Principles Management

 Primary Functions of Management:

The management process consists of four primary functions that managers must perform:                                       planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. 

Planning:

Planning means defining performance goals for the organization and determining what actions and resources are needed to achieve the goals. Through planning, management defines what the future of the organization should be and how to get there. Strategic plans are long-term and affect the entire organization.                                              A strategic plan bridges the gap between what an organization is and what it will become.                                                                                       Tactical plans translate strategic plans into specific actions that need to be implemented by departments throughout the organization. The tactical plan defines what has to be done, who will do it, and the resources needed to do it.

Organizing: 

Once plans are made, decisions must be made about how to best implement the plans. The organizing function involves deciding how the organization will be structured (by departments, matrix teams, job responsibilities, etc.). Organizing involves assigning authority and responsibility to various departments, allocating resources across the organization, and defining how the activities of groups and individuals will be coordinated.

Leading: 

Nearly everything that is accomplished in an organization is done by people. The best planning and organizing will not be effective if the people in the organization are not willing to support the plan. 

Leaders use knowledge, character, and charisma to generate enthusiasm and inspire effort to achieve goals. Managers must also lead by communicating goals throughout the organization, by building commitment to a common vision, by creating shared values and culture, and by encouraging high performance. Managers can use the power of reward and punishment to make people support plans and goals. Leaders inspire people to support plans, creating belief and commitment. Leadership and management skills are not the same, but they can and do appear in the most effective people.

Controlling:    

There is a well-known military saying that says no battle plan survives contact with the enemy. This implies that planning is necessary for making preparations, but when it’s time to implement the plan, everything will not go as planned. Unexpected things will happen. Observing and responding to what actually happens is called controlling. Controlling is the process of monitoring activities, measuring performance, comparing results to objectives, and making modifications and corrections when needed. This is often described as a feedback loop, as shown in the illustration of a product design feedback loop.

Relation of Primary Functions with one another :

 Planning involves the creation of strategies to achieve company objectives. Organizing is whereby the manager brings together the resources required to achieve the firm’s objectives. Since the manager needs his or her employees to succeed, he or she has to motivate them to work towards those goals. The act of influencing employees is called leading. The final function is controlling. This is whereby the manager monitors and evaluates the performance of the workers and the organization. The manager has to control the process so that everyone plays their part.

Questions

 Q:1  What is the Primary Function you selected?

ANS:  I select the Controlling function of the Management.

Controlling : 

controlling helps to check the errors, helps in taking the correct actions so that there is a minimum deviation from standards and, in achieving the stated goals of the organization in the desired manner. According to modern concepts, control is a foreseeing action. Whereas the earlier concept of control was used only when errors were detected.

Controlling creates an atmosphere of order & discipline in the organization which helps to minimize dishonest behavior on the part of the employees. It keeps a close check on the activities of employees and the company can be able to track and find out the dishonest employees by using computer monitoring as a part of their control system.

All management is required to control at all levels.               For example, a top-level manager will control the actions of a middle-level manager and supervise the performance of the manager and similarly, a low-level manager is answerable to a middle-level manager.

Q:2  How does it interact with the other functions?

ANS:

Interaction with Planning:

At lower levels, managers plan goals to align with company objectives. During the planning process, you need to include plans for how to control the activities of employees involved in carrying out activities to achieve your goals. Preparing daily or weekly work progress checklists for employees is one example of a control mechanism that you can prepare to manage progress toward goals.

Interaction with Organizing:

A primary control mechanism closely related to this function is employee scheduling. Optimizing labor is a key management duty. Weekly schedules help ensure the company or department has the right amount of employees to do a job, without wasted expenses. Software tools help in assessing and controlling labor costs.

Interaction with Leading:

True leadership requires humility, a willingness to listen, to admit that others might know more about a given area or situation, to acknowledge that one might actually be wrong on occasion. Control, on the other hand, is prideful and arrogant, seeking to have its own way and make others conform to its vision.

Q:3 What would happen to "Management" without Controlling Function ?

ANS:

Without effective Controlling, management process cannot be completed. Management cannot achieve desired goals and results without controlling.

It helps to check errors and implement corrective action, minimizing deviation from standards, and keeps your project management on track. 

Q4: What factors cause you to rank its importance above the others ?

ANS:

The most important function of controlling is to compare actual performances with expected results. This, in turn, helps managers understand where they are lacking and how they can improve their performances. Using this knowledge, managers can use all available resources optimally and prevent their wastage.

Reference :

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