FUNCTIONS OF MANAGEMENT IN DETAILS PLANNING

Planning is the first step in the management process and every manager is expected to understand its essence in order to be successful in their managerial role. Planning is particularly important because of scarce resources and uncertain environment with competition for those resources.

Definition:

Planning is a decision making activity requiring the process of ascertaining objectives and deciding on activities to attain those objectives.

Or: is the process of preparing for change and coping with uncertainty by formulating future courses of action.

Or: is ensuring that the important organizational objectives are accomplished as and when desired. Or: is having a specific aim/purpose and coming up with ways/methods for the achievement of the goals.

Reasons for planning/purpose of planning

• To successfully achieve the organizational goals and objectives through the set
• To ensure effective resource utilization including human resource so as to prevent resource
• To better cope with situational crisis since this was anticipated and hence planned
• To ensure effective control of the resources especially human
• To guide decision making since it specifies the action and steps to be taken in order to achieve the organizational By enabling the managers to make decisions on current and future activities.
• To enable anticipation of problems and thus facilitating smooth flow of organizational
• To identify gaps and areas requiring change; this will be addressed for the better of the organization. This can be achieved through periodic review of the organizational activities.
• To give meaning to work since employees will work towards a well defined

Characteristics of a good plan

• Should be simple and comprehensive so that all the employees can grasp its significance and thus easily put into action. It should as well be detailed enough so that it can cover all aspects of the operation necessary to achieve the objectives.
• Should have clear, well-defined and easily understood
• A good plan should also be well balanced and flexible. That is the existing resources are well allocated for proper utilization so that the short term gains are not achieved at the cost of long term gains.
• Should also be flexible enough to incorporate any changes in the
• Time That is should be established for a specific period of time.
• Actionable; a good plan should be have set out strategies for achieving organizational goals which are practical.
• Should incorporate all the departments within the organization to promote unity and focus on the overall objective i.e. involve participation by subordinates.

Principles of effective planning

• Aims of organization in the plan must be clear, reasonable and
• Involve subordinates in the planning This will ensure acceptance of the plans by those who are to implement it.
• Assign planning responsibility to the right people that is those who are involved with the
• Do not be over optimistic with the anticipated results but rather see what is there than what you want to see.
• Keep the plan flexible but putting under constant review and adjustment where

Levels of planning

There are basically three levels of planning associated with the different managerial levels: these are;

Strategic planning/long term planning:

• Conducted by top management like chief executive officers, directors, presidents, vice- presidents
• Involves determining the direction in which the organization should be run
• Long-range/term planning (a period of up to 10years)
• Deals with total assessment of the organization’s capabilities, it’s strengths and Intermediate planning:
• Coves a time frame of about 6months to 2years
• Conducted by middle management which includes department heads
• Middle managers have to refine broad objectives into more workable and realistic Operational planning:
• These plans are responsibilities of lower management like unit
• Short range plans covering a time span from 1week to one year
• These are more specific and determine how a specific job is to be completed in the best way

Planning process/steps in planning Assessment

This involves collecting adequate data about the organization so as to answer questions of:

• Where are we?
• What do we have to work with?
• Where do we want to be?
• How do we get there?

This information is then analyzed and interpreted as a meaningful whole. Assessment will also help the manager to identify needs of the organization as well as its strengths and weaknesses.

Establish and clearly define goals/objectives:

This portion of the planning process should include a detailed overview of each goal, including the reason for its selection and the anticipated outcomes of goal-related projects. For example, the objective of the hospital is to provide quality health care.

Identify resources

Each goal should have financial and human resources attached for its achievement or completion.

Priority setting

There is need to priotise the objectives as well as resources in regard to their importance. The tasks deemed most important will be approached and completed first. The prioritizing process may also reflect steps necessary in completing a task or achieving a goal.

Development of strategies

These are measures set up for the achievement of the organizational objectives. This step also involves assigning timeline for the achievement/accomplishment of a task. However there should also be consideration of the abilities of the staff in assigning them duties or work as a strategy for achievement. It is also necessary to formulate policies, rules and regulations as a way of controlling organizational activities.

Implementation of the plan:

This is the action stage of the planning process where all the identified strategies are implemented/put into action for the attainment of the organizational goals. However, this stage will require a combination of all skills and coordination of all factors.

Evaluation of the plan:

The plan should be re-evaluated periodically so as to measure its progress and effectiveness in order to correct any deviations and make adjustments where necessary. This can also be done through requesting a monthly progress report from department heads.

Benefits of planning

• Planning provides performance standards which assist in the development potential and standards for measuring the progress of the organization are essential in organizational
• Improves the competitive strength of the company since deviations are easily identified basing on the set standards and thus addressed in regard to the expected standard.
• There is reduced risk and uncertainty since these are anticipated early enough and strategies to overcome them are put up accordingly.
• Promotes proper and effective utilization of the organizational resources hence minimizing
• Planning enables manager to focus on the future than the present hence giving them purpose and direction.
• Provides a framework for decision making. Knowing the organizational objectives and methods to achieve them eliminates ambiguity in the decision making process.
• Proper planning motivates the workers especially if they are involved in the planning

ORGANISATION

Introduction:

When two or more people co-operate to perform a task, it is usually convenient to divide responsibility so that each of them takes care of certain aspects of the job. Organization involves grouping people together in a stable yet working pattern.

Definition:

This is the planned design of the corporate structure showing the relationships between employees and the function each should perform to make the organization work effectively towards given objectives.

OR is the process of combining the work, which individuals or groups have to perform with the facilities necessary for its execution using available resources.

Principles of organization

1. Scalar principle: The lines of authority should be clearly stated and should run from the top to the bottom of the organization. This line of command is referred to as chain of command. The major decisions are mad and policies formulated at the top and they filter down through various management levels to the workers.
2. Unity of command: Each person in the organization should report to only one And each person should know how he reports to and who reports to him. This process eliminates ambiguity and confusion that can be caused, when a person has to report more than one superior.
3. The responsibility and authority of each supervisor should be established clearly and in writing. This will clarify the exact role of the supervisor as to limits to his authority. Authority is defined as the formal right to require action from others. Responsibility is the accountability of that authority. With clearly defined authority and responsibilities, it will be easier for the supervisor to trace and handle problems and make quick decisions when
4. The higher authorities are responsible for the acts of their subordinates. The executive cannot dissociate himself from the acts of his subordinates. Hence he must be accountable for the acts of his subordinates.
5. The authority and responsibility should be delegated as far down the hierarchical line as objectively as possible. This will place the decision making power near the actual operations. This gives the top management more free time to devote into planning and overall policy
6. The number of levels of authority should be as few as possible. This would make the communication easier, clear and the decision making faster. A longer chain of command results in ‘run a rounds’.
7. The principles of specialization should be applied wherever possible. Precise division of work facilitates specialization which then leads to efficiency and quality. Every person should be assigned a single function whenever possible
8. The line functions and staff functions should be kept separate. The line functions are those that are directly involved with the operations that result in the achievement of company objectives. Staff functions are auxiliary to the line functions and offer assistance and advice.
9. The span of control should be reasonable and well established. The span of control determines the number of positions that can be coordinated by a single executive. The span of control could be narrow with relatively few individuals who report to the same manager or wide with many subordinates under the supervision of the same manager.
10. The organization should be simple and flexible. It should be simple because it is easier to manage and flexible because it can quickly adapt to changing conditions. It should be such that it easily expanded or reduced at times of demand.

Advantages/ benefits of good organization

• Facilitates attainment of organizational objectives through proper coordination of all activities
• A minimal conflict among employees since the chain of command is clear for
• Overlapping and duplication of work is eliminated since work is distributed among employees accordingly
• There is decreased likelihood of run-around. This can occur when we don’t know who is responsible for what. This is avoided since responsibilities are clearly established.
• Facilitates promotions since the organizational chart clearly points the positions of all individuals relative to one another.
• It aids wage and salary administration. Compensation administration policies get easier to apply since there is a clear stipulation on the benefits of certain jobs in the company.
• Communication is simplified sine the lines of communication and flow of authority is quite clear in the organizational chart.
• Good organization provides a basis for effective planning in the short and long run like expansions and contraction of activities.
• There is increased cooperation and sense of pride. The employee has adequate freedom within the domain of his responsibility and authority since they are all clear to him thus boasting morale.
• It encourages creativity. Because of the sense of belonging and high morale and with the help of clear cut accountability, recognition of skill and appreciation for contribution, it encourages resourcefulness, initiative and a spirit of innovation and creativity.

Organisation structure

This is the arrangement and interrelationship of the component parts and positions within the institution.

OR: this is the network of horizontal and vertical relationships among the members of a group designed to accomplish common objectives.

OR: it is a system of formal relationships that govern the activities of people in an organization.

Importance of organization structure

• Is the foundation upon which the whole structure of management is
• It specifies division of work which helps define teams who work closely
• Promotes hierarchy in the organization since it provides a clear chain of command and defines which employees report to which managers.
• It shows different areas of specialization indicating hierarchy and authority
• A structure helps define exactly who the correct decision maker for each employee is. NB: an organization structure is represented by a chart drawing known as the organization

STAFFING

• The managerial function of staffing involves manning the organization structure through proper and effective selection, appraisal and development of the personnel to fill the roles assigned to the employers/workforce.
• According to Theo Haimann, “Staffing pertains to recruitment, selection, development and compensation of subordinates
• Staffing is the management activity that provides for appropriate and adequate personnel to fulfill the organization’s objectives. The nurse manager decides how many and what type of personnel are required to provide care for patients. Usually the overall plan for staffing is determined by nursing administration and the nurse manager is in a position to monitor how successful the staffing pattern is as to provide input into needed change.
• Staffing is a complex activity that involves ensuring that the ratio of nurse to patient provides quality care. The situation of a nursing shortage and the high activity levels of admitted patients to acute care areas complicate this process.
• Staffing depends directly on the workload or patient care needs. An ideal staffing plan would provide the appropriate ratio of caregivers for patients’ individual needs based on data that predict the census.

The staffing process

The staffing function consists of the following sequential steps;

1. Analyze the job – by preparing job description, job specification and job analysis
2. Actual recruitment – This would explore all the internal and external sources from where the required personnel can be recruited.
3. Employee selection – This crucial step involves using such techniques as would identify and isolate the suitable people who would eventually be selected.
4. Retention – When the right people have been hired, they must be retained so that they stay with the organization for a long time. This step discusses such factors that are influential in maintaining the work force.
5. Training and development – This consists of all such programmes that assist in continuous growth and development of employees.
6. Performance appraisal and career development – This step involves devising methods that would judge an employee’s performance over a period of time and providing opportunities to employee’s performance over a period of time and providing opportunities to employees to develop their careers and managerial talents.

DIRECTING

Introduction

This is a management function performed but top level management in order to achieve the objectives of an organization. It is considered life-spark of the organization which sets in motion the action of people because planning, organizing and staffing are the mere preparations for doing the work.

Definition

These are the steps a manager takes to get subordinates and others to carry out the organizational plans or to achieve organizational objectives.

OR: Directing means giving instructions, guiding, counseling, motivating and leading the staff in an organization in doing work to achieve organizational goals.

Directing involves:

• Telling people what is to be done and explaining how it is to be done
• Issuing instructions and orders to the subordinates
• Inspiring them towards achievement of the organizational objectives
• Supervising the subordinates’’ activities
• Providing leadership and motivation

Importance of Directing

• It guides and helps the subordinates to accomplish the given tasks as expected
• It provides the necessary motivation to the subordinates to complete the work satisfactorily and striving to do the best
• It helps in maintaining discipline of the workers through the continued supervision of their work
• Helps to integrate the various activities carried out in the
• The leadership involved in directing helps to create an appropriate work environment and build up of team work.

Process of directing/ steps of directing

• Defining the objectives
• Organizing the effort
• Measuring work
• Developing people

Elements of directing

• Communication: Is the process of passing information, experience, opinion etc from one person to another. It is a bridge of understanding. Communication involves exchange of ideas and information in order to create mutual understanding. It is a process of telling, listening and understanding. A manager has to explain the plans and orders to his subordinates and to understand their problems. He must develop a sound two- way communication system so as to be always in touch with his subordinates. Sound communication fosters mutual understanding and coordination among different units of the
• Leadership: This may be defined as a process by which a manager guides and influences the work of subordinates in desired direction. Leadership is the process of guiding and influencing subordinates for the accomplishment of desired goals. It involves the integration of organizational interests with personal goals. A person can be an effective manager when he possesses the qualities of a good leader. It is through leadership that a manager can build up confidence and zeal among his subordinates. In order to guide his subordinates in the desired direction, a manager should adopt an appropriate style of leadership. The pattern and quality of leadership determines the level of motivation. Leadership is always related to a particular situation.
• Motivation: Means inspiring, stimulating or encouraging the subordinates with zeal to work. Positive, negative, monetary, non- monetary incentives may be used for this purpose. Motivation implies inspiring the subordinates to work with zeal and confidence. No administrative action can succeed unless the subordinates are motivated to contribute their best efforts to the common In order to activate and actuate his subordinates to work in the desired manner, a manager has to make use of appropriate incentives. Various financial and non-financial incentives are available to a manager for this purpose. Motivation is a continuous process of understanding and satisfying human needs.
• Supervision: This implies overseeing the work of subordinates by their superiors. It is the act of watching and directing work and workers. This is ensuring that work is being done as planned. Every manager has to supervise the work of his subordinates to see that they do their work as desired. Supervision is one important element of the process of directing. But supervision is particularly important at the operating level management. The supervisor is in direct personal contact with the workers and he acts as the link between workers and management. The communicates the policies, plans and orders of management to the workers he also brings workers’ grievances, suggestions and appeals to the notice of management effective supervision is essential for the accomplishment of desired goals. The purpose of supervision is to ensure that subordinates perform their tasks according to prescribed procedures and as efficiently as possible.