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Career development What Are the 4 Basic Functions of Management?

What Are the 4 Basic Functions of

Management?
Indeed Editorial Team

Updated July 31, 2023

Top 8 Leadership Styles - Definitions & Examples | Indeed Career Tips

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Video: Top Leadership Styles - Definitions & Examples

Jenn, an Indeed Career Coach, explains the top leadership styles in
management and how to identify the one that's right for you and your
team.

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Regardless of the type of company, all managers perform the same four basic functions of
planning, organizing, leading and controlling. If you take on a managerial role, it may be
helpful to familiarize yourself with the fundamentals of management.

In this article, we look at the basic functions of management and their importance in
achieving organizational objectives.

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What are the four basic functions of

management?
There are four generally accepted functions of management: planning, organizing, leading
and controlling. These functions work together in the creation, execution and realization of
organizational goals. The four functions of management can be considered a process
where each function builds on the previous function. To be successful, management needs
to follow the four functions of management in the proper order.

Managers first need to develop a plan, then organize their resources and delegate
responsibilities to employees according to the plan, then lead others to efficiently carry out

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12/30/23, 8:14 AM What Are the 4 Basic Functions of Management? | Indeed.com

the plan, and finally evaluate the plan’s effectiveness as it is being executed and make any
necessary adjustments.

Planning

Organizing

Leading
Career Guide

Controlling

1. Planning
In the planning stage, managers establish organizational goals and create a course of
action to achieve them. During the planning phase, management makes strategic decisions
to set a direction for the organization. Managers can brainstorm different alternatives to
achieve the objective before choosing the best course of action. While planning, managers
typically conduct an in-depth analysis of the organization’s current state of affairs, taking
into consideration its vision and mission and evaluating what resources are available to
meet organizational objectives.

While planning, managers usually evaluate internal and external factors that may affect the
execution of the plan, such as economic growth, customers and competitors. They also
establish a realistic timeline for achieving the goal or goals based on the organization’s
available finances, personnel and resources. Managers may have to take additional steps,
such as seeking approval from other departments, executives or their board of directors
before proceeding with the plan.

There are several approaches to planning:

Strategic planning: This type of planning is often carried out by an organization’s top
management and usually creates goals for the entire organization. It analyzes threats to
the organization, evaluates the organization’s strengths and weaknesses and creates a
plan of how the organization can best compete in its environment. Strategic planning
usually has a long timeframe of three years or more.

Tactical planning: Tactical planning is the shorter-term planning of an objective that will
take a year or less to achieve. It is usually carried out by an organization’s middle
management. Tactical planning is usually aimed at a specific area or department of the
organization such as its facilities, production, finance, marketing or personnel.

Operational planning: Operational planning is the process of using tactical planning to

achieve strategic planning and goals. Operational planning creates a timeframe for
putting a portion of the strategic goal into practice operationally.

2. Organizing
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The purpose of organizing is to distribute the resources and delegate tasks to personnel to
achieve the goals established in the planning stage. Managers may need to work with other
departments of the organization, such as finance and human resources, to organize the
budget and staffing. During the organizing stage, managers strive to create a work
environment conducive to productivity. Managers typically take employees’ motivation
and aptitude into account to match employees with roles and tasks that best fit their
abilities.

When assigning team member roles, managers should explain and ensure that
employees understand their individual duties. To help employees feel engaged and
productive, managers should ensure that employees are assigned an appropriate amount
of work and an appropriate amount of time to complete their work.

Here are some examples of the organizing function:

If the company’s brand manager works part-time and the organization’s goal is to
launch a new advertising campaign for a product, the brand manager may not take on
the significant responsibility of managing the campaign besides their regular duties. The
company may hire an advertising agency to help with the promotion of the product.

If a company’s sales in a geographic area have grown exponentially, management may

plan to split the territory in two and need to divide the current team working in the
territory and hire additional staff members as needed.

3. Leading
Leading consists of motivating employees and influencing their behavior to achieve
organizational objectives. Leading focuses on managing people , such as individual
employees, teams and groups rather than tasks. Though managers may direct team
members by giving orders and directing to their team, managers who are successful
leaders usually connect with their employees by using interpersonal skills to encourage,
inspire and motivate team members to perform to the best of their abilities.

Managers can foster a positive working environment by identifying moments when

employees need encouragement or direction and using positive reinforcement to give
praise when employees have done their jobs well.

Managers usually incorporate different leadership styles and change their management
style to adapt to different situations. Examples of situational leadership styles include:

Directing: The manager leads by deciding with little input from the employee. This is an
effective leadership style for new employees who need a lot of initial direction and
training.

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Coaching: The manager is more receptive to input from employees. They may pitch their
ideas to employees to work cooperatively and build trust with team members. This style
of leadership is effective for individuals who need managerial support to further develop
their skills.

Supporting: The manager decides with team members but focuses more on building
relationships within the team. This style of leadership is effective for employees who
have fully developed skills but are sometimes inconsistent in their performance.

Delegating: The leader provides a minimum of guidance to employees and is more

concerned with the vision of the project than day-to-day operations. This style of
leadership is effective with employees able to work and perform tasks on their own with
little guidance. The leader can focus more on high-level goals than on tasks.

Related: 15 Leadership Qualities That Make a Great Leader

4. Controlling
Controlling is the process of evaluating the execution of the plan and making adjustments
to ensure that the organizational goal is achieved. During the controlling stage, managers
perform tasks such as training employees as necessary and managing deadlines. Managers
monitor employees and evaluate the quality of their work. They can conduct performance
appraisals and give employees feedback, providing positive remarks on what they are
doing well and suggestions for improvement. They may also offer pay raise incentives to
high-performing employees.

Managers may need to make adjustments such as:

Budget adjustments
Managers monitor the budget and resources to ensure that they are using the resources
available and not going over budget. For example, a manager may notice that she is going
over budget on a project but be unsure what is causing the project to go over budget. In
this situation, she will need to identify whether there is a general problem with
overspending or whether one department, in particular, is going over budget. Once the
manager identifies the source of the overspending, she must take action to curb overall
spending and make cuts as necessary to balance the budget.

Staffing adjustments
Managers may need to make challenging decisions such as whether to reassign an
employee who produces low-quality work to a different task or dismiss them from a
project. They may also need to add additional team members to meet an organizational
goal if they conclude that the team is understaffed. If this is the case, they may also need to
consult with organization executives to secure more funding.

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Frequently asked questions

Is decision-making a function of management?

Yes, decision-making is a function of management. Some people include decision-
making within the planning function, while others classify it as its own function.

Which management function is most essential to a business'

success?
All four management functions are equally important to a business' success. A manager
may spend more time on one function than the others depending on the current state of
a business, but all the functions work together to help a business conduct its operations
smoothly.

Which management function is most challenging for a manager

to conduct?
While the difficulty of conducting management functions is subjective, a manager may
experience challenges with the leading function. This is because it involves coordinating
teams and encouraging employees to complete their assigned tasks to the organization's
standards. The leading function may also be the most challenging because a manager
may aim to adapt their leadership style regularly to achieve desirable results.

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