Q.A firm plans in advance and has a sound organisation structure with efficient supervisory staff and control system but on several occasion it finds that plans are not being adhered to. It leads to confusion and duplication of work. Advise remedy.

The stem tells us the firm already has everything in place function-by-function — plans made in advance (planning), a sound organisation structure (organising), efficient supervisory staff (staffing and directing) and a control system (controlling). When every function is individually sound yet the firm still sees confusion and duplication of work, the NCERT Business Studies chapter on the nature of management points to the one thing that binds all these functions together: coordination. Confusion, overlapping and wasted effort are exactly the symptoms the book describes arising in the absence of coordination. …

Reading the case

Map what the stem gives us onto the functions of management:

• "Plans in advance" — planning is being done.
• "Sound organisation structure" — organising is in place.
• "Efficient supervisory staff" — staffing and directing are taken care of.
• "Control system" — controlling exists.

Every function is present, yet plans are not adhered to and work is confused and duplicated. So the defect cannot lie inside any single function — it lies in the binding force between them.

The missing element: coordination

The chapter is explicit that coordination is not a separate, sixth function of management but its essence — implicit in and running through planning, organising, staffing, directing and controlling alike. Like the thread in a garland, it strings all functions and departments into one whole. The book equally describes what happens without it: in the absence of coordination there is overlapping, chaos and wasted effort instead of harmony — precisely the confusion and duplication this firm reports.

The remedy: institute deliberate coordination

Management should consciously synchronise the work of individuals and departments, applying the characteristics of coordination the chapter lists:

1. Integrate group efforts — link the diverse business units so they pull in one common direction and the plan actually reaches every desk in the same form.
2. Ensure unity of action — interdependent departments (say purchase and production) must move together, so two teams never unknowingly do the same work.
3. Make it continuous — coordination is not a one-time drive; it must run from the planning stage right through to controlling, so plans stay adhered to as work proceeds. …

Method: Spot the Missing Binder (function-mapping approach)

This case question tests whether you can recognise coordination when a stem deliberately shows every management function already working. Approach it in five steps:

Step 1 — Map the stem onto the functions. List what the firm already has and label each: plans in advance (planning), sound structure (organising), efficient supervisory staff (staffing/directing), control system (controlling). Writing this mapping out shows the examiner you read the case, not a memorised answer.

Step 2 — Isolate the symptoms. Plans not adhered to, confusion, duplication of work. Note that these are collective breakdowns — no single function named in the stem has failed.

Step 3 — Recall the chapter's diagnosis. The NCERT chapter states that in the absence of coordination there is overlapping, chaos and wasted effort instead of harmony. Match the symptoms to this description explicitly.

Step 4 — Name the missing element. State plainly that the firm lacks coordination, and that coordination is the essence of management — not a sixth function but the thread that binds all five together. …

Here are the mistakes students actually make on this classic "everything is in place, yet chaos" case, and how to avoid them.

Common Mistake #1: Blaming the plan or the structure

• The mistake: Answering "improve the planning process" or "restructure the organisation".
• Why it's wrong: The stem explicitly says the firm plans in advance and has a sound organisation structure. Recommending fixes to things the case declares sound shows the case wasn't read carefully.
• How to avoid: Map each given fact to its management function first — you will see every function is already covered, which is the whole point of the question.

Common Mistake #2: Advising stricter control or more supervision

• The mistake: "Tighten the control system" or "increase supervision over employees".
• Why it's wrong: The firm already has efficient supervisory staff and a control system. More of the same cannot supply what is missing — a control system monitors performance within functions; it does not bind the functions and departments to each other.
• How to avoid: Ask what connects the functions rather than what strengthens any one of them. That connector is coordination.

Common Mistake #3: Not naming coordination as the essence of management

• The mistake: Vaguely advising "better communication" or "teamwork" without using the chapter's concept.
• Why it's wrong: The examiner is testing the specific NCERT concept: confusion, overlapping and wasted effort are the book's stated results of absent coordination, and coordination is the essence of management — implicit in all five functions, like the thread in a garland. …