Q."Coordination is the essence of management." Explain this statement with reference to any four features of coordination.

Coordination is not treated as a sixth, separate function alongside planning-organising-staffing-directing-controlling — it is described as the very purpose all five functions serve. …

Coordination is the orderly arrangement of group effort so as to achieve unity of action in pursuit of a common purpose. It is called the essence of management because planning, organising, staffing, directing, and controlling all exist, ultimately, to bring about coordination — it is not a separate sixth function performed on its own.

Four of its features:

1. Integrates group effort — it gives a common direction to the efforts of different individuals so the group functions as a single unit rather than as scattered individuals.
2. Ensures unity of action — it makes sure the efforts of different departments (production, finance, marketing, HR) point towards the same overall organisational goal, even though each department has its own sub-goals.
3. Continuous process — coordination is needed at every stage, from framing a plan to checking whether the plan was followed, not just once. …

Describing coordination as one of "the functions of management" listed alongside planning/organising/staffing/directing/controlling, instead of as …