Four Functions of Management

Please complete the following assignment, incorporating ideas and concepts from the week’s lecture and/or articles. Please feel free to incorporate outside resources as well. When completing your assignment, please make sure to double space your paper.

Traditional Paper

Research, identify and discuss the 4 basic functions of management. Also, explain which function you feel is most important and why.

The requirements below must be met for your paper to be accepted and graded:

• Write between 500 – 750 words (approximately 2 – 3 pages) using Microsoft Word.
• Attempt APA style, see example below.
• Use font size 12, 1” margins and double spacing.
• Include cover page and reference page.
• At least 60% of your paper must be original content/writing.
• No more than 40% of your content/information may come from references.
• Use at least two references from outside the course material, preferably from EBSCOhost. Text book, lectures, and other materials in the course may be used, but are not counted toward the two reference requirement.

Reference material (data, dates, graphs, quotes, paraphrased words, values, etc.) must be identified in the paper and listed on a reference page.Reference material (data, dates, graphs, quotes, paraphrased words, values, etc.) must come from sources such as, scholarly journals found in EBSCOhost, online newspapers such as The Wall Street Journal, government websites, etc. Sources such as Wikis, Yahoo Answers, eHow, etc. are not acceptable.

A detailed explanation of how to cite a source using APA can be found here (link).

Download an example here

Functions of Management

During this lecture, we will be discussing the basic functions of management in business organizations.

I’d like to begin our discussion today by defining what management is. Simply stated, management is coordinating the activities of a business by working with the people and resources of the organization to achieve its overall goals.

In today’s hectic business world, it is common for a manager to wear several hats. Think of it this way, in many organizations, a manager is not only the coach of the team, but they are also the cheerleader, the umpire, and groundskeeper all rolled into one.

It doesn’t matter what your particular management style is, there are 4 main functions that are required of all managers. Part of being a manager is that your primary responsibility is usually to manage the people who are actually doing the tasks, not doing those tasks yourself. In my experience, understanding the basics of what a manager does will not only help you be a better manager, but will also help you become a better employee, make sense?

Now I’d like to discuss the basics of the 4 main management functions of management.

Planning

• Most basic function of management
• Define team goals
• Develop strategies for reaching goals
• Design ways to merge and coordinate team’s activities

Organizing

• Organizing tasks to accomplish the organization’s goals
• Decide what tasks are to be done and who will do them

Leading

• Motivate employees
• Positively influence individuals or teams as they perform tasks
• Mentor and coach employees
• Handle employee behavior issues

Controlling

• Evaluate if things are going as planned
• Monitor and evaluate employee performance
• Correct any employee issues