Fundamentals of Extension Education

Functions of Management

Definition of Management
Management is creative problem solving. This creative solving is accomplished through four functions of management; planning, organizing, leading and controlling. The intended results in the use of an organizations resources in a way that accomplishes its mission and objectives.
In management excel, this standard definition is modified to align more closely with our teaching objectives and to communicate more clearly the content of the organizing function. Organizing is divided into organizing and staffing so that the importance of staffing in small business receives emphasis along side organizing .

Function of Management
Gulick first used the acronym ‘POSDCORB’ and UR wick (1987) to explain the seven process of administration/management planning, organizing, staffing, directing, coordinating, reporting and budgeting. These processes can explain the total working or management conditions of an institution.
This theory has basic assumption that the development processes and goals of the individual and his organization are at crucial points and fundamentally different. This is an antagonistic trend. The fusion theory is depicted as under.
Agricultural sector being an important part of the economy must have professional scientists/technocrats managers. This has to come by educational training designs aimed at preparing agricultural scientists for the top leadership and overall management.
The important management functions are planning, organizing, motivating and controlling and these are central to any discussion of management. These functions which constitute the management process (a step by step doing something) are relevant regardless the type of organization or level of management. The management process is briefly described as under.
1. Planning : It involves setting goals and objectives for the organization and developing work maps showing how these goals and objectives are to be accomplished. Planning includes both the broadest view of the organization, eg. Its mission, and the narrowest, eg : a tactic for accomplishing a specific goal.
2. Organizing: It involves bringing together resources – the people capital and equipment – in the most effective way to accomplish the goals. It therefore, involves an integration of resources. And also it is establishing the internal organizational structures of the organization. The focus is on division, coordination and control of tasks and the flow of information within the organization. It is in this function that managers distribute authority to holders.
3. Motivating: Motivating plays a large part in determining the level of performance of employees, which in turn influences how effectively the organizational goals will be met. It involves directing along with communicating and leading. Leading or influencing requires three general skills/competencies.
1. Diagnosing : it is conginitive
2. Adapting : it is a behavioural competency and
3. Communicating : it is a process competency
4. It involves feedback of results and follow up to compare accomplishment with plans and to make appropriate adjustment with plans and to make appropriate adjustments where outcomes have deviated from expectations.
5. Controlling: Controlling is the function that evaluates quality in all areas and detects potential or actual deviations from the organization plan. This ensures high quality performance and satisfactory results while maintaining an orderly and problem free environment controlling includes information management measurement of performance and institutions of correcting actions.
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