Functions of Management

Functions of management

A middle-aged, pudgy, blue collared worker sits at a table. It looks like he is scribbling something down on a piece of paper or playing a Sudoku game. To most people this would look like somebody goofing off; don’t judge that book by its cover just yet. This man is employing the same system the keeps Microsoft a consistent leader in its field, he is using the four functions of management: Planning, Organizing, Leading and Controlling.

Management

The function of management, according to Bateman and Snell, Management: The New Competitive Landscape (7th ed.) 2007, is “The process of working with people and resources to accomplish organizational goals.” This means whether dealing with a three person company or a multi-national conglomerate with 300,000 employees, someone needs to manage and lead the way.

Planning

Planning is the first step in the four functions of management. Planning is deciding what the objective will be and which paths to follow to accomplish these goals. Although the month is September 2007 the budget for expenses at Hartford East Elderly apartments for 2008 are due by the end of the month. Planning for the following year requires me going over the previous year’s budgets, examining inventories and property, determine and capital improvements, and trying to project any increase in bills. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) can be used to help determine future increases in energy prices, although these are guidelines, a manager must take all things in to consideration. For example, the EIA (eia.doe.gov.com September 11, 2007) has an expectation of Natural gas prices to rise by 5%.

Organization

“Organizing is assembling and coordinating the human, financial, physical, informational, and other resources needed to achieve goals.” (Bateman and Snell, 2007) This means setting the stage so a group can achieve thier goals, which includes distributing resources where they will have the best chance for success. Sometimes organizing something includes reallocating the manager themselves. During the winter months snow removal can be very time consuming, which means other projects are put behind schedule. After determining the actual cost of snow removal which included repairs, upkeep of equipment, time lost, and hours spent, I was decided it was more cost efficient to use an outside contractor.

Leadership

Leadership can be described as being a moral officer; it requires keeping the staff motivated while allowing them to expand their creative and personal achievement within the company. Allowing employees new growth opportunity can help increase their usefulness to the company. Every once and awhile during the summer months I will see a certain employee getting golf fever and though this employee has never asked to leave early, I have gone to them and told them it would be o.k. to take half of a day off, if they wanted to, as long as everything was on schedule. Without fail this employee comes back the next work day eager to work and full of energy towards the job. Leading sometimes means