FOUR FUNCTIONS OF MANAGEMENT
Within every business structure are managers. No matter the type of business, a manager’s job is essentially the same across the board but there are four functions of management to consider regardless of the leadership style.
In short, those four functions are to plan and implement plans to achieve the organization’s goals, to organize those plans while directing employees in their own roles and ultimately controlling the plan to function as an effective manager.
Planning: The manager’s main duty is to determine what the organization’s goals are and what actions to take in order to achieve those goals. Think of it like a football coach creating a playbook to help his team reach the Super Bowl (or something like that). A manager is responsible for creating a ‘game plan’ to reach a specific goal. For example: A weekly plan may include meetings, creating employee schedules or receiving a report that details statistics. These are all actions that a manager plans to implement on a weekly basis.
Organizing: Whether it is the employees or resources, the manager is responsible for organizing the daily functions of it all. What shifts are needed? How many employees per shift? Are the employees reaching their set goals? If not, why? These are only a few of the questions asked in the organization process of the management functions. This process can also be considered the backbone of all the management functions due to the fact that this step is more direct. In other words, this is the process employees actually see and are affected by. If a manager is disorganized there is a ripple effect. Employees will lose respect for management; making the next function of management harder to achieve.
Directing: Company objectives cannot be achieved if the manager doesn’t provide direction; however, if you haven’t planned or organized you will not succeed