Stages of the management process

The stages of the management process are planning, organization, direction, and control.

In this entry, we will develop and explain the stages of the management process. As indicated in the concept of the management process, we must distinguish between phases and stages. The mechanical phase (planning and organization) and the dynamic phase (direction and control).

It is very important to understand each stage sequentially. All stages are important and are interrelated.

Diagram of the stages of the management process

To make it even easier to understand, we have prepared this diagram of the management process:

1. Planning

Planning is composed of that part that is in charge of seeing how something is going to be done. That is, answering questions such as:

• What do we want to achieve?
• What do we have to do to reach our goal?
• Who will be in charge of each part of the process to achieve the goal?
• When and in what deadlines will each action be carried out?
• What resources do we need?
• Where can we get the resources?
• What is the cost of these resources?
• What kind of setbacks can we have, and how are we going to solve them if they arise?
• What do we do in the face of an unforeseen setback?

In short, it is everything that we must decide before getting started. Without planning, we will be running without a fixed direction. And as we know, it doesn’t matter how fast we run if we don’t have a plan.

The value of a good is determined by the amount of work used to produce it.

2. Organization

Once we have made a plan, it is time to get organized. This is, in very simple terms, assigning tasks. In some way, making sense of all the questions we have tried to answer in the planning stage. Some questions to be resolved in this stage of the management process are:

• In what order are we going to take care of the tasks?
• Who will be in charge of each task?
• Will we perform tasks together or will each person be in charge of something?
• When making decisions, will we make them democratically?
• Will the hierarchy be horizontal or vertical?

Although it may seem that these questions are part of the planning stage, the focus here is to convey the concept. That is, it is a part that establishes how everything is organized. Basically, when it is being executed, what organizational principles are followed.

3. Direction

Direction, contrary to what many people think, does not necessarily have to be in charge of a single person. It could also be in charge of a management group. However, direction is responsible for helping, intervening, supporting, or motivating the work being performed.

Thus, for example, directors are responsible for influencing the project members. Either by helping them, giving them alternatives or avoiding conflicts between different parts of the organization.

4. Control

Control, specifically, is defined as the monitoring of results and their measurement through reliable metrics. So, based on the established metrics, the organization will try to monitor the activities to check if the planned plan is being followed.

For example, let us imagine that the annual sales target is 10,000. In the plan, it is established that 1,000 sales must be made in January to achieve the goal. Checking whether these intermediate goals are being followed helps us control that the main goal is being achieved.