The following are the basic functions of a manager.
(1) Planning : Organizations are set up to attain certain goals. It is responsibility of managers to achieve those goals. In planning, the goals of the organization are determined and different strategies are proposed to achieve them. Moreover, detailed plans are made linking the various activities of the employees.
(2) Organizing : This function includes specifying and linking the different roles and responsibilities of the employees. This is called organizing. For example - who will do what kind of job? How to classify the jobs ? Who will be accountable to whom? Who will take decisions ? etc.
(3) Staffing : It is the responsibility of managers to select and recruit employees for the organization. It is very important to select suitable employees. Job analysis and reliable method of selection are necessary for this. There are problems related to performance analysis, promotion and the use of external sources in the old organizations So, there is need to develope skills and provide training to the employees.
(4) Leadership : The coordination of various activities of the employees is necessary to achieve the goals of the organization. For this, the leaders of the organization have to provide leadership. Leadership includes motivating and directing people, developing effective methods of communication and evolving mantenost effective methods of handling conflicts.
(5) Controlling : After the organizations objectives and goals are determined, plans for the development are prepared, appropriate structures are set up, employees are selected and put to work, the task of coordinating their work and of making them perform as per the targets still remains. Sometimes employees fall short of their target then it is the responsibility of the management to implement mechanism to bring them back on the right track. This task is called controlling. It includes comparing, evaluating and improving the performarice of the employees. Control can be achieved by punishing rewarding good and punishing bad performance.