Planning Functions

In order to be an effective manager within any organization, efficient utilization of the people and resources must be done in order to meet the demands and expectancies within the company. Successfully management can be achieved by following and implementing the four functions of management; these four functions are: Planning, Organizing, Leading, and Controlling. (Bateman & Snell, 2007)

Planning

Planning involves not just setting goals and expectations for a current situation, but also setting those goals to include future anticipations of changes that may or may not be beneficial to the desired outcome. Taking the necessary considerations and analyzing all aspects and potential possibilities will assist in laying out the objectives and strategies and will aid in the development of organizing the next steps and stages that need to take place for a successful outcome and to prevent the possibility of a poor outcome. (Bateman & Snell, 2007)

Organizing

Management must meet the organizational needs of not just setting and designating who does what and where they should be placed, but it also involves the proper organizing of areas such as the financial, informational, the physical needs and any other valued sources that can and should be utilized (Sawyer, 1997). Organizing the people based on their strengths and skills will enhance the grouping process rather than just lumping teams together without justification. Designating which and how much of the available resources will be used throughout the process will make efficiency efforts run more smoothly and assist in determining leadership aspects. (Bateman & Snell, 2007)

Leading

Proper management depends on proper leadership. An effective leader presents their team with motivation and encouragement for success. Not just leading for the expectations of the group as a whole, but a good leader should be involved with the personal motivational aspects of individuals and encourage those individuals to be successful in their own business aspirations as well (Sawyer, 1997). A good leader must take control and focus and maintain contact with their people on a daily basis to ensure all are on the same page and to maintain awareness of the achievements achieved or problems that may occur. (Bateman & Snell, 2007)

Controlling

The controlling function is the most important function for proper management. Once the planning, organizing, and leading roles are introduced into the management process, management needs to take a controlling role to be able to monitor the performance of the process as a whole and be able to implement changes should the need arise (Sawyer, 1997). Having a plan in place does not mean that those plans will work throughout the entire run of the project or goal. During the process, regular monitoring would allow management to see what is not working or what could be done to make things better. As new achievements or ideas become relevant during the process and changes need to be made. (Bateman & Snell, 2007)

While these four functions will not be the only forces a manager has to deal with, they are, however, important skills and tools that a manager must properly be in place in order to assure a successful outcome within the organization (Sawyer, 1997). Being efficient in some of the functions is not enough to be able to enforce the effectiveness of a manger towards the rest