments, allocating resources across the organization, and

defining how the activities of groups and individuals will be coordinated. It’s about using the

plan to bring together the physical, financial and other available resources and use them to

achieve the organizational goal. The organizing function brings resources together to achieve the

goals established in the planning function. Leaders need to identify what activities are necessary

and coordinate tasks to keep resources moving efficiently toward goals.

EXAMPLE:

If your task were to increase sales, you would look at the plan and determine how to

divide the resources you have in order to put your plan in place. The marketing campaign would

be handed out to Becky and you would provide them with the financial resources available and

needed to give birth to the campaign. You would also need to ensure the team has access to the

customer files in order to utilize vital information. You’d then direct Danny and his team to

calculate the possible reductions you can make, help them have the resources to determine which

products are best to discount and so on.

3.) STAFFING

It can be seen closely related to organizing, with both focused on ensuring the resources

are directed to the right processes and tasks. For staffing, the focus is on people and their labor in

relation to the organizational objectives. The function aims to ensure the organization always has

the right people in the right positions and the organizational structure isn’t hindered by lack or

excess of personnel. You would essentially be looking at the tasks ahead of you and determining

who should do what and if you have the right manpower to achieve the objectives you want.

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EXAMPLE:

In terms of hitting your sales targets, you would need to analyze if the current staff is

capable of performing the tasks and whether you have enough employees to ensure the integrity

of the organization. You might find the marketing team to be too small and consider hiring a

temporary or even full-time worker.

4.)LEADING

Leaders use knowledge, character, and charisma to generate enthusiasm and inspire effort

to achieve goals. Managers must also lead by communicating goals throughout the organization,

by building commitment to a common vision, by creating shared values and culture, and by

encouraging high performance. Managers can use the power of reward and punishment to make

people support plans and goals. Leaders inspire people to support plans, creating belief and

commitment. Leadership and management skills are not the same, but they can and do appear in

the most effective people. This function begins with supervising subordinates while

simultaneously motivating teams through guided leadership communicated in clear ways.

EXAMPLE:

Leading in essence is looking after productivity and ensuring productivity is going up

instead of decreasing. The function delves deeper inside human interaction, making the manager

motivate, communicate and inspire his or her personnel. At this stage, you are meeting and

connecting with your employees to find out how the tasks are going. You would talk to them

about the new marketing program, get their feedback on the project and spend time inspiring

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them with new ideas. The directing function is all about the day-to-day interaction between the

management and the staff.

5.) CONTROLLING

Controlling is the process of monitoring activities, measuring performance, comparing

results to objectives, and making modifications and corrections when needed. Controlling may

be the most important of the four management functions. It provides the information that keeps

the corporate goal on track. By controlling their organizations, managers keep informed of what

is happening; what is working and what isn’t; and what needs to be continued, improved, or

changed.

EXAMPLE:

In our example of having the objective to increase sales in a particular month, controlling

would be the function that measures whether the sales are increasing and helps to correct the

situation if the specified target is not getting closer. As a manager, you would examine the

processes you set forward and take note whether they are enhancing your sales records.

The marketing campaign’s effectiveness would be evaluated and measured. If you find the price

reductions being inefficient during the process, you might consider swapping the products on

sale, reduce the reduction, or abort the discount campaign altogether as inefficient.

Reference: Functions of Management – Planning, Organizing, Staffing and More. (2017, March
13). Retrieved from https://www.cleverism.com/functions-of-management-planning-organizing-
staffing/

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