Explain the various functions of the management

Management is a process with a social element. It requires the efficient use of resources
combined with the guidance of people in order to reach a specific organizational objective. It
involves responsibility to achieve the objectives and to fulfill specific organizational purposes
through economical and effective planning and regulation. It’s about taking charge and
ensuring focus is placed on the things and aspects of the business that help achieve the vision
and the goals.
key functions of management:
Planning
The first managerial function involves planning. The function is about creating a detailed plan
towards achieving a specific organizational objective. When we are planning, we are identifying
the tasks, which are required to achieve the desired goals, outlining how the tasks should be
performed, and identifying when and by whom they must be performed. The focus of planning
is about achieving the objectives and it does require knowledge of the organization’s objectives
and vision. We will need to look both at the short- and long-term success of the organization as
part of the plan.
Planning is on on-going function. Management will regularly have to plan the future tasks and
adjust the plans based on the organizational situation and the achievement of previous goals.
Furthermore, it requires the whole organization to work together as the different departments
or team plans need to link to each other and align with the organizational objective
Organizing
Organizing is the second function of management. it follows the planning. Organizing is a
management process that refers to the relationship between people,work and resources that is
used to achieve goals. In organizing system top management first fixes the common objective,
way and resources. In organizing the manager make different kind of department and mixed all
the department for better work.
Without organizing, resources wouldn’t necessarily work towards the operational goals. While
you might have the team still doing tasks, the tasks might not be the correct ones for the
situation.
Identify activities and classify them – The step is straightforward enough because we already
have a plan. /our objective is to identify the different roles, processes, and activities required to
achieve the objectives.
Assign the duties and resources–Once we have identified the above, we would begin
organizing the resources. we would assign the specific tasks for the persons you feel are the
most qualified and provide the resources to the processes, which most need them.
Delegate authority and create responsibilities–Managers shouldn’t behave like dictators.
Although the power is concentrated to your as the manager, it doesn’t mean we should have all
the authority. In order the get the marketing campaign working properly, we might want to
ensure the person in charge of the team has the authority to make decisions.
Co-ordinate authority and responsibilities–As well as delegating authority, we also need to co-
ordinate it to match the overall functionality of the organization and the structure of the
objectives.

Staffing
The staffing function is an increasingly important function of management, although it is
sometimes left out when the core functions are discussed. 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.

Directing
The fourth function is known as directing, sometimes also referred to as the influencing or the
leading function of management. Directing is about the actuation of the methods to work
efficiently to achieve the set organizational objectives. The function goes beyond organizing the
employees to their specific roles and involves ensuring they are able to perform the tasks
through a variety of means. Directing in essence is looking after productivity and ensuring
productivity is going up instead of decreasing.

Communication

Directing is built around effective communication. As a manager, you need to create an

environment that supports different communication methods from passing information to
exchanging opinions. The important thing is to ensure these different communication channels
are not just between manager and subordinate, but also between employees and different
management levels.

Motivation

As mentioned above, big part of directing is about inspiring and motivating your employees.
You need them to get behind the objectives to ensure there is enthusiasm to achieve the goals.
Motivating as a manager includes positive and negative feedback, provision of ideas and the
opportunities to develop skills further. Directing might also have an element of monetary or
non-monetary incentives, such as the introduction of bonuses.
Leadership

Managers must essentially act more like leaders when directing the workforce. This means that
you need to occasionally motivate and inspire by setting an example, instead of simply telling
the subordinates what they need to do. You want to get hands on with the work and be part of
the process of achieving the objectives. Although managers and leaders tend to differ,
leadership skills are something a good manager should keep in mind.

Controlling
The function ensures the other four functions are followed correctly and the flow of work is
moving the organization towards the objectives it has set itself. 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.

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Planning as a fundamental function of management is essential but there are practical

limitations to its use. Explain the reasons and difficulties.

Planning is deciding in advance what to do and how to do. It is one of the basic managerial
functions. Before doing something, the manager must formulate an idea of how to work on a
particular task. Thus, planning is closely connected with creativity and innovation. But the
manager would first have to set objectives, only then will a manager know where he has to go.
Planning seeks to bridge the gap between where we are and where we want to go. Planning is
what managers at all levels do. It requires taking decisions since it involves making a choice
from alternative courses of action.

The major benefits of planning are given below:

Planning provides directions:

By stating in advance how work is to be done planning provides direction for action. Planning
ensures that the goals or objectives are clearly stated so that they act as a guide for deciding
what action should be taken and in which direction. If goals are well defined, employees are
aware of what the organization has to do and what they must do to achieve those goals.
Departments and individuals in the organization are able to work in coordination. If there was
no planning, employees would be working in different directions and the organization would
not be able to achieve its desired goals

Planning reduces the risks of uncertainty:

Planning is an activity which enables a manager to look ahead and anticipate changes. By
deciding in advance the tasks to be performed, planning shows the way to deal with changes
and uncertain events. Changes or events cannot be eliminated but they can be anticipated and
managerial responses to them can be developed.

Planning reduces overlapping and wasteful activities:

Planning serves as the basis of coordinating the activities and efforts of different divisions,
departments and individuals. It helps in avoiding confusion and misunderstanding. Since
planning ensures clarity in thought and action, work is carried on smoothly without
interruptions. Useless and redundant activities are minimised or eliminated. It is easier to
detect inefficiencies and take corrective measures to deal with them.

Planning involves decision making:

Planning essentially involves choice from among various alternatives and activities. If there is
only one possible goal or a possible course of action, there is no need for planning because
there is no choice. The need for planning arises only when alternatives are available. In actual
practice, planning presupposes the existence of alternatives. Planning, thus, involves thorough
examination and evaluation of each alternative and choosing the most appropriate one.

Difficulties in Planning

Planning leads to rigidity:

In an organization, a well-defined plan is drawn up with specific goals to be achieved within a

specific time frame. These plans then decide the future course of action and managers may not
be able to change it. This kind of rigidity in plans may create difficulty. Managers need to be
given some flexibility to be able to cope with the changed circumstances. Following a
predecided plan, when circumstances have changed, may not turn out to be in the
organizations interest.

Planning may not work in a dynamic environment:

The business environment is dynamic, nothing is constant. The environment consists of several
dimensions, economic, political, physical, legal and social dimensions. The organization must
constantly adapt itself to changes. It becomes difficult to accurately assess future trends in the
environment if economic policies are modified or political conditions in the country are not
stable or there is a natural calamity. Competition in the market can also upset financial plans,
sales targets may have to be revised and, accordingly, cash budgets also need to be modified
since they are based on sales figures. Planning cannot foresee everything and thus, there may
be obstacles to effective planning.

Planning reduces creativity:

Planning is an activity which is done by the top management. Usually the rest of the members
just implements these plans. Therefore, middle management and other decision makers are
neither allowed to deviate from plans nor are they permitted to act on their own. Thus, much
of the initiative or creativity inherent in them also gets lost or reduced. Most of the time,
employees do not even attempt to formulate plans. They only carry out orders. Thus, planning
in a way reduces creativity since people tend to think along the same lines as others. There is
nothing new or innovative

Planning involves huge costs:

When plans are drawn up huge costs are involved in their formulation. These may be in terms
of time and money for example, checking accuracy of facts may involve lot of time. Detailed
plans require scientific calculations to ascertain facts and figures. The costs incurred sometimes
may not justify the benefits derived from the plans. There are a number of incidental costs as
well, like expenses on boardroom meetings, discussions with professional experts and
preliminary investigations to find out the viability of the plan.

Planning does not guarantee success:

The success of an enterprise is possible only when plans are properly drawn up and
implemented. Any plan needs to be translated into action or it becomes meaningless.
Managers have a tendency to rely on previously tried and tested successful plans. It is not
always true that just because a plan has worked before it will work again. Besides, there are so
many other unknown factors to be considered. This kind of complacency and false sense of
security may actually lead to failure instead of success. However, despite its limitations,
planning is not a useless exercise. It is a tool to be used with caution. It provides a base for
analyzing future courses of action. But it is not a solution to all problems.