The Four Functions of Management

Running head: THE FOUR FUNCTIONS OF MANAGEMENT

The Four Functions of Management

The Four Functions of Management

The four functions of management are Planning, Organizing, Leading, and Controlling (Bateman & Snell, 2007, p.16 chap 1). The four functions of management are to be looked upon as fundamentals. They should be followed rigorously and without haste. By following these four fundamentals of management, managers will operate more productively and with less waste of the companies resources.

The first fundamental of management is planning. Planning can be described as developing a roadmap for success. Before any kind of plan can be developed, first collect any and all data that may be relevant. Each month my manager and I assess what my performance to goal was. We look at what the determining factors were, and how they effected our performance. We then determine those challenges that may be faced again by analyzing the collected data. After reviewing the collected information, a plan can be developed that will improve performance.

Developing a plan is a very important part of management. A plan is the recipe for success that when followed, will ensure improved performance. The plan that is developed should include goals, a timeline or deadline, methods used, how many and of what resources are to be used by the company and who will carry out the plan.

The second fundamental part of management is organizing. According to Bateman and Snell, organizing is assembling and coordinating the human, financial, physical, informational, and other resources needed to achieve goals (Bateman & Snell, 2007, p. 17 chap 1). Basically the organizing part of management getting together the who, what and where of a company. The “who” can be defined as the employees. The “what” is the resources used or the product that is sold. The “where” is the place the company is located and the location that the product is sold.

When organizing the manager must take many different factors into account. The employees need to be diverse. The resources need to be plentiful and within cost. The location has to align with the needs of the employees, resources and cost. At University of Phoenix, most of the “brick and motor” campuses are located near interstate highways. This is done so that the students, or customer in this case, can easily commute to and from school. Using the University of Phoenix as a case in point, we can see how well the “where” aligns with the business model. The school’s business model has been very successful, which is providing school to working adults. Working adults usually take the highway home from work. So, by placing the school near highways, the school has then made it easier, once again, for working adults to go to school. I equate organizing, with gathering the ingredients for the recipe.

The third fundamental part of management is leading. Leading is defined as to guide on a way especially by going in advance (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2007).The most important part of leading is motivating employees. Motivating employees is