This paper examines the four core functions of management — planning, organizing, leading, and controlling — and demonstrates how each function contributes to organizational success. Drawing on real-world examples including Steve Jobs at Apple, Bill Gates at Microsoft, Sergey Brin and Larry Page at Google, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s transformational leadership, and Dr. Wernher von Braun's management of the Apollo program, the paper argues that exceptional managerial skill sets, particularly transformational leadership competencies, amplify the effectiveness of each function. The paper concludes that passion, vision, and servant-oriented leadership are the common threads uniting history's most celebrated organizational leaders.
The four functions of management are planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. Taken together, these form the foundation of managerial theory and strategy, and they define which skills managers need in order to excel (Rausch, 2003). This paper discusses the four functions of management and provides illustrations of how each is used to ensure organizations attain their goals and objectives.
Of the many skill sets managers need in order to excel in their roles, the most critical are transformational in scope (Arnold & Loughlin, 2010). Transformational skills are those that motivate employees internally to excel, without the need for continual external sources of praise or punishment. Transformational skills can lead organizations out of chaotic conditions and into order and accomplishment, as evidenced by Steve Jobs and his effect on bringing Apple back from the brink of oblivion when he returned to the company (Martin & Osberg, 2007). Today Apple is worth more than Microsoft when measured by stock price and outstanding shares — that is, market capitalization. Jobs demonstrated that when exceptional managerial skills are combined with the functions of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling, the value of a company can be dramatically improved. In Apple's case, the combining of these factors unleashed a level of innovation that many companies never attain.
Planning is the function within management where goals and objectives are defined. It is also the area where managers are called upon to create a high level of synchronization and coordination throughout the many departments of their organization, which tests their collaboration and team-building skills in addition to their planning and prioritization skills (Morgeson, DeRue, & Karam, 2010). The planning phase also tests a manager's ability to navigate diverse and often conflicting opinions about which direction the company needs to go and which specific tactics are most effective in attaining shared objectives (Martin & Osberg, 2007).
Not only are cognitive and collaborative skills tested during this phase of managerial activity, but the ability to gain consensus and motivate others is tested during planning sessions as well. This dynamic is illustrated by the initial planning sessions for the first operating systems at Microsoft, which included IBM senior executives who had spent their careers in the mainframe and minicomputer industry. Those executives doubted that enough personal computers would be sold to make MS-DOS successful. Bill Gates disagreed, acquired the rights to MS-DOS, and Microsoft was born. Gates possessed tremendous passion for his vision, and that passion proved contagious — a critical skill for any manager seeking to make planning work as an integral part of their management style.
The greatest leaders in the history of business and the military share a common trait: they are excellent at organizing resources, systems, people, and entire divisions of companies to attain challenging — even seemingly impossible — objectives. Organizing also involves the ability to create cross-functional teams and ensure they execute effectively toward common goals. This aspect of management draws upon all the skills of transformational leaders (Arnold & Loughlin, 2010).
The greatest transformational leaders possess exceptional skill at building trust with their subordinates by being authentic, genuine, and worthy of confidence. These managers are also known for making significant sacrifices for their teams and demonstrating complete commitment to the goals they are pursuing (Morgeson, DeRue, & Karam, 2010). These qualities form the core of excellent management and leadership. A compelling modern example of superior organizing is the founding and growth of Google. Sergey Brin and Larry Page, two Ph.D. students at Stanford, spent years working with the investment community on Page Mill Road — home to many of Silicon Valley's venture capitalists — to build their company. This intensive organizing effort produced a corporate culture that valued innovation above all else, which led to 65% of revenue-generating products in 2010 coming from innovations developed within the company over the prior decade (Taylor, 2009).
"Servant-oriented transformational leadership and Dr. King's example"
"Evaluating progress toward goals; the Apollo program example"
The planning, organizing, leading, and controlling aspects of management are the foundation for how any company gets work done and achieves its goals. Examining these functions alongside the skill sets of exceptional managers reveals how some of the world's most celebrated leaders were able to accomplish so much in such a short period of time. All of them shared a passion for their visions and refused to quit; each made significant sacrifices in pursuit of their goals, and it was precisely this quality that propelled entire teams to excel. The skill sets of outstanding leaders can ultimately be measured by how efficiently and effectively goals are accomplished through these four functions of management.
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