Management & Its Function

Management is the process of reaching organizational goals by working with and through people and other organizational resources. 

Management has the following 3 characteristics:

1. It is a process or series of continuing and related activities.
2. It involves and concentrates on reaching organizational goals.
3. It reaches these goals by working with and through people and other organizational resources.

Functions of management:-

1. Planning
2. Organizing
3. Staffing
4. Directing 
5. Controlling.

For theoretical purposes, it may be convenient to separate the function of management but practically these functions are overlapping in nature i.e. they are highly inseparable.

Planning:
It is deciding in advance the most appropriate course of actions for achievement of pre determined goals. Thus, planning is a systematic thinking about ways & means for accomplishment of pre-determined goals. Planning is necessary to ensure proper utilization of human & non-human resources. It also helps in avoiding confusion, uncertainties, risks, wastages.

Organizing:
It is the process of bringing together physical, financial and human resources and developing productive relationship amongst them for achievement of organizational goals.

Organizing as a process involves:

1. Identification of activities.
2. Classification or grouping of activities.
3. Assignment of duties.
4. Delegation of authority and creation of responsibility.
5. Coordinating authority and responsibility relationships.

Staffing:
It is the function of manning the organization structure and keeping it manned. Staffing has assumed greater importance in the recent years due to advancement of technology, increase in size of business, complexity of human behaviour etc. The main purpose of staffing is to put right man on right job. 

Staffing involves:

1. Manpower Planning (estimating man power in terms of searching, choose the person and giving the right place).
2. Recruitment, Selection & Placement.
3. Training & Development.
4. Remuneration.
5. Performance Appraisal.
6. Promotions & Transfer.

Directing:
It is considered life-spark of the enterprise which sets it in motion the action of people because planning, organizing and staffing are the mere preparations for doing the work. 

Direction has following elements:

• Supervision- implies overseeing the work of subordinates by their superiors. It is the act of watching & directing work & workers.
• Motivation- means inspiring, stimulating or encouraging the sub-ordinates with zeal to work. Positive, negative, monetary, non-monetary incentives may be used for this purpose.
• Leadership- may be defined as a process by which manager guides and influences the work of subordinates in desired direction.
• Communications- is the process of passing information, experience, opinion etc from one person to another. It is a bridge of understanding.

Controlling:
It is measurement of accomplishment against the standards and correction of deviation if any to ensure achievement of organizational goals. The purpose of controlling is to ensure that everything occurs in conformity with the standards. An efficient system of control helps to predict deviations before they actually occur.
Controlling has following steps:

1. Establishment of standard performance.
2. Measurement of actual performance.
3. Comparison of actual performance with the standards and finding out deviation if any.
4. Corrective action.