MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS

BY
A.D CHUNGU (BSc NRs/ROTN/RN)

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Introduction
 The six management functions are typically
attributed to Henri Fayol, the French
management theorist.
 Fayol initially identified five management
functions in his 1916 work General and
Industrial Management but later interpretations
and expansions of his ideas led to the
recognition of six functions.

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 In guiding and directing the efforts of
others, a manager performs a number of
functions which lead to the creation of a
cohesive organization.
 These functions are: planning, organizing,
directing, controlling and staffing.

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 Planning
 Planning is the process of setting goals,
developing strategies, and outlining tasks
and schedules to accomplish the goal.
 Planning also involves devising a
systematic process for attaining the goals
of an organization.

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 It prepares the organization for the future.

 Every organization must plan for change

in order to reach its ultimate goal.

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 Effective planning helps an organization
adapt to change by identifying
opportunities and avoiding problems.
 It sets the direction for the other functions
of management and for teamwork.
 Planning improves decision-making.

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 From the above explanations, we can simply
say that planning is the determination of a
course to achieve a desired result.
 It is a rational and systematic way of making
decisions today that will affect the future of the
organization.
 It is a kind of organized foresight which
involves predicting the future as well as
attempting to control the events.
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 Planning includes deciding:
WHAT is to be done,
HOW it is to be done,
WHEN it is to be done, and by
WHOM it is to be done.

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PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING
 Planning must be focused on purposes. It should
always be based on a clearly defined objective
 Planning is a continuous and iterative process
which includes a series of steps, so continuity and
flexibility should be maintained in the planning
cycle
 Planning should be simple and there should be
provision for proper analysis and classification of
actions
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PRINCIPLES CONT’’
 Planning must be precise in its objective,
scope and nature. It should be realistic in
its scope and pinpoint the expected
results.
 Planning should always be documented
so that all the concerned are fully
committed to the implementation of the
programme.
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Types of Planning

 There are three main types of planning,

namely: strategic, intermediate and
operational planning.
 Strategic planning: is conducted by top
management and is a process of determining
overall objectives of an organization.
 It is a long-range type of planning, e.g. for
three years (Basavanthapa, 2009).
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 Strategic planning is the process of
developing and analysing an
organization's mission, overall goals,
general strategies, and allocating
resources.
 A strategy is a course of action created to
achieve a long-term goal.

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 Intermediate planning/Tactical
planning:
 Tactical plans have shorter timeframes and
narrower scopes than strategic plans.
 Tactical planning provides the specific
ideas for implementing the strategic plan.

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 It is the process of making detailed
decisions about what to do, who will do it,
and how to do it.
 This type of planning covers a period of
six months to one year. It is usually done
by middle management

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 Operational planning
 This is planning done by lower-level
managers. These are short-range plans
covering a period of one week to one year.
 These plans are more specific and
determine how the specific job should be
done in the best possible way
(Basavanthapa, 2009).

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 Supervisors implement operational plans
that are short-term and deal with the day-
to-day work of their team.
 Supervisors set standards, form
schedules, secure resources, and report
progress.

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 They need very detailed reports about
operations, personnel, materials, and
equipment.
 The supervisor interprets higher
management plans as they apply to his or
her unit.

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 Thus, operational plans support tactical
plans.
 They are the supervisor's tools for
executing daily, weekly, and monthly
activities.

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 An example is a budget, which is a plan that
shows how money will be spent over a certain
period of time.
 Other examples include scheduling the work of
employees (duty roster) and identifying needs
for staff and resources to meet future changes.
 Resources include employees, information,
capital, facilities, machinery, equipment,
supplies, and finances.
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Steps involved in planning
Establishing Objectives
Identify what the organization or team aims to
achieve.
Example: A hospital sets an objective to reduce
patient wait times by 20% in the next six months.

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Analyzing the Current Situation
Evaluate internal and external factors that could
influence success, using tools like SWOT
analysis.
Example: The hospital reviews current wait
times, staffing levels, and patient feedback to
understand areas for improvement.
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Identifying Alternatives
Brainstorm multiple strategies or approaches to
achieve the objective.
Example: The hospital considers several
alternatives, such as hiring more staff,
implementing a scheduling system, or
reorganizing patient intake processes.
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 Evaluating Alternatives
Assess the pros and cons of each option,
considering feasibility, risks, and resources.
Example: After analysis, the hospital decides
that implementing a scheduling system is the
most cost-effective and impactful solution.

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Selecting the Best Course of Action
Choose the best alternative that aligns with the
organization's goals.
Example: The hospital selects the scheduling
system and drafts a detailed plan for
implementation.

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 Developing Detailed Plans
Create actionable steps, timelines, budgets, and
assign responsibilities.
Example: The hospital develops a plan that
includes purchasing software, training staff, and
launching the scheduling system within three
months.
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Implementing the Plan
Execute the plan by mobilizing resources and
ensuring tasks are carried out effectively.
Example: The hospital installs the scheduling
software, trains staff on its use, and begins
rolling it out to patients.

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Monitoring and Adjusting - Track progress,
review results, and make necessary changes if
challenges arise.
Example: The hospital monitors patient wait
times and gathers feedback. If unexpected
delays occur, it adjusts the system settings or
assigns more staff to peak hours.

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Importance of Planning

 It reduces overlapping and wasteful

activities
 It facilitates decision making
 It establishes standards for controlling
 It enables us to determine resources that
we need

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 It enables us to assess progress towards
achieving the set objectives
 It prevents possibility of crisis
management
 It provides directions.

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 Organizing

Organizing involves arranging the necessary

resources to carry out the plan.

It is the process of creating structure,
establishing relationships, and allocating
resources to accomplish the goals of the
organization.
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Organizing is also defined as the process of

identifying and grouping the work to be

performed, defining and delegating
responsibility and authority and establishing
relationships for the purpose of enabling
people to work most efficiently.
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The function of organizing involves the determination

of activities that need to be done in order to reach the

organization goals.
It also entails assigning these activities to the proper

personnel and delegating the necessary authority to

carry out these activities in a co-ordinated and cohesive
manner.
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 Organizing is establishing the internal
organizational structure of the organization.
 The focus is on division, coordination, and
control of tasks and the flow of information
within the organization.
 It is in this function that managers
distribute authority to job holders.
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 Organizing requires a formal structure
of authority and the direction and flow of
such authority through which work sub-
divisions are defined, arranged, co-
ordinated, so that each part is related to
other parts in a united and coherent
manner so as to attain the prescribed
objectives
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It follows therefore, that the functions of
organizing are concerned with:
 Identifying the tasks that must be performed

and grouping them whenever necessary.

 Assigning these to the personnel while defining

their authority and responsibility.

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● Delegating authority to these employees.

● Establishing a relationship between

authority and responsibility.

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Importance of Organizing

● It helps organizations to reap the benefit of

specialization
● It provides for optimum utilization of resources

● It achieves co-ordination among different

departments
● It creates scope for change.
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 Directing

Directing deals with the steps a manager takes

to get subordinates and others to carry out plans.

Directing means giving instructions, guiding
and counselling, motivating and leading the staff
in an organization in doing work to achieve
organizational goals (Basavanthapa, 2009).
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Directing involves the guiding, leading, and

overseeing of employees to achieve

organizational goals. We can also say that
directing is influencing people's behaviour
through motivation, communication, group
dynamics, leadership and discipline.
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 The purpose of directing is to channel
the behaviour of all personnel to
accomplish the organization's mission and
objectives while simultaneously helping
them accomplish their own career
objectives.

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Therefore, directing involves the following:

● Supervising,
● Communicating,

● Motivating,
● Counselling,
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● Performance appraisal, and

● Disciplining for the purpose of gaining

maximum contribution from the staff.

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Importance of Directing

● It initiates actions to get the desired

results in an organization
 It attempts to get the maximum out of
employees by identifying their capabilities

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● It is essential to keep the elements like

supervision, motivation, leadership and

communication effective
● It ensures that every employee works

towards achievement of the organizational

goals.
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 Coordinating

Coordinating is the process of linking up different

departments and human resources in order to achieve

set objectives of an organization.
It is also defined as the orderly synchronization of

efforts to provide the proper amount, timing, and

directing execution resulting in harmonious and unified
actions to a stated objective (Basavanthapa, 2009).
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It involves ensuring that the diverse but

interrelated activities in the organization

are directed towards the accomplishment of
organizational goals.

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 If the activities of the members are not
coordinated, people will be working at
cross-purposes, and in some cases against
each other.
 A manager, must co-ordinate the work for
which he/she is accountable by balancing
timing and integrating it.

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 Importance of coordination

● Creative force: Group efforts when coordinated create a

result greater than the sum total of the individual and

isolated.
● Unity of direction: Coordination ensures unity of direction

by way of securing spontaneous collaboration on the part

of different departments
● High employee morale: coordination enhances the
general level of employee morale and provides satisfaction
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● Diverse and specialized activities: The total
activities of an organisation are divided into several
units and subunits on the basis of product
specialisation
● To avoid personal rivalries and prejudice: Human

organisations give rise in the course of time to the

development of personality politics among members
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 To avoid conflict of interests:
Subordination of individual interest to
general interest often happen in
organizations.
 There is need for coordination to avoid
conflicts or overlapping in the work of
employees or units or as organisation.

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Controlling

 Controlling is determining what is being

accomplished.
 That is, evaluating performance and, if
necessary, applying corrective measures
so that performance takes place according
to plans" (Cole, 2004).

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 Controlling is a four-step process of
establishing performance standards
based on the firm's objectives, measuring
and reporting actual performance,
comparing the two, and taking
corrective or preventive action as
necessary.

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 Controlling involves verifying that actual
performance matches the plan.
 If performance results do not match the
plan, corrective action is taken.
 The manager must ensure that the whole
thing occurs in compliance with the plans
adopted, the directions issued and the
principles established.
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 The controlling function of management,
involves three essentials, that is:
 Establishing performance standards.
 Evaluating current performance and
comparing it against the established
performance standards.
 Taking corrective action to any performance
that doesn’t meet established standards.
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 If there is no firm control, there is no
assurance that the objectives which have
been set will be realized.
 The management may continue
committing faults without knowing about
it.

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Importance of Controlling

 A control system acts as an adjustment

in organizational operations. It mainly
checks whether plans are being observed
and whether or not suitable progress is
being made towards the achievement of
set objectives. If necessary, action may be
taken to control the deviations.

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 Controlling helps a manager to
exercise some authority and form
superior-subordinate relationships
throughout the organization.
 With the presence of authority or control,
individuals work properly and exhibit
better performance to reach the targets
set for them.
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 Control systems ensure that an
organization is efficient and effective.
 When proper system exists the
organization effectively achieves its
objectives.

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 Staffing
 Staffing is the function by which managers
build an organization through the
recruitment, selection, and development of
workers.

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Importance of Staffing

 It helps to fill the organizational positions

 It develops competencies in order to
overcome challenges
 It retains personnel, i.e., professionalism
 It facilitates the optimum utilization of the
human resources.

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Summary

 In this session, we have discussed various

functions of management. These are:
planning or deciding what is to be done;
organizing or deciding how to do it.
Directing which involves giving
instructions on what to do; coordinating
which is the integration of all activities to
avoid duplication;
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 controlling or ensuring that all the
activities are on course and there is no
deviation from the plans; and staffing
which ensures that there is manpower to
do the work. We also looked at the
importance of these functions.

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