4  Functions of Management: Planning, Organising, Staffing, Directing, Controlling and Coordinating — the Five Classifications

4.1 What is a Function of Management?

A function of management is a category of activity that every manager — chief executive or shop-floor supervisor, in business or in government — has to perform if the unit is to achieve its goals. The classical answer, going back to Henri Fayol (1916), is that managers plan, organise, command, coordinate and control (POCCC). The list has been extended, contracted and re-labelled by every major textbook since, but the underlying intuition has held for more than a century.

TipThree Features of Management Functions
  • Universal. Apply across levels (top, middle, supervisory), across types of organisation, and across cultures.
  • Sequential and continuous. Planning precedes organising, organising precedes staffing — but the cycle repeats.
  • Overlapping. Hiring a replacement requires planning, organising, staffing, directing and controlling all at once.

4.2 The Five Classifications

TipFive Classical Classifications
Author Year Functions Mnemonic
Henri Fayol 1916 Planning, Organising, Commanding, Coordinating, Controlling POCCC
Luther Gulick & Lyndall Urwick 1937 Planning, Organising, Staffing, Directing, Coordinating, Reporting, Budgeting POSDCORB
Harold Koontz & Cyril O’Donnell 1955 Planning, Organising, Staffing, Directing, Controlling POSDC
George R. Terry 1953 Planning, Organising, Actuating, Controlling POAC
Stephen Robbins 2002 onwards Planning, Organising, Leading, Controlling POLC

The differences are mostly cosmetic — commanding, directing, leading and actuating describe the same broad activity. POSDC of Koontz & O’Donnell is the textbook spine and the structure followed below.

flowchart LR
  P[Planning<br/>What & how] --> O[Organising<br/>Who & where]
  O --> S[Staffing<br/>With whom]
  S --> D[Directing<br/>Set work in motion]
  D --> C[Controlling<br/>Compare & correct]
  C -. Feedback .-> P
  CO[Coordinating<br/>Essence of management] --- O
  CO --- D
    classDef default fill:#003366,color:#ffffff,stroke:#ffcc00,stroke-width:3px,rx:10px,ry:10px;

NoteAttribution distinction — POCCC vs POSDC vs POSDCORB
  • POCCC — Fayol (1916).
  • POSDC — Koontz & O’Donnell (1955) — adds Staffing, drops Coordinating as essence.
  • POSDCORB — Gulick & Urwick (1937) — adds Reporting, Budgeting.
  • POLC — Robbins. POAC — Terry (1953).

NTA exploits Fayol-vs-Gulick attribution. POSDCORB is Gulick & Urwick, not Fayol.

4.3 1 · Planning

Planning is deciding in advance what to do, how to do it, when to do it and who is to do it. Koontz calls it the primary function — every other function is a derivative.

TipSix Features of Planning
  • Goal-oriented · Pervasive · Forward-looking · Continuous · Intellectual · First / Primary function.

4.3.1 Eight Steps in Planning — Koontz & O’Donnell

TipKoontz & O’Donnell’s Eight Steps
# Step
1 Being aware of opportunities
2 Setting objectives
3 Developing planning premises
4 Identifying alternatives
5 Comparing alternatives
6 Choosing an alternative
7 Formulating derivative plans
8 Numerising plans (budgeting)

4.3.2 Eight Types of Plans

TipEight Types of Plans
Type Covers Example
Mission / Purpose Why the firm exists “Bring inspiration to every athlete”
Objectives / Goals What is to be achieved 15% revenue growth
Strategies How the firm will compete Differentiation through design
Policies General guides “Promote from within”
Procedures Sequence of steps Procurement procedure
Rules Required actions “No smoking in the plant”
Programmes Coordinated sets of plans New-product launch
Budgets Plans in numerical terms Marketing budget

By horizon: strategic (3–10 yrs, top), tactical (1–3 yrs, middle), operational (<1 yr, supervisory). By use: single-use (programmes, budgets) vs standing (policies, procedures, rules).

4.4 2 · Organising

Once the plan is made, the manager must arrange the resources to carry it out. The output is a structure — the formal skeleton.

4.4.1 Five Steps in Organising

TipFive Steps in the Organising Process
# Step
1 Identify activities required
2 Group activities (departmentation)
3 Assign duties
4 Delegate authority
5 Coordinate authority and responsibility

4.4.2 Key Concepts of Organising

TipSix Key Concepts
Concept Meaning
Authority and responsibility Right to act vs obligation to perform; the two must balance
Delegation Passing authority downward while retaining accountability
Centralisation vs decentralisation Degree of concentration of decisions at the top
Span of control / Span of management Subordinates a manager directly supervises. Graicunas’s formula (1933): C = n[2^(n−1) + (n−1)]; span should rarely exceed 5–6 at senior levels
Unity of command Fayol’s principle 4 — one boss per subordinate
Departmentation Basis on which activities are grouped
NoteGraicunas’s formula

V.A. Graicunas (1933) showed the relationships rise rapidly: for n = 4 subordinates, C = 44; for n = 6, C = 222. He concluded the span should rarely exceed 5–6.

4.4.3 Six Bases of Departmentation

TipSix Bases of Departmentation
Basis Useful when Example
Function Stable environment Production, Marketing, Finance, HR
Product Distinct product lines HUL divisions
Customer Different customer groups Retail bank — corporate, retail, SME
Geography Wide spread Sales regions
Process Specialised equipment Foundry, machining
Matrix Project work across functions Engineering projects

4.4.4 Line, Staff, Functional Authority

  • Line authority — direct chain of command.
  • Staff authority — advisory; supports but does not command.
  • Functional authority — limited authority over specific activities outside one’s command (e.g. HR’s authority to require leave records).

4.5 3 · Staffing

4.5.1 Nine-Step Staffing Cycle

TipNine Steps of the Staffing Function
# Step
1 Manpower planning
2 Recruitment
3 Selection
4 Placement and induction
5 Training and development
6 Performance appraisal
7 Compensation
8 Career planning and promotion
9 Separation

Drucker’s anchor. “The most important resource of an enterprise is its people” — Peter Drucker, The Practice of Management (1954). Full HRM treatment in Module 2.

4.6 4 · Directing (Leading / Commanding / Actuating)

4.6.1 Four Elements of Directing

TipFour Elements of Directing
Element Covers Concepts
Supervision Day-to-day overseeing Span of supervision
Motivation Energising effort Maslow, Herzberg, Vroom
Leadership Influencing followers Trait, behavioural, situational
Communication Sharing information Formal, informal, barriers

4.6.2 Principles of Directing

  • Harmony of objectives — align individual and organisational goals.
  • Unity of command — one boss per subordinate.
  • Use of informal organisation — work with the grapevine.
  • Maximum individual contribution — draw out best.
  • Leadership by example.

4.7 5 · Controlling

4.7.1 The Four Steps of Control (Koontz)

TipFour-Step Control Process
# Step
1 Establishing standards (output, cost, quality, time)
2 Measuring actual performance
3 Comparing performance with standards
4 Taking corrective action

4.7.2 Three Types of Control by Timing (William Newman)

TipThree Types of Control by Timing
Type When Example
Feedforward Before activity Pre-flight checklist; raw-material inspection
Concurrent During activity Real-time process monitoring
Feedback After activity Quarterly review; customer satisfaction survey

4.7.3 Six Characteristics of Effective Control

Accurate · Timely · Economical · Flexible · Acceptable · Focused on strategic points (management by exception).

4.7.4 Common Control Tools

Budgetary control · ratio analysis · break-even · audit · MIS · Balanced Scorecard (Kaplan & Norton) · SQC · ISO standards · Six Sigma.

4.8 6 · Coordinating — The Essence of Management

Mary Parker Follett called coordination “the first principle of organisation”. Koontz argued it is not a separate function but the essence of management.

4.8.1 Follett’s Four Principles of Coordination

TipFollett’s Four Principles
Principle Meaning
Direct contact Coordinate directly, not through layers
Early stage During planning, not after
Reciprocal relationship Every part influences every other
Continuity Coordination is continuous, not one-time
NoteAttribution distinction — Coordination as essence vs as function
  • Koontz — Coordination is the essence of management; not a separate function in POSDC.
  • Fayol, Gulick — Coordination is a separate function (POCCC, POSDCORB).

4.9 Levels of Management and the Functions

TipTime Spent on Each Function by Level
Function Top Middle Supervisory
Planning Most — strategic Significant — tactical Least — operational
Organising Significant Significant Limited
Staffing Limited Significant Limited
Directing Limited Significant Most — face-to-face
Controlling Significant Significant Most — daily output

4.9.1 Katz’s Three Managerial Skills

TipKatz’s Three Skills (1955)
Skill Most important at Covers
Technical Supervisory level Knowledge of specific work
Human All levels equally Working effectively with people
Conceptual Top level Seeing the whole and how parts relate

4.10 Practice Questions

Q 01 Fayol's POCCC Easy

The five functions of management given by Henri Fayol (1916) are:

  • APlanning, Organising, Staffing, Directing, Controlling
  • BPlanning, Organising, Commanding, Coordinating, Controlling
  • CPlanning, Organising, Leading, Controlling, Innovating
  • DPlanning, Organising, Staffing, Directing, Coordinating
View solution
Correct Option: B
Fayol's original five = POCCC.
Q 02 POSDCORB Medium

POSDCORB was coined by:

  • AHenri Fayol
  • BHarold Koontz
  • CLuther Gulick and Lyndall Urwick
  • DGeorge Terry
View solution
Correct Option: C
Gulick & Urwick (1937). P-O-S-D-Co-R-B.
Q 03 Match classification with author Medium

Match the classification with its author:

(i) POCCC (a) Gulick & Urwick
(ii) POSDC (b) Fayol
(iii) POSDCORB (c) Koontz & O'Donnell
(iv) POAC (d) Terry
  • A(i)-(b), (ii)-(c), (iii)-(a), (iv)-(d)
  • B(i)-(a), (ii)-(b), (iii)-(c), (iv)-(d)
  • C(i)-(c), (ii)-(d), (iii)-(b), (iv)-(a)
  • D(i)-(d), (ii)-(a), (iii)-(c), (iv)-(b)
View solution
Correct Option: A
POCCC → Fayol; POSDC → Koontz & O'Donnell; POSDCORB → Gulick & Urwick; POAC → Terry.
Q 04 Match function with activity Medium

Match the function with the illustrating activity:

(i) Planning (a) Comparing actual sales with budget
(ii) Organising (b) Setting next year's revenue target
(iii) Directing (c) Drawing up the reporting structure
(iv) Controlling (d) Motivating the sales team
  • A(i)-(b), (ii)-(c), (iii)-(d), (iv)-(a)
  • B(i)-(a), (ii)-(b), (iii)-(c), (iv)-(d)
  • C(i)-(c), (ii)-(d), (iii)-(a), (iv)-(b)
  • D(i)-(d), (ii)-(a), (iii)-(b), (iv)-(c)
View solution
Correct Option: A
Planning → target; Organising → structure; Directing → motivating; Controlling → comparing.
Q 05 Feedforward control Medium

A pre-flight checklist preventing a faulty take-off is an example of:

  • AConcurrent control
  • BFeedback control
  • CFeedforward control
  • DReactive control
View solution
Correct Option: C
Feedforward (preventive) control acts before the activity. Newman: feedforward, concurrent, feedback.
Q 06 Coordination as essence Medium

"Coordination is not a separate function; it is the essence of management." This is most closely associated with:

  • AFayol
  • BKoontz
  • CTaylor
  • DMintzberg
View solution
Correct Option: B
Koontz — coordination runs through every function. Fayol treated it as a separate function.
Q 07 Control process Easy

Which of the following is not a step in the control process?

  • ASetting standards
  • BMeasuring performance
  • CRecruiting staff
  • DTaking corrective action
View solution
Correct Option: C
Recruitment = staffing. Control = set → measure → compare → correct.
Q 08 Departmentation Medium

A firm reorganises into food, personal care and home care divisions. The basis is:

  • AFunction
  • BProduct
  • CCustomer
  • DGeography
View solution
Correct Option: B
Product departmentation.
Q 09 Katz's skills Medium

Katz argued that conceptual skills become more important than technical skills as a manager:

  • AStays longer in the same role
  • BMoves to higher levels of management
  • CMoves to the supervisory level
  • DJoins a small firm
View solution
Correct Option: B
Conceptual = top; Technical = supervisory; Human = all levels equally.
Q 10 Graicunas's formula Hard

V.A. Graicunas's formula (1933) deals with:

  • AWage incentives
  • BNumber of relationships and span of control
  • CInventory ordering
  • DProject scheduling
View solution
Correct Option: B
C = n[2^(n−1) + (n−1)]. Span should rarely exceed 5–6 at senior levels.
Q 11 Planning steps Hard

Arrange Koontz & O'Donnell's planning steps:

(i) Choosing an alternative
(ii) Being aware of opportunities
(iii) Setting objectives
(iv) Identifying alternatives
(v) Numerising plans (budgeting)

  • A(ii), (iii), (iv), (i), (v)
  • B(iii), (ii), (iv), (v), (i)
  • C(ii), (iv), (iii), (i), (v)
  • D(iv), (ii), (iii), (v), (i)
View solution
Correct Option: A
Opportunities → Objectives → Premises → Alternatives → Compare → Choose → Derivative plans → Budget.
Q 12 Types of plans Medium

"No smoking in the plant" is best classified as a:

  • APolicy
  • BProcedure
  • CRule
  • DStrategy
View solution
Correct Option: C
A rule specifies required action/non-action.
Q 13 Authority types Medium

HR's authority to require all departments to submit leave records is an example of:

  • ALine authority
  • BStaff authority
  • CFunctional authority
  • DPersonal authority
View solution
Correct Option: C
Functional authority — limited authority over specific activities outside one's command.
Q 14 Newman's three types of control Medium

Match the type of control with timing:

(i) Feedforward (a) During the activity
(ii) Concurrent (b) After the activity
(iii) Feedback (c) Before the activity
  • A(i)-(c), (ii)-(a), (iii)-(b)
  • B(i)-(a), (ii)-(b), (iii)-(c)
  • C(i)-(b), (ii)-(c), (iii)-(a)
  • D(i)-(c), (ii)-(b), (iii)-(a)
View solution
Correct Option: A
Feedforward → before; Concurrent → during; Feedback → after.
Q 15 Follett's coordination Hard

Mary Parker Follett's four principles of coordination include:

  • ADirect contact, Early stage, Reciprocal relationship, Continuity
  • BAuthority, Responsibility, Discipline, Order
  • CPlan, Do, Check, Act
  • DStrategy, Structure, Systems, Style
View solution
Correct Option: A
Follett's four.
Q 16 Span of control Medium

A narrow span of control produces a:

  • AFlat organisation
  • BTall organisation with many levels
  • CMatrix organisation
  • DNetwork organisation
View solution
Correct Option: B
Narrow → tall; wide → flat.
Q 17 Directing — elements Easy

Which of the following is not an element of directing?

  • ASupervision
  • BMotivation
  • CBudgeting
  • DCommunication
View solution
Correct Option: C
Budgeting = planning/controlling. Four elements of directing: Supervision, Motivation, Leadership, Communication.
Q 18 Standing plans Medium

Which of the following is a standing plan?

  • AProgramme for a new-product launch
  • BAnnual marketing budget
  • CPolicy on internal promotion
  • DProject schedule for the new factory
View solution
Correct Option: C
Policies, procedures, rules = standing. Programmes, budgets, projects = single-use.
Q 19 Time by level Medium

A supervisor at the operating level spends most time on:

  • AStrategic planning
  • BFirm-wide organising
  • CDirecting and day-to-day controlling
  • DSuccession planning
View solution
Correct Option: C
Supervisor → directing + daily controlling. Top → strategic planning.
Q 20 Management by exception Hard

"Focused on strategic points" in a control system implies:

  • ATracking every variance equally
  • BManagement by exception — flag only significant variances
  • CCentralising every decision
  • DDaily reporting on every metric
View solution
Correct Option: B
Management by exception — flag only significant deviations.

4.11 Quick Recall

ImportantQuick recall
  • Five classifications: Fayol POCCC (1916) · Gulick & Urwick POSDCORB (1937) · Koontz & O’Donnell POSDC (1955) · Terry POAC (1953) · Robbins POLC.
  • Functions are universal · sequential-yet-continuous · overlapping.
  • Planning — Koontz’s 8 steps: opportunities → objectives → premises → alternatives → compare → choose → derivative plans → budget.
  • Plans: mission, objectives, strategies, policies, procedures, rules, programmes, budgets. Strategic / tactical / operational. Single-use vs standing.
  • Organising — 5 steps. Span of control / Graicunas’s formula (1933) ≤ 5–6 at senior levels.
  • 6 bases of departmentation: function, product, customer, geography, process, matrix.
  • 3 authorities: Line, Staff, Functional.
  • Staffing cycle: manpower planning → recruitment → selection → placement → induction → training → appraisal → compensation → career → separation.
  • Directing — 4 elements: Supervision, Motivation, Leadership, Communication.
  • Controlling — 4 steps: set → measure → compare → correct. Newman’s 3 timing types: feedforward, concurrent, feedback.
  • 6 characteristics of effective control: accurate, timely, economical, flexible, acceptable, management by exception.
  • Coordination as essence — Koontz. Follett’s 4 principles: direct contact, early stage, reciprocal relationship, continuity.
  • Katz’s 3 skills: Technical (supervisors), Human (all levels), Conceptual (top).
  • Drucker: “the most important resource of an enterprise is its people”.