Overview

Every organisation, whether a small shop or a large company, exists to achieve certain objectives. Management is the process that makes this achievement possible in a planned, efficient and coordinated manner. For the Maharashtra State Board (MSBSHSE) HSC Commerce student, this chapter — part of the class 12 Organisation of Commerce and Management syllabus — studies management not as a single activity but as a bundle of distinct, interlinked functions that every manager, at every level, performs continuously.

Management thinkers have classified these activities differently over the years, but the Maharashtra Board syllabus groups them into six functions: Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing, Controlling and Coordination. Each function answers a different question a manager must ask. Planning asks "what is to be done and how?" Organizing asks "who will do what, with what resources?" Staffing asks "who is the right person for each job?" Directing asks "how do we guide and motivate people while they work?" Controlling asks "did we achieve what we planned, and if not, why?" Coordination asks "are all the other functions working together, in harmony, toward the same goal?"

These functions are not performed once and forgotten — they are continuous and cyclical. A manager plans, then organises resources around that plan, staffs the organisation with capable people, directs them while work is in progress, controls the results against the plan, and coordinates all of this throughout. When control reveals a gap, the cycle often returns to planning, and the process repeats.

It is worth noting that Maharashtra's HSC Organisation of Commerce and Management syllabus draws on the same core management-function principles — planning, organising, staffing, directing and controlling — that are also taught under CBSE/NCERT Business Studies, since these five (plus coordination) form the universally accepted foundation of management theory taught across Indian boards. The Balbharati textbook, however, develops each function in its own sequence, examples and depth, independent of any other board's material.

For board-examination purposes, note that Organisation of Commerce and Management is examined only in Std XII (HSC) — there is no board examination for this subject at the Std XI level, since Std XI OCM builds the conceptual foundation that Std XII questions draw upon. Within the Std XII theory paper (out of 80 marks under the no-option pattern, or a total pool of 116 marks when internal choice/options are offered), this chapter — Functions of Management — is consistently one of the heaviest-weighted chapters, contributing roughly 12 marks (no-option) to 15 marks (with-option) across Multiple Choice Questions, short-answer, distinguish-between and case-study/problem questions. Students should therefore treat this chapter as a high-priority area for both conceptual clarity and practice.