Mastering Management Functions: Planning, Organization, and Control

Core Management Functions

  • Planning: Defining objectives, actions, resources, and execution strategies.
  • Organization: Structuring resources and activities to achieve goals.
  • Control: Monitoring performance and taking corrective actions.
  • Human Resources: Managing personnel to optimize performance.

Essential Capacities

  • Strategic Thinking: Developing long-term plans.
  • Capacity Building: Enhancing organizational capabilities.
  • Executive Leadership: Guiding and motivating teams.

Modes of Change in a Company

  • Conservative: Gradual and cautious changes.
  • Reactive: Responding to immediate pressures.
  • Anticipatory: Preparing for future trends.
  • Proactive: Initiating changes to gain an advantage.
  • Interactive: Collaborating to drive change.

Planning Process

  • Identifying opportunities and objectives.
  • Analyzing the environment and limitations.
  • Evaluating different possible action plans.
  • Developing a master plan.
  • Creating expenditure and revenue plans.

Types of Planning

  • Strategic: Long-term, high-level planning.
  • Tactical: Medium-term planning to support strategic goals.
  • Operational: Short-term planning for day-to-day activities.

Company Goals

Effective company goals should be:

  • Desirable
  • Feasible
  • Quantifiable
  • Economically rational
  • Understandable and motivating
  • Consistent

Types of Objectives and Conflicts

  • Global: Determined by socio-economic areas.
  • Complementary: Objectives that support each other.
  • Neutral: Objectives that do not affect each other.
  • Conflictual: Objectives that clash with each other.

Values and economic accounting are crucial for decision-making.

Choices Under Different Conditions

  • Certainty: Known outcomes.
  • Risk: Probable outcomes.
  • Uncertainty: Unknown outcomes, using pessimistic, optimistic, or Laplace criteria.

Criteria and Types of Control

  • Effectiveness: Achieving desired results.
  • Efficiency: Optimizing resource use.
  • Learning: Improving processes over time.
  • Consistency: Maintaining standards.

Types of control include preventive, constant, and corrective.

Stages of Control

  • Setting parameters for objectives.
  • Checking completed measures.
  • Evaluating deviations.
  • Correcting errors.

Management by Objectives (MBO)

  • Setting objectives.
  • Organizing executive departments and subordinates.
  • Providing higher incentive motivation.
  • Analyzing results.
  • Analyzing errors.

System Information

Data is crucial. Classes of information include:

  • Operational Information: Day-to-day activities.
  • Tactical Information: Medium-term planning.
  • Strategic Information: Long-term planning.

Elements of Organizational Structure

  • Hierarchical directives
  • Functional units
  • Support units
  • Operator units

Formal structures differ from informal, spontaneous networks based on friendship, interests, communication, and authority.

Forms and Classes of Organizational Charts

  • Informational-analytical
  • Partial
  • General-structural-functional
  • Personal

Different Relationships Reflected in Charts

  • Direct relations
  • Indirect relations
  • Lineal-staff relations (personal, specialized)
  • Cross-supportive relationships

Classes of Departmentalization

  • Departmentalization by production processes
  • Departmentalization for projects or clients
  • Departmentalization by function
  • Geographical departments
  • Departments by shifts
  • Market-oriented departments
  • Matrix departmentalization

Simple Organizational Forms

  • Linear Model: Vertical design, hierarchy, specialization, decentralization, common in SMEs.
  • Adhocratic Model: Balanced design, motivational principle, participation, essential information and communication.
  • Functional Model: Horizontal design, lower hierarchy, specialization, breaks division of labor and control unit.

Complex Organizational Forms

  • Joint Model: Combines linear and functional, used by large companies, clear hierarchy, interference between main hierarchy and advisors/consultants.
  • Divisional Model: Very large and multinational companies, fast decision-making, autonomy for workers, creating divisions, great decentralization.
  • Matrix Model: Companies with complex products, markets, and customers, conflict of jurisdiction.