Functions of Management

 

Functions of Management

 

Management has been described as a social process involving responsibility for economical and effective planning & regulation of operation of an enterprise in the fulfillment of given purposes. It is a dynamic process consisting of various elements and activities. These activities are different from operative functions like marketing, finance, purchase etc. Rather these activities are common to each and every manger irrespective of his level or status.

 

Different experts have classified functions of management. According to George & Jerry, “There are four fundamental functions of management i.e. planning, organizing, actuating and controlling”.

 

According to Henry Fayol, “To manage is to forecast and plan, to organize, to command, & to control”. Whereas Luther Gullick has given a keyword ’POSDCORB’ where P stands for Planning, O for Organizing, S for Staffing, D for Directing, Co for Co-ordination, R for reporting & B for Budgeting. But the most widely accepted are functions of management given by KOONTZ and O’DONNEL i.e. Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing and Controlling.

 

1. The organization and coordination of the activities of a business in order to achieve defined objectives.

 

Management is often included as a factor of production along with? machines, materials, and money. According to the management guru Peter Drucker (1909-2005), the basic task of management includes both marketing and innovation. Practice of modern management originates from the 16th century study of low-efficiency and failures of certain enterprises, conducted by the English statesman Sir Thomas More (1478-1535). Management consists of the interlocking functions of creating corporate policy and organizing, planning, controlling, and directing an organization's resources in order to achieve the objectives of that policy.

2. The directors and managers who have the power and responsibility to make decisions and oversee an enterprise.

 

The size of management can range from one person in a small organization to hundreds or thousands of managers in multinational companies.

In large organizations, the board of directors defines the policy which is then carried out by the chief executive officer, or CEO. Some people agree that in order to evaluate a company's current and future worth, the most important factors are the quality and experience of the managers.

 

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