The new work-from-home routine has brought many challenges for management—

what with so many of us now working out of different cities! Coordinating with
employees, monitoring progress via email and collaborating digitally requires constant
attention and a lot of time.

Office communication has now found a new home online with virtual meetups
becoming the new normal. But even though this transition has been difficult, everyone
is learning to get used to this way of working. At the end of the day, we must work
hard to achieve personal and professional goals.

Whether at home or in the office, every organization strives to achieve short-term and
long-term goals. But how do you determine the clarity of roles and responsibilities,
deliverables, and deadlines?

This is where French Industrialist Henri Fayol’s management theory comes into play.
The theory defines five functions of management—planning, organizing, staffing,
directing, and controlling. Each of these functions plays a critical role in helping
organizations achieve efficiently and effectively. Luther Gulick, Fayol’s successor,
further defined 7 functions of management or POSDCORB—planning, organizing,
staffing, directing, coordinating, reporting, and budgeting.

But Gulick’s 7 functions of management have been criticized by experts as an

oversimplification of the managerial process. So, Fayol’s functions of
management are more commonly accepted by management even today.

A manager should be well-versed in each of these five functions to accomplish

organizational goals. We’ll be discussing the various functions of management to
understand how they improve the day-to-day operations of an organization. We’ll also
explore how they can help you become a qualified manager.

WHAT ARE THE

FUNCTIONS OF
MANAGEMENT?
A manager is someone who can lead, direct and control operations and people in their
organization without imposing their authority. In a world where a more informal
working structure is becoming increasingly popular, a manager must work with their
team to achieve larger goals. Functions of management are a great starting point to
find your footing before you dive straight into your role as a manager.

Functions of management help you stay informed about what you need to do and how
so that you can guide your staff accordingly. Management experts like Fayol and
Gulick explain the functions of management to equip yourself with the right skills to
become an accomplished manager.

Let’s say that you’re in the planning stage of your managerial process. This means
that you’ll first assess your goals, define your purpose, and visualize what needs to be
done. This requires the ability to interpret historical data, evaluate current trends and
develop strategies for the future. Each function is successful if you can reach your
destination without problems like surpassing your budget or missing deadlines.

HERE ARE THE

FUNCTIONS OF
MANAGEMENT AND WHY
THEY’RE IMPORTANT.
1. PLANNING
Planning is an important function of management because it sets the pace for all
subsequent steps in the managerial process. You need to develop a roadmap for
the future—predefined steps—to accomplish organizational goals. In this step,
you’ll have to evaluate methods and strategies to determine how you’ll progress
toward your goal.

You may have to look at how things were done in the past to make any
adjustments to mitigate errors. You have to consider both internal factors—
people, time and cost—and external factors—competitors, policies and
general business environment—to arrive at a sound planning strategy.
1. ORGANIZING
This is where you put your plan into action by establishing a system of authority
or hierarchy in the context of your organizational structure. Determine the tasks
that need to be completed to achieve your goals before assigning them to your
staff. As opposed to the traditional ways of working where a manager made all
the decisions, today’s business world is more dynamic and flexible. Every
member of the organization—regardless of position—shares accountability and
responsibility.

So, define an organizational structure that aligns with your workplace and assign
tasks that map to your team’s skills and abilities. You must get everyone on the
same page and delegate tasks the way you see fit.

1. STAFFING
This is another important function of management. You must assign tasks based
on each team member’s knowledge, skills, and abilities. You must be careful
here because you may have to hire new talent for specific tasks that require
specific technical expertise. Assessing the needs of your employees in terms of
incentives, training and development and compensation are critical for the
success of this step.
An effective manager will have the insight to evaluate the competency and
efficiency of their employees. This is to ensure that their assigned tasks match
their skills. You must adopt an empathetic approach to connect with your
employees and understand their strengths and weaknesses.

1. DIRECTING
Directing is concerned with supervising your team’s progress. In this step, you
must keep an open channel of communication and get regular updates to stay on
top of things. A great way to do this is by giving and receiving feedback to
address any problem areas and improve performance. This is where you must act
as a leader, navigate conflict, and motivate your employees to take initiative.

Harappa Education’s Managing Teamwork course will teach you the Skill-Will

Matrix—attributed to leadership coach Max Landsberg. It’s a quick and easy
way to assign tasks based on the capabilities and motivation of each member.
As a manager, you must give each team member enough autonomy to help them
stay motivated and perform without constant supervision. Besides monitoring
your team, you also must keep your manager and other stakeholders informed
with progress reports. The entire organization should work like a well-oiled
machine to achieve your goals in a time-effective manner.
 1. CONTROLLING
This is where you must measure the progress of each step established in the
planning stage against your organizational goals. This step requires you to
coordinate with your employees to ensure that they’re moving in the right
direction and in the right manner. According to Gulick’s 7 functions of
management, controlling can be understood in terms of coordinating, reporting,
and budgeting.

Not only do you have to ensure that every step is going according to plan, but
also watch out for potential problems to take corrective measures. Make timely
adjustments and modifications where necessary. It’ll help you accomplish your
goals faster within your timeframe and your budget. Take this opportunity to
cooperate with everyone on your team.

EXAMPLES OF
MANAGEMENT
FUNCTIONS
Management functions are a systematic framework that you can rely on in your
professional life. Now that we’ve discussed each function in detail, let’s discuss their
implementation with examples. Here are a few examples of management functions:

1. Say that you’re an operations manager with a firm that

manufactures office furniture. Your responsibilities will include
defining the production, packaging, and delivery processes.
You’ll have to monitor the progress of the assembly line, ensure
that everything is up to standard, and performance is not
compromised at any stage.

1. As a manager, you must set clearly defined goals for production,

hire the right people for your team and monitor progress to
mitigate errors. From the planning stage to the controlling stage,
you must work with your team to maintain quality standards.
 1. Let’s say that you’re a sales manager tasked with launching a
new product. Now, your responsibilities include assembling a
new sales team for this project. This is where you assess abilities
and different skills to appoint the right people. For instance,
someone who’s good with numbers can help you visualize sales
projections and make budgets. Meanwhile, someone who’s good
at design can contribute to the product packaging and ad
campaigns.

As a manager, in-depth knowledge of the various functions of management is critical

for professional success. This is a good measure of your efficiency and effectiveness
that play a crucial role in achieving organizational goals.

CONCLUSION
Leading a team isn’t a walk in the park because you must accommodate different
work styles, personalities, and skillsets. Functions of management highlight essential
skills that every manager needs to supervise, coordinate, and communicate with their
teams. As a good manager, you need to have the right insight to understand who
you’re working with and how you can use their abilities for the greater good of the
organization.

https://harappa.education/harappa-diaries/functions-of-management/#:~:text=The%20theory
%20defines%20five%20functions,organizations%20achieve%20efficiently%20and%20effectively.