Question: This course is organized around the four basic functions of management: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. Your final project for each week in this course will require you to assess the functional performance of a manager (Weeks 1, 2, and 4), organization (Week 3), or team (Week 5) of your choosing in accordance with the prescribed principles of management taught in this class. You will be asked to defend your assessment with academically sound concepts and theories from your assigned reading. Academically credible information from other sound sources will also be encouraged.

In this first week, we learned about how management theory has changed over time. We also briefly examined the four functions of management in preparation for more in-depth study in the weeks to come. Finally, we began an in-depth look at the function of planning including the different types of plans, the planning process, and the importance of planning to effective management. Compose a 2- to 3-page, APA-formatted paper addressing the following:

Compare the application of each of the four functions of management in terms of how it might be different 25 years ago based on the evolution of management theory.

Select a manager and assess his or her planning strengths based on assigned reading concepts/theory. Research can also be supplemented from (but not solely based on) other information from academically credible resources.

Assess that same manager's planning weaknesses using the assigned reading concepts/theory. Research can also be supplemented from (but not solely based on) other information from academically credible resources.

Defend two or three recommendations for improving the manager's performance in the functional area of planning based on the assessment of both strengths and weaknesses and the use of academically credible sources.