Management FunctionsManagement FunctionsManagement is the process of directing and allocating human and physical resources to achieve the goals of any group effort, whether a company or a group of volunteers. According to Bateman and Snell, management includes four basic functions: planning, organizing, leading and controlling. (2004, p14) In order to effectively manage a function, one must understand the difference between them. This role may be the completion of a major corporate project or the ongoing goals and responsibilities of my personal life. The first function is planning. Planning means determining goals and deciding what needs to be done to achieve those goals. This will include analyzing all available resources, whether material, knowledge-based or human. During the planning phase, management must divide the project into smaller parts and determine which parts need to be completed before others. I use the planning phase to determine my goals and how I want to achieve them. I decide which goals need to be achieved first and create a plan to achieve them. On a daily, weekly and monthly basis, I determine what needs to be completed and what resources will be needed to effectively meet my immediate deadlines, whether personal, professional or educational. Once the planning stage is complete, the manager has a list of resources. necessary to successfully complete the project. Now is the time to get organized, which starts with acquiring everything you need to move forward. The manager may need to assemble the team to work on the project, or organize the people they have for the right parts of the project. Raw materials may need to be purchased or produced. Skills, materials and people must be analyzed so that they are distributed for maximum efficiency in each unit of the project. In my own personal organization, it's usually a little easier because most of the time I'm the only human resource to consider. The knowledge I will need to complete my tasks I will acquire through research using the large amount of knowledge resources available to me. I will then acquire all the raw resources I need and decide how I will distribute them among the projects I need to complete..