Four Functions Of Management

The Four Functions of Management

Management is very commonly defined as the process of working with people and resources to accomplish organization goals. (Snell & Bateman, 2007, p.) To manage effectively a manager must possess each of the following four abilities: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. (Snell & Bateman, 2007, p.) In the education industry it is very important for management to realize all four of the functions of management. The main reason is that every decision that is made indefinitely affects the many lives of the students and their families. The four functions of management and how they relate to my organization is discussed below.

The first function of management is planning. Planning is the simple practice of determining the goals that need to be met and developing the appropriate course of action toward reaching those goals. (Snell & Bateman, 2007, p. ) As a sales manager, the function of planning is one that is used each and every day. Each of my salesmen has a matrix that lays out the quota for a six month period. I use planning to determine each sales rep’s goals and then set the appropriate steps toward reaching those goals through organizing. For example, one of my representatives is named Mike. Mike wants to Consistently Exceed his monthly quota so that he will earn a significant raise. In order for him to do this, Mike needs to successfully sale fifty-four generators in his first six months. This is the goal. In order to meet his goal we established a very specific plan of action to get him there. Mike needs to make 90 telephone calls per day, meet with 36 prospects every month, and take 3 applications per week to successfully sell 54 pieces of equipment over 6 months.

The second function of management is organizing. Organizing can be defined as ensuring all needed resources are in place for the goals to be achieved. (Snell & Bateman, 2007, p. ) It is very important that our company organizes carefully to meet our goals. In my position, many activities are organized to ensure that the sales managers have the resources they need. One of the most important resources to an equipment salesman is leads. In the example above, Mike will have a hard time making 90 calls per day if he does have 90 leads to call. All the successful planning that was done would not lead to success, because he wouldn’t have the resources needed to hit his goals. Other important resources for equipment salesmen are the finance and customer service departments. The sales department needs the finance department to financially clear each customer before they can buy a large piece of equipment. We need the customer service department to handle any issues that the customer might have with the piece of equipment after we sell it. Without most customers getting financial credit, it would be pretty tough for Mike to reach his goal.

The third function of management is leading. Leading can be defined as coaching people towards top performance. (Snell & Bateman, 2007, p.) This function must be performed everyday in my