Functions of Management
Tekeshia Gresham
MGT/330
Mr. Dennis Stroud
March 31st, 2012

Functions of Management
Managers like PepsiCo’s Indra Nooyi must practice the art of getting things done through organizational resources, which include workers, financial resources, information, equipment, planning, organizing, leading, and controlling, (Hall, 2009). Managers were called bosses and his or her job consisted of telling people what to do, watching over them to be sure they did it, and reprimanding those who did not.
Today, however, some managers tend to be more progressive. For example, they emphasize teams and team building; managers create drop-in centers, team spaces, and open work areas. Managers changed the definition of “work” from “a task you do for specified period in a specific place” to “something you do anywhere, anytime.” Managers tend to guide, train, support, motivate, and coach employees rather than tell them what to do. What do these changes mean? What the changes mean is that management will demand a new kind of person: a skilled communicator and a team player as well as a planner, organizer, motivator, and leader.
One of the major objectives of organizations is to please customers. The trend today is to have planning teams to help monitor the environment, find business opportunities, and watch for challenges. The key function of management is planning because accomplishing the other functions depends heavily on having a good plan. Managing an organization without first establishing a vision is like getting everyone in a rowboat excited about going somewhere, but not telling them exactly where. The boat will just keep changing directions rather than speeding toward an agreed-on goal, (Bloom, 2007). Top management usually sets the vision for the organization and then often works with others in the firm to establish a