Functions Of Management

INTRODUCTION:

Management exists since the existence of management of the human beings. Human worked with each other in collaboration, so working in with the feeling of co-operation started from there. They divided their work and thus started division of work which saved lot of time. Management is nothing but an act of managing something. Management (from old French management “the art of conducting, directing”, from Latin Manu agere “to lead by the hand”) characteristics the process of leading and directing all or part of an organization.

The process of getting activities completed efficiently with and through other people. The process of setting and achieving goals through the execution of five basic management functions.

• Planning

• Organizing

• Staffing

• Directing

• Controlling

Therefore, the person providing office services needs to know something about the application of the principles and practices of management to this area. The objective of this chapter is to give a brief but broad survey of management and supervision in the office.

Managing like all other practices whether medicine, music composition, engineering, accountancy, purchasing, marketing or even cricket is an art. It is know-how. It is doing things in the light of the realities of a situation. Yet managers can work better by using the organized knowledge about management. It is this knowledge that constitutes science. Thus managing as a practice is an art, the organized knowledge underlying this practice may be referred to as a science. In this context science and art are not mutually exclusive they are complimentary.

As science improves so should art as has happened in the physical and biological sciences. To be sure the science underlying managing is fairly crude and inexact. This is true because many variables with which managers deal are extremely complex. Nevertheless such management knowledge can certainly improve managerial practice. Physicians without the advantage of science would be little more than witch doctors. Executives who attempt to manage without management science must trust to luck, intuition and past experience.

In managing as in any other field, unless practitioners are to learn by trial and error and it has been said that mangers’ errors are their sub-ordinates’ trials there is no place they can turn for meaningful guidance other than the accumulated knowledge underlying their practice.

THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN ORGANIZATION, ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT

The distinction between the terms administration, organization and management can be clearly seen in the definition and meaning of each of them.

ADMINISTRATION:

“The universal process of efficiently organizing people and directing their activities towards common goals and objectives”. Administration is always a headquarters’ function. The word administration comes the Latin word, administrate, meaning to serve. The administration of a business is entrusted to a board of directors which is the governing body. The board may be known collectively as вЂ?the administration’ of the business. They are responsible for planning and controlling all business operations to achieve defined objectives.

MANAGEMENT:

The process of getting activities completed efficiently with and through other people. The process of setting and achieving goals through the execution of five basic management functions i.e planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling. The term management also refers to the activity of managing resources and the tasks of others in order to achieve defined objectives. Management is getting things done through the efforts of other people.

ORGANIZATION:

An organization is a social arrangement which pursues collective goals, which controls its own performances, and which has a boundary separating it from its environment. The word itself is derived from the Greek word “organon” meaning tool. The term is used in both daily and scientific English in multiple ways.

THE FUNCTIONS OF MANAGEMENT:

The position that managers provide in planning, organizing, directing and controlling is an essential responsibility in any business. A manager must organize these functions in order to reach company goals and maintain a competitive advantage. Putting these plans into action requires forming groups as underlings must be directed to complete the plan, and the plan’s development must be directed by control. In order for these practices to succeed in an operational manner, an understanding must be reached concerning the basics in which these practices are in relationship to the business structure.

PLANNING:

Planning is the first tool if the four functions of the management process. It is the foundation area of management. It is the base upon which all the areas of management should be built. Planning requires administration to assess; where the company is presently set, and where it would be in the upcoming. The difference between a successful and unsuccessful manager lies within the planning procedure. Planning is the logical thinking through goals and making the decision as to what needs to be accomplished in order to reach the organization’s objectives. Managers use this process to plan for the future, like a blueprint to foresee problems, decide on the actions to evade difficult issues and to beat the competition.

Planning is unending course of action. There may be sudden strategies where companies have to face. Sometimes they are uncontrollable. You can say that there are external factors that constantly affect a company both optimistically and pessimistically. Depending on the conditions, a company may have to alter its course of action in accomplishing certain goals. This kind of preparation, arrangement is known as strategic planning. In strategic planning, management analyzes inside and outside factors that may affect the company and so objectives and goals. Here they should have a study of strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats. For management to do this efficiently, it has to be very practical and ample.

ORGANIZING:

The