Exploring the Four Key Functions of Management

The Four Functions of Managers

Management involves far more than just telling others what to do. Before any of you decide that you think you can do your boss 's job, let 's take a look into more of what a manager does.

The major functions that a manager completes can be categorized into four different functions known as planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. For some of us, we only see the final two - leading and controlling - but you should know that for every managerial behavior you do see, there is an equal amount that you do not. Behind the manager 's closed door, he or she spends a good deal of his or her time planning and organizing so that he or she can effectively carry out the functions of leading and controlling.

Managers spend a good deal of time planning, leading, controlling and organizing.

Effective managers understand how planning, organizing, leading, and controlling are used to achieve organizational success. Unfortunately, I do not have a rebuttal for those of you who have ineffective managers, but perhaps learning a little more about the four functions of management will help to identify what steps your ineffective manager needs to take to become an effective one.

Try to think about the four functions as a process where each step builds on the others. Managers must first plan, then organize according to that plan, lead others to work towards the plan, and finally evaluate the effectiveness of the plan. These four functions must be performed properly and, when done well, become the reason for organizational success.