Management

Management

Kmart

Kmart is one of the popular networks of discount stores in the United States. It was during the year 2005, that Kmart had bought Sears and established a new corporation with the name Sears Holdings Corporation. Later, in the year 1962, Kmart was founded and became the third largest discount store chain globally and followed Target and Wal-Mart. The network includes 29 Super Centers and 1,278 discount stores (Kmart, 2012). The company has implemented four interrelated functions: planning, organizing, leading and controlling. The aim of this paper is to reveal and show the basic functions of management in the company.

Management Functions

The main functions of management are planning, organizing, leading and controlling. At Kmart, these functions are implemented at all levels (upper, middle and lower levels), and in all activities of the organization. The content of these functions and the complexity of management at every level of government are determined by a specific list of tasks, their characteristics and volume.

Planning function encompasses the way in which management provides a unified and coordinated efforts of all the staff direction to achieve common goals of the organization (including the formulation of goals themselves).

Function of the organizing represents the type of management activities to ensure the normal functioning of the organization in accordance with a specific plan to achieve the desired result. It coordinates the activities of all departments and employees of the organization to achieve the goals delivered.

The leading function is implemented in the management of the process by which the leadership of the organization keeps its planned trajectory to achieve the objectives, information about the current operating results and correct any deviations from the target. This function motivated by action aimed at to encourage everyone in the organization to effective actions to achieve its goals.

Kmart uses the above management functions in the form of close association: planning function at the company interacts with the functions of the organization and control function of the organization, and is, in turn, closely connected with the functions of planning and control. The latter (that is a function of control) is linked with the function of the organization and planning function. Functions of planning, organization and control are closely linked to the function of motivation.

Figure 1. Functions of Management

Implementation

Kmart is a chain of discount stores that utilize the management functions in all its business activities. It manages its resources, controls and supervises its business activities and incorporates a successful leadership to manage its production and human resources in an effective and efficient manner. The planning function at Kmart involves deciding what should be the goals of the organization and that members of the organization must do to achieve these goals. In essence, the planning function is responsible for the following three main issues:

1. Where are we now? Managers must evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the organization in such important areas as finance, marketing, production, research and development, human resources. All this is done in order to determine what can be ...