Managerial fictions denote a type of functions associated with managerial activities. As he acts as an organizer, he performs a number of managerial functions like planning organizing, staffing, directing, communicating, co-coordinating and controlling.
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1. Planning:
Planning is a basic managerial function of entrepreneur. Planning helps in determining the course of action to be followed for achieving various entrepreneurial objectives. It is decision in advance, what to do, when to do, how to do and who will do a particular task. Planning is process which involves ‘thinking before doing’.
Planning is concerned with the metal state of entrepreneur. He thinks before undertaking a work. Other managerial functions of entrepreneurs such as organizing, staffing, directing, co-ordination and controlling are also undertaken after planning.
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Hart defines planning as ‘the determination in advance of a line of action by which certain results are to be achieved’. According to Terry, “Planning is the selecting and relating of facts and the making and using of assumptions regarding the future in the visualization and formulations of proposed activities believed necessary to achieve desired results”.
Planning is a process of looking ahead. The primary object of planning is to achieve better results. It involves the selection of entrepreneur objectives and developing policies, procedures, programmers, budgets, and strategies. Planning is a continuous process.
A detailed planning is done in the beginning but the actual performance is reviewed and suitable changes are made in plans when actual execution is done.
Plans may be of many kinds, such as short range plans, medium range plan, long range plans, standing plans, single use plans, strategic plan, administrative plans and operational plans.
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The process of Planning involves a number of steps:
i) Gathering information,
ii) Laying down objectives,
iii) Developing planning premises,
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iv) Examining alternative courses of action,
v) Evaluation of action patterns,
vi) Reviewing limitations,
vii) Implementation of plans.
2. Organizing:
Every business enterprise needs the service of a number of persons to look after its different aspects. The entrepreneur sets up the objectives or goals to be achieved by its personnel.
The energy of every individual is channelized to achieve the enterprise objectives. The function of organizing is to arrange, guide, co-ordinate, direct and control the activities of other factors of production, viz., men, material, money and machines so as to accomplish the objectives for the enterprise.
In the words of Kountze and O’Donnell, ‘Organizing is that part for managing that involves establishing and intentional structure for roles for people in an enterprise to fill.” Organization provides the necessary framework within which people association for the attainment of business objectives.
Louis A. Allen describes organization as, “the process identifying and grouping work to be performed, defining and delegating responsibility and authority and establishing relationships for the purpose of enabling people to work most effectively together in accomplishing objectives.” The process organization involves the following steps:
(i) To identifying the work to be performed;
(ii) To classify or group the work;
(iii) To assign these groups of activities or work to individuals;
(iv) To delegate authority and fix responsibility and
(v) To co-ordinate these authority-responsibility relationship of various activities.
The character and type of organization depends upon the size and nature of the enterprise. Though there are many types of organization but generally three types of organizations are in vogue:
(i) Line organization
(ii) Functional organization and
(iii) Line and staff organization
In line organization authority flows vertically from the top of the hierarchy to the bottom. Under functional organization, the work is divided into different departments.
Each department deals in one type of work and it specializes in one work only. A workman has a work under many superiors who specialize in different functions.
Line and staff organization provides for specialists with line executives. It is a combination of line and functional form of organization.
A sound organization contributes greatly to the continuity and success of the enterprise. However, an organization is not an end in itself. The organization structure should be flexible.
3. Staffing.
The function involves manning the positions created by organization process. It is concerned with human resources of an enterprise.
Staffing is filling, and keeping filled, positions in the organization structure through defining work force requirements, appraising, selecting, compensating and training”. Thus, staffing consists of the following:
(i) Manpower planning, i.e., assessing manpower requirements in terms of quantity and quality;
(ii) Recruitment, selection and training;
(iii) Placement of man power;
(iv) Development, promotion, transfer and appraisal;
(v) Determination of employees’ remuneration.
Every entrepreneur has to perform the staffing function in one form or the other, in order to get things done through others.
But, it is decidedly a difficult managerial function of entrepreneur as it concerns human beings whose behavior and actions cannot be predicted, and that is why it has become a distinct and specialized branch of management.
4. Directing:
Directing is concerned with carrying out the desired plans. It initiates organized and planned action and ensures effective performance by subordinate towards the accomplishment of group activities. In the words of George R. Terry, “Direction is moving to action and supplying simulative power to the group”.
After planning, organizing and staffing, the entrepreneurship has to guide and supervise his subordinates. It is the final action of an entrepreneur in getting others to act after all preparations have been completed.
5. Leadership.
An entrepreneur has to issue orders and instructions and guide and counsel his subordinates in their work with a view to improve their performance and achieve enterprise objectives.
Leadership is ‘the process by which an entrepreneur imaginatively directs/ guides and influences the work of others in choosing and attaining specified goals by mediating between the individual and organization in such a manner that both will get maximum satisfaction’.
Leadership is the ability to build up confidence and zeal among people and to create an urge in them, to be led. To be a successful leader, an entrepreneur must possess the qualities of foresight, drive, initiative, self-confidence and personal integrity.
Different situations may demand different types of leadership, i.e. autocratic leadership, democratic leadership and free rein leadership.
6. Communication.
Communication constitutes a very important function of entrepreneur. It is said to be the number one problem of entrepreneur today. It is established fact that entrepreneur spend 75 to 90 percent of their working time in communicating with others.
Communication is the means by which the behavior of the subordinate is modified and change is effected in their actions.
The word ‘communication’ has been derived from the Latin word ‘communes’ which means ‘common’. The essence of communication is getting the receiver and the sender tanned together for a particular message.
It refers to the exchange of ideas, feelings, emotions and knowledge and information’s between two or more persons. Nothing happens in management till communication takes place.
Communication is a two-way process as it involves both information and understanding. It may be written, oral and gestural. Communication is said to be formal when it follows the formal channels provided in the organization structure.
It is informal communication when it does not follow the formal channels. Communication flows downward from a superior to subordinates and upward from subordinates to a superior.
It also flows between two or more persons operating at the same level of authority.
Communication is essential for decision making and planning. It increase managerial capacity and facilitates control. It has been rightly said that good entrepreneur are good communicators and poor entrepreneur are poor communicators.
7. Motivations.
The term motivation is derived from the word ‘motive’ which means a need or an emotion that prompts an individual into action. Motivation is the psychological process of creating urge among the subordinates to do certain things or behave in the desired manner.
It is a very important function of entrepreneur. The importance of motivation can be realized from the fact that performance of a worker depends upon his ability and the motivation.
There are many strategies adopted by entrepreneur for increasing the motivation of subordinates. According to Michel Julius.
“Motivation means the act of stimulating someone or oneself to get a desired course of action to push the right button to get a desired reaction, a compliment, dollar raise, a smile, a promise of a rise, a new typewriter, a preferred location or a new desk”.
Thus, entrepreneur has to provide some personal incentive to the subordinates to motivate, perused and inspire them for contributing their best towards the achievement of enterprise objectives.
The incentives to be provided may be financial, such as increase in wages, or non-financial, like better working conditions, job security, recognition, etc a sound motivational system must be productive, competitive, comprehensive and flexible, and it must consider the psychological, social, safety, ego and economic needs of the worker.
8. Supervision.
Supervision is another important managerial function of entrepreneur. After issuing instructions, the entrepreneur has to see that the given instructions are carried out. This is the aim of supervision.
Supervision refers to the job of overseeing subordinates at work to ensure maximum utilization of resources, to get the required and directed work done and to correct the subordinates whenever they go wrong.
Sound organizational set up, effective delegation, human approach, effective communication and management by exception make supervision effective.
9. Co-ordination.
Co-ordination is one of the most important functions of entrepreneur. It is essential to channelize the activities of various individuals in the organization for the achievement of common goals.
Every department or section is given a target to be achieved and they should concert rate only their work and should not bother about the work of other organs.
It is left to the entrepreneur to see that the work of different segments is going according to pre-determined targets and corrective measures have to be taken if there is any deviation.
Co-ordination creates a team spirit and helps in achieving goals through collective efforts. It is the orderly arrangement of group effort to provide unity of action in the pursuit of common objectives.
Dalton McFarland defines co-ordinates as the “process whereby an executive develops an orderly pattern of group effort among his subordinates and secures unity of action in the pursuit of common purposes”.
Co-ordination can be classified under two categories: (i) vertical and horizontal co-ordination, and (ii) internal and external co-ordination.
Whereas vertical co-ordination is the co-ordination between different levels of management, the term horizontal co-ordination is used when co-ordination has to be achieved between departments of the same level of authority.
Co-ordination is internal when it is between different sections of the same concern and external when it is required with persons outside the organization.
Co-ordination is regarded as the very essence of entrepreneurship as in order to co-ordinate the activities of his subordinates, entrepreneur has to perform all the other functions of entrepreneur via, planning organizing, staffing, directing and controlling. It must also be noted by the readers the co-ordination and co-operation do not mean the same thing.
10. Controlling.
Controlling can be defined as “determining what is being accomplished, that is evaluating the performances, if necessary, applying corrective measures so that the performance take place according to plans”.
Control is essential for achieving objectives of an entrepreneur. The planning of various activities does not ensure automatic implementation of policies.
Control is the process which enables entrepreneur to get its policies implemented and take corrective actions if performance is not according to the pre-determined standards.
If planning is the beginning of the entrepreneur process, controlling may be said to be the final stage, if planning is looking ahead, controlling is looking back. Control is not possible without planning is meaningless without control.
Control is a line function and entrepreneur assesses the per5formance of their subordinates. The main purpose of control is to see that the activity is achieving the desired results.
A control system, to be effective, must conform to the nature of activity, report deviations promptly, reflect organization structu5re, assure corrective action and be economical.
The process of controlling involves the following steps:
(i) Establishing standards of performance;
(ii) Measuring actual performance;
(iii) Comparing the actual performance with the standard;
(iv) Finding variance or deviations, if any and
(v) Taking corrective action or measures.