Functions Of Management

Functions of Management

Management Theory, Practice, and Application MGT330

January 22, 2003

The four functions of management (planning, organizing, leading, and controlling) are important to the success of any company. A company should have a clear set of objectives in order to achieve predetermined goals. Management is not a skill most people are born with; it is a learned skill. However, some people are naturally better in some areas than others. When I think about how the four functions of management relate to my organization, my supervisor, and my position, several ideas come to mind.

First, planning within my organization is a high priority. My company is in the process of purchasing another pharmaceutical company. Since the announcement of the company's intentions, several groups have been formed to brainstorm on the various duties of the specific groups. Issues such as which jobs would remain, which jobs could be combined, and projected budget are only a few of the topics that were being discussed. It was also important for the groups to decide how to make day one successful. What will the checks say on day one? How do we make the employees from the other company feel comfortable (considering some of them may be losing their jobs)? International planning took place because my company and the company we are pursuing both have foreign presence. The most important thing being to colleagues is that we are considered two separate companies until the deal is complete; it should be business as usual.

According to Dessler (2001), planning involves setting goals and identifying the courses of action for achieving those goals (p. 52). I work in travel accounting at Pfizer. My job responsibilities include auditing expense reports and weekly payment reconciliation. The payment reconciliation is on a strict deadline. In order to make sure that payments are made to American Express and colleagues on time, I have to balance by Monday evening preferably (no later than Tuesday morning). I have to plan and organize effectively to meet these deadlines. Occasionally, factors beyond my control cause delays in payment. On the flip side, my supervisor has to plan for complete coverage on the team. There are 3 people that process the weekly reconciliation (it is broken into two divisions--Groton and NY). Two of us process on a regular basis; the third person is a backup in case one of us is out. We have one of our regular people on a medical leave. This has created stress for the other two of us. My co-worker has a Monday class and has to leave by a certain time, which leaves me. I think that more people should be cross-trained on this process to avoid situations like this in the future.

Other responsibilities are designated to various groups of two. We have bi-weekly