FUNCTIONS OF MANAGEMENT

Management has been described as a social process involving responsibility for economical and effective planning & regulation of operation of an enterprise in the fulfillment of given purposes. It is a dynamic process consisting of various elements and activities. These activities are different from operative functions like marketing, finance, purchase etc. Rather these activities are common to each and every manger irrespective of his level or status.

Different experts have classified functions of management. According toGeorge & Jerry, “There are four fundamental functions of management i.e. planning, organizing, actuating and controlling”. According to Henry Fayol, “To manage is to forecast and plan, to organize, to command, & to control”. Whereas Luther Gullick has given a keyword ’POSDCORB’ where P stands for Planning, O for Organizing, S for Staffing, D for Directing, Co for Co-ordination, R for reporting & B for Budgeting. But the most widely accepted are functions of management given by KOONTZ and O’DONNEL i.e.Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing and Controlling.

For theoretical purposes, it may be convenient to separate the function of management but practically these functions are overlapping in nature i.e. they are highly inseparable. Each function blends into the other & each affects the performance of others.

Planning function of management

Planning means looking ahead and chalking out future courses of action to be followed. It is a preparatory step. It is a systematic activity which determines when, how and who is going to perform a specific job. Planning is a detailed programme regarding future courses of action. It is rightly said “Well plan is half done”. Therefore planning takes into consideration available & prospective human and physical resources of the organization so as to get effective co-ordination, contribution & perfect adjustment. It is the basic management function which includes formulation of one or more detailed plans to achieve optimum balance of needs or demands with the available resources.

According to Urwick, “Planning is a mental predisposition to do things in orderly way, to think before acting and to act in the light of facts rather than guesses”. Planning is deciding best alternative among others to perform different managerial functions in order to achieve predetermined goals.

According to Koontz & O’Donell, “Planning is deciding in advance what to do, how to do and who is to do it. Planning bridges the gap between where we are to, where we want to go. It makes possible things to occur which would not otherwise occur”.

Steps in Planning Function

Planning function of management involves following steps:-

1. Establishment of objectives

• a. Planning requires a systematic approach.
• b. Planning starts with the setting of goals and objectives to be achieved.
• c. Objectives provide a rationale for undertaking various activities as well as indicate direction of efforts.
• d. Moreover objectives focus the attention of managers on the end results to be achieved.
• e. As a matter of fact, objectives provide nucleus to the planning process. Therefore, objectives should be stated in a clear, precise and unambiguous language. Otherwise the activities undertaken are bound to be ineffective.
• f. As far as possible, objectives should be stated in quantitative terms. For example, Number of men working, wages given, units produced, etc. But such an objective cannot be stated in quantitative terms like performance of quality control manager, effectiveness of personnel manager.
• g. Such goals should be specified in qualitative terms.
• h. Hence objectives should be practical, acceptable, workable and achievable.

2. Establishment of Planning Premises

• a. Planning premises are the assumptions about the lively shape of events in future.
• b. They serve as a basis of planning.
• c. Establishment of planning premises is concerned with determining where one tends to deviate from the actual plans and causes of such deviations.
• d. It is to find out what obstacles are there in the way of business during the course of operations.
• e. Establishment of planning premises is concerned to take such steps that avoids these obstacles to a great extent.
• f. Planning premises may be internal or external. Internal includes capital investment policy, management labour relations, philosophy of management, etc. Whereas external includes socio- economic, political and economical changes.
• g. Internal premises are controllable whereas external are non- controllable.

3. Choice of alternative course of action

• a. When forecast are available and premises are established, a number of alternative course of actions have to be considered.
• b. For this purpose, each and every alternative will be evaluated by weighing its pros and cons in the light of resources available and requirements of the organization.
• c. The merits, demerits as well as the consequences of each alternative must be examined before the choice is being made.
• d. After objective and scientific evaluation, the best alternative is chosen.
• e. The planners should take help of various quantitative techniques to judge the stability of an alternative.

4. Formulation of derivative plans

• a. Derivative plans are the sub plans or secondary plans which help in the achievement of main plan.
• b. Secondary plans will flow from the basic plan. These are meant to support and expediate the achievement of basic plans.
• c. These detail plans include policies, procedures, rules, programmes, budgets, schedules, etc. For example, if profit maximization is the main aim of the enterprise, derivative plans will include sales maximization, production maximization, and cost minimization.
• d. Derivative plans indicate time schedule and sequence of accomplishing various tasks.

5. Securing Co-operation

• a. After the plans have been determined, it is necessary rather advisable to take subordinates or those who have to implement these plans into confidence.
• b. The purposes behind taking them into confidence are :-
• a. Subordinates may feel motivated since they are involved in decision making process.
• b. The organization may be able to get valuable suggestions and improvement in formulation as well as implementation of plans.
• c. Also the employees will be more interested in the execution of these plans.

6. Follow up/Appraisal of plans

• a. After choosing a particular course of action, it is put into action.
• b. After the selected plan is implemented, it is important to appraise its effectiveness.
• c. This is done on the basis of feedback or information received from departments or persons concerned.
• d. This enables the management to correct deviations or modify the plan.
• e. This step establishes a link between planning and controlling function.
• f. The follow up must go side by side the implementation of plans so that in the light of observations made, future plans can be made more realistic.

Organizing Function of Management

Organizing is the function of management which follows planning. It is a function in which the synchronization and combination of human, physical and financial resources takes place. All the three resources are important to get results. Therefore, organizational function helps in achievement of results which in fact is important for the functioning of a concern. According toChester Barnard, “Organizing is a function by which the concern is able to define the role positions, the jobs related and the co- ordination between authority and responsibility. Hence, a manager always has to organize in order to get results.

A manager performs organizing function with the help of following steps:-

1. Identification of activities - All the activities which have to be performed in a concern have to be identified first. For example, preparation of accounts, making sales, record keeping, quality control, inventory control, etc. All these activities have to be grouped and classified into units.

2. Departmentally organizing the activities - In this step, the manager tries to combine and group similar and related activities into units or departments. This organization of dividing the whole concern into independent units and departments is called departmentation.

3. Classifying the authority - Once the departments are made, the manager likes to classify the powers and its extent to the managers. This activity of giving a rank in order to the managerial positions is called hierarchy. The top management is into formulation of policies, the middle level management into departmental supervision and lower level management into supervision of foremen. The clarification of authority help in bringing efficiency in the running of a concern. This helps in achieving efficiency in the running of a concern. This helps in avoiding wastage of time, money, effort, in avoidance of duplication or overlapping of efforts and this helps in bringing smoothness in a concern’s working.

4. Co-ordination between authority and responsibility - Relationships are established among various groups to enable smooth interaction toward the achievment of the organizational goal. Each individual is made aware of his authority and he/she knows whom they have to take orders from and to whom they are accountable and to whom they have to report. A clear organizational structure is drawn and all the employees are made aware of it.

Importance of Organizing Function

• 1. Specialization - Organizational structure is a network of relationships in which the work is divided into units and departments. This division of work is helping in bringing specialization in various activities of concern.
• 2. Well defined jobs - Organizational structure helps in putting right men on right job which can be done by selecting people for various departments according to their qualifications, skill and experience. This is helping in defining the jobs properly which clarifies the role of every person.
• 3. Clarifies authority - Organizational structure helps in clarifying the role positions to every manager (status quo). This can be done by clarifying the powers to every manager and the way he has to exercise those powers should be clarified so that misuse of powers do not take place. Well defined jobs and responsibilities attached helps in bringing efficiency into managers working. This helps in increasing productivity.
• 4. Co-ordination - Organization is a means of creating co- ordination among different departments of the enterprise. It creates clear cut relationships among positions and ensure mutual co- operation among individuals. Harmony of work is brought by higher level managers exercising their authority over interconnected activities of lower level manager.
• Authority responsibility relationships can be fruitful only when there is a formal relationship between the two. For smooth running of an organization, the co- ordination between authority- responsibility is very important. There should be co- ordination between different relationships. Clarity should be made for having an ultimate responsibility attached to every authority. There is a saying, “Authority without responsibility leads to ineffective behaviour and responsibility without authority makes person ineffective.” Therefore, co- ordination of authority- responsibility is very important.
• 5. Effective administration - The organization structure is helpful in defining the jobs positions. The roles to be performed by different managers are clarified. Specialization is achieved through division of work. This all leads to efficient and effective administration.
• 6. Growth and diversification - A company’s growth is totally dependant on how efficiently and smoothly a concern works. Efficiency can be brought about by clarifying the role positions to the managers, co-ordination between authority and responsibility and concentrating on specialization. In addition to this, a company can diversify if its potential grow. This is possible only when the organization structure is well- defined. This is possible through a set of formal structure.
• 7. Sense of security - Organizational structure clarifies the job positions. The roles assigned to every manager is clear. Co- ordination is possible. Therefore, clarity of powers helps automatically in increasing mental satisfaction and thereby a sense of security in a concern. This is very important for job- satisfaction.
• 8. Scope for new changes - Where the roles and activities to be performed are clear and every person gets independence in his working, this provides enough space to a manager to develop his talents and flourish his knowledge. A manager gets ready for taking independent decisions which can be a road or path to adoption of new techniques of production. This scope for bringing new changes into the running of an enterprise is possible only through a set of organizational structure.

Classification of Organizations

Organizations are basically clasified on the basis of relationships. There are two types of organizations formed on the basis of relationships in an organization

1. Formal Organization - This is one which refers to a structure of well defined jobs each bearing a measure of authority and responsibility. It is a conscious determination by which people accomplish goals by adhering to the norms laid down by the structure. This kind of organization is an arbitrary set up in which each person is responsible for his performance. Formal organization has a formal set up to achieve pre- determined goals.
2. Informal Organization - It refers to a network of personal and social relationships which spontaneously originates within the formal set up. Informal organizations develop relationships which are built on likes, dislikes, feelings and emotions. Therefore, the network of social groups based on friendships can be called as informal organizations. There is no conscious effort made to have informal organization. It emerges from the formal organization and it is not  based on any rules and regulations as in case of formal organization.

Relationship between formal and informal organizations

For a concerns working both formal and informal organization are important. Formal organization originates from the set organizational structure and informal organization originates from formal organization. For an efficient organization, both formal and informal organizations are required. They are the two phase of a same concern. Formal organization can work independently. But informal organization depends totally upon the formal organization. Formal and informal organization helps in bringing efficient working organization and smoothness in a concern. Within the formal organization, the members undertake the assigned duties in co- operation with each other. They interact and communicate amongst themselves. Therefore, both formal and informal organizations are important. When several people work together for achievement of organizational goals, social tie ups tends to built and therefore informal organization helps to secure co-operation by which goals can be achieved smooth. Therefore, we can say that informal organization emerges from formal organization.

Line and Staff Organization

Line and staff organization is a modification of line organization and it is more complex than line organization. According to this administrative organization, specialized and supportive activities are attached to the line of command by appointing staff supervisors and staff specialists who are attached to the line authority. The power of command always remains with the line executives and staff supervisors guide, advice and council the line executives. Personal Secretary to the Managing Director is a staff official.

                                               

MANAGING DIRECTOR
↓	↓	↓
Production Manager	Marketing Manager	Finance Manager
↓	↓	↓
Plant Supervisor	Market Supervisor	Chief Assisstant
↓	↓	↓
Foreman	Salesman	Accountant

Features of Line and Staff Organization

1. There are two types of staff :

• a. Staff Assistants- P.A. to Managing Director, Secretary to Marketing Manager.
• b. Staff Supervisor- Operation Control Manager, Quality Controller, PRO

2. Line and Staff Organization is a compromise of line organization. It is more complex than line concern.

3. Division of work and specialization takes place in line and staff organization.

4. The whole organization is divided into different functional areas to which staff specialists are attached.

5. Efficiency can be achieved through the features of specialization.

6. There are two lines of authority which flow at one time in a concern :

a. Line Authority

b. Staff Authority

7. Power of command remains with the line executive and staff serves only as counselors..

Delegation of Authority

A manager alone cannot perform all the tasks assigned to him. In order to meet the targets, the manager should delegate authority. Delegation of Authority means division of authority and powers downwards to the subordinate. Delegation is about entrusting someone else to do parts of your job. Delegation of authority can be defined as subdivision and sub-allocation of powers to the subordinates in order to achieve effective results.

Elements of Delegation

• 1. Authority - in context of a business organization, authority can be defined as the power and right of a person to use and allocate the resources efficiently, to take decisions and to give orders so as to achieve the organizational objectives. Authority must be well- defined. All people who have the authority should know what is the scope of their authority is and they shouldn’t misutilize it. Authority is the right to give commands, orders and get the things done. The top level management has greatest authority. Authority always flows from top to bottom. It explains how a superior gets work done from his subordinate by clearly explaining what is expected of him and how he should go about it. Authority should be accompanied with an equal amount of responsibility. Delegating the authority to someone else doesn’t imply escaping from accountability. Accountability still rest with the person having the utmost authority
• 2. Responsibility - is the duty of the person to complete the task assigned to him. A person who is given the responsibility should ensure that he accomplishes the tasks assigned to him. If the tasks for which he was held responsible are not completed, then he should not give explanations or excuses. Responsibility without adequate authority leads to discontent and dissatisfaction among the person. Responsibility flows from bottom to top. The middle level and lower level management holds more responsibility. The person held responsible for a job is answerable for it. If he performs the tasks assigned as expected, he is bound for praises. While if he doesn’t accomplish tasks assigned as expected, then also he is answerable for that.
• 3. Accountability - means giving explanations for any variance in the actual performance from the expectations set. Accountability can not be delegated. For example, if ’A’ is given a task with sufficient authority, and ’A’ delegates this task to B and asks him to ensure that task is done well, responsibility rest with ’B’, but accountability still rest with ’A’. The top level management is most accountable. Being accountable means being innovative as the person will think beyond his scope of job. Accountability, in short, means being answerable for the end result. Accountability can’t be escaped. It arises from responsibility.

Centralization and Decentralization

Centralization is said to be a process where the concentration of decision making is in a few hands. All the important decision and actions at the lower level, all subjects and actions at the lower level are subject to the approval of top management. According to Allen, “Centralization” is the systematic and consistent reservation of authority at central points in the organization. The implication of centralization can be :-

1. Reservation of decision making power at top level.

2. Reservation of operating authority with the middle level managers.

3. Reservation of operation at lower level at the directions of the top level.

Under centralization, the important and key decisions are taken by the top management and the other levels are into implementations as per the directions of top level. For example, in a business concern, the father & son being the owners decide about the important matters and all the rest of functions

like product, finance, marketing, personnel, are carried out by the department heads and they have to act as per instruction and orders of the two people. Therefore in this case, decision making power remain in the hands of father & son.

On the other hand, Decentralization is a systematic delegation of authority at all levels of management and in all of the organization. In a decentralization concern, authority in retained by the top management for taking major decisions and framing policies concerning the whole concern. Rest of the authority may be delegated to the middle level and lower level of management.

The degree of centralization and decentralization will depend upon the amount of authority delegated to the lowest level. According to Allen, “Decentralization refers to the systematic effort to delegate to the lowest level of authority except that which can be controlled and exercised at central points.

Decentralization is not the same as delegation. In fact, decentralization is all extension of delegation. Decentralization pattern is wider is scope and the authorities are diffused to the lowest most level of management. Delegation of authority is a complete process and takes place from one person to another. While decentralization is complete only when fullest possible delegation has taken place. For example, the general manager of a company is responsible for receiving the leave application for the whole of the concern. The general manager delegates this work to the personnel manager who is now responsible for receiving the leave applicants. In this situation delegation of authority has taken place. On the other hand, on the request of the personnel manager, if the general manager delegates this power to all the departmental heads at all level, in this situation decentralization has taken place. There is a saying that “Everything that increasing the role of subordinates is decentralization and that decreases the role is centralization”. Decentralization is wider in scope and the subordinate’s responsibility increase in this case. On the other hand, in delegation the managers remain answerable even for the acts of subordinates to their superiors.

Implications of Decentralization

1. There is less burden on the Chief Executive as in the case of centralization.

2. In decentralization, the subordinates get a chance to decide and act independently which develops skills and capabilities. This way the organization is able to process reserve of talents in it.

3. In decentralization, diversification and horizontal can be easily implanted.

4. In decentralization, concern diversification of activities can place effectively since there is more scope for creating new departments. Therefore, diversification growth is of a degree.

5. In decentralization structure, operations can be coordinated at divisional level which is not possible in the centralization set up.

6. In the case of decentralization structure, there is greater motivation and morale of the employees since they get more independence to act and decide.

7. In a decentralization structure, co-ordination to some extent is difficult to maintain as there are lot many department divisions and authority is delegated to maximum possible extent, i.e., to the bottom most level delegation reaches. Centralization and decentralization are the categories by which the pattern of authority relationships became clear. The degree of centralization and de-centralization can be affected by many factors like nature of operation, volume of profits, number of departments, size of a concern, etc. The larger the size of a concern, a decentralization set up is suitable in it.

Staffing Function of Management

The managerial function of staffing involves manning the organization structure through proper and effective selection, appraisal and development of the personnels to fill the roles assigned to the employers/workforce.

According to Theo Haimann, “Staffing pertains to recruitment, selection, development and compensation of subordinates.”

Nature of Staffing Function

• 1. Staffing is an important managerial function- Staffing function is the most important mangerial act along with planning, organizing, directing and controlling. The operations of these four functions depend upon the manpower which is available through staffing function.
• 2. Staffing is a pervasive activity- As staffing function is carried out by all mangers and in all types of concerns where business activities are carried out.
• 3. Staffing is a continuous activity- This is because staffing function continues throughout the life of an organization due to the transfers and promotions that take place.
• 4. The basis of staffing function is efficient management of personnels- Human resources can be efficiently managed by a system or proper procedure, that is, recruitment, selection, placement, training and development, providing remuneration, etc.
• 5. Staffing helps in placing right men at the right job. It can be done effectively through proper recruitment procedures and then finally selecting the most suitable candidate as per the job requirements.
• 6. Staffing is performed by all managers depending upon the nature of business, size of the company, qualifications and skills of managers,etc. In small companies, the top management generally performs this function. In medium and small scale enterprise, it is performed especially by the personnel department of that concern.

Staffing Process - Steps involved in Staffing:

1. Manpower requirements- The very first step in staffing is to plan the manpower inventory required by a concern in order to match them with the job requirements and demands. Therefore, it involves forecasting and determining the future manpower needs of the concern.

2. Recruitment- Once the requirements are notified, the concern invites and solicits applications according to the invitations made to the desirable candidates.

3. Selection- This is the screening step of staffing in which the solicited applications are screened out and suitable candidates are appointed as per the requirements.

4. Orientation and Placement- Once screening takes place, the appointed candidates are made familiar to the work units and work environment through the orientation programmes. placement takes place by putting right man on the right job.

5. Training and Development- Training is a part of incentives given to the workers in order to develop and grow them within the concern. Training is generally given according to the nature of activities and scope of expansion in it. Along with it, the workers are developed by providing them extra benefits of indepth knowledge of their functional areas. Development also includes giving them key and important jobsas a test or examination in order to analyse their performances.

6. Remuneration- It is a kind of compensation provided monetarily to the employees for their work performances. This is given according to the nature of job- skilled or unskilled, physical or mental, etc. Remuneration forms an important monetary incentive for the employees.

7. Performance Evaluation- In order to keep a track or record of the behaviour, attitudes as well as opinions of the workers towards their jobs. For this regular assessment is done to evaluate and supervise different work units in a concern. It is basically concerning to know the development cycle and growth patterns of the employeesin a concern.

8. Promotion and transfer- Promotion is said to be a non- monetary incentive in which the worker is shifted from a higher job demanding bigger responsibilities as well as shifting the workers and transferring them to different work units and branches of the same organization.

Manpower Planning

Manpower Planning which is also called as Human Resource Planning consists of putting right number of people, right kind of people at the right place, right time, doing the right things for which they are suited for the achievement of goals of the organization. Human Resource Planning has got an important place in the arena of industrialization. Human Resource Planning has to be a systems approach and is carried out in a set procedure. The procedure is as follows:

Steps in Manpower Planning

1. Analysing the current manpower inventory- Before a manager makes forecast of future manpower, the current manpower status has to be analysed. For this the following things have to be noted-

• Type of organization

• Number of departments

• Number and quantity of such departments

• Employees in these work units

Once these factors are registered by a manager, he goes for the future forecasting.

2. Making future manpower forecasts- Once the factors affecting the future manpower forecasts are known, planning can be done for the future manpower requirements in several work units.

The Manpower forecasting techniques commonly employed by the organizations are as follows:

a. Expert Forecasts: This includes informal decisions, formal expert surveys and Delphi technique.

b. Trend Analysis: Manpower needs can be projected through extrapolation (projecting past trends), indexation (using base year as basis), and statistical analysis (central tendency measure).

c. Work Load Analysis: It is dependent upon the nature of work load in a department, in a branch or in a division.

d. Work Force Analysis: Whenever production and time period has to be analysed, due allowances have to be made for getting net manpower requirements.

e. Other methods: Several Mathematical models, with the aid of computers are used to forecast manpower needs, like budget and planning analysis, regression, new venture analysis.

3. Developing employment programmes- Once the current inventory is compared with future forecasts, the employment programmes can be framed and developed accordingly, which will include recruitment, selection procedures and placement plans.

4. Design training programmes- These will be based upon extent of diversification, expansion plans, development programmes,etc. Training programmes depend upon the extent of improvement in technology and advancement to take place. It is also done to improve upon the skills, capabilities, knowledge of the workers.

Importance of Manpower Planning

1. Key to managerial functions- The four managerial functions, i.e., planning, organizing, directing and controlling are based upon the manpower. Human resources help in the implementation of all these managerial activities. Therefore, staffing becomes a key to all managerial functions.

2. Efficient utilization- Efficient management of personnels becomes an important function in the industrialization world of today. Seting of large scale enterprises require management of large scale manpower. It can be effectively done through staffing function.

3. Motivation- Staffing function not only includes putting right men on right job, but it also comprises of motivational programmes, i.e., incentive plans to be framed for further participation and employment of employees in a concern. Therefore, all types of incentive plans becomes an integral part of staffing function.

4. Better human relations- A concern can stabilize itself if human relations develop and are strong. Human relations become strong trough effective control, clear communication, effective supervision and leadership in a concern. Staffing function also looks after training and development of the work force which leads to co-operation and better human relations.

5. Higher productivity- Productivity level increases when resources are utilized in best possible manner. higher productivity is a result of minimum wastage of time, money, efforts and energies. This is possible through the staffing and it's related activities ( Performance appraisal, training and development, remuneration)

Types of Recruitment

Recruitment is of two types...

1. Internal Recruitment - is a recruitment which takes place within the concern or organization. Internal sources of recruitment are readily available to an organization. Internal sources are primarily three - Transfers, promotions and Re-employment of ex-employees. Re-employment of ex-employees is one of the internal sources of recruitment in which employees can be invited and appointed to fill vacancies in the concern. There are situations when ex-employees provide unsolicited applications also.

Internal recruitment may lead to increase in employee’s productivity as their motivation level increases. It also saves time, money and efforts. But a drawback of internal recruitment is that it refrains the organization from new blood. Also, not all the manpower requirements can be met through internal recruitment. Hiring from outside has to be done.

Internal sources are primarily 

• a. Transfers
• b. Promotions (through Internal Job Postings) and
• c. Re-employment of ex-employees - Re-employment of ex-employees is one of the internal sources of recruitment in which employees can be invited and appointed to fill vacancies in the concern. There are situations when ex-employees provide unsolicited applications also.

2. External Recruitment - External sources of recruitment have to be solicited from outside the organization. External sources are external to a concern. But it involves lot of time and money. The external sources of recruitment include - Employment at factory gate, advertisements, employment exchanges, employment agencies, educational institutes, labour contractors, recommendations etc.

• a. Employment at Factory Level - This a source of external recruitment in which the applications for vacancies are presented on bulletin boards outside the Factory or at the Gate. This kind of recruitment is applicable generally where factory workers are to be appointed. There are people who keep on soliciting jobs from one place to another. These applicants are called as unsolicited applicants. These types of workers apply on their own for their job. For this kind of recruitment workers have a tendency to shift from one factory to another and therefore they are called as “badli” workers.
• b. Advertisement - It is an external source which has got an important place in recruitment procedure. The biggest advantage of advertisement is that it covers a wide area of market and scattered applicants can get information from advertisements. Medium used is Newspapers and Television.
• c. Employment Exchanges - There are certain Employment exchanges which are run by government. Most of the government undertakings and concerns employ people through such exchanges. Now-a-days recruitment in government agencies has become compulsory through employment exchange.
• d. Employment Agencies - There are certain professional organizations which look towards recruitment and employment of people, i.e. these private agencies run by private individuals supply required manpower to needy concerns.
• e. Educational Institutions - There are certain professional Institutions which serves as an external source for recruiting fresh graduates from these institutes. This kind of recruitment done through such educational institutions, is called as Campus Recruitment. They have special recruitment cells which helps in providing jobs to fresh candidates.
• f. Recommendations - There are certain people who have experience in a particular area. They enjoy goodwill and a stand in the company. There are certain vacancies which are filled by recommendations of such people. The biggest drawback of this source is that the company has to rely totally on such people which can later on prove to be inefficient.
• g. Labour Contractors - These are the specialist people who supply manpower to the Factory or Manufacturing plants. Through these contractors, workers are appointed on contract basis, i.e. for a particular time period. Under conditions when these contractors leave the organization, such people who are appointed have to also leave the concern.

Directing Function of Management

DIRECTING is said to be a process in which the managers instruct, guide and oversee the performance of the workers to achieve predetermined goals. Directing is said to be the heart of management process. Planning, organizing, staffing have got no importance if direction function does not take place.

Directing initiates action and it is from here actual work starts. Direction is said to be consisting of human factors. In simple words, it can be described as providing guidance to workers is doing work. In field of management, direction is said to be all those activities which are designed to encourage the subordinates to work effectively and efficiently. According to Human, “Directing consists of process or technique by which instruction can be issued and operations can be carried out as originally planned” Therefore, Directing is the function of guiding, inspiring, overseeing and instructing people towards accomplishment of organizational goals.

Direction has got following characteristics:

1. Pervasive Function -
Directing is required at all levels of organization. Every manager provides guidance and inspiration to his subordinates.
2. Continuous Activity - Direction is a continuous activity as it continuous throughout the life of organization.
3. Human Factor - Directing function is related to subordinates and therefore it is related to human factor. Since human factor is complex and behaviour is unpredictable, direction function becomes important.
4. Creative Activity - Direction function helps in converting plans into performance. Without this function, people become inactive and physical resources are meaningless.
5. Executive Function - Direction function is carried out by all managers and executives at all levels throughout the working of an enterprise, a subordinate receives instructions from his superior only.
6. Delegate Function  - Direction is supposed to be a function dealing with human beings. Human behaviour is unpredictable by nature and conditioning the people’s behaviour towards the goals of the enterprise is what the executive does in this function. Therefore, it is termed as having delicacy in it to tackle human behaviour.

Importance of Directing Function  :

Directing or Direction function is said to be the heart of management of process and therefore, is the central point around which accomplishment of goals take place. A few philosophers call Direction as “Life spark of an enterprise”. It is also called as on actuating function of management because it is through direction that the operation of an enterprise actually starts. Being the central character of enterprise, it provides many benefits to a concern which are as follows:-

It Initiates Actions - Directions is the function which is the starting point of the work performance of subordinates. It is from this function the action takes place, subordinates understand their jobs and do according to the instructions laid. Whatever are plans laid, can be implemented only once the actual work starts. It is there that direction becomes beneficial. 

It Ingrates Efforts - Through direction, the superiors are able to guide, inspire and instruct the subordinates to work. For this, efforts of every individual towards accomplishment of goals are required. It is through direction the efforts of every department can be related and integrated with others. This can be done through persuasive leadership and effective communication. Integration of efforts bring effectiveness and stability in a concern.

Means of Motivation - Direction function helps in achievement of goals. A manager makes use of the element of motivation here to improve the performances of subordinates. This can be done by providing incentives or compensation, whether monetary or non - monetary, which serves as a “Morale booster” to the subordinates Motivation is also helpful for the subordinates to give the best of their abilities which ultimately helps in growth.

It Provides Stability - Stability and balance in concern becomes very important for long term sun survival in the market. This can be brought upon by the managers with the help of four tools or elements of direction function - judicious blend of persuasive leadership, effective communication, strict supervision and efficient motivation. Stability is very important since that is an index of growth of an enterprise. Therefore a manager can use of all the four traits in him so that performance standards can be maintained.

Coping up with the changes - It is a human behaviour that human beings show resistance to change. Adaptability with changing environment helps in sustaining planned growth and becoming a market leader. It is directing function which is of use to meet with changes in environment, both internal as external. Effective communication helps in coping up with the changes. It is the role of manager here to communicate the nature and contents of changes very clearly to the subordinates. This helps in clarifications, easy adaptions and smooth running of an enterprise. For example, if a concern shifts from handlooms to powerlooms, an important change in technique of production takes place. The resulting factors are less of manpower and more of machinery. This can be resisted by the subordinates. The manager here can explain that the change was in the benefit of the subordinates. Through more mechanization, production increases and thereby the profits. Indirectly, the subordinates are benefited out of that in form of higher remuneration.

Efficient Utilization of Resources - Direction finance helps in clarifying the role of every subordinate towards his work. The resources can be utilized properly only when less of wastages, duplication of efforts, overlapping of performances, etc. doesn’t take place. Through direction, the role of subordinates become clear as manager makes use of his supervisory, the guidance, the instructions and motivation skill to inspire the subordinates. This helps in maximum possible utilization of resources of men, machine, materials and money which helps in reducing costs and increasing profits.

From the above discussion, one can justify that direction, surely, is the heart of management process. Heart plays an important role in a human body as it serves the function pumping blood to all parts of body which makes the parts function. In the similar manner, direction helps the subordinates to perform in best of their abilities and that too in a healthy environment. The manager makes use of the four elements of direction here so that work can be accomplished in a proper and right manner. According to Earnest Dale, “Directing is what has to be done and in what manner through dictating the procedures and policies for accomplishing performance standards”. Therefore, it is rightly said that direction is essence of management process.

Role of a Supervisor

Supervisor has got an important role to play in factory management. Supervision means overseeing the subordinates at work at the factory level. The supervisor is a part of the management team and he holds the designation of first line managers. He is a person who has to perform many functions which helps in achieving productivity. Therefore, supervisor can be called as the only manager who has an important role at execution level. There are certain philosophers who call supervisors as workers. There are yet some more philosophers who call them as managers. But actually he should be called as a manager or operative manager. His primary job is to manage the workers at operative level of management.

A supervisor plays multiplinary role at one time like -

As a Planner - A supervisor has to plan the daily work schedules in the factory. At the same time he has to divide the work to various workers according to their abilities.

As a Manager - It is righty said that a supervisor is a part of the management team of an enterprise. He is, in fact, an operative manager.

As a Guide and Leader - A factory supervisor leads the workers by guiding them the way of perform their daily tasks. In fact, he plays a role of an inspirer by telling them.

As a Mediator - A Supervisor is called a linking pin between management and workers. He is the spokesperson of management as well as worker.

As an Inspector - An important role of supervisor is to enforce discipline in the factory. For this, the work includes checking progress of work against the time schedule, recording the work performances at regular intervals and reporting the deviations if any from those. He can also frame rules and regulations which have to be followed by workers during their work.

As a Counselor - A supervisor plays the role of a counselor to the worker’s problem. He has to perform this role in order to build good relations and co-operation from workers. This can be done not only by listening to the grievances but also handling the grievances and satisfying the workers.

Therefore, we can say that effective and efficient supervision helps in serving better work performance, building good human relations, creating a congenial and co-operative environment. This all helps in increasing productivity.

Controlling Function of Management

What is Controlling?

Controlling consists of verifying whether everything occurs in confirmities with the plans adopted, instructions issued and principles established. Controlling ensures that there is effective and efficient utilization of organizational resources so as to achieve the planned goals. Controlling measures the deviation of actual performance from the standard performance, discovers the causes of such deviations and helps in taking corrective actions

According to Brech, “Controlling is a systematic exercise which is called as a process of checking actual performance against the standards or plans with a view to ensure adequate progress and also recording such experience as is gained as a contribution to possible future needs.”

According to Donnell, “Just as a navigator continually takes reading to ensure whether he is relative to a planned action, so should a business manager continually take reading to assure himself that his enterprise is on right course.”

Controlling has got two basic purposes

1. It facilitates co-ordination
2. It helps in planning

Features of Controlling Function

Following are the characteristics of controlling function of management-

Controlling is an end function- A function which comes once the performances are made in confirmities with plans.

Controlling is a pervasive function- which means it is performed by managers at all levels and in all type of concerns.

Controlling is forward looking- because effective control is not possible without past being controlled. Controlling always look to future so that follow-up can be made whenever required.

Controlling is a dynamic process- since controlling requires taking reviewal methods, changes have to be made wherever possible.

Controlling is related with planning- Planning and Controlling are two inseperable functions of management. Without planning, controlling is a meaningless exercise and without controlling, planning is useless. Planning presupposes controlling and controlling succeeds planning.

Process of Controlling:

Controlling as a management function involves following steps:

Establishment of standards- Standards are the plans or the targets which have to be achieved in the course of business function. They can also be called as the criterions for judging the performance. Standards generally are classified into two-

• Measurable or tangible - Those standards which can be measured and expressed are called as measurable standards. They can be in form of cost, output, expenditure, time, profit, etc.
• Non-measurable or intangible- There are standards which cannot be measured monetarily. For example- performance of a manager, deviation of workers, their attitudes towards a concern. These are called as intangible standards.Controlling becomes easy through establishment of these standards because controlling is exercised on the basis of these standards.

Measurement of performance- The second major step in controlling is to measure the performance. Finding out deviations becomes easy through measuring the actual performance. Performance levels are sometimes easy to measure and sometimes difficult. Measurement of tangible standards is easy as it can be expressed in units, cost, money terms, etc. Quantitative measurement becomes difficult when performance of manager has to be measured. Performance of a manager cannot be measured in quantities. It can be measured only by-

• Attitude of the workers,
• Their morale to work,
• The development in the attitudes regarding the physical environment, andTheir communication with the superiors.

It is also sometimes done through various reports like weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly reports.

Comparison of actual and standard performance- Comparison of actual performance with the planned targets is very important. Deviation can be defined as the gap between actual performance and the planned targets. The manager has to find out two things here- extent of deviation and cause of deviation. Extent of deviation means that the manager has to find out whether the deviation is positive or negative or whether the actual performance is in conformity with the planned performance. The managers have to exercise control by exception. He has to find out those deviations which are critical and important for business. Minor deviations have to be ignored. Major deviations like replacement of machinery, appointment of workers, quality of raw material, rate of profits, etc. should be looked upon consciously. Therefore it is said, “ If a manager controls everything, he ends up controlling nothing.” For example, if stationery charges increase by a minor 5 to 10%, it can be called as a minor deviation. On the other hand, if monthly production decreases continuously, it is called as major deviation.

Once the deviation is identified, a manager has to think about various cause which has led to deviation. 

Taking remedial actions- Once the causes and extent of deviations are known, the manager has to detect those errors and take remedial measures for it. There are two alternatives here-

Taking corrective measures for deviations which have occurred; and

After taking the corrective measures, if the actual performance is not in conformity with plans, the manager can revise the targets. It is here the controlling process comes to an end. Follow up is an important step because it is only through taking corrective measures, a manager can exercise controlling.