Management Process

A process is a systematic way of doing things. We refer to management as a process to emphasize that all managers, irrespective of their aptitude or skill, engage in some interrelated functions in order to achieve their desired goals. Now we will briefly describe the functions that comprise the process of management: 

 1. Planning: Planning may be defined as making decisions in advance as to what is to be done in the future. It is a future course of it implies that managers think through their goals as an action in advance and their actions are based on some method. Plan or logic rather tries a hunch. Plans give .the organization its objectives and set up the best procedures for reaching them.

Planning involves selecting missions and objectives and the actions to achieve them, it requires decision making, i.e. choosing future courses of action from among alternatives. In short, planning means determining what the organization’s position and situation should be at some time in the future and deciding how best to bring about that situation. Planning helps planning maintain managerial effectiveness by guiding future activities.
Plan may be of various types (as elaborated in chapter-4) covering various time periods, and are usually set by top-level managers. Anyway, so are the guidelines by which-(a) the organization obtains and waits the resources required to reach its objectives; (b) members of the organization carry on activities consistent with the chosen objectives and procedures; and (c) progress toward the objectives is monitored and Missed so that corrective action can be taken if progress is

satisfactory."

Planning involves a number of major tasks-the first task is the selection of goals for the organisation. The second one is the establishment of goals for each of the organisation's sub-units, departments. divisions etc. The third task is to establish programmes  for achiving goals in a systematic manner. Planning requires an ability to foresee. to visualise, and to look ahead purposefully. In short, planning is essential and is a fundamental function management.

             

2. Organising : Once a manager has developed a work plan. the next phase of management is to organise the people and other resources necessary to carry out the plan. Organising may be referred to as the process of arranging and allocating work, authority and resources among as organisation's members so that they can achieve the organisation's goals. In fact, organising involves work distribution which is guided by considerations for such things as component activities-the members of  the  group, and the physical facilities available. These component activities we so grouped and assigned that minimum expenditure or maximum employee work satisfaction is attained.

Organising produces a structure of relationships in an organisation, and it is 'through these structured relationships that future plans are pursued. Organising, then, is that part of managing which involves establishing an intentional structure of roles for people to fill in organisation. It is intentional in the sense of making sure that all the tasks necessary to accomplish goals are assigned to people who can do them; best.

The purpose of an organisation structure is to help people create as environment for human performance. The structure must define the tasks to be done. The roles so established must also be designed in the light of  the abilities and motivations of the people available.

However. designing an effective organization structure is not an easy managerial task. Many problems are encountered in making structures fit situations, including both defining the kinds of jobs that must be don and finding the people to do them. All these fall under the definition o organizing, which is a fundamental function of management.

·         Staffing is related to organizing and it involves. Filling and keeping filled, the positions in the organization structure. This can be done by determining the positions to be filled, indentifying the requirement of manpower, filling the vacancies and training employees so that t assigned tasks are accomplished effectively and efficiently. The managerial functions of promotion, demotion, discharge, dismissal, transfer, etc. a also included with the broad task "staffing." Staffing is important because it ensures the placement of the right person at the right position and this, in fact, is closely related to "organizing" as a function of management 

3. Leading: Leading is an important job of the manager. It involves directing. Influencing and motivating employees to perform essential tasks. To lead these people to contribute to organization and group goals constitutes an essential function of the manager. In fact, the manager has to get on intimate terms with them if he wants to lead them successfully. The manager leads in an attempt to persuade others to join them in pursuit of the future that emerges from the planning and organizing steps. By establishing the proper atmosphere, managers help their employees do their best.

Efficient managers need to be effective leaders. Since leadership implies fellowship and people tend to follow those who offer a means of satisfying their own needs, hopes and aspirations it is understandable that leading involves motivation leadership styles and approaches and communication.

 * Co-ordination is also essential in leading. Most authors do not consider it a separate function of management." Rather they regard co-ordination as the essence of manager ship for achieving harmony among individual efforts towards accomplishing group targets.

 Individuals in any organization often interpret the some interests in mat ways. and then efforts toward mutual goals do not automatically mesh with the efforts of others. Thus it becomes the central task of the manager to reconcile differences in approach, timing, effort, or interest and to harmonies individual goals to contribute to organization goals.

4. Controlling : The final phase of the management process is m  m1ing. As the organization moves toward its goals, management must monitor its progress. It must make sure that events conform to plans. Controlling involves measuring performance against goals and plans and helping correct deviations from standards. As a matter of fact, controlling  facilities the accomplishment of plans. Although planning must precede controlling, plans are not self-achieving. They guide the manager in the use of resources to accomplish specific goals. Activities are evaluated to a m ine whether they conform to the plans.

 Through the controlling function, the manager keeps the organization on track. Increasingly. organizations are establishing new ways to enhance the  quality of the control function. One popular approach is Total Quality Management (TQM) which focuses management on the continuous improvement of all operations, functions, and, above all, processes of work. Meeting the customer's needs is a primary concern.  Control activities generally relate to the measurement of achievement. Some means of controlling, like the budget for expenses, inspection records, and the record of labor hours lost, arc generally familiar. Each measure also shows whether plans are working out. If deviations persist. correction is indicated. Whenever results are found to differ from planned, action  persons responsible are to be identified and necessary actions are to be taken to improve performance. Thus outcomes are controlled by .rolling what people do. Controlling is the last but not the least important function of management. Thus it is rightly said, "Planning without controlling is useless.”