the functions of Management

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The Four Functions of Management

The process of working with resources and people in an organization to accomplish a goal can be defined as management. Some people manage their own lives the same way they would manage in a business environment. The only difference between personal management and business management would be how the skills are used and who they affect. There are four functions of management: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. How they are implemented and used in an organization is the responsibility of the manager. I refer to my manager during my internship at Ernst & Young.

The first function of management is the planning stage.  Planning is the process used by managers to identify and come up with goals and the courses of action for a business. This determines the strategy an organization needs to use for efficiency.

Planning is an essential management function. In every organization, managers plan a wide variety of actions on a daily basis. Managers must also look at the long term and day to day operations.  A good manager knows how to anticipate a problem and then select a proper procedure to circumvent it. Planning tells you what should be done to accomplish the goals of the company that you work for. Some days I was just on the phone during the internship but I was involved in more planning than I thought I would be. My manager allowed me to get involved in the long and short term planning processes in order for me to keep our clients well informed. I was the first person each client encounters so I needed to know exactly what is going on.

Organizing tells you how things are done and who should be doing them. This function of management is defining the roles and responsibilities of each team member. „Management must organize all its resources well before in hand to put into practice the course of action to decide what has been planned in the base function. Through this process, management will now determine the inside directorial configuration; establish and maintain relationships, and also assign required resources.” (Bateman & Snell, 2007) With the company that I worked for I needed to make sure that the right people are in place with the right materials to accomplish the mission of the company. In organizing you are creating job duties and grouping teams up in workgroups, defining employee roles and allocation resources. Although this function seems to be mainly a part of human resources, it also is necessary for direct managers utilize this function.

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Proper leading will influence individuals to get tasks accomplished, maintaining moral and managing conflict and communication. Leading is aimed at getting the member of the organization moving in the direction that will achieve its objectives. Leading should be used as a motivating tactic to control individuals and emphasize the importance of achieving the goals set out in the planning stage. When leading, the manager must provide direction to the work group, build a climate in which individuals are motivated to perform their jobs effectively and efficiently, and communicate both operating expectations for performance and feedback on results.

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