Management is getting work done through people, towards an aim. Naming the functions is not enough. Each one has a job.
The idea
Planning decides the aim and the steps before the work starts. It answers where the business is going and what must happen first. A plan that is only a wish, with no steps, is not a plan a marker can credit. Organising arranges people, tasks and resources so the plan can be carried out. It includes who reports to whom. Directing is leading the work while it is happening: instructing, guiding and motivating people. Controlling compares what happened with what was planned, and corrects the gap. A function you cannot tell from the next one will be marked as one point, not two.
Levels sit on top of the functions. Top management sets direction. Middle management turns that direction into plans for departments. Supervisors see that the daily work is done. Span of control is how many people one person supervises directly. A wide span means many people. A narrow span means few. Delegation passes a task and the authority to do it. The manager still answers for the result. Delegation is not dumping the work and walking away. Leadership is how a person influences others. It is not a synonym for management. Management is the set of functions. Leadership is one way of carrying out the directing.
The Business Management tips guide sets out how a function earns a mark only when you say what it does. WASSCE Business Management tips
What earns the marks
A list of four names with no meaning is the script chief examiners describe and do not reward. Write the name and one sentence on what it does. Planning looks forward. Controlling looks back at the result and corrects it. If the question says "explain", the sentence must say why the function matters, not only repeat the name. Do not call directing "controlling". They are different marks.
Practice questions
These are practice questions in the style of the paper, with a model answer and a mark scheme. They are not a promise of what your paper will ask.
1Question 1
4 marks
Explain the difference between planning and controlling. (4 marks)
Model answer
Planning sets the aim and the steps before the work starts. Controlling comes after the work, compares the result with the plan, and corrects the difference. Planning looks forward. Controlling checks what actually happened.
Mark scheme
Planning sets the aim or the steps in advance2 marks
Controlling compares results with the plan1 mark
Controlling corrects the gap, or it looks back rather than forward1 mark
2Question 2
3 marks
(a) What is delegation? (2 marks)
(b) State one thing a manager does not give away when delegating. (1 mark)
Model answer
(a) Delegation is passing a task to a subordinate together with the authority to carry it out.
(b) The manager keeps responsibility for the result.
Mark scheme
A task is passed to someone else1 mark
Authority to do the task is passed with it1 mark
Responsibility for the result stays with the manager1 mark
3Question 3
4 marks
State two levels of management and the kind of work each one does. (4 marks)
Model answer
Top management sets the direction of the whole business. Supervisors make sure the daily work is done.
Mark scheme
One level named, such as top, middle or supervisory1 mark
The work of that level1 mark
A second level, different from the first1 mark
The work of the second level1 mark
Practise Business Management with Anna
More questions on this topic are inside glearn, marked as you answer, with the reason written out. The first ones need no account.
Planning sets the aim and the steps. Organising arranges people and resources. Directing leads the work as it happens. Controlling compares the result with the plan and corrects the gap. A list of the names, with no meaning, does not earn the explanation marks.
Is leadership the same as management?+
No. Management is the work of planning, organising, directing and controlling. Leadership is the way a person influences others to follow. A manager may lead. The two words are not interchangeable on a script. All WASSCE Business Management past questions