Mgt 330 Week 1

The Four Functions of Management

MGT/330

January 11, 2012

Marina Antoinette Skinner, Doctoral Candidate, MBA

The Four Functions of Management

            In today’s organizations, managers have the responsibility of supervising other employees to ensure work is getting done to accomplish the goals within the company.  There are certain management styles managers use to help their employees achieve the desired goals, and they are broken down into four categories. The four function of management are planning, organizing, leading, and controlling, these are important guidelines for managers to follow (Bateman & Snell, 2009).  These categories play a significant role in the daily activities within a company. 

The Management Function of Planning

The planning function can determine how goals are set so certain outcomes can be achieved.  Managers must develop formal long and short range plans so that the organization can move toward their objectives (Wijesinghe, 2010). When planning activities managers should analyze the situation and determine what resources or materials are needed to complete the desired goal.  The planning step is critical because employees have the knowledge of expectations set by the company and managers. Knowing the expectations of the job ensures the work will get done. Whenever the managers at Lowe’s Companies plan an activity, they have to review the strategies, objectives, and analyze how many resources the company has to achieve the desired goal.  While in the planning stages the management team discusses what value this will add to the company or if the needs of the business have been or will be meet.  If the team meets the needs of the business than at that point managers determine the team has added value within the company and the goals have been met, which basically means the planning process was effective.

The Management Function of Organizing 

The planning stage is the step that leads to the organizing stage....