Management Functions
1. Management plays a vital role in any business or organized activity. Management is composed of a team of managers who have charge of the organization at all levels. Their duties include making sure company objectives are met and seeing that the business operates efficiently. Regardless of the specific job, most managers perform four basic functions:
- planning
- organizing
- directing
- controlling
Planning involves determining overall company objectives and deciding how these goals can best be achieved. Planning is listed as the first management function because the others depend on it.
3. Organizing, the second management function, is the process of putting the plan into action. This involves allocating resources, especially human resources, so that the overall objectives can be attained. In this phrase, manager decide on the position to be created and determine the associated duties and responsibilities. Staffing, choosing the right person for the right job, may also be included as part of the organizing function.
Third is the day-to-day direction and supervision of employees. In directing, managers guide, teach, and motivate workers so that they reach their potential abilities and at the same time achieve the company goals that were established in the planning process.
In the last management function, controlling, managers evaluate how well company objectives are being met. If major problems exist and goals are not being achieved, then changes need to be made in the company’s organizational, or managerial, structure.
6. In order to efficiently perform these management functions, manager need interpersonal, organizational, and technical skills. Although all four functions are managerial duties, the importance of each may vary, depending on the situation. Effective managers meet the objectives of the company through a successful combination of planning, organizing, directing, and controlling.

Ответьте на вопросы по тексту:
1. What do the duties of managers include?
2. Which skills do managers need to perform effectively?