FUNDAMENTAL & ELEMENTS / FUNCTIONS OF MANAGEMENT

Activities like, planning, organizing, controlling, coordinating and motivating are described as the fundamental functions of “Process of Management” or “Management Process”. These are the basic five elements of Process of Management Process. 

Planning:   Planning is the first and foremost function of the management process. It is the thinking process to determine the proposed course of action, what, how, when, where and who has to perform the work or things to be done.

Organization:   Organization as a process institutes the harmonious co-adjustment between the different factors of production as land, labor, capital of the business enterprise, so that ultimate goal is achieved. 

Staffing:   Staffing is the process of deciding the number and quality of manpower needed by an organisation. To achieve its objectives efficiently recruiting, selecting, training, developing and appraising the newly recruited as well as the existing staff is the main focus of the unit. It can be seen as the function of ‘Human Resource Manager’ but at a very smaller level.

Directing:  Directing is primarily concerned with supervision, regulation, inspiration, inspection and guidance of the activities of the employees in such a manner so as to achieve the pre determined goals of the organisation smoothly.

Control:   Control is that process which keeps the whole system in check so that it moves as per the pre designated parameters or verifying the total movement of the business enterprise as per the plan and adopting corrective measures thereon for any deviation. 

Apart from the above mentioned five elements, other two elements which are adopted by several managers are as follows:

Motivation:   Motivation as such, deals with the human part of the system where inspiration to perform as per the objectives of the industrial or business enterprise to get the goals achieved is provided. A way to encourage the human factor to give their best for the achievement of predetermined goal. 

Coordination:   Coordination is an understood agreement to achieve predetermined goal of business enterprise utilizing all the factors of production. This lubricates all the concerned activities towards facilitation of work and achieving the desired result. “All these elements will be dealt in with detail in the fore coming posts.”