21st Century Hrm Challenges

Identify and succinctly discuss the five general functions of management. Is there any overlap? Why or why not? Explain.

Any management team of a business would become successful if it is gained through proper decisions, accomplishments, missions and objectives. Success in a company requires effectiveness and efficiency. Managers who accomplish their goals and mission are considered to be effective. To solve problems in the company, managers must exercise these functions so that they can accomplish the mission and vision of the company. To run a highly successful organization one should consider the five functions of management. The most widely accepted are functions of management given by Koontz and O’Donnell i.e. Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing and Controlling as illustrated in the diagram below.

Fig1. Five Functions of Management

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1. Planning

It is the basic function of management. It deals with chalking out a future course of action and deciding in advance the most appropriate course of actions for achievement of pre-determined goals. According to Koontz and O’Donnell, “Planning is deciding in advance - what to do, when to do and how to do. It bridges the gap from where we are and where we want to go. It makes it possible for things to occur which would not otherwise happen”. Thus, planning is a systematic thinking about ways and means for accomplishment of pre-determined goals. It involves setting objectives and developing appropriate courses of action to achieve these objectives (Hubpages, 2012). Planning is necessary to ensure proper utilization of human and non-human resources.

Henri Fayol, a key figure in the turn-of-the-century Classical School of management theory, advises that creating a plan of action is the most difficult of the five functions and requires the active participation of the entire organization. Planning must be coordinated on different levels and with different time horizons (Fayol, 1949).

2. Organizing

According to Louis A. Allen, “Organizing is the process of identifying and grouping of the works to be performed, defining and delegating responsibility and authority and establishing relationships for the purpose of enabling people to work most efficiently” (Hubpages, 2012). It is the process of bringing together physical, financial and human resources and developing productive relationship amongst them for achievement of organizational goals. According to Henry Fayol, “To organize a business is to provide it with everything useful or its functioning i.e. raw material, tools, capital and personnel’s” (Fayol, 1949). In other words, one must determine and provide human and non-human resources