Management Functions

In the early part of the twentieth century, a French industrialist by the name of Henri Fayol wrote that all managers perform five management functions : They plan, organize, command, coordinate, and control. Today, we have condenced these to four :

1. Planning : A process that includes defining goals, establishing strategy, and developing plans to coordinate activities.
2. Organizing : Determining what tasks are to be done, who is to do them, how the tasks are to be grouped, who reports to whom, and where decisions are to be made.
3. Leading : A function that includes motivating employees, directing others, selecting the most effective communication channels, and resolving conflicts.
4. Controlling : Monitoring activities to ensure they are being accomplished as planned and correcting any significant deviations. 

(Robbins,2007)