14 FUNCTIONS OF MANAGER-POSDCORB

Dr.Vishal Kumar

14.1  Learning Objective

14.2  Introduction

14.3  POSDCORB

14.4  Qualities of a good manager

14.5  Summary

Learning Objective

After completing this module, you will be able to:

i. Understand the functions of manager with special reference to POSDCORB.

ii. Understand various steps to perform such functions.

iii. Know about the qualities of a good manager.

FUNCTIONS OF MANAGER-POSDCORB

Introduction

Management is a creative process which integrates and uses various available resources effectively to accomplish certain goals. For this, an individual is responsible to develop ideas and get things done through others. This individual is called manager. So, any person who performs the functions of planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling for the accomplishment of pre determined organization goals is called as manger. Manager is not actually to do the work but guide others to do things correctly. Managerial functions refer to the roles and responsibilities of managers and to perform these functions effectively managers need certain skills.

According to Peter F. Drucker that every job should be designed as an integrated set of operations which are varied enough to reduce boredom. The workers should be given a sufficient measure of freedom to organize and control their work environment. It is the duty of every manager to educate, train and develop people below him so that they may use their potentialities and abilities to perform the work allocated to them. He has also helped them in satisfying their needs and aspirations through incentives and other things. He must provide proper working environment to the subordinates so that they work to the optimum level. So, the job of the manager is very complex and requires some extra-ordinary qualities to get the desired results. The manager should have the capacity and capabilities to meet the challenges of his job.

POSDCORB

Luther Gulick states seven functions of manager under the catch word “POSDCORB” which stands for Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing, Coordinating, Reporting, and Budgeting.

Thus, Manager is getting things done through others. He prepares plan, build an organization, recruit and train the employees, direct and motivate the employees according to plans for the purpose of achieving organizational goals and ensure that performance in conformity with the plans adopted, the instructions issued, coordinate the activities of organization, prepare budget and report to the management about the progress and issues faced by the organization.

1. Planning: planning is a process of deciding the business objectives and charting out the methods of attaining those objectives. It is the determination of what is to be done, how and where it is to be done, who is to do it and hoe results are to be evaluated. Planning is the primary function of management and involves the process of determining objectives, discovering alternative courses of action, and selecting an appropriate course of action for achieving objectives. In other words, planning is the determination of a future course of action to achieve a desired result. Before starting of a job all above mentioned activities must be considered otherwise, the objectives of a business cannot be achieved. Planning is a long process and under this the following steps are taken:

Determination of Objectives: This is the first step in planning process. It is a starting point as everybody in the organization must know what is to be achieved in future. So, first of all, objectives are laid down after identifying the opportunities available to a business organization. Objectives are the key point of the process of planning. Objectives should be clear, definite and simple so that it should be clear to every employee of organization.

Establishing Planning Premises: The second step in planning is to establish planning premises, that is, certain assumptions about the future on the basis of which the plan will be ultimately formulated. If these assumptions are accurate, the planning process will be more useful. So, in this various factors which affect the activities of an organization are determined. These are the external and internal factors. External factors have no control and may be the policy of the government,  competition,  change  in  customer  habit  etc.  On  the  other  hand internal factors include capital, labour, machine, raw material etc. Planning premises point out the business environment in which the plans will operate.

Collection, Analysis and Classification of Information: For effective planning, all relevant data should be collected, analyzed and classified. Suggestions should also invite from employee for the betterment. The data so collected should be presented in tabulated form, diagrams and graphs to facilitate analysis.

Finding Alternative Courses of Action: The fourth step in planning is to search for and examine alternative courses of action. In other words, the next step in planning will be choosing the best course of action. There are a number of ways of doing a thing. All the available alternatives should study and then a final selection will be made. Best results will be achieved only when best way of doing a work is selected.

Examination of alternative courses of Action: After looking into the entire alternative course, the next step is to evaluate these alternatives courses technically in the light of the premises and objectives. Each alternative is evaluated on the basis of its outcome and advantages. The strong and weak point of each alternative should be carefully noted and this is done with the help of quantitative techniques and operation research.

Selecting the best alternative: The next step is to select the best alternative. The selection should be made carefully and no partiality is shown while selecting the alternative.

Developing Derivative Plans: When the plan for the organization has been formulated, middle and lower level managers must draw up the appropriate plans for their sub-units. To support the master plan, each department head prepares a plan for his department. So, these are the plans required to support the basic plan.

Establishing and deploying action plans: Managers possessing little understanding of how the organization operates may not know how to turn the derivate plans into action. The action plan identifies particular activities necessary for this purpose and specifies who, what, when, where and how of each action item. A draft version of the action plan should be communicated

Follow-up action or controlling the progress: The process of planning does not end with the implementation of plans. The plans are formulated for future which is uncertain. There must be a constant review of the planning to ensure the success. Managers need to check progress of their plans so that they can make changes in the plan or take some remedial measure to bridge the gap, if it is unrealistic or impractical.

2. Organizing: When the plans are laid down and the objectives specified, the next step is to give practical shape to the work to be performed to attain those objectives. This task is accomplished by the managerial function of organizing. Or we can say that, the process of creating this structure of roles is known as organizing. Planning is just to put some idea in writing, but to convert that idea into reality, a group of people is needed. Further, to streamline the activities of this group of people, organizing is required. In a nutshell, organizing is structuring of functions and duties to be performed by a group of people for the purpose of attaining enterprise objectives. Following steps are taken to complete the organizing function of management:

Identification of activities: In this stage of organizing process, a manager identifies and determines those activities that are to be performed for achieving common goals. It includes the division of all activities in order to achieve the objectives of the organization. The entire work is divided into various parts and again each part is divided into various sub-parts.

Grouping of activities: The grouping of activities starts once the various activities have been designed to achieve the objectives of the company. The activities of the same nature are grouped together and assigned to a particular department like purchase department, sales department.

Allotment of Duties: In order to ensure effective performance, the grouped activities are allotted to specific persons. At the time of making such assignment, it is ensured that the department has required competence and resources for performing that group of activities.

Delegating Authority: A manager in the organization cannot himself do all the task necessary for the accomplishment of group objectives. Because, his capacity to do work and take decisions is limited. He, therefore, assign some part of his work to his subordinates and also gives them required authority to make decisions within the area of their assigned duties. This downward pushing of authority to make decisions is known as delegation of authority.

Coordinating Activities: In the process of organizing, attempts are also made for coordinating working of individual with respective department, and finally to coordinate functioning of various departments towards the achievement of common goals.

3. Staffing: It refers to knowing about the manpower requirements in the organization and filled the various posts with suitable employees. An organization may succeed only if it has trained staff in each and every department and this work is done by staffing. So, Staffing refers to placement of right person in the right jobs. Staffing includes selection of right persons, training to those needy persons, promotion of the best persons, retirement of old persons, performance appraisal of all the personnel’s, and adequate remuneration of personnel. Thus staffing is regarded as a unique and very important function because it is only through human force that all other resources of the organization are utilized optimally.

• Following steps are taken to complete the staffing function of management:
• Recruitment or getting applicants for the jobs as they open up. Selection of the best qualified from those who seek the job.
• Training those who need further instructions to perform their work effectively or to qualify for promotion.
• Performance appraisal, since it serves as the basis for job change or promotion
• Administration of compensation plans, since it is important factor in both getting and holding qualified people.

4. Directing: Directing function of management involves guiding, leading and motivating subordinates so that they contribute towards achieving organizational objectives. It is done by giving necessary instruction to them regarding the assigned work, and motivating them to perform in a satisfactory manner. Communication, motivation and leadership are the essential elements of directing function. These are discussed as below:

Communication: Communication is the transmission of human thoughts, views and opinions from one person to another. A manager has always tell the subordinates that what has to be done, where it is to be done, how it is to be done and when it is to be done. Thus communication is very important element in order to perform all activities of organization effectively.

Motivation: – It refers to that process which excites people to work for achievement of desired objective. If the worker feels motivated his behavior will result in the performance of desired action.

Leadership: Leadership is at very centre of management that deals with ‘getting work done through others’. This incremental influence of a manager over his subordinates, because of which they willingly and passionately cooperate in the attainment of organizational goals, is referred to as leadership. The person who tries to influence are called leader.

5. Co-ordination: Coordination is a process which has to be designed and implemented by the manager. When managers divide work into specialized functions, they, at the same time create a need for the co-ordination of all activities. It is often said, the greater the division of labour, the greater the need for coordination. The technique involved may be different from group to group or organization to organization. The manager is responsible for effective coordination and for the implementation of the task of coordination; he has to follow a system approach. Following criteria have been suggested by Dalton for successful coordination:

• It is not forced by autocratic direction, but is fostered by managers who understand the value of participative management.
• It is timely and extends in a balanced fashion to all parts of the organization and operates horizontally and vertically.
• In addition to above suggestions Mary Parker Follett has suggested the following three considerations for successful coordination:
• It must be continuing process.
• It must be direct between the persons immediately concerned. It must start at the outset of activity.

6. Reporting: Report is a factual document which contains the information meant for the superiors. Manager may make report for the top management. The fundamental object of preparing the report is to inform the top management of the progress made, the idea about the future performance, the causes responsible for any deviation from the set course and suggestions made to remove the causes for the difference between the planning and performance. Thus, the feedback information is provided by the manager to the top management people. Sometimes, workers’ problems have not been solved by the manager, if so; the same should be communicated to the top authorities.

7. Budgeting: Budgeting is a managerial technique of planning and controlling the operations of an organization. It enables management as well as managers to draw out the future course of action through mutually acceptable decisions and to control it through performance dynamics. It is the planning made before the actual expenditure is incurred. Budgeting prepares the blue print both in quantity and monetary terms and reflects the objectives of the firm. It involves collection of relevant data, analysis of the information available, preparation of various alternative plans and selection of the most profitable one. In today’s scenario the efficient allocation of financial resources is the most important function of a manager.

8. Controlling: The process of management begins with the planning function and concludes with the controlling function. It involves comparison between the actual work performance and the planned standards, and taking corrective steps when there is a difference between the two. So, it is an important function of management and has following steps:

Establishing performance standards: Every enterprise plans its activities in advance. On the basis of plans, the objectives and goals of every department, branch, etc. are fixed. Standards may be quantitative or qualitative. Most of the standards are expressed in terms of quantity. Number of units produced, number of men, hours employed, total cost incurred, revenue earned, the amount of investment etc.

Measurement of actual performance: The performance should be compared with the established standards. So, necessary information should be collected about the performance. The effective management information system provides the necessary information. There are several techniques which are used by the management to measure the performance.

Comparison of actual performance with standards: The next step in control process is the comparison of actual performance with the standards set. Necessary steps are taken so that performance is not adversely affected.

Taking corrective action: Management has to find out the causes of deviation before taking corrective measure. The causes of deviation may be due to ineffective and inadequate communication, defective system of wage payment, defective system of selection of personnel, lack of proper training, lack of motivation, ineffective supervision, etc. the management has to take necessary corrective action on the basis of nature of causes of deviation.

Qualities of a Good Manager

The job of a manager is very complex and a mixture of many types of skills, whether he belongs to any type of organization such as, a business organization, an educational institution, a hospital or a club. A manger is successful when he is able to make a smooth function team of people working under him. He is to reconcile, coordinate and appraise the various view point and talents of people working under him towards the organization goals. In order to succeed in managing, a manager should possess the following qualities.

Education: A manager must be well educated. He must have basic education along with the knowledge of business environment in order to deal with the problems which the organization may have to face in the future.

Training: management skills are not inborn qualities. It may be acquired through training. Thus, it is necessary for the managers to have some sort of training in the branch of management where he is working or going to work.

Leadership: A manager should be able to channelize the energies of the subordinates for the achievement of organizational goals. A manager can motivate the subordinates effectively if he has got leadership qualities.

Self confidence: A manager should have self confidence. He should take decision after analysis of every aspect of the problem and also implement the decision with full dedication and honesty. He should not shrink in taking initiative.

Technical Knowledge: A manager should have knowledge of the techniques of production being used in the organization. So manager should have a technical knowledge about the instruments and machines which is used during the process of production in an organization.

Positive attitude: A manager should treat his subordinates as human being. a manager should try to maintain good relations with them. He should understand their problems and offer helping hand to them.

Intelligence: a manager should have somewhat higher level of intelligence than the average human being. He should have the ability to think scientifically and analyze the problem accurately.

Summary

So students let’s summarize what we have learnt in this module. After studying this module we have come to know that the job of manager is very difficult and requires some special qualities to get the possible results. The manager should have the capacity and capabilities to meet the challenges of his job. The smooth functioning of organization depends on the performance of the manager. If a manager has adequate skills, he can discharge his duties effectively. it is the duty of the manager to co-ordinate the talents of people working under him for the purpose of achieving the organizational goals.

Suggested Readings

1. Drucker, Peter F., (1974), Management Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices, William Heinemann, London.
2. Allen, L.A., Management and Organisation, New York, McGraw Hill Book Company, 1958.
3. Gupta C. B., “Management Theory and Practice”, Sultan Chand & Sons, New Delhi, 1997.
4. Massie Joseph L. “Essentials Of Management” Prentice Hall of India, New Delhi, 1982.
5. Prasad L.M, “Principals and Practice of Management”. Sultan Chand &Sons, Educational Publishers, 23 Dargaigani, New Delhi.110002. 1993.
6. Sherlekar S.A, “Essentials of Business Organisation and Management” Himalaya Publishing House, Bombay, 1985.
7. Manager tasks, responsibilities, practices, op. cit., p. 121
8. Koontz Harold and Cyrill O’Donnell, “Essentials of Management” New Delhi, Tata McGraw Hill, 1987.