Functions of Management

Introduction

The four traditional roles of administrators are the planning, organizing, leading and controlling. In fact, the administrative function is much more complex than these distinct four phases indicate as they often overlap, one over the over, in rapid succession. The ability of an administrator to decipher when to use a given skill set from each of these four areas is a good indicator if they will rise in leadership or stay in managerial ranks for their career (Marker, 2010). The ability to assess situations, subordinates, tasks and strategies while at the same time defining the optimal set of responses to competitive threats and opportunities takes leadership and vision beyond the four functions of management as well (Schyns, Sczesny, 2010). This paper analyzes the four functions of management from the perspective of traits and skills of successful leaders including how these leaders have successfully used these four functions as a catalyst of professional growth and contribution (Useem, 2010).

Planning

It is critically important to get beyond the static or single-dimensional definition of planning as a process or activity done only one periodically and then forgotten about. Planning is actually one of the most collaborative and involved processes there are for managers, as they work to create shared ownership of tasks (Sheets, 2010). This phase also is very indicative of the relative levels of skill a manager has that will become the catalyst of their leadership ability over time as well. Managers with transformational skill sets often are capable of sensing the best approach to create high level of collaboration with their staff and with other departments, and also define strategies within the planning phase that lead to each department accomplishing their specific goals (Arnold, Loughlin, 2010). Planning is also an excellent indicator of a manager’s ability to move beyond transactional management styles of short-term focus and become a...