Question

What are the three major (vital) activities (according to your textbook) that managers carryout AND DEFINE each. (1 point for each activity and 1 point for its definition)

Answer 1

Management is a systematic way of doing things. Manager are responsible for the three major activities. It is also known as principles of management.

They are classified as follows ;

1. Planning and Decision Making: Determining Courses of Action

2.Organizing: Coordinating Activities and Resources

3.Controlling: Monitoring and Evaluating activities

1. Planning and Decision Making: Determining Courses of Action -> According to Henri Fayol, drawing up a good plan of action is the hardest of the three functions of management. This need an active participation of the entire organization. With respect to time and implementation, there must be planning linked to and coordinated on different levels. Planning must take the organization’s available resources and flexibility of personnel into consideration as this will guarantee continuity.

In short, planning means determining and understanding what the organization’s position and the situation should be at some time in the future and decide how the best to bring about that situation. Planning helps maintain managerial effectiveness by guiding future activities.

2.Organizing: Coordinating Activities and Resources -> It is the second most important activity of the manager. An organization can only function well if it is well-organized. This means that there must be sufficient capital, staff and raw materials so that the organization can run smoothly and that it can build a good working structure. The organizational structure with a good division of functions and tasks is of crucial importance. When the number of functions increases, the organization will expand both horizontally and vertically. This requires a different type of leadership. Organizing is an important function of the five functions of management.

Organizing can be defined as the process by which the established plans are moved closer to realization.

Once a manager set goals and develops plans, his next managerial function is organizing human and other resources that are identified as necessary by the plan to reach the goal.

Basically organizing is deciding where decisions will be made, who will do what jobs and tasks, who will work for whom, and how resources will assemble.

3.Controlling: Monitoring and Evaluating activities ->By verifying whether everything is going according to plan, the organization knows exactly whether the activities are carried out in conformity with the plan.

Control takes place in a four-step process:

1. Establish performance standards based on organizational objectives
2. Measure and report on actual performance
3. Compare results with performance and standards
4. Take corrective or preventive measures as needed

Controlling consist of activities, like; measuring the performance, comparing with the existing standard and finding the deviations, and correcting the deviations. Control activities generally relate to the measurement of achievement or results of actions which were taken to attain the goal.

It is rightly said, “planning without controlling is useless”. In short, we can say the controlling enables the accomplishment of the plan.

Conclusion : All the management functions of its organisation or company are inter-related and cannot be skipped. The management process designs and maintains an environment in which personnel’s, working together in groups, accomplish efficiently selected aims.

All managers carry out the main functions of management; planning, organizing, and controlling. But depending on the skills and position on an organizational level, the time and labor spent in each function will differ.