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Functions of Management

In: Business and Management

Submitted By kieranb1987
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Introduction
Management theorists generally consider the four key functions of management to be Planning, Organizing, Leading and Controlling (Newens, 2008; Stanley, 1999). Although all functions are given similar levels of consideration in the existing literature, this essay will seek to demonstrate why planning is the most important management function.
What is planning?
The planning function of management at the most basic level determines what should be done and by when. The article The Building Blocks of Management by Stanley (1999) states “No business plans to fail, but many do in the absence of a plan. This aspect of management is concerned with expressing a future state for the business and creating a road map to achieve it.” In other words, planning is a systematic approach that establishes the vision and goals of the business and the means by which the business is going to reach those stated targets.
Key aspects of Planning
As discussed by Bartol et al. (2007) planning can be simplistically broken down into three key areas – Mission, Goals and Plans. Bartol et al (2007) goes on to explain how each key area intertwines with each other to form what is collectively known as the “planning process”.
These key areas can be further broken down into their respective components and then analyzed as to how they become vital pieces of the planning process that contribute to the final outcome, being the attainment of the stated goals.
The mission is the purpose of the business - Who are we? What do we do? Why are we here? As summarized by Gale (2009a) the mission is “an organization's reason for existence”. It is typically reflected in the business mission statement which outlines its purpose and the core values that it wishes to portray to the customer. The mission is an extremely important aspect of the planning function and business management as a whole

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