There are five functions in management:
1. Planning
2. Organizing
3. Staffing
4. Directing
5. Controlling
Planning
Planning means the determination what is to be done, how and where is to be done, who is to do it and how the results are to be evaluated. Planning involves selecting of objectives and strategies, policies and programs and procedures for achieving them. Planning function is performed by managers at every level because planning may either be for the entire enterprise or for any section or department thereof.
Planning consists of:
- Establishing objectives
- Formulating rules and regulations
- Developing programs
- Scheduling
- Budgeting
Organizing
According to Fayol, “to organize a business is to provide it with everything useful to its functioning — raw materials, tools, capital and personnel.” It means identification and grouping the activities to be performed and dividing them among the individuals and creating authority and responsibility relationships among them for the accomplishment of organizational objectives.
Organizing consists of:
- Determination of objectives and identification of activities necessary to achieve the objectives
- Delegation of authority and relationship among individuals.
- Coordination of activities and assignment of duties.
- Division of activities into different units or departments.
Staffing
Every enterprise is very much concerned with the quality of its people, especially its managers. The staffing function is concerned with this aspect of management. Human resources management is a process consisting of the acquisition, development, motivation and maintenance of human resources.
Staffing consists of:
- Manpower planning to determine the quality and quantity of employees required for the jobs to be done
- Recruitment for attracting qualified persons
- Selection of best candidate
- Placement of the right man for the right job
- Training and development to increase new skills, knowledge and competency to do job
- Motivation of employees
- Evaluation performance of employees
- Employees welfare
Directing
Directing involves the manager telling the subordinates how they have to perform jobs assigned to them. It is concerned with guiding, supervising and motivating the subordinates for achieving the enterprise objectives.
Directing consists of:
- Supervising the subordinates
- Communicating the information
- Providing effective leadership
- Motivating employees
Controlling
Controlling is the process of monitoring activities to ensure that they are being accomplished as planned and of correcting any significant deviations.
Controlling consists of:
- Determination of standard performance
- Measurement of actual performance
- Compares the actual performance with the standard
- Analyzes deviations
- Take corrective actions if necessary.