Business Management Case Study

Introduction
As with many start-up small businesses, poor management or mismanagement is often the cause of most of their problems. The failure of Amanda therefore lies within this context. As a manager, Amanda is responsible for efficiently completing all of her business activities and setting and achieving her businesses goals through the execution of four fundamental management functions: planning, organizing, leading and controlling. (Mason Carpenter, 2013) Accordingly, the process of successfully completing business activities and achieving business goals require the proper utilization of human, financial, and material resources. (Mason Carpenter, 2013) Within the context of the Case Study, Amanda eventually runs into trouble after starting her business because she was unable to properly exercise the four management functions and in particular, utilize her human resources to effectively realize these essential business processes. In fact she devolves most of the important functions of management to Lisa and allows her other employees to essentially operate their own personal fiefdoms.

Planning
Planning is important for any business because it is the foundation of management and all other functions associated with management are based on it. (Pakhare, 2013) Accordingly, planning is necessary to ensure proper utilization of human and non-human resources; it is pervasive at all levels and in all stages of management. (Management Functions, 2013) Therefore, planning requires a systematic approach, starting setting of goal and objectives to be achieved, thus providing a rationale for undertaking various activities, as well as indicate direction of efforts. (Planning Function of Management, 2013) Moreover, objectives serve as the nucleus of the planning process, helping to focus the manager’s attention on the end