Four Functions of Management

Essay by soonerfan April 2005

download word file, 4 pages 1.0

Joseph Straub once wrote "Management is defined as the process of setting and achieving goals through the execution of four basic management functions that use human, financial, material, and informational resources" (Straub, 1994). The title each manager holds in an organization might be different; however, the role every manager takes on within a company is to lead their employees in a way that the organization is able to meet its objectives. A successful manager must also have the knowledge, expertise and ability to understand all of the effective concepts related to leadership. These concepts are important towards understanding the basic functions in which effective practices are to be carried out towards achieving the set goals of an organization. The four functions of effective management are leadership, planning, organization and control.

Leadership

Leading is an integral part of being an effective manager and possessing this ability enables a manager to lead their employees towards meeting the goals of the organization.

Being a natural leader is a not something that happens on its own but takes place after years of learning through various means of education, "Leaders are not born, they are made" http:/ /yosemite.epa.gov/administrator/speeches.nsf/0/aaa40744ca51f9bd85256cd90078a951?OpenDocument). (My Company) requires that its managers are educated on how to be a leader and sponsors leadership programs in an effort to make its managers more effective. There is a difference between being a manager and being a leader and understanding that a person must have a balance of the two is what separates effective managers from ineffective managers. Leadership is not just an ability that can stand alone but requires a certain style to motivate employees to do what needs to be done to meet the goals of the organization. There are three different leadership styles the Autocratic, Laissez-Faire and Democratic and each has...