Management Functions and Key Business Functions
FoundationManagement is getting work done through others to achieve organisational goals, through four functions — planning, organising, leading and controlling — guided by principles such as division of work, unity of command, unity of direction, and authority with responsibility. Firms also rely on six key business functions: human resource, financial, operations, marketing, information and risk management.
- Four functions: planning sets goals, organising divides work, leading motivates, controlling corrects
- Principles of effective management: division of work, unity of command, unity of direction, authority and responsibility
- Control is a cycle: set standards, measure, compare, correct — results feed the next plan
文體小知識：商業知識說明文——講解管理的四項功能與有效管理原則，並介紹支撐企業運作的六大主要商業功能。
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1Management is the process of achieving organisational goals through planning, coordinating and using resources. Whether the owner of a neighbourhood shop or the chief executive of a multinational, managers face the same questions: what are the goals, how to allocate resources, how to motivate staff, and how to ensure results. Good management puts resources to their best use; poor management can sink even a business with excellent products.
2Management has four functions. Planning sets goals and designs action plans to achieve them; organising divides work, groups tasks and assigns resources with authority and responsibility; leading motivates and communicates so the team commits; controlling measures actual performance against goals and corrects deviations. The four functions interlock in a continuing cycle: the results of control become the basis of the next round of planning.
3Effective management also follows classic principles: division of work lets employees specialise and grow skilful; unity of command means each employee takes orders from only one superior, avoiding confusion; unity of direction keeps activities under the same goal coordinated by one plan; authority and responsibility go together — the power to command carries the duty to answer for outcomes. For example, a branch manager authorised to handle returns is also answerable for how well the returns policy is executed.
4Daily operations rest on six key business functions: human resource management recruits, trains and retains talent; financial management raises and deploys funds; operations management runs production processes and quality control; marketing management studies customer needs and promotes products; information management collects and analyses business data; risk management identifies and reduces risks. Small and medium enterprises may not set up a department for each, but the functions still exist — usually carried by the owner.
1Summary 重點摘要
Management is getting work done through others to achieve organisational goals, through four functions — planning, organising, leading and controlling — guided by principles such as division of work, unity of command, unity of direction, and authority with responsibility. Firms also rely on six key business functions: human resource, financial, operations, marketing, information and risk management.
2Vocabulary cards Vocabulary
The process of achieving organisational goals through planning, coordinating and using resources.
The management function of setting goals and designing action plans to achieve them.
The management function of allocating tasks, grouping work and assigning resources, authority and responsibility.
The management function of directing, motivating and communicating with employees.
The management function of measuring performance against standards and correcting deviations.
The principle of dividing work so employees specialise and efficiency rises.
The principle that each employee receives orders from only one superior, avoiding conflicting instructions.
The principle that activities with the same objective are coordinated under one plan.
The principle that the power to give orders must match the duty to answer for outcomes.
The six functions supporting operations: human resource, financial, operations, marketing, information and risk management.
3Step by step Steps
- Step 1: Why management mattersManagement gets work done through others to achieve organisational goals: limited resources versus many goals is exactly the tension management resolves. The same shop can perform completely differently under different management. For example, two cha chaan tengs using similar ingredients — one turns out steady food with low staff turnover, the other uneven food and constant resignations. The difference is rarely the food; it lies in clear quality standards, fair rosters and reviewing customer feedback — the work of management, which decides success or failure.
- Step 2: Planning and organisingPlanning starts the process: set a goal — say, raising annual turnover by twenty per cent — then design the action plan, sequence the steps and list the resources needed. Organising follows: break the goal into tasks, assign them to suitable people, form units, and define authority and responsibility. For example, a tea-drink chain planning three new branches in six months organises an opening team — a site group to find premises, a training group to assign managers, a procurement group for equipment and ingredients — with clear duties keeping the schedule under control.
- Step 3: Leading and controllingLeading is the people work: communicate the goals, lead by example, reward outstanding staff, so the team gives its best. Controlling is the mechanism that secures results: set standards, measure actual performance, compare with the standards, and correct deviations. For example, a drink shop requires drinks served within four minutes; a mystery shopper finds one branch averaging seven, so management must diagnose the cause — understaffing or a chaotic flow — and redeploy resources at once. That is the complete cycle of the control function.
- Step 4: Principles of effective managementApplying management follows classic principles: division of work lets each employee focus on one task and grow ever more skilful; unity of command requires each employee to answer to only one superior, or instructions conflict and staff stand confused; unity of direction coordinates activities under the same goal with one plan; authority and responsibility must match — whoever is empowered to decide must answer for the result. For example, if a shop assistant receives two different rosters from the branch manager and the area manager, efficiency collapses — the price of breaking unity of command.
- Step 5: Key business functions (1) — HR, finance and operationsOperations rely on six business functions working together. Human resource management handles manpower planning, recruitment, training, appraisal and pay, so the firm has the right people; financial management raises funds, budgets and manages cash flow, so the firm has the means; operations management runs production and service processes, quality control and inventory, so output stays consistent. For example, opening a new branch needs HR to hire eight staff, finance to arrange the renovation loan, and operations to set the drink-making flow and ingredient inspection standards — none can be missing, and a break in any one slows the opening.
- Step 6: Key business functions (2) — marketing, information and riskMarketing management studies customer needs and handles pricing, promotion and distribution; information management collects, stores and analyses business data to support decisions; risk management identifies the firm's risks — food safety, fire, exchange-rate swings — and takes measures to limit losses. For example, before launching a summer drink, the marketing team surveys flavour preferences, the information system analyses branch sales data to set promotion intensity, and risk management ensures backup suppliers for the new ingredients — three functions interlocking for a smooth launch.
- Step 7: How the two frameworks relateManagement functions and business functions are two interwoven layers: management functions describe how managers work — planning, organising, leading, controlling; business functions describe what the enterprise does — HR, finance, operations, marketing, information, risk. Every business-function manager also performs the four management functions. For example, an HR manager plans next year's hiring, organises training courses, leads the team and controls staff turnover — combining both frameworks in an answer gives the analysis more structure, a common requirement in DSE long questions.
5Worked example Example
Case question: the 'Tea Lab' tea-drink chain now runs three branches and plans to expand to ten within two years. Using the four management functions — planning, organising, leading and controlling — analyse how management should arrange the expansion, and identify two key business functions that must support it.
- Planning: set a clear goal — ten branches in two years; survey districts for new sites; draw up the expansion budget and financing plan; schedule openings every six months
- Organising: set up a dedicated opening team and area-manager posts; divide site selection, fit-out, training and procurement among groups; define headquarters-versus-branch authority, upholding unity of command and division of work
- Leading: communicate the expansion vision clearly to managers and staff; link branch managers' bonuses to new-store results to motivate; train new managers so service culture stays consistent
- Controlling: set targets for turnover, serving time and customer satisfaction per branch; compare actual with target monthly; support or correct branches with large deviations and feed results into the next round of planning
- Supporting functions: financial management arranges capital and cash flow; human resource management recruits and trains the new staff; operations management secures central procurement and consistent quality
- Answer: Applying the four functions: in planning, management sets the concrete goal of ten branches in two years, surveys locations, budgets the expansion and schedules openings half-yearly. In organising, it forms a dedicated opening team with area managers, divides site selection, fit-out, training and procurement among groups, and defines headquarters and branch authority — upholding unity of command and division of work. In leading, it communicates the vision clearly, ties branch managers' bonuses to new-store results, and trains new managers to keep the service culture consistent. In controlling, it sets standards for turnover, serving time and customer satisfaction, compares actual with target monthly, and corrects deviating branches at once. Supporting key business functions include financial management for capital and cash flow, human resource management for recruiting and training new staff, and operations management for central procurement and consistent quality. With the four functions cycling, the expansion proceeds in order.
6Common mistakes Mistakes
7Quick check Quick check
Q1What are the four management functions?
Q2What is the principle of unity of command?
Q3What steps does the control function involve?
Q4What are the six key business functions?
Q5What does the principle of authority and responsibility state?
8Recap Recap
- Four functions: planning sets goals, organising divides work, leading motivates, controlling corrects
- Principles of effective management: division of work, unity of command, unity of direction, authority and responsibility
- Control is a cycle: set standards, measure, compare, correct — results feed the next plan
- Six business functions: HR, finance, operations, marketing, information and risk management
- Every business-function manager also performs the four management functions