discuss the organizing functions of management

8/12/2019 Discuss the Organizing Functions of Management

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All organizations depend upon group efforts. Group action and joint efforts have become

necessary in every walk of life. Management is required wherever two or more people work

together to achieve common objectives. The success in group efforts depends upon mutual

cooperation among the members of the group. Management creates teamwork and coordination

among specialized efforts. Management is indispensable in all organizations whether a business

firm, a government, a hospital, a college or a club. Management is a creative force which helps

in the optimum utilization of resources. Competent managerial leadership alone can convert the

disorganized resources of men, money, materials and machinery into a productive enterprise. In

the absence of management, an organization is merely a collection of men, money, materials and

machinery. Against this background this essay seeks to discuss the organizing functions of

management. For effective presentation a definition of the major concepts will be given in the

first paragraph. Thereafter it shall move on to discuss the assertion in the main paragraph. A

concise conclusion is given in the final paragraph.

According to Armstrong (1994) organizing is the function of management which follows

planning. It is a function in which the synchronization and combination of human, physical and

financial resources takes place. All the three resources are important to get results. Therefore,

organizational function helps in achievement of results which in fact is important for the

functioning of a concern. It is described as a function by which the concern is able to define therole positions, the jobs related and the coordination between authority and responsibility.

Hence, a manager always has to organize in order to get results.

On the other hand Management is the process of getting things done through the efforts of other

people in order to achieve the predetermined objectives of organization. Management may also

be define as: The process by which execution of given purpose put into operation and

supervise(ibid).

Getting organized is the second function of management. Management must organize all its

resources in order to implement the course of action it determined in the planning process.

Through the process of getting organized, management will determine the internal organizational

structure; establish and maintain relationships, as well as allocate necessary resources.


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In determining the internal structure, management must look at the different divisions or

departments, the coordination of staff, and what is the best way to handle the necessary tasks and

disbursement of information within the company (Invancerich, 1998). Management will then

divide up the work that needs to be done, determine appropriate departments, and delegate

authority and responsibilities.

Organizing resources can mean a variety of things. First, the manager is in charge of organizing

human resources. For example, a manager will need to be sure the appropriate employees are

hired (ibid). In addition, it is the managers responsibility to ensure the employees have the skills

necessary for the workplace. Organizing these employees, according to when they are needed

and how they are utilized, is a critical part of the managers position. For instance, in a

manufacturing facility, organizing as a management function also involves ordering parts and

other components needed to produce products. A manager must be extremely organized to keep

track of items needed, without having components too early or too late.

Noe, R.A. et al (2008) argues that the management process is composed of four functions, all of

which are needed to have a successful Management Process. Organizing however is the second

of the four functions. Organizing, grouped with planning, provides managers with control of all

organizational aspects, the organizing function is said to be the most frustrating one.

Collecting and arranging the financial, physical, informational, the human and other resources

needed to reach goals, is what organizing consists of.

In addition organizing activities include attracting people to the corporation, identifying job

responsibilities, grouping jobs into work units, collecting and assigning resources, and creating

circumstances so that people and things work together to achieve maximum success (ibid). In

basic terms, organizing means for a cause to be structured or ordered or operating according to

some principle or idea. The focus of organizing is on division, coordination, and control of tasks

and the flow of information within the organization. It is in this function that managers distribute

authority to job holders.


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In order to carry out a plan effectively, managers must organize priorities to accomplish the

overall objective. Both the managers and the organization must be able to develop major

subsystems, such as departments, programs, divisions, and teams. Individually, each of these

subsystems has a responsibility. Often, these systems and processes are defined by plans,

policies, and procedures.

According to Cole (2004) organizing occurs continuously. Organizing is a daily, weekly and

yearly task for most managers. In todays fast-paced business world, things change quickly and

variations occur. Managers must remember that the organizational component is fluid and

forever-changing. Flexible managers are able to change courses when necessary and still meet

the clients needs. Change is inevitable. For firms that experience change frequently, the

organizing function is even more crucial. Organizational changes such as adding new positions

or eliminating certain processes can change the organizational level and structure of the business.

For a manager to perform organizing function, the following steps are important. Firstly there is

need for the identification of activities. All the activities which have to be performed in a

concern have to be identified first. For example, preparation of accounts, making sales, record

keeping, quality control, inventory control. All these activities have to be grouped and classified

into units.

In addition departmentally organizing the activities is the send step. In this step, the manager

tries to combine and group similar and related activities into units or departments. This

organization of dividing the whole concern into independent units and departments is called

departmentalization.

Further, classifying the authority is the third step (ibid). Once the departments are made, the

manager likes to classify the powers and its extent to the managers. This activity of giving a rank

in order to the managerial positions is called hierarchy. The top management is into formulation

of policies, the middle level management into departmental supervision and lower level

management into supervision of foremen. The clarification of authority helps in bringing


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efficiency in the running of a concern. This helps in achieving efficiency in the running of a

concern. This helps in avoiding wastage of time, money, effort, in avoidance of duplication or

overlapping of efforts and this helps in bringing smoothness in a concerns working.

Further, the co-ordination between authority and responsibility is another step that follows.

Relationships are established among various groups to enable smooth interaction toward the

achievement of the organizational goal. Each individual is made aware of his authority and

he/she knows whom they have to take orders from and to whom they are accountable and to

whom they have to report. A clear organizational structure is drawn and all the employees are

made aware of it.

Guest, D. (1987) argues that people who are organized generally accomplish much more than

disorganized individuals. The same is true of organized departments or businesses. Those

managers who can master the organization function will enjoy a much smoother tenure in the

management position. For example, a construction business has to do a great deal of organizing

to ensure a project goes well. The construction manager must organize each of the subcontractors

and receipt of building materials. Scheduling a carpenter before the framing materials arrive is

counterproductive and shows a lack of organization. In a construction situation, there is a

particular order to the project; this is also true of projects in any other work scenario.

In addition employees who have an organized manager will emulate that behavior and strive for

organization as well. Managers who take the organizing function seriously and consistently

update their plans accordingly will achieve success in the workplace.

In conclusion, the purpose of organizing is to achieve coordinated effort by defining task and

authority relationships. Organizing means determining who does what and who reports to whom.

There are countless examples in history of well-organized enterprises successfully competing

against, and in some cases defeating, much stronger but less-organized firms. A well-organized

firm generally has motivated managers and employees who are committed to seeing the

organization succeed. Resources are allocated more effectively and used more efficiently in a


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well-organized firm than in a disorganized firm. The organizing function of management can be

viewed as consisting of three sequential activities: breaking tasks down into jobs (work

specialization), combining jobs to form departments (departmentalization), and delegating

authority. Breaking tasks down into jobs requires development of job descriptions and job

specifications. These tools clarify for both managers and employees what particular jobs entail.

Combining jobs to form departments' results in an organizational structure, span of control, and a

chain of command. Changes in strategy often require changes in structure because new positions

may be created, deleted, or merged. Organizational structure dictates how resources are allocated

and how objectives are established in a firm. Allocating resources and establishing objectives

geographically, for example, is much different from doing so by product or customer. The most

common forms of departmentalization are functional, divisional, strategic business unit, and

matrix


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Bibliography

Armstrong M. (1994). Performance Management. London: Kogan Page Ltd

Befeman T.S and Zerthaml C.P (1990) Management: Function and Strategy. Boston:

Richard D. Irwin Inc.

Boxall, P. and Purcell, J. (2003). Strategy and Human Resource Management.

Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Invancerich, J.M (1998). Human Resource Management (7thed.). Boston: Irwin

McGrawHill

Noe, R.A. et al (2008). Human Resource Management: Gaining a Competitive Advantage

(6th

ed.). Boston: Irwin McGrawHill.

Cole G.A (2004). Management Theory and Practice. (8th

ed.). China: C & C Offset.

Julie B. and Tim, C. (2007). Human Resource Management: A Contemporary Approach (5th

ed.). Spain: Graficas Estella.

Guest, D. (1987). Human Resources Management and Industrial Relations; Journal

of Management Studies, 24, 5: 503521.

discuss the organizing functions of management

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