Functions of Management Paper.

The purpose of this paper is to define the four functions of management: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling and to explain how each function relates to your own organization. The organization I belong too is a oil and natural gas producing company.

The fundamentals of management have been around since around 1100 B.C when the Chinese founded the four functions of management: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling (Bateman T., and Snell S., 2004, Appendix A). We have come along way in the evolution of management since 1100 BC, to today's business environment that seeks a smarter, healthier organization that promotes growth and development.

Planning.

Plans set the stage for action and for major achievements. Planning activities include analyzing current situations, anticipating the future, determining objectives, deciding in what types of activities the company will engage, choosing corporate and business strategies, and determining the resources needed to achieve the organization's goals.

Planning must be closely aligned with the strategies of a company. Planning within the organization I belong is dictated by the strategy of our business at the time. Our company is in the Oil and Natural Gas production business, our strategies are both short and long term. For example, short term strategies revolve around the production of oil based on the commodity pricing at the time. An example of a long term strategy would be development of our personnel asset through continuous improvement programs and training that promote cross functional participation.

Organizing.

Organizing is assembling and coordinating the human, financial, physical, informational, and other resources needed to achieve goals. (Bateman T., and Snell S., 2004, pg 16). Within our organization organizing begins with our human resources department that begins the recruitment process for personnel with the desired skills to meet our needs. The organization process then flows to the different...