Traditionally, there are four functions of management, which guide everyday operations of a business or an organisation. The kind of functions exercised at this level is however too formal. Functions of management are not limited in their scope of application. From big organisations to sole proprietorships, they enable to carry out operations in a smooth manner. It should not however go unmentioned that just like these functions have relevance to organisations, they may also be used in our daily lives to bring orderliness and success. The paper therefore focuses on the application of planning, leading, controlling and organising functions of management in my life as a student.

As a student, the core responsibility of attending school is to pass exams and excel in my career or profession. For others, education is only a tool for gaining skills necessary for aiding an individual to cope with everyday needs of life. Whatever the objective, a student needs to organise his/her life in a manner to yield the highest possible results. Therefore, at this point the controlling, leading, planning and organising functions become necessary.

First, planning refers to the process of formulating plans or identifying goals and objectives and how they get achieved through the use of available scarce resources. Strategies towards the achievement of goals and objectives are set and monitored to yield the desired outcome (Daft, 2009). In my student life, there is a need for an analysis of institution’s rules as well as my own ones, which helps me plan my objectives or targets and go ahead to achieve them. For example, just like me, most students at universities wish to get an honours degree. To achieve the dream, the prerequisites of planning are to be used. A plan may involve the setting of rules and the establishment of a timetable.

The second most important function of management is organising. It always comes after a plan has already been set up and involves coming up with a proper structure to meet objectives and strategies set at the planning stage (Daft, 2009). As a student, organising assists me to plan my scarce time to suit all my activities and education. For example, there is a need to organize time to accommodate both my studies and leisure activities. At this point, I identify different tasks or responsibilities and determine a proper way of tackling them. For example, to ensure that I will show good results, study groups may prove worthy of note during organising. Their composition, as well as the way or criteria of the selection of members must also be determined. In short, organising provides me with a framework, within which decision-making is done, to avoid a lot of frustration in the process of the execution of students goals and objectives. Methods needed to achieve a goal include the establishment of the most effective modes of study and the allocation of time to avoid its wastage in the course of study.

The third function of management is the leading one. A leader refers to a person who takes the role of guiding others towards the achievement of a certain goal. Good leadership skills arise out of the imitation of great world leaders (Daft, 2009). There are not so many people who can manage an organisation or a group. As a leader, a student always tries to be on the forefront in virtually everything. For example, after organizing groups for discussions, I would assume the role of a leader by leading the discussion of an assignment in a group. As a student whose aim is also to achieve an honours degree, the leading function enables me to stay at the head of my class since it is the only surest way to my success. It therefore involves waking up early and attending studies in the morning, arriving early and ensuring that my assignments are submitted in time. My role as a leader in the group and in the class is to motivate others in the education life to ensure the success of the whole group.

The last function of management for examination in this paper is controlling. The latter involves setting a yardstick to enable a manager to depict whether objectives or targets materialise. Controlling is therefore a process of measuring the performance of either an institution or individual efforts and recommending proper actions (Daft, 2009). There is always an established standard under which comparison of performance is done to depict whether I have achieved desired outcomes. As a student the controlling function enables me always to check and review my schedules and plans to balance effectively between my academic achievements while at the same time not forgetting my social or leisure life. A periodic review of my performance and examination results is also a necessary step of controlling. The surest way of attaining a good score at the end of the studies is always to ensure that I will show a good result in my course work.

In conclusion, apart from the traditional application of the functions of management majorly in organisations, planning, leading, controlling and organising may find different ways of application in our everyday lives, especially the one of a student. Balancing leisure activities and studies to get a good score at the end of the course requires setting a good plan, controlling oneself in its achievement, organizing work, taking a leading position in the class, and ensuring that there is a good method leading to the attainment of goals and objectives.

References

Daft, R. L. (2009). Principles of management. New Delhi: Cengage Learning India Private Limited.