The Five Functions of Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Five Functions of Management - Essay Example According to Denhardt and Vinzant (2008), there are five functions of managers in any organization that must be undertaken effectively to ensure successive growth of any organization. The manager must perform the functions of planning, organizing, commanding, reporting and budgeting functions in an organization. These activities are the real meaning of management. They must be performed if enterprises are to achieve any meaningful growth in terms of revenue collection. At the place of work, the manager in his duty of planning makes sure that the organization moves on into the future effectively, the manager is also well organized. To the manager, planning is a full time event. He makes plans for the whole organization while other managers prepare plans for the departments they are in direct control of. In my organization, planning is one managerial function that is often easy to overlook. Some managers often get held up in the hectic pace of conversations, meetings, and deadlines; they therefore neglect their management duties. However, the most effective managers at the work place are aware of the time they take in carrying out planning activities, whether for the business or for their selves. Good planning practices by the general manager pay rich dividends to the organization. Planning is closely linked to the process of making decisions in the organization. The manager gets involved in any aspect of managerial work that cuts across several othe r areas (Koontz & Weihrich, 2006).... In any work place, planning is the primary function of the manager. All other duties come after planning since the manager first plans before he reacts. The manager determines in advance, the objectives and goals and coming up with a course of action in achieving the set objectives. To the manger, planning involves, looking ahead and deciding what is to be done, when and where it is to be undertaken (Randhawa, 2007). On his duty of organizing, the manager performs several other duties including the division of the organization into different departments, drafting levels in the organization’s hierarchy as well as making decisions on those responsible for certain areas and who to report to incase there are problems. At the work place, especially in specific departments or division, organizing involves the task of defining specific positions and jobs. Themanager does the duties of designing the job. However, the assignment of individuals to such positions involves the staffing ra ther than the organizing function of the manager (Randhawa, 2007). On staffing, the manager performs functions of recruiting, training and developing the skill of the new employees to the organization. Staffing functions are normally described as personnel management or in most cases, hum resources management. Tasks such as hiring, training and firing are examples of the of the staffing or personnel function that the manager undertakes at the work place. The manager, when dealing with employees, employs important communication skills and motivation as well as the capability to make informed choices about whom to recruit or hire into the organization (Rao, 1999). Further, the manager in ensuring the smooth running of the organization performs the functions of directing. Directing is the