Functions and Roles of Managers Essay Example

Management is in every type of organization. Although the type of business the company is running determines their manager's type, function and role, all managers execute some of the same fundamental functions to ensure that their business runs efficiently. The idea behind management is assisting employees in the direction of common goals. It is management's work to help assess all of the different purposes and keep them in stability. Managers work at an inexorable speed and handle a broad variety of matters throughout the day. In my opinion, managers play very important functions and roles in today's rapidly changing business organizations. This essay will discuss primarily about the functions and roles of managers, as well as outline other characteristics of management.

Management can be defined in several ways. A general definition would be that management is the process of coordinating work activities, working with human, financial, and physical resources, so that they are completed efficiently and effectively to achieve organizational objectives (Robbins et al, 2006 p.9).

Webster's New World College Dictionary (2001) defines the term ‘function' as "the normal or characteristic action of anything; especially, any of the natural, specialized actions of a system…". There are four general functions of management. They include planning, organizing, leading or motivating, and controlling. All four functions are immensely important and no one function is better than the other. These four functions must be coordinated to have management operate as a whole.

Planning encompasses looking forward and developing things in advance. Planning involves deciding what needs to take place in the future and creating plans for action in initiating the process of achieving organizational goals. It is up to the management to be able to make the plan and have firm decisions. Sometimes, it is difficult to plan, but it provides and important focus for any business. Plans vary