The organizing stage in management, is the step in which managers see how to use the resources
they have to achieve their desired goals. Learn about the management process and its different
steps, delve into the organizing process and the questions a manager must cover in this step, and
discover the importance of having clear goals
The Management Process
In order to be an effective manager, one must be able to get the job done. When we talk about
the management process, we are actually discussing the process a manager uses to manage a
function, and what steps he or she has to take to make sure the job gets done. There are four parts
to the management process: planning, organizing, leading/ directing, and controlling.
In the planning stage, a manager determines how best to accomplish a set goal. During
the organizing stage, he determines how best to allocate resources to achieve the goal.
The directing/leading stage involves the manager motivating and directing employees to work
toward the goal, while the controlling stage requires the manager to evaluate and monitor their
progress.
During this stage, he is also ensuring that things are being done as planned and is making
changes when necessary. While these functions work together, and often overlap, this lesson
focuses on the organizing stage.
Determining your Goal
Let's take a look at how this stage works and fits into the whole process by imagining that you
are the owner of a small bakery. You have a good customer base, but when you sat down with
your accountant you determined that you have to cut costs by at least $5,000 per month in order
to stay in business. This is your goal: $5,000 saved.
Before you start the management process you must have a clear goal in mind. During the
planning stage, you determined that the best way to do this was by changing schedules and
changing products. Now you begin the work of the organizing stage: allocating your resources so
that you can follow this plan and keep baking!
The Organizing Process
The term organizing process refers to the work of determining how to best arrange and utilize
your resources in order to achieve the desired results. Let's break down those terms a bit further-what do we mean when we use the terms arrange and utilize? This could be as simple as
arranging your pens neatly next to your notepads on your desk, and on a larger scale it means
almost the same thing: putting things where they need to be in order to be used effectively. You
can't use your pen if it's not on your desk, and you can't deliver cakes to a customer's business if
your only driver is in the kitchen mixing the batter.
The term resources refers to the people, activities, plans, knowledge, finances, space, time and
anything else you have at your disposal to accomplish your desired results. During the
organization stage, you'll need to make sure your resources are where they need to be in order to
be used effectively.
Which brings us to the term desired results, which is the outcome we hope to achieve by going
through this process. It can be just about anything: more money, happy customers, growing
business, successful new product implementation, or, for you as the owner of our imaginary
bakery, saving $5,000 per month.
Functions of Management Process: Planning,
Organizing, Leading, Controlling
Functions of management are a systematic way of doing things. Management is a process to
emphasize that all managers, irrespective of their aptitude or skill, engage in some inter-related
functions to achieve their desired goals.
4 Functions of management are planning, organizing, leading, and controlling that managers
perform to accomplish business goals efficiently.
First, managers must set a plan, organize resources according to the plan, lead employees to
work towards the plan, and control everything by monitoring and measuring the plan’s
effectiveness.
Management process/functions involve 4 basic activities;
1.
2.
3.
4.
Planning and Decision Making: Determining Courses of Action,
Organizing: Coordinating Activities and Resources,
Leading: Managing, Motivating and Directing People,
Controlling: Monitoring and Evaluating activities.
1. Planning and Decision Making – Determining Courses of
Action
Looking ahead into the future and predicting possible trends or occurrences that are likely to
influence the working situation is the most vital quality and manager’s job. Planning means
setting an organization’s goals and deciding how best to achieve them.
Planning is decision-making regarding the goals and setting the future course of action
from a set of alternatives to reach them.
The plan helps maintain managerial effectiveness as it works as a guide for future activities.
Selecting goals as well as the paths to achieve them is what planning involves.
Planning involves selecting missions and objectives and the actions to achieve them. It requires
decision-making or choosing future courses of action from among alternatives.
In short, planning means determining what the organization’s position and the situation should
be in the future and decide how best to bring about that situation.
Planning helps maintain managerial effectiveness by guiding future activities.
For a manager, planning and decision-making require an ability to foresee, visualize, and look
ahead purposefully.
2. Organizing – Coordinating Activities and Resources
Organizing can be defined as the process by which the established plans are moved closer to
realization.
Once a manager sets goals and develops plans, his next managerial function is organizing
human resources and other resources identified as necessary by the plan to reach the goal.
Organizing involves determining how activities and resources are to be assembled and
coordinated.
The organization can also be defined as an intentionally formalized structure of positions or
roles for people to fill in an organization.
Organizing produces a structure of relationships in an organization, and it is through these
structured relationships, plans are pursued.
Organizing is part of managing, which involves establishing an intentional structure of roles for
people to fill in the organization.
It is intentional in the sense of making sure that all the tasks necessary to accomplish goals are
assigned to people who can do the best.
The purpose of an organizational structure is to create an environment for the best human
performance.
The structure must define the task to be done. The rules so established must also be designed in
light of the abilities and motivations of the people available.
Staffing is related to organizing, and it involves filling and keeping filled the positions in the
organization structure.
This can be done by determining the positions to be filled, identifying the requirement of the
workforce, filling the vacancies, and training employees so that the assigned tasks are
accomplished effectively and efficiently.
The managerial functions of promotion, demotion, discharge, dismissal, transfer, etc. They
have also included the broad task “staffing.” staffing ensures the placement of the right person in
the right position.
Organizing decides where decisions will be made, who will do what jobs and tasks, who will
work for whom, and how resources will assemble.
3. Leading – Managing, Motivating, and Directing People
The third basic managerial function is leading. It is the skills of influencing people for a
particular purpose or reason. Leading is considered to be the most important and challenging
of all managerial activities.
Leading is influencing or prompting the organization member to work together with the interest
of the organization.
Creating a positive attitude towards the work and goals among the members of the organization
is called leading. It is required as it helps to serve the objective of effectiveness and
efficiency by changing the behavior of the employees.
Leading involves several deferment processes and activates.
The functions of direction, motivation, communication, and coordination are considered a part
of the leading processor system.
Coordinating is also essential in leading.
Most authors do not consider it a separate function of management.
Rather they regard coordinating as the essence of managership for achieving harmony among
individual efforts towards accomplishing group targets.
Motivating is an essential quality for leading. Motivating is the management process of
influencing people’s behavior based on knowing what cause and channel sustain human
behavior in a particular committed direction.
Efficient managers need to be effective leaders.
Since leadership implies fellowship and people tend to follow those who offer a means of
satisfying their own needs, hopes, and aspirations, understandably, leading involves motivation
leadership styles and approaches, and communication.
4. Controlling – Monitoring and Evaluating Activities
Monitoring the organizational progress toward goal fulfillment is called controlling. Thus,
monitoring progress is essential to ensure the achievement of organizational goals.
Controlling is measuring, comparing, finding deviation, and correcting the organizational
activities performed to achieve the goals or objectives. Thus, controlling consists of activities
like; measuring the performance, comparing with the existing standard and finding the
deviations, and correcting the deviations.
Control activities generally relate to the measurement of achievement or results of actions taken
to attain the goal.
Some means of controlling, like the budget for expenses, inspection records, and the record of
labor hours lost, are generally familiar. Each measure also shows whether plans are working out.
If deviations persist, correction is indicated. Whenever results differ from the planned action,
persons responsible are to be identified, and necessary actions must be taken to improve
performance.
Thus outcomes are controlled by controlling what people do. Controlling is the last but not the
least important management function process.
It is rightly said, “planning without controlling is useless.” In short, we can say the controlling
enables the accomplishment of the plan.
Conclusion: Management is a process of interrelated
functions.
All the management functions of its process are interrelated and cannot be skipped.
The management process designs and maintains an environment in which personnel’s,
working together in groups accomplish efficiently selected aims.
All managers carry out management’s main functions: planning, organizing, staffing, leading,
and controlling. But depending on the skills and position on an organizational level, the time and
labor spent in each function will differ.
Planning, organizing, leading, and controlling are the 4 functions, which work as a continuous
process.
Everything you need to know about the process of management. The
process is defined as a series of actions or operations conducted to an
end.
Management as a process emphasize that all managers, regardless
of their particulars aptitudes or skills, engage in certain interrelated
activities in order to achieve their desired goals.
Management process can be divided into a set of inter-related
functions. Managers have to perform certain functions in the
organizations to get the things done by others. Managers have to
perform these functions by variety of ways.
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Some of the elements of the process of management are:- 1. Planning
2. Organising 3. Co-Ordination 4. Motivation 5. Control.
Additionally, learn about the functions of manager and the functions
of management.
Management Process: Planning,
Organising, Co-Ordination, Staffing,
Directing, Motivation and Controlling
Process of Management – 5 Elements of the
Management Process: Planning, Organising, CoOrdination, Motivation and Control
Management is exercised by planning, finalizing the strategies,
making policies, taking managerial decisions for different situations
and options, so as to achieve the objectives of the organisation.
Management action is taken to utilize the resources of men, machines,
money and materials pertaining to the organisation, effectively,
economically and efficiently.
Main elements of the management process are:
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1. Planning
2. Organising
3. Co-Ordination
4. Motivation and
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5. Control
All the activities of an organisation are managed with these
management principles. Therefore, success of the business
organisations will depend very much on the prudent applications and
uses of these fundamentals.
Process # 1. Planning:
Planning is the essence of management. Planning is done with the
close considerations of all the ingredients of the business
organisations associated with its functioning for the purpose, it has
been set up. Therefore, planning is required for each function
including formulation of various policies to regulate all the functions
of the organisations associated with the main business activity.
‘Business objectives and evolution of management’, a business
organisation deals in any of the activity, such as manufacturing,
creating a service and marketing, trading or financial services as a
business activity. With the main activity of manufacturing or
providing a service, there are other associated activities like sales and
marketing, materials procurement, human resource planning and
finance etc., which too require proper planning and co-ordination.
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This is explained assuming that the business organisation is engaged
in the manufacturing activity, wherein production is the main function
in the total manufacturing process.
Planning for production requires linkages with the following
associated functions:
i. Sales plan for the year
ii. Capacity available
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iii. Technology presently in operation
iv. Present yields and techno-economic norms
v. Raw materials including other materials
vi. Maintenance
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vii. Power
viii. Manpower
ix. Projects for additions, modifications, replacements and
modernization
x. Funds for working capital and projects
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xi. Logistics for dispatches of finished products.
Thus, planning for production and all the associated functions is done
keeping into consideration the corporate objective, vision, mission,
corporate plan and policies of the organisation.
Similar to the planning for production, other activities too are
interfaced. For example, planning for materials requires linkages with
the production plan, stocks already available, pending orders position,
lead time from order to receipts, procurement policy for materials etc.
Planning for sales requires assessment of internal and external
variables. Internal variables for sales planning are, production
capacity, quality of products being manufactured with the present
technology available.
External variables are, demand of products in the home as well as
export markets, production by other manufacturers and present
market share of the organisation.
Similarly, for funds requirement, planning depends on the sales plan,
production plan, funds required for working capital and projects
under implementation, payment of interest on loans, repayment of
loans, payments to suppliers and contractors, receipts from the
customers against sales and services provided on credit, financing
policy for the projects, dividend payments, internal generation of
resources etc.
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Planning is described as advanced and prudent action for the future
activities fay the organisation to achieve its objectives.
Planning is done based on the corporate objective, vision, mission and
policies for; manpower, sales, procurement of materials, financing,
payment and realizations from customers (credit policy), capital
structure etc. It requires interfacing with all the associate functions
and resources of the organisation based on the strategic actions
combined with managerial decisions.
Thus, outcome of planning is; fixing of targets for all the functions and
activities associated with the performance of the organisation to
achieve its objectives. These targets become the management tools to
measure the actual performance of the individual activities and take
corrective action in the event of shortfalls and unfavourable variations.
Process # 2. Organising:
Organising is the management function associated with the
arrangement and effective utilization of resources of men, money,
materials and machines for achieving the objectives of the
organisation.
In organising function, there are two activities:
i. Arrangement of resources
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ii. Effective utilization
Organising is associated with the total functioning of the organisation
for its proper and effective performance and involves formal and
informal organising functions.
‘Formal organising’ is the distribution of the resources into various
segments (zones, divisions, departments and sections) and placing
them under the charge of empowered personnel.
‘Informal organising’ is the management function associated with the
behavioral perceptions, attitudes and motivation of the employees,
executives and non-executives both.
Process # 3. Coordination:
Organisation is divided into various functionary units such as,
production, materials management, finance and accounts, sales and
marketing, human resource management, information technology and
projects etc. These functions are placed under the senior employees
designated as the head of the department.
Functions of all the departments are co-ordinated for proper
functioning to successfully achieve the main objective of the
organisation. This requires a proven and latest system of
communication in the organisation to inform each department, zone
and section through their respective heads for the departmental plans,
actual performance, new guidelines and procedures issued from time
to time on the overall functioning of the organisation.
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Thus, coordination is an important management function bringing the
entire organisation together, making them jointly accountable for their
plans and actual performance, success and failures together with the
reasons for failures. This is the regular exercise through the in-built
system of communication, reports, meetings, workshops, conferences
and reviews of performance at various levels of senior authorities in
the organisation.
Process # 4. Motivation:
Motivation as a management function is more associated with the
human resource management. This includes human resource plan and
creation of a quality workforce in the organisation through a good
system of recruitment, training and development, placement on the
jobs, remuneration, perks, recognitions, rewards and promotions etc.
Scope of motivation includes the individual employee as well as the
group of employees (executives and non-executives both).
Thus, a motivated and a quality workforce is a great asset in an
organisation in achieving the corporate objective. Workforce is meant
to include the employees from shop floor to the top management team
in the organisation.
Environment of motivation is created in the organisation
more with an holistic approach in the management
functions such as:
i. Positive behavioral change.
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ii. Trust amongst team members.
iii. Delegations to the senior executives to enhance the accountability
in the senior level managers in the management team.
iv. Appreciate and inspire for the good jobs.
v. Develop a powerful and good team.
vi. Take a balanced team of high and low performers in all the working
zones and departments.
Process # 5. Control:
Control is the prime function of management to regulate and optimize
the overall performance of an organisation.
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This involves a series of actions such as:
i. To finalize the performance plans in respect of each department,
division and zone in consultation with their heads and the
management team for each year.
ii. To finalize the plans based on the corporate objective, corporate
plan, vision and mission of the organisation.
iii. To intimate the finalized plans to the heads of all
departments/divisions/zones.
iv. To monitor the actual performance as per the finalized plans.
v. To get the regular reports from all the departments/
divisions/zones.
vi. To review the performance and discuss with the concerned heads
for the shortfalls and to take necessary action to revive the
performance.
Thus, it is seen that management control function requires a good
system of compilation of information, reporting and review at various
levels of the management team including the chief executive officer
(CEO). Periodicity of the reports and review by the respective
authorities depends on the practice followed in the organisation.
Communication and Information System:
In the management process, ‘communication and information system’
plays a significant role.
The basic fundamentals of communication and information
system are:
(i) To inform the right things
(ii) To inform to the right people
(iii) To inform at the right time
To act as per these fundamentals, supporting segments of the
communication and information system need to be efficiently
maintained and managed.
Important segments of communication and information
system are:
I. Sources of informationa. Within the organisation
b. Outside the organisation
II. Collection of information is done manually or through an online
computerized system.
III. Analysis of information.
IV. To maintain the information through a permanent data bank
system centrally in the computer department or in the respective
departments/divisions/zones.
V. To update the information regularly.
VI. To communicate the information throughout the organisation to
all the concerned departments/divisions/zones and also the respective
heads.
VII. Form and format of the information. Information may be
communicated in a report or statement or in pamphlets and on notice
boards for mass communication.
VIII. Time and periodicity of the information to be communicated.
IX. Recipients of the information i.e., the departmental heads or the
chief executive officer or the common employees for the general
information.
X. Review through meetings.
XI. Corrective action for deviations from the approved plans.
Employees and departments of the organisation associated with the
collection, analysis, preparation of reports and communication should
be well educated and experienced, having analytical skills of collection,
presentation etc.
Process of Management – With 5 Steps of Management
Process
There is plenty of disagreement among management thinkers on the
classification of managerial functional process. Newman and Summer
recognize only four steps in management process, namely, organizing,
planning, leading and controlling. Henry Fayol identifies five
functions of management, viz., planning, organizing, commanding,
coordinating and controlling. Luther Gulick states seven such steps in
management process under the catch word “POSDCORB’ which
stands for planning, organizing, staffing, directing, coordinating,
reporting and budgeting.
Warren Haynes and Joseph Massie classify management process into
decision-making, organizing, staffing, planning, controlling,
communicating and directing. Koontz and O’Donnell divide the
process into planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling.
For our purpose, we shall designate the following six as the
functions of a manager:
1. Planning,
2. Organizing,
3. Staffing,
4. Directing,
5. Coordinating, and
6. Controlling that constitute the management process.
1. Planning:
Planning is the most elemental and the most all-encompassing step of
management process. If people working in groups have to perform
effectively, they should know in advance what is to be done, what
activities they have to perform in order to do what is to be done, and
when it is to be done. Planning is concerned with ‘what’, ‘how’, and
‘when’ of performance. It is deciding in the present about the future
objectives and the courses of action for their achievement.
It thus involves:
(a) Determination of long and short-range objectives;
(b) Development of strategies and courses of actions to be followed for
the achievement of these objectives; and
(c) Formulation of policies, procedures, and rules, etc., for the
implementation of strategies, and plans.
Top management in the context of its basic purpose and mission,
environmental factors, business forecasts, and available and potential
resources sets the organizational objectives. These objectives are both
long-range as well as short-range. They are divided into divisional,
departmental, sectional and individual objectives or goals.
This is followed by the development of strategies and courses of action
to be followed at various levels of management and in various
segments of the organization. Policies, procedures and rules provide
the framework of decision-making, and the method and order for the
making and implementation of these decisions.
Every manager performs all these planning functions, or contributes
to their performance. In some organizations, particularly those, which
are traditionally managed, and the small ones, planning are often not
done intentionally and scientifically but it is done in modern, bigger
and professional organizations.
The plans may be in the minds of their managers rather than explicitly
and precisely spelt out- they may be nebulous rather than clear but
they are always there. Planning is thus the most basic function of
management. All managers at all levels of hierarchy perform it in all
kinds of organizations.
2. Organizing:
Organizing involves identification of activities required for the
achievement of enterprise objectives and implementation of plans;
grouping of activities into jobs; assignment of these jobs and activities
to departments and individuals; delegation of responsibility and
authority for performance, and provision for vertical and horizontal
coordination of activities.
Every manager has to decide what activities have to be undertaken in
his department or section for the achievement of the goals entrusted to
him. Having identified the activities, he has to group identical or
similar activities in order to make jobs, assign these jobs or groups of
activities to his subordinates, delegate authority to them so as to
enable them to make decisions and initiate action for undertaking
these activities, and provide for coordination between himself and his
subordinates, and among his subordinates.
Organizing thus involves the following sub-functions:
(a) Identification of activities required for the achievement of
objectives and implementation of plans.
(b) Grouping the activities so as to create self-contained jobs.
(c) Assignment of jobs to employees.
(d) Delegation of authority so as to enable them to perform their jobs
and to command the resources needed for their performance.
(e) Establishment of a network of coordinating relationships.
Organizing process results in a structure of the organization. It
comprises organizational positions, accompanying tasks and
responsibilities, and a network of roles and authority- responsibility
relationships.
Organizing is thus the basic process of combining and integrating
human, physical and financial resources in productive
interrelationships for the achievement of enterprise objectives. It aims
at combining employees and interrelated tasks in an orderly manner
so that organizational work is performed in a coordinated manner,
and all efforts and activities pull together in the direction of
organizational goals.
3. Staffing:
Staffing is an incessant and fundamental step in management process.
After the objectives have been determined, strategies, policies,
programmes, procedures and rules formulated for their achievement,
activities for the implementation of strategies, policies, programmes,
etc., identified and grouped into jobs, the next logical step in the
management process is to procure suitable personnel for manning the
jobs.
Since the efficiency and effectiveness of an organization significantly
depends on the quality of its personnel and since it is one of the
primary functions of management to achieve qualified and trained
people to fill various positions, staffing has been recognized as a
distinct function of management.
It comprises several sub-functions:
(a) Manpower planning involving determination of the number and
the kind of personnel required.
(b) Recruitment for attracting adequate number of potential
employees to seek jobs in the enterprise.
(c) Selection of the most suitable persons for the jobs under
consideration.
(d) Placement, induction and orientation.
(e) Transfers, promotions, termination and layoff.
(f) Training and development of employees.
As the importance of human factor in organizational effectiveness is
being increasingly recognized, staffing is gaining acceptance as a
distinct function of management. It need hardly any emphasize that
no organization can ever be better than its people, and managers must
perform the staffing function with as much concern as any other
function.
4. Directing:
Directing is the function of leading the employees to perform
efficiently, and contribute their optimum to the achievement of
organizational objectives. Jobs assigned to subordinates have to be
explained and clarified, they have to be provided guidance in job
performance and they are to be motivated to contribute their optimum
performance with zeal and enthusiasm.
The function of directing thus involves the following subfunctions:
(a) Communication
(b) Motivation
(c) Leadership
5. Coordination:
Coordinating is the step of establishing such relationships among
various parts of the organization that they all together pull in the
direction of organizational objectives. It is thus the process of tying
together all the organizational decisions, operations, activities and
efforts so as to achieve unity of action for the accomplishment of
organizational objectives.
Mary Parker Follet has aptly highlighted the significance of the
coordinating process. The manager, in her view, should ensure that he
has an organization “with all its parts coordinated, so moving together
in their closely knit and adjusting activities, so linking, interlocking
and interrelation, that they make a working unit, which is not a
congeries of separate pieces, but what I have called a functional whole
or integrative unity”.
Coordination, as a management function, involves the
following sub-functions:
(a) Clear definition of authority-responsibility relationships
(b) Unity of direction
(c) Unity of command
(d) Effective communication
(e) Effective leadership
6. Controlling:
Controlling is the step of ensuring that the divisional, departmental,
sectional and individual performances are consistent with the
predetermined objectives and goals. Deviations from objectives and
plans have to be identified and investigated, and correction action
taken. Deviations from plans and objectives provide feedback to
managers, and all other management processes including planning,
organizing, staffing, directing and coordinating are continuously
reviewed and modified, where necessary.
Thus, controlling itself involves the following process:
(a) Measurement of performance against predetermined goals.
(b) Identification of deviations from these goals.
(c) Corrective action to rectify deviations.
Functions of Management:
Management practices are as old as human civilization, when people
started living together in groups, for every human group requires
management and the history of human beings is full of organizational
activities. Even a smallest human group in our society, i.e., family also
needs management. The head of the family acts as top management
and the housewife acts as a home manager. She plans about the work
to be done, how the work has to be done, who is to do the work and
whether the work is done properly or not.
She performs all the four functions of management, i.e., planning the
budget and day-to-day activities, organizing the things and activities of
different people, directing the servants and different members of the
family and controlling activities of different members of the family.
Family is a very informal type of individuals’ cluster. Even if this
informal individuals’ cluster is not managed properly it will lead to
great fuse and confusion.
During the last five decades, management as a discipline has attracted
the attention of academicians and practitioners to a very great extent.
The basic reason behind this phenomenon is the growing importance
of management in day-to-day life of people. Today, the society has
large and complex institutions with many people working together.
The relationship between managers and managed has changed as
compared to the older master-servant relationship making it more
complex. People have greater expectations from their jobs. In order to
make all these things function properly, people have been trying to
evolve some method and techniques. Such attempts have given birth
to management as a separate discipline. It has grown over the period
of time making itself one of the most respected disciplines. Today, the
study of management has become an important fact of human life.
Understanding Management as Concept:
The term management can have different meanings, and it is
important to understand these different definitions.
The term management can be considered as:
“People who wish to have a career as a manager must study the
discipline of management as a means toward practising the process of
management”.
1. Management as a Process:
Have you ever said “That is a well-managed company” or “That
organization has been mismanaged”? If you have, you seem to imply
that- (i) management is some type of work or set of activities and (ii)
sometimes the activities are performed quite well and sometimes not
so well.
2. Management as a Discipline:
If you say you are a student of management or majoring in
management, you are referring to the discipline of management.
Classifying management as a discipline implies that it is an
accumulated body of knowledge that can be learned. Thus,
management as a subject with principles, concepts and theories. A
major purpose of studying the discipline of management is to learn
and understand the principles, concepts, and theories of management
and how to apply them in the process of managing.
3. Management as People:
Whether you say, “That company has an entirely new management
team” or “She is the best manager I have ever worked for” you are
referring to the people who guide, direct and thus, manage
organizations. The word management used in this manner refers to
the people, manager who engage in the process of management.
4. Management as a Career:
“Mr. Saxena has held several managerial positions since joining the
bank upon his graduation from college”. This statement implies that
management is a career. People who devote their working lives to the
process of management progress through a sequence of new activities
and, often, new challenges. More than ever before, today’s business
environment is fast changing and competitive, posing challenges,
opportunities, and rewards for individuals pursuing management as a
career.
These different meanings of the term management has been related as
follows by John M. Ivancevich—
You are referring to management as a process involving set of
activities. Since the late nineteenth centuiy, it has been common
practice to define management in terms of four specific functions of
managers. Planning, organizing, leading and controlling. We can thus
say that management is the process of planning, organizing, leading
and controlling the efforts of organization members and of using all
other organizational resources to achieve stated organizational goals.
All the managers in the organization perform certain functions to get
the things done by others. However, what are these functions, which
comprise management process, is not quite clear and divergent views
have been expressed on this.
Earnest Dale has suggested innovation and representing also as
important management functions besides these. Thus, it can be seen
that there is no agreement over the various functions of management.
These functions have been treated differently over the period of time.
Ervin Williams has summarized the various managerial functions
developed over the period of time.
All the above functions can be categorized into five
fundamental functions of management, i.e.,:
1. Planning
2. Organizing
3. Staffing
4. Directing and
5. Controlling
1. Planning:
The planning function is the primary activity of management.
Planning is the process of establishing goals and a suitable course of
action for achieving those goals. Planning implies that managers think
through their goals and actions in advance and that their actions are
based on some method and plan. Plans give the organization its
objectives and set up the best procedures for reaching them. The
organizing, leading and controlling functions all derived from the
planning function.
The first step in the planning is the selection of goals for the
organization. Goals are then established for each of the organization’s
subunits-its division, department, and so on. Once these are
determined, programmes are established for achieving goals in a
systematic manner.
The organizational objectives are set by top management in the
context of its basic purpose and mission, environmental factors,
business forecasts, and available and potential resources. These
objectives are both long-range as well as short-range. They are divided
into divisional, departmental, sectional and individual objectives or
goals.
This is followed by the development of strategies and courses of action
to be followed at various levels of management and in various
segments of the organization. Policies, procedures and rules provide
the framework of decision-making, and the method and order for the
making and implementation of these decisions.
2. Organizing:
After managers develop objectives and plans to achieve the objectives,
they must design and develop an organization that will be able to
accomplish the objectives. Thus, the purpose of the organizing
function is to create a structure of task and authority relationships that
serves this purpose.
Organizing is the process of arranging and allocating work, authority,
and resources among an organization’s members so they can achieve
the organization’s goals.
Stoner defines “Organizing as the process of engaging two or more
people in working together in a structured way to achieve a specific
goal or set of goals.
The organizing function takes the tasks identified during planning and
assigns them to individuals and groups within the organization so that
objectives set by planning can be achieved. Organizing, then, can be
thought of turning plans into actions. Organizing function can be
viewed as a bridge connecting the conceptual idea developed in
creating and planning to the specific means for accomplishing these
ideas.
The organizing function also provides on organizational structure that
enables the organization to function effectively. Managers must match
an organization’s structure to its goals and resources, a process called
organizational design.
3. Staffing:
Staffing is a continuous and vital function of management. After the
objectives have been determined, strategies, policies, programmes,
procedures and rules formulated for their achievement, activities for
the implementation of strategies, policies, programmes, etc., identified
and grouped into jobs, the next logical step in the management
process is to procure suitable personnel for manning the jobs.
Since the efficiency and effectiveness of an organization significantly
depends on the quality of its personnel and since it is one of the
primary functions of management to achieve qualified and trained
people to fill various positions, staffing has been recognized as a
distinct function of management.
As the importance of human factor in organizational effectiveness is
being increasingly recognized, staffing is gaining acceptance as a
distinct function of management. It need hardly any emphasize that
no organization can ever be better than its people, and managers must
perform the staffing function with as much concern as any other
function.
4. Directing:
Directing is the function of leading the employees to perform
efficiently, and contribute their optimum to the achievement of
organizational objectives. Jobs assigned to subordinates have to be
explained and clarified, they have to be provided guidance in job
performance and they are to be motivated to contribute their optimum
performance with zeal and enthusiasm.
Once objectives have been developed and the organizational structure
has been designed and staffed, the next step is to begin to move the
organization toward the objectives. The directing function serves this
purpose. It involves directing, influencing and motivating employees
to perform essential tasks.
The best human resources employed will be of house if they are not
motivated and directed in the right direction to achieve the
organizational goals. Managers lead is an attempt to persuade others
to join them in pursuit of the future that emerges from the planning,
and organizing steps. By establishing the proper atmosphere,
managers help their employees to do their best.
Effective leadership is a highly prized ability in organizations and is a
skill that some managers have difficulty in developing. The ability
requires both task-oriented capabilities and the ability to
communicate, understand and motivate people.
5. Controlling:
Finally, the manager must be sure that actions of the organizations
members do in fact move the organization towards its stated goals.
This is the controlling function of management. The controlling is the
process of ensuring that actual activities confirm to plan activities.
Controlling implies that objectives, goals and standards of
performance exist and are known to employees and their superiors. It
also implies a flexible and dynamic organization which will permit
changes in objectives, plans, programmes, strategies, policies,
organizational design, staffing policies and practices, leadership style,
communication system, etc., for it is not uncommon that employees
failure to achieve predetermined standards is due to defects or
shortcomings in any one or more of the above dimensions of
management.
It may be pointed out that although management functions have been
discussed in a particular sequence-planning, organizing, staffing,
directing, coordinating and controlling – they are not performed in a
sequential order.
Management is an integral process and it is difficult to put its
functions neatly in separate boxes. Management functions tend to
coalesce, and it sometimes becomes difficult to separate one from the
other. For example- when a production manager is discussing work
problems with one of his subordinates, it is difficult to say whether he
is guiding, developing or communicating, or doing all these things
simultaneously. Moreover, managers often perform more than one
function simultaneously.
Through the controlling function, managers keep the organization on
track. Without the controlling functions, other functions lose their
relevance. If all the activities are properly planned, organized and
directed but there is no control on the activities, then there are full
chances that the organization does not achieve its planned goals.
Controlling function helps us knowing the deviations but the reasons
for such deviations and the corrective actions is to be taken depends
on the managers. Hence, the personal ability of the managers makes
the controlling function effective or ineffective.
Process of Management – Management Process
Functions
Every business enterprise has certain pre-determined objectives. No
business enterprise can achieve its objectives until and unless all the
members of the unit make an integrated and planned effort under the
directions of a central coordinating agency, which is technically known
as MANAGEMENT and the methodology of getting things done is
known as management process.
The process in general is defined as a series of actions or operations
conducted to an end. The logic of the management and the sequence
in which they are performed is designated as Management process.
Generally this includes the main functions of a manager viz.:
1. Decision making, and
2. Implementation of decisions.
Naturally these two are the functions which are included in
management process.
These functions are performed by:
1. Planning,
2. Organising,
3. Staffing,
4. Motivating and
5. Controlling.
Management process, aimed at achievement of organisational goal
includes these five functions. These functions are to be performed in
the sequence they are mentioned. Thus we can say that managers have
to walk along the route of management process to reach organisational
goals. The desired result, objective or goal is attained by performing
certain fundamental management functions.
Process # 1. Planning:
Planning means thinking in advance the future course of action.
Planning is intellectual in nature. It is a mental exercise. It is a vision
of future and preparing for it. Planning, as decision making, is
selecting among many choices. Planning forecasts future problems
and involves selection of courses of action to handle them. Foreseeing
the problems is one of the essentials of planning. Their severity is
anticipated so that preparatory provisions can be made to handle
them.
Planning, as decision, answers to the following basic
questions:
i. What should be done?
ii. How should it be done?
iii. Who will be responsible for doing it?
iv. Where it should be done?
v. Why is it to be done?
vi. When should it be done?
Planning involves taking decisions of action in advance. Planning
emphasizes the fact that if one knows where he is going, he is more
likely to get there. Good managers endeavour to draft a plan which will
make things happen in the desired way. This is also stressed by the
saying. “Good managers make things happen. Things do not just
happen to them.”
Best planning is concerned with fixing the objectives, determining the
strategies policy and prescribing the procedures as guidelines to future
action. It is the most important step in the process of getting results. It
enables the management to be a step ahead of each activity, retain
initiative to make use of any opportunity and anticipate problems
which may actually arise. Thus planning assumes first step in
management process.
It means that the plans must be in detail but flexible so that bear the
capability of being re-adjusted in case there is a change in working
condition or in objectives of the organisation.
Process # 2. Organising:
Once plan is prepared and methodology to achieve goal is decided, the
jobs are required to be allotted and allocated to a group or groups.
Naturally groups are formed. The whole process of forming groups
and allocating jobs is organisation.
Thus, after planning the next important step is organising. In order to
accomplish the work it is necessary to distribute or allocate the
necessary component activities among the members of the group.
Generally the component time and cost, will be realised. After
assignment of a component activity it is a must to delegate authority,
so that the allotted activity can be accomplished. From this authority
delegation arises various organisational relationships.
This task of allocation, authority delegating and establishing
relationship by the manager is known as organising. Thus organising
is basically concerned with grouping the activities required to attain
the planned objectives, defining responsibilities of the people in the
organisation, delegating appropriate authority to them to discharge
their respective responsibilities and establishing structural as well as,
working relationship to enable coordination of the individual efforts
towards accomplishment of objectives of the enterprise.
The process of organising is a fundamental function of management
authority and the key to the managerial job. Delegation of authority is
the key to organisation. We cannot speak of manager unless he has
authority and we cannot speak of creating an organisation unless
authority is delegated.
The organisation structure is, of course, not an end in itself but a tool
for accomplishing enterprise objectives. Efficient organisation will
contribute to the success of the enterprise and for this
reason, application of organisational principles is very important.
Process # 3. Staffing:
Staffing is concerned with ensuring that the right type of personnel is
available to undertake and execute the varied activities required to
attain the planned objectives of the organisation. Staffing involves
filling the positions needed in the organisation structure by appointing
competent and qualified persons for the jobs. It, therefore includes
activities such as anticipating manpower needs, adoption of an
appropriate selection procedure, providing manpower appraisals and
development.
This needs manpower planning and manpower management. Much of
the work relating to human resource planning and management is
delegated to personnel manager. However, top management is
ultimately responsible for all activities to staffing.
Process # 4. Motivating:
Motivating means inspiring the personnel with zeal to work and cooperate for the accomplishment of common objectives.
Motivation is the process of creating organisational conditions which
will impel employees to strike to attain objectives and development.
Motivation is the complex of forces starting and keeping a person at
work in an organisation. We may define motivation as a willingness to
expend energy to achieve a goal or reward.
It is a force that activates dormant energies and sets in motion the
action of the people. It is the function that kindles a burning passion
for action among the human beings of an organisation.
Motivation is a powerful tool in the hands of a manager for getting
things done. Effective motivation improves the performance of the
employees. Employees can be motivated by giving them reward,
proper appreciation of work, fair treatment which helps in increasing
their enthusiasm and performance too.
There are four types of motivation techniques i.e.:
i. Positive or incentive motivation
ii. Negative or fear motivation
iii. Financial motivation
iv. Non-financial motivation.
If a manager wants to get work done by his employees, he may either
hold out a promise of a reward for them for doing work in a better or
improved way, or he may constrain them, by installing fear in them or
by using force, to do the desired work. In other words, he may utilise a
positive or negative or financial or non-financial type of motivation.
All these types of motivation are widely used by management.
Process # 5. Controlling:
Controlling means observing whether everything is going on according
to plan or not. Controlling is nothing but conciliation of the plan with
the actual work, ensuring that the objectives in terms of the plan are
fulfilled.
Controlling includes an evaluation to determine whether the planned
objectives have been achieved or not. Controlling shows where
improvements are required. Adequate control can thus lead to
innovation, improvements or modifications in previously determined
objectives.
Control is a fundamental management function that ensures work
accomplishment according to plans. It is concerned with measuring
and evaluating performance so as to secure the best result of
managerial efforts. It is an essential feature of scientific successful
management.
Controlling is nothing but conciliation of the plan with the actual work
and locating the lapses, if any, so as to bring the methodology of work
on correct track. For this the manager has to be very alert and find out
the reasons for such lapses or deviations. He is also responsible for
implementing corrective measures. All these things are ultimately
aimed at achievement of business goals.
Management can be looked upon as a process by which mangers
formulate, direct and operate organisations with coordinative human
effort to attain predetermined objectives. Management is a process
concerned with planning executing and controlling the activities of an
enterprise. Managerial behaviour must be goal directed which results
in a succession of activities and events by which the organisation’s
work proceeds.
Management is concerned with evolving workable plans which are
then put into action resulting in certain consequences which have to
be observed, evaluated and constantly compared with the objectives
prescribed in the plan. This cyclical process can be described as the
management process.
Thus this process starts from a point i.e. planning and till it reaches
the point i.e. goal some certain distance is covered. But this wheel does
not stop. It further moves to cover further distance in forms of another
activity.
A ladder, to be climbed to reach the goal is management process.
Process of Management – Planning, Organizing,
Directing, Controlling and Coordinating
(1) Planning:
It means thinking about goals and objectives of the organization and
deciding how best to accomplish them. It is not day-dreaming,
building castles in the air. It is a rational activity, based on SWOT
analysis—examination of strengths and weakness of the organization
and opportunities and threats posed by its external environment. The
idea is how to harness the available resources for achievement of organizational goals.
(2) Organizing:
It means acquiring and putting in place the human, physical, and
financial resources and defining relationships between them—who has
authority over what and whom. It establishes positions of authority
and responsibility (chief executive officer, production manager, sales
manager, finance manager, and so on). It also lays down which
superior and subordinate will exercise control over which resources to
accomplish the duties assigned to him and to whom he will be
accountable.
Again, an organization is not mere vesting of authority and
responsibility in a position, it also requires constant monitoring of
whether the person holding any position is exercising his authority
and performing the duties assigned to him. If found wanting, there is
also provision for his replacement by another, more competent
person.
(3) Directing:
It means influencing subordinate-behavior to ensure that he performs
his task and duty ably and willingly. This will include issuance of
instructions and directions, constant supervision of work performance, provision of suitable motivation and inspiring leadership.
All this with a view to inculcate in the subordinates a sense of
belonging to the organization such that they identify themselves with
organization objectives and realize that accomplishment of their
personal goals (salary and perks, job security, stability, etc.) can be
possible only through accomplishment of organizational goals.
Thus, while ‘planning’ and ‘organizing’ functions represent the
abstract aspect of management process, ‘directing’ function
personifies its tangible and concrete aspect; it involves working with
and through people.
(4) Controlling:
It means ensuring that activities of all superiors and subordinates are
focused on accomplishment of organizational goals.
The controlling function has three aspects:
(a) Determination of reasonable and realistic standards of
performance for each subordinate and department;
(b) Measurement and comparison of actual performance with
prescribed standards; and
(c) Initiation of necessary corrective action where actual performance
falls short of the determined standards.
The controlling function enables management to ensure that all
superiors and subordinates of the organization ably and willingly
perform their duties to enable it to accomplish its goals.
The ‘controlling function’ reflects certain elements of the ‘planning
function’; it involves determination of realistic and reasonable
standards of performance, and also speaks of corrective action if the
actual performance deviates from the standard performance level.
Sometimes corrective action may also necessitate modification of the
‘organizing’ and ‘direction’ functions.
(5) Coordinating:
The tasks or activities of an organization are grouped on the basis of
their similarity. They are assigned to different individuals and
departments based on their capacity and specialization achieved
because of performance of the same task or activity again and again.
Specialization in performance of any task or activity results in greater
productivity and efficiency-level. However, division of duties also
requires an effective mechanism to integrate and focus them to
achieve overall organizational objectives.
Coordination is the process of integrating or linking-up performance
of different tasks and activities to keep them focused on achievement
of organizational goals. The need for integration will be in direct
proportion to the inter-dependence between individuals and
departments performing different tasks and activities.
Where performance by any individual or department wholly depends
on the performance by others, as in Fig. 2 and 3, there will be need for
maximum coordination, as non-performance, under-performance or
delayed performance of one individual or group will adversely affect
the performance of others.
Management, all said and done, is an Integrated Process:
While discussing the process of management, it is convenient as also
necessary to describe each function or operation or ‘process’
separately. But this does not mean that management process is only a
series of mutually independent functions. In practice, a manager may,
and often does, perform many of these functions simultaneously and
as a part of a continuum, and not necessarily in the order in which
they are listed and discussed.
Process of Management – Planning, Organizing,
Staffing, Directing and Controlling
The process is defined as a series of actions or operations conducted to
an end. Management as a process emphasize that all managers,
regardless of their particulars aptitudes or skills, engage in certain
interrelated activities in order to achieve their desired goals.
Management process can be divided into a set of inter-related
functions. Managers have to perform certain functions in the
organizations to get the things done by others. Managers have to
perform these functions by variety of ways.
But there is no unanimity among them about the nomenclature of the
functions of management. Henry Fayol for the first time, classified
managerial functions as planning, organizing, commanding,
coordinating and controlling. Appley included planning, executing and
controlling in management function.
Luther Gulick and Urwick described it as PODSCORB. PODSCORB
denoted the following function – (i) Planning, (ii) Organizing, (iii)
Directing, (iv) Staffing, (vi) Coordinating, (vi) Reporting, and (vi)
Budgeting. E.F.L, Brech emphasized on planning motivating,
coordinating and controlling; while Koontz and O’Donnell take
planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling.
Ernest Dale emphasized on innovation and representation. Joseph
Massie prescribed a list of seven functions of management. In practice,
it is not always possible to place all managerial activities neatly into
these categories since the functions tend to coalesce. Thus, G.R. Terry
described managerial functions under four heads.
The list of managerial functions varies from three to eight. There have
been no new ideas, research findings, or techniques that cannot
readily be placed in the classifications of planning, organizing,
staffing, leading and controlling.
Let’s briefly define what each of these management
functions encompasses:
(i) Planning:
Planning involves selecting mission and objectives and the actions to
achieve them; it requires decision-making that is, choosing further
course of action from various alternatives. It is the determination of a
course of action to achieve the desired results.
Planning is a pervasive, continuous and never ending activity. It leads
to move effective and faster achievements in any organization and
enhances the ability of the organization to adapt to further
eventualities.
The planning involves selection of – (a) objectives; (b) policies; (c)
procedures; and (d) programmes. This also involves taking the
decision about choosing the best one out of several alternatives
available to the management. Planning involves the determination of
future course of action, that is, why in action, what is to be done how
to be done and when to be done. The answers to all such questions
constitute planning functions.
The planning function involves the following steps:
(a) Determination of the objectives,
(b) Searching of alternative courses of action,
(c) Evaluation of alternatives,
(d) Formulation of a plan, policies and procedures,
(e) Preparation of concrete formation of plan on the basis of schedules
programmes and budgets.
(ii) Organizing:
Organizing is the part of management that involves establishing an
internal structure of roles for the people to fill in an organization.
Organizing is considered as a process of integrating, balancing,
unifying and coordinating activities of the employees for the
accomplishment of pre-determined activities? Organization helps in
establishing relationships among the members of the enterprise.
The relationship is created in terms of authority and responsibility.
According to Louis A. Allen, “Organisation involves identification and
grouping among the individual and creating authority and
responsibility relationship among them for the accomplishment of
organizational objectives.”
Thus organization involves the following steps:
(a) Identification of activities,
(b) Grouping of activities,
(c) Assignment of work,
(d) Delegation of authority to subordinate, and
(e) Establishing relationship through the organization.
Organizational functions contribute to the efficiency of the
organization through employing human and other resources of the
organization.
(iii) Staffing:
Staffing involves managing the process created by organization
process. Staffing involves filling and keeping filled the positions in the
organization structure. This is done by identifying workforce
requirements; inventorying the people available; and recruiting,
selecting, placing, promoting appraising, planning the careers of,
compensation, and training or otherwise developing both candidates
and current work force so that tasks are accomplished effectively and
efficiently.
The manager performs the duty of job analysis, job description,
appraisal of efficiency, etc., which come under the staffing function,
since every manager is concerned with management of human
resource, he must perform the staffing function. In most of the
organizations, personnel department is set up to provide the necessary
help to managers in performing their staffing functions efficiently.
According to Koontz and O’Donnell, “The managerial function of
staffing involves managing the organization structure through proper
and effective selection appraisal, and development of personnel to fill
the roles designed into the structure.”
Staffing functions involve:
(a) Manpower planning,
(b) Recruitment,
(c) Selection,
(d) Placement,
(e) Promotion,
(f) Performance appraisal, and
(g) Training and Development.
(iv) Directing:
Direction may be defined as a function which is related with
instructing, guiding and inspiring human factor in the organization to
achieve organizational objectives. It is not only a process of direction,
but it includes the process of guiding and inspiring them. ‘Direction
consists of the process and techniques utilized in issuing instructions
and making certain that operations are created out as originally
planned.’
Theo Haimann, direction functions consists of three
elements:
(a) Communication,
(b) Leadership and Supervision, and
(c) Motivation.
In the words of Marshall, “Directing involves determining the course,
giving orders and instructions and providing dynamic leadership”.
Simply direction involves issuing instructions to the subordinates,
guiding, motivating and supervising them.
(v) Controlling:
Controlling deals with the measurement and correction of the
performance of subordinates against the predetermined standards.
Controlling is measuring and correcting organizational performance to
ensure events conform to plans.
It involves measuring performance against goals and plans, showing
where deviations from standards exist, and helping to correct them. In
short, controlling facilitates the accomplishment of plans. Control
activities generally relate to the measurement of achievement.
Control process comprises:
(a) Fixing appropriate standard for measuring work performance;
(b) Comparing actual and planned work;
(c) Finding variances between two and reasons for the variance;
(d) Taking corrective actions.
Control keeps a check on other functions for ensuring successful
functioning of management. It brings to light all bottlenecks to move
performance and operates as a straight pointer to the needs of the
situation.
A manager has to perform his functions in the organization, whatever
the level of manager or the objective of the organization.