Fayol's five functions of management

Question 1

What were Henri Fayol’s five functions of management?

Answer 1

POCCC: planning, organising, co-ordinating, commanding and controlling

Question 2

What did Fayol mean by planning?

Answer 2

looking to the future, trying to calculate and predict future circumstances (demand, competitors) and creating an ‘action plan’ to be prepared to respond to circumstances

Question 3

What did Fayol mean by organising?

Answer 3

Building up necessary structures, resources and people to meet the best needs and goals of an organisation

Question 4

What did Fayol mean by co-ordinating?

Answer 4

Bringing together the structural, human and resource elements of an organisation to act in harmony in order to reach the goals of the organisation in an optimum manner

Question 5

What did Fayol mean by commanding?

Answer 5

Giving orders and directions to people to achieve the organisation’s goals and ensure maximum contribution by workers under a manager’s span of control

Question 6

What did Fayol mean by controlling?

Answer 6

Monitoring and surveillance to ensure plans are implemented correctly and to check the work people do