Four Functions of Management

Assessing a Situation

The new chief executive officer (CEO) of your company is a strong believer in the four functions of management theory. In preparation for a management meeting, he has asked you to write a report that he can use to explain the theory to his management team. In the report, he would like to see some specific examples of firms that practiced these four functions. For a company with which you are familiar, use each of the four functions to do the following:

* Assess how the overall management team performed in terms of the four functions of management, which are as follows:

o Planning
o Organizing
o Leading
o Controlling

* Identify and explain the strong points of the managers.
* Identify and explain areas in which improvement is needed.

If you do not have any firsthand experiences, ask friends or colleagues for anecdotes or search the Web for specific, real-life examples.

Specifically regarding the controlling function of management, answer the following questions:

* How did most employees feel about the monitoring of activities that managers put in place to monitor employee performance and overall company performance?
* How well was the need for controls and monitoring explained to everyone before the controls were put in place?
* Did the controls have a meaningful impact on the overall department or company performance? Cite some specific examples.