Which of the following activities would be involved in the organizing function of management?

The activity of organization is that of making sure your organization is functioning properly. In order to do that, you need to know what is important, what it should look like, and where things go. In the case of our current company, we have a lot of data that needs to be organized. We have a lot of documents that we need to make sure are in the right place and that they’re easy to find. This is a very important aspect of the job of management.

The activity of organization is to make sure that your organization is operating efficiently. This is the job of your managers. In the case of our current company, we have a lot of data that needs to be organized. We have a lot of documents that we need to make sure are in the right place and that theyre easy to find. This is a very important aspect of the job of management.

For example, how many people in our company are out of work today? It’s a big question. If we were to manage our company for the next 12 months, we would have about five people out of ten of us. All of us. We’d have about three people in 10 months. If we were to manage our company for the next six months, we’d have about five people out of ten of us.

Of course, this is a very small sample size, so we really should include the whole population, not just the leaders. What I mean to say is that our job as manager is to make sure that our employees are well-organized. This is a big responsibility. If the employees are not well-organized, it’s not going to be that they are not able to perform in their jobs. It’s going to be that they are not able to be effective.

As with our job description, this is a big responsibility. The best way to organize a company, is to have a good system of rewards. Employees can’t be paid for what they do, but we can give them a good compensation package. This is because you can’t really assess whether or not they are performing well. If they are not, then they are not going to perform well. Which is why there needs to be a system of rewards.

The same principle applies to the management of management. The organization of management is basically the same as the organization of a company. You can’t really assess how effective they are. If they are not effective then they are ineffective.

You need to think about the way that you structure the organization of a company. Is it a system that has a lot of people working on it? Or is it a system that has a little bit of people working on it but no one knows what they’re doing? If it is the former, then you need to find a compensation package for them. If it is the latter, then you need to structure the organization.

Some companies even have a compensation package for their managers. It is important to structure your company so that everyone knows exactly how they will be paid, because not knowing what your compensation package is does not help you.

The second problem is that many of our “top-down” processes are more like those of the “bottom-up” processes of an organization. We can’t do that all the time.

Learning Outcomes

• Explain the primary functions of management.
• Differentiate between the planning, organizing, leading, and controlling functions of management.

We have defined management as a process to achieve organizational goals. A process is a set of activities that are ongoing and interrelated. Ongoing means that the activities are not done in a linear, step-by-step fashion where responsibility is passed from one activity to the next. Instead, the activities are continued as new activities are started. Interrelated means that the results of each activity influence the other activities and tasks. It is the responsibility of management to see that essential activities are done efficiently (in the best possible way) and effectively (doing the right thing).

The management process consists of four primary functions that managers must perform: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. It is important to realize that the management process is not always linear. It does not always start with planning and continue through each step until organizational goals are achieved because it is not possible to plan for every problem the organization will face. As the management process proceeds, changes and modifications are made when unforeseen events arise. Managers make sure the necessary changes are implemented and that the unity and integrity of the entire process is maintained.

The key functions in the management process are connected, but not always linear.

Planning

Planning means defining performance goals for the organization and determining what actions and resources are needed to achieve the goals. Through planning, management defines what the future of the organization should be and how to get there. Strategic plans are long-term and affect the entire organization. A strategic plan bridges the gap between what an organization is and what it will become. Tactical plans translate strategic plans into specific actions that need to be implemented by departments throughout the organization. The tactical plan defines what has to be done, who will do it, and the resources needed to do it.

For instance, recall the example used at the beginning of this module. It described how ThyssenKrupp AG decided to become an elevator manufacturing and servicing company because of increased competition from Chinese steel. The management of the company set a goal of deriving the majority of its revenue from elevator-related activities. To do this, the management team made plans to create partnerships or take over existing elevator companies. The team devised plans to develop new human resources and to acquire other material resources. The company also had to divest existing steel-related resources to raise capital for the new initiative. This example is a long-term strategic plan that will take years to complete and require many changes along the way. But it starts by defining a goal and a preliminary path to achieve it.

Organizing

Once plans are made, decisions must be made about how to best implement the plans. The organizing function involves deciding how the organization will be structured (by departments, matrix teams, job responsibilities, etc.). Organizing involves assigning authority and responsibility to various departments, allocating resources across the organization, and defining how the activities of groups and individuals will be coordinated.

In the case of ThyssenKrupp AG, the management had to determine how to support two very different sets of activities if it were to achieve its long-term goal. Management needed to continue steel production activities to provide continuity of funds as the emphasis gradually shifted to elevator production. It also had to develop new skills and resources to build the company’s elevator capabilities. A new organizational structure was needed that could support both business activities as one was downsized and the other built up.

Leading

Nearly everything that is accomplished in an organization is done by people. The best planning and organizing will not be effective if the people in the organization are not willing to support the plan. Leaders use knowledge, character, and charisma to generate enthusiasm and inspire effort to achieve goals. Managers must also lead by communicating goals throughout the organization, by building commitment to a common vision, by creating shared values and culture, and by encouraging high performance. Managers can use the power of reward and punishment to make people support plans and goals. Leaders inspire people to support plans, creating belief and commitment. Leadership and management skills are not the same, but they can and do appear in the most effective people.

It is very difficult to motivate people when plans involve radical change, particularly if they include downsizing and layoffs. Many people are naturally resistant to change. When the change means loss of jobs or status, people will be very resistant. At ThyssenKrupp, the labor unions vehemently opposed the shift from steel production to elevator manufacturing. Although the people involved in the new business functions were excited by the plans, people involved with steel production felt abandoned and demotivated. Management would have been wise to get union support for its vision of the company’s new future.

Controlling

There is a well-known military saying that says no battle plan survives contact with the enemy. This implies that planning is necessary for making preparations, but when it’s time to implement the plan, everything will not go as planned. Unexpected things will happen. Observing and responding to what actually happens is called controlling. Controlling is the process of monitoring activities, measuring performance, comparing results to objectives, and making modifications and corrections when needed. This is often described as a feedback loop, as shown in the illustration of a product design feedback loop.

Product design feedback loop

Controlling may be the most important of the four management functions. It provides the information that keeps the corporate goal on track. By controlling their organizations, managers keep informed of what is happening; what is working and what isn’t; and what needs to be continued, improved, or changed. ThyssenKrupp had little experience in elevator manufacturing when it was making plans. It was developing new products and processes and entering new markets. The management knew it could not anticipate all the difficulties it would encounter. Close monitoring as the plan progressed allowed the company to make changes and state-of-the-art innovations that have resulted in a very successful transition.

Watch the following video for an overview of the management process and a simple example of how the management functions work together.

Who Directs Each Function?

Although these functions have been introduced in a particular order, it should be apparent that the different activities happen at the same time in any one organization. The control function ensures that new plans must be created. Leaders often step up as needed when a crisis or unexpected bump demands immediate action. All managers perform all of these functions at different times, although a manager’s position or level in the organization will affect how much of his or her time is spent planning as opposed to leading or to controlling. We will look more closely at different types of managers in the next section.

Which of the following activities is related to the organizing function of the management process?

Which of the following best defines the organizing function of management?

Which of the following are the four basic functions of management?

What is the organizing management function quizlet?