April 7, 2010
Math 330
Tom D. Annuzio According to Bateman and Snell (2009), “the effective and efficient management of all four functions of management is the key to being a good manager.” To accomplish this task, a manager must master and apply all four functions (planning, organizing, leading and controlling) of management on a regular basis.
Creating an effective and efficient company is a worthwhile task for any manager to strive towards. It requires a very delicate balancing act that many managers are unable to achieve. The average manager will be good at one or maybe two of the functions of management, but it takes a great leader to achieve all four functions of management with just one manager.
Planning is defined by Bateman and Snell (2009), as “The management function of systematically making decisions about the goals and activities that an individual, a group, a work unit, or the overall organization will pursue.” Planning is the difference between a successful and unsuccessful manager. .Planning, the first management function requires analysis of physical situations in a business, perhaps problems that need to be solved or analysis of systems that need improvement to become cost effective. Planning is the first step in management and is paramount as it facilitates control, valuable decision making and in the avoidance of business ruin. .Planning also requires anticipation of future needs of the company to be successful.
By assembling and coordinating the human, financial, physical, informational, and other resources needed to achieve goals a manager would be completing the second function, the function of organizing. According to Bateman and Snell (2009) “Organizing activities include attracting people to the organization, specifying job responsibilities, grouping jobs into work units, marshaling and allocating resources, and creating conditions so that people and things work together to achieve maximum success.”
References: Bateman, T. S., & Snell, S. A. (2009). Management: Leading and Collaborating in a Competitive World (8th ed.). New York, New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies.