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? Academy of Management Review, 1987, Vol. 12, No. 1, 38-51.

Are the Classical Management
Functions Useful in
Describing Managerial Work?
STEPHEN . CARROLL
J
University of Maryland

DENNISJ. GILLEN
Syracuse University
This paper attempts to evaluate the usefulness of the classical management functions perspective for describing managerial work and for serving as the basis for management education. It also examines some of the newer conceptualizations of the manager's job and relates these to each other and to the earlier classical approach.
As Miner (1971, 1982) noted, most management textbooks are organized on the basis of the original classical management functions first introduced by Fayol (1949) and elaborated and extended by others such as Urwick (1952). The Fayol functions are planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating, and controlling (POC3 elements). Many management books are subdivided into major segments under each of these five categories, although the function, coordinating, is not used as often as the others.
To check if Miner's assertion fits contemporary textbooks, the first author used a convenience