Planning, Organizing, Leading and Controling

Management: Planning, Organizing, Leading and Controlling

MGT/330

March 7, 2012

In spite of a multitude of changes in the global business paradigm, management continues to maintain several foundations. There are 4 primary functions of management: they are planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. “Planning is analyzing a situation, determining the goals that will be pursued, and deciding in advance the actions needed to pursue these goals. Organizing is assembling the resources needed to complete the job and coordinating employees and tasks for maximum success. Leading is motivating people and stimulating high performance. Controlling is monitoring the progress of the organization or the work unit toward goals and then taking corrective action, as necessary.”(Bateman, Snell) In Department of Defense, more specifically the Army National Guard Bureau, these functions are deliberate, and demand creating strategic value, to support an extremely dynamic organization, mobilizing Soldiers, caring for their Families; all the while, learning and adapting to an extremely volatile world.

The Department of Defense’s recent report on The Comprehensive Review of the Future Role of the Reserve Components recommends, “When rebalancing the force to meet future national security challenges, the Guard and Reserve should be a “force of first choice” for those tasks for which they are particularly well-suited, owing to their overall cost effectiveness and the skill sets they can provide. Missions that follow a predictable, operational schedule fall clearly into this category.” (ARNG Strategic Planning Guidance, 2012) It also recommends “Service force-generation processes should consider predictability, consistency, continuity, and the desirability of establishing enduring relationships or exploiting regional expertise when determining whether Guard or...