Management Functions in Business: A Case Study of Grocery Operations

This report examines the management functions of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling within the context of a growing grocery business. The case study details the business's expansion from a single store to multiple branches, necessitating a restructuring of its management approach. The a...Read More

Running Head: MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS
Business Management
Name of Student
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary...................................................................................................................3
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Management Functions..............................................................................................................4
Planning..................................................................................................................................4
Organizing..............................................................................................................................5
Leading...................................................................................................................................5
Controlling..............................................................................................................................6
A management approach that best suits the business.................................................................7
Improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the enterprise....................................................7
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................8
References..................................................................................................................................8

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Executive Summary
The case study describes a business scenario which is a grocery concerned with the storage
and distribution of meat and meat products. The business had grown from small to having
several stores, which means, an individual should head every store. This growth necessitated
the top management to spread the management to take care of the departments created so that
the operations of each store can be decentralized. However, despite the owners of the grocery
decentralizing powers of the heads of the various departments, some challenges still emerged
from the fact that they did not consider all aspects of management and some loopholes
existed. Such loopholes in the management protocol brew misunderstandings among the
managers and heads of department, resulting in conflicting management roles.
Introduction
Business management is a complex undertaking, which requires self-determination and
proper organization of thoughts. It involves several activities, which require coordination and
understanding of the all the aspects concerning what is to be done. The case shown indicates
that the business has grown remarkably from small to having several branches; therefore, it is
wise to also expand the management. Each department will be tasked with specific
responsibilities, which, are meant for the success of the business. After noticing some
conflicts within the business, the owners seek consultancy advice to break the stalemate
where some heads of the department and managers had conflicting responsibilities that
created wrangles and unfriendly atmosphere for business to thrive. Therefore, a new
management structure has enabled the business to realize some improvements.

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Management Functions
Any individual who is charged with the responsibility of management in an organization is
expected. The fact that the top management has reorganized the management of the business
has improved the operations of the business by ensuring it meets its core objectives. We can
derive four functions of management from this case study. The four functions can also be
considered as the fundamental functions of management that any structured business, firm, or
organization would be expected to have ("What Are the Four Basic Functions That Make Up
the Management Process?", 2018). They include
 Planning
 Organizing
 Controlling and
 Leading
Planning
Planning is the first level of management. It is an important step of management, where the
management will come up with a comprehensive action plan focussing on the predetermined
goals of the business ("Learn About Management Concepts and its Four Functions Right
Here", 2018). For example, we learn in the case study that the store manager draws the action
plan to ensure that the meat production is efficient. The proper planning by the respective
managers is something that is seen as making the grocery business achieve its goals
effectively. Due to the expansion of the business, the owners have made sure that a specific
manager heads every store and departments are lead by the respective departmental heads.
The grocery department manager also serves as the store manager, but he should not have
direct authority over the meat department or production department. Planning as a function of
management is exhibited in the case study here through assigning managers in each specific

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responsibilities and ensuring that they report to specific departmental heads in order to
prevent any conflict that may arise in their line of duty.
Planning is a very important aspect of management and must be in tandem with the business
goals always, for instance in the case study, the main goal of the grocery is to provide its
customers with fresh meat ("Management Functions (Windows)", 2018). Therefore, the
managers must ensure that they plan according to what they want the business to achieve.
Organizing
This is the second management role, which involves the determination of how to distribute
resources and organizing the employees according to the plan. Abraham and Doris have
ensured that a manager to allow decentralization of duties and making every employee to be
concerned with specific duties heads each department and sore. The structure of the business
is organized to ensure that every employee is assigned responsibility to assist in the
achievement of goals of the business ("Case Management Roles and Functions Across
Various Settings and Professional Disciplines", 2010). It is noted in the case study that due to
the expansion of the business, the top management has to appoint various managers and
departmental heads and at the same time align their responsibilities such that every individual
knows his or her boss. This is the concern of organization, for instance, the management
system is organized to enhance, improve, and create a success the delivery of goods
("Defining the Functions of Management", 2018). In the process, the management needs to
delegate authority, assign duties, and issue direction so that the teams responsible for sales
can work towards realizing higher sales output to its customers.
Leading
This is the third function of management that deals with giving direction to employees. Every
manager has a responsibility to be a leader and must be able to lead others in the correct
direction always. However, we sometimes come across instances when a manager does not

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possess leadership qualities. Being a good leader goes beyond simply managing tasks ("Four
Functions of Management", 2018). It is a function of management, which, motivates, inspire,
and encourage other employees to carry out their duties diligently without failures to enable
the business to realize its goals and objectives. The fact that Abraham and Doris decided to
make each store and department to be headed by the manager and departmental heads
respectively shows that those managers and the heads of the departments are leading some
employees to ensure that they are given direction on whatever they do ("Five Functions of
Management by Henri Fayol | ToolsHero", 2018). Theories of management put leadership to
be an important management function that is important to the success of the business. Firstly,
leadership is indicated in the way Abraham and Doris have managed to lead their many
employees from senior ones to junior ones, hence enabling their business to grow from a
small store to having many stores. A manager who lacks qualities of being a leader will have
his or her orders followed by the employees because they have to do that ("Four Functions of
Management: Planning, Organizing, Leading & Controlling - Video & Lesson Transcript |
Study.com", 2018). However, an employee will voluntarily follow the directions of a leader
because of their belief in that particular leader as a person, and in what he or she stands for as
well as how he inspires these employees by his leadership qualities.
The last part of the case study shows that when Abraham and Doris realized that the structure
of management was bringing challenges due to conflicting responsibilities, they looked for
the consultant advice. Consequently, following the recommendation by the consultant, the
management has changed the structure of management hence making it easy to know whom
to report to at any given time. This step shows how the change of leadership can improve
management system as well as the outcome of the business.

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Controlling
This is the last most important management function. It involves ensuring that the business
resources are monitored and controlled and to assign them to those responsibilities that would
be beneficial to the business. To control does not mean intimidating employees, but it is
generally for the good of the business so that even the employees feel comfortable working
for the firm ("Functions of Management - Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing and
Controlling", 2018). Abraham’s grocery’s case indicates how controlling as a management
function can enable a small business to grow into many stores. An example of how control
did this is how the store managers could assign the responsibilities to employees thus
improving coordination within the business. It is noted that the dashed-line management
structure would later improve the operations such as the sale of excellent grocery, meat, and
all the produce that were part of the business.
A management approach that best suits the business
The most appropriate management approach for this business is the contingency approach.
This approach looks at the management structure but provides insights of that particular
circumstance when the management structure can influence the outcome of the business. It
tries to explain the consequences of an action that may be taken by the management in the
course of discharging their responsibilities and making decisions ("Management Functions -
organization, levels, style, manager, school, company, business", 2018). The manager needs
to know the type of systematic approach that would make the operations be successful, and
that would create a comfortable environment for all the stakeholders. Since the business has
opened many stores, there is a need for a proper system of management to avoid conflicting
roles and responsibilities among the managers and heads of the departments. The contingency
approach is an extension of systems approach, where a proper system must be put in place for

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the business especially with businesses that grown bigger, and those that are complex ("Five
Functions of Management & Leading", 2018). Abraham’s grocery experienced challenges
because it had grown bigger; therefore, it was important to restructure the management to
improve the system.
Improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the enterprise
To improve the efficiency of Abraham’s grocery, a number of things need to be done. Firstly,
the management should ensure that roles and responsibilities for each manager and head of
the department are clearly, defined to prevent conflicts among the managers. In essence, each
employee should understand his or her line of duty and to whom he or she reports. This will
enable the management know whom to account in case anything happens ("Planning
Function of Management", 2018). Secondly, the efficiency of the business can be improved
by appointing a general manager who will oversee all the operations of all the stores and give
a report to the overall owners of the business. Lastly, a simple administrative structure will be
healthy so that whoever works here knows where the directives and orders are coming from.
Conclusion
It is important to report that Abraham’s grocery started with a single store but it has seen a
remarkable improvement making it develop more stores. This improvement has come with
expanded management structure. Therefore, Abraham and Doris have to appoint
departmental heads and managers to head the various stores. Due to the increase in the
number of stores, there must be challenges in management, which have even made some
employees resign from the business. We understand that every business must have challenges
especially when it expands, but, for Abraham’s grocery case, they have moved swiftly to curb
the emerging challenges.

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References
Five Functions of Management & Leading. (2018). Retrieved
from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/five-functions-management-leading-56418.html
Functions of Management - Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing and
Controlling. (2018). Retrieved from
http://managementstudyguide.com/management_functions.htm
Four Functions of Management: Planning, Organizing, Leading & Controlling –
Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com. (2018). Retrieved from
https://study.com/academy/lesson/four-functions-of-management-planning-
organizing-leading-controlling.html
Management Functions - organization, levels, style, manager, school, company,
business. (2018). Retrieved from
http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Log-Mar/Management-
Functions.html
What Are the Four Basic Functions That Make Up the Management
Process?. (2018). Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/four-basic-
functions-make-up-management-process-23852.html
Five Functions of Management by Henri Fayol | ToolsHero. (2018). Retrieved
from https://www.toolshero.com/management/five-functions-of-management/
Defining the Functions of Management. (2018). Retrieved
from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/rayanne-thorn/functions-of-
management_b_1723977.html

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Four Functions of Management. (2018). Retrieved
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeHuH39M4QQ
Management Functions (Windows). (2018). Retrieved from https://msdn.microsoft.com
/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa364943(v=vs.85).aspx
Learn About Management Concepts and its Four Functions Right Here. (2018).
Retrieved from https://businesszeal.com/four-functions-of-management-concepts
Planning Function of Management. (2018). Retrieved
from http://managementstudyguide.com/planning_function.htm