Health Management: Functions of Management

Management is nothing but about the process of getting things done through others. Various experts have classified the functions of management as follows:

As per George & Jerry, “Fundamental functions of management are four i.e. planning, organizing, actuating and controlling”.

As per Henry Fayol, the father of principles of management has classified managerial functions as follows: Planning, including forecasting, Organising, Commanding, Coordinating, and  Controlling.

As per Koontz & O'Donell five i.e. Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing & Controlling.

As per Luther Gullick and Urwiik  ’POSDCORBE’ where P stands for Planning, O for Organizing, S for Staffing, D for Directing, Co for Co-ordination, R for reporting, B for Budgeting & E for evaluation.

Later on, Mr. Peter Drucker, the father of modern management has added: "innovation" & "managing change" as another managerial functioning on the above list. 

Planning: In simple words, it is deciding in advance - what to do, when to do & how to do? It bridges the gap between where we are & where we want to be. It is essential to decide how to go about achieving a certain task, breaking the job into several component activities, deciding the sequence in which the tasks will be done, entrusting the person who will do the task & when, etc.

Organizing: As per Fayol, “To organize a business is to provide it with everything useful to its functioning i.e raw materials, tools, capital/ finance, and personnel.” Thus, it involves bringing together the manpower and material resources for the achievement, of objectives laid down by the organization.

Staffing: According to Kootz & O’Donell, “Managerial function of staffing involves manning the organization structure through the proper and effective selection, appraisal & development of personnel to fill the roles designed un the structure”.  The main purpose of staffing is to put the right man on the right job i.e. square pegs in square holes and round pegs in round holes. The responsibility of filling up the positions lies with the senior management. Staffing involves:

1. Manpower planning (estimating manpower in terms of searching, choose the person, and giving the right place).
2. Recruitment, Selection & Placement.
3. Training and development
4. Remuneration
5. Performance appraisal 
6. Promotions & Transfer.

Directing: Direction is nothing but an inert-personnel aspect of management which deals directly with influencing, guiding, supervising, motivating sub-ordinate for the achievement of the goals of the organization. A manager directs the staff to work & guides how tasks will be performed. He also keeps a watch on the performance & ensures the appropriate quantity and quality of work. It has the following elements:

1. Supervision
2. Motivation
3. Leadership
4. Communication

Coordinating: It is a conscious and rational process of putting together various departments/ people of an organization and uniting them into a team to achieve goals in an effective manner. It is essential to ensure all members of the team are working in an integrated manner & tasks are being done in a coordinated and mutually supportive way.

Reporting/ Reviewing: Periodic review & reporting of a situation should be done to know if tasks are being done according to the plan or not & if some corrective measures have to be undertaken.

Budgeting: Financial provisions should be made and expenditure should be monitored so as to remain within the grants that are sanctioned.

Evaluation: It helps to determine how well the works have been done and what progress is being made towards achieving the goals. It is periodically assessed to make necessary changes at the top planning, policy, strategy, etc level.

According to modern management, there are four broad managerial functions:

1. Planning
2. Organizing
3. Leading
4. Controlling

References:

1. Kadri, A., 2019. IAPSM's Textbook Of Community Medicine. 1st ed. New Delhi: Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) Ltd, p.1221.
2. https://www.managementstudyguide.com/management_functions.htm
3. https://www.economicsdiscussion.net/management/7-functions-of-management