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152 Social Work Intervention with Communities and Institutions

8

POSDCoRBEF* Joseph Varghese

Introduction

It is not difficult to see why social workers needto know the role and functions of managers in formalorganisations. Social work profession seeks to improvethe well-being of the clients by providing a varietyof services. In most cases these services are providedthrough governmental or non-governmentalorganisations. A social worker, therefore, is oftenpart a large organisation and has to perform hisor her functions within such organisations.

Also, as the social workers grow professionally theyattain higher positions in the organisation. Theirrole in the direct provision of services diminish andtheir role as a manager gain significance. Howeversince the ultimate goal is the provision of welfareservices, social work administrator cannot be abureaucrat or a manager with concern only forefficiency. Social work values will form the base forthe administrative decisions taken in the contextof service delivery.

POSDCoRBEF

POSDCoRB is an acronym which social welfareadministration has borrowed from management theory.The classical management thinker, Luther Gullickgave this acronym to describe the functions of amanager in an organisation.

POSDCoRB stands

* Joseph Varghese, Visva Bharati, Sriniketan

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P – Planning

O – Organising

S – Staffing

D – Directing

Co – Coordinating

R – Reporting

B – Budgeting

This easy-to-remember acronym has become popularwith management theorists. Social workers havealso been using it to describe functions of socialwelfare administrators. It was later felt that animportant component namely Evaluation (E) andFeedback (F) were left out and so they were addedto the acronym and it became POSCoRBEF.

Let us now examine each of these functions indetail.

Planning

According to Terry and Franklin ‘Planning is selectinginformation and making assumptions regarding thefuture to formulate activities necessary to achieveorganisational objectives’.

Every organisation does some form of planning, asthey have to prepare for the future. In largeorganisations, planning is done by a separate divisionor department which generally reports to the Chiefexecutive. Planning, here, is a highly specializedarea, as a number of factors have to be taken intoconsideration. The department includes experts fromdiverse fields such as economics, statistics,management, etc. When any organisation operatesin more than one region or country, the complexityof the planning process increases. In smaller


organisations, the task is entrusted to staff members,who handle other work but have the competenceand knowledge to do the planning function; doplanning. Either way planning is an important activityof the administrator.

Major Steps in Planning

1) Define the problem.

Understanding the problem and its variousdimensions is the first step in the planning process.Many experts say that if the problem is adequatelydefined half the problem is solved.

2) Collect all relevant data and information aboutthe activities involved.

The sources of information can be from withinthe organisation and outside it. The organisationcan use outside sources of information likegovernment reports, policies, legislations, Planningcommission documents etc. Sources from withinthe organisation include policy statements, agencyreports, evaluation reports, minutes of meetings,documents etc.

3) Analyze the information.

An enormous amount of data may be collectedfrom various sources. But if they are not seenfrom the organisational perspective then theycannot be of much use. Every component hasto be seen as part of the larger whole. Causeand effect relationships have to be established.

4) Establish planning criteria and standards.

Planning criteria are assumptions on which theplan is to be formulated. The criteria will bedrawn from the organisation’s ideology, socio-economic factors, information gathered and thepriorities of the decision-makers. These criteria

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will form the basis on which different actionplans will be judged.

5) Preparation of different action plans for achievingthe goal.

Most organisations formulate a number of tentativeplans. This enables the decision-makers to chooseamong the alternatives available based on itsadvantages and disadvantages.

6) Decide on one plan from the different alternativeplans.

The Plan should be workable and cost effective.It should be realistic enough to be implemented.Often it is said that the plan was good but itsimproper implementation ruined it. A good planner,therefore, will take into account these factorsthat impede implementation. A planner shouldalso take into account strengths and weaknessesof the implementing agency.

7) Arrange detailed sequence and timing for theplan.

Decide what activities have to be carried outand when. Time is an important but scarce resourceand maintaining the time schedule is thereforeimportant.

8) Provide channels for feedback.

Constant feedback and monitoring are necessary.It will help identify shortcomings in the planand its implementation. Some part of the planmay have to be modified if unforeseen factorsinfluence the implementation process.

9) Implement the Plan.

The success of any plan sets on its effectiveimplementation.


10) Evaluate the plan performance.

The last step of planning profess in the evaluationof its performance. At his stage only the successor failure of a plan is judged.

Advantages of Planning

1) Planning brings direction and order into thefunctioning of the organisation. When objectivesare set and various steps needed to achieve thesegoals are clear, employees can make decisionseasily. All efforts will be focused towards thedesired results and unproductive work will beminimized.

2) The planning process gives an idea about thefuture. Any exercise in planning has to studyhow different political, social, economic andorganisational factors will affect the functioningof the organisation. Further, threats andopportunities have to be studied and ways todeal with them should be identified.

3) ‘What if’ questions are consequences of decisionsthat the organisation will have to take in futurewhile dealing with specific situations which maycome up. Complex sets of variables have to bestudied and their relationship with the situationunderstood if these questions have to be answered.For example, the additional financial costs haveto be calculated, if the organisation has to functionin new areas.

4) Planning gives a basis for enforcing accountabilityand control.

Accountability and control are important elementsin the organisation. Control of the organisationalfunctioning through planning can be internal aswell as external. When an organisation formulatesa plan and makes it public, it is making itself

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accountable to the society. The organisation’sactual performance will be judged on the basisof the plan objectives.

Within the organisation also, the plan fixes targetsand deadlines. The employees have to achievethese targets or else, give reasons for theirfailures. This condition imposes a sense ofresponsibility on the organisation’s functionaries.Further, the manager can check from time totime whether the organisation is able to meetits interim targets and is moving towards itsobjectives.

5) Encourage Achievement

Well-established and achievable targets and timeschedules encourage employees to take effortsto attain them. That improves the morale andmotivation of the employees.

6) Compels a view of the whole

Managers often become so involved in the affairsof their own department that they lose sight ofthe overall objectives of the organisation. Managersalso, have the tendency to give their attentionto the immediate, but routine tasks, which keepcoming up in any organisation. Long-term needsof the organisation are sidelined and effectivenessof the organisation is adversely affected. A plangives a vision to the employees helping themfocus on the broader and long-term view.

7) Increases the balanced utilization of resources

Resources are always limited and their prudentuse is important. Plans help effective use ofresources.

Disadvantages of Planning

The planning process has some disadvantages also.Planning consumes too much of already scarce


resources of the organisation. A lot of money, timeand human resources are spent when a plan hasto be formulated. At times there seems to be nocorresponding benefit. Secondly, planning oftendemands changes in organisation’s functioning andthe roles of the employers. This threatens peoplewho are afraid of new work situations and loss oftheir status. Thirdly, planning affects initiative oflower level managers adversely. As emphasized earlier,planning should only give broad direction to themanagers. But if the plan is too rigid and does notgive enough flexibility to the managers, planningmay restrict their initiative. Planning, in general,tends to increase centralization of authority in thehands of the top executive in the headquarters atthe cost of the lower level mangers operating inthe field. Fourthly, planning as managerial activityis seen as having limited value. Sometimes planningis too theoretical and cannot be related to real lifesituations. Many factors that are found in real lifecannot be taken account of when the plan is beingformulated. Further the planner assumes that therewill be no change that is so big that the relationshipbetween the variables could change drastically. Forexample, an NGO which makes its plan on the basisthat the donor agency will provide funds for a specificperiod will face difficulty if the donor agency stopsits funding.

Types of Plans

Strategic Planning

Strategic planning (also called long-term planning)has two important elements. It covers a long periodof time which may extend from five to twenty ormore years and secondly it covers mostly all theactivities within the organisation. In other words,it is long-term and comprehensive planning.

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Operationalised Planning

Operationalised Planning is also called tactical planningand it indicates the specific activities to be takenso that specific goals are to be achieved. Comparedto strategic planning, operationalised planning isshort-term and deals with specific areas. These twotypes of planning are not inclusive. Strategic planningdepends on the operationlised planning for achievingits goals.

Organising

Organising means establishing effective behaviouralrelationship among persons so that they may worktogether efficiently and gain personal satisfactionin doing selected tasks under given environmentalcondition for the purpose of achieving some goal orobjective.

The need for an organisation emerges when oneindividual cannot perform all the necessary tasks.As number of individuals increase, they are furtherdivided into groups each of which are given a specificset of tasks to perform. How and on what basisthese tasks are divided among individuals and groupis the role of ‘organising’ in management.

Need for Organising

1) Clear-cut lines of authority and responsibilityin an organisation are created which help incontrolling and leading the organisation.

2) There are lesser opportunities for organisationconflicts if organisational responsibilities are clearlydefined.

3) Organised groups and organisations are morelikely to give satisfaction to the employees andthereby positive results for the organisation.


Elements of Organising

There are four important elements in organising –division of labour, degree of centralization anddecentralization, departmentalization and span ofcontrol. Division of labour means that the total workof the organisation is divided into smaller unitsand distributed among the employees. Work is allottedto person most suited to do it. It allows the employersto attain proficiency in their work and thereby increasethe efficiency of the organisation.

Centralization and decentralization refers to thedegree to which authority is distributed among thevarious levels of the organisation. If authority isdistributed in such a way that majority of the decisionsare taken by the top managers then the organisationis called centralized. On the other hand, if thelower levels of the organisations have authority tomake decision—without seeking approval from thetop level managers than the organisation is calleddecentralized. Important decisions include thoserelated to financial matters, programme schedules,administrative matters, staff problems, etc. The degreeof centralization and decentralization depends ona number of factors like organisational history, levelof trust in the organisation, subordinate’s staffcompetence, technology available etc. Excessivecentralization is likely to reduce employee’s motivationand discourage initiative. It is also time consumingwhen every decision has to be referred to the topand approval obtained for the same. The quality ofdecisions making may also suffer, as often it is thelower level staff that know the local conditions better.On the other hand, too much decentralization isalso harmful. Decentralization may result in decliningcontrol of the top management. Consequently employeesat the lower levels may engage in empire buildingat the cost of neglecting organisational objectives.Coordination in the organisation may suffer as each

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part may chart its own course. Chaos and indisciplinewill be the result.

Departmentalization refers to the formal structureof the organisation composed of various departmentaland managerial positions and their relationship toeach other. Departments are formed on the followingbasis – function, product, territory, clients and process.Some examples are provided here of departmentsbased on these factors.

� Function based departments – Marketingdepartment, Personnel department. Planningdepartment, etc.

� Product based departments – Micro-creditdepartment, water and sanitation departmentetc.

� Territory based departments – Northern Railways,Southern Railways, Eastern Railways.

� Client-based departments – Women and childdepartment, Welfare of SC/ST.

� Process-based departments – Marketing, Planning,administration etc.

There are at least three departments which willalmost inevitably be present in every organisation.They are namely administration, accounts and services.Most of the large organisations have departmentsbased on more than one factors.

Span of control refers to the number of subordinatesan individual can supervise and control. Control isnot to be seen as something narrow and negative.It refers to the superior’s guidance, encouragementand appreciation provided to the subordinates.Management experts recommend that no superiorcan control more than five or six subordinates withoutdecline in the quality of supervision.


Staffing

Staffing is the management function that deals withthe recruitment, placement, training and developmentof organisation members. Any organisation is as goodas it’s employees’ performance shows. Staff of theorganisation should be selected, retained and promotedbased on the needs of the organisation and theirperformance.

Staffing Process

Human Resource Planning should take intoconsideration the following internal and externalfactors. The internal factors that need to be takeninto consideration are the present and future skillneeds, vacancies, areas of priorities of the organisationand its financial condition. External factors includethe policies of government, donor agencies, collaboratingorganisations, the labour market etc.

Recruitment: Recruitment is concerned withdeveloping a large pool of job for candidates in linein view of the needs of the organisation. This canbe achieved by giving wide publicity to the positionavailable and attracting many as eligible candidatesas possible for the positions.

Selection: Selection involves evaluating and choosingamong the job candidates. A number of means likeinterviews, group discussion, and skill tests are usedto select the candidates.

Induction and Orientation: After selection, thenewcomer has to be helped to fit into the organisation.They are introduced to their colleagues, acquaintedwith responsibilities and informed about organisationpolicies and goals.

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Training and Development: The process of trainingand development aims at increasing the knowledgeand skills of the employees along with attitudinalchanges. The overall aim is to increase organisation’sproductivity and employee’s level of job satisfaction.

Performance Appraisal: Performance appraisal aimsat judging the performance of the employee’s andhis/her contribution to the organisation. Performanceappraisal has to be done on the basis of objectivestandards and not on the whims and fancies of thesuperior officer. Further the employee should havea clear job profile and should know on what basishe or she is being judged. If performance is satisfactory,the employee may be rewarded and if it is not,corrective action is to be taken.

People join organisations not merely for monetarygains. They also look for satisfaction of their socialneeds, self-esteem needs and emotional needs. Inany case, after a person has achieved financial security,he or she will most probably seek other kinds offulfillments namely pride in the job, a sense ofachievement, satisfactory associations at work place,autonomy to function independently, etc. It is upto the organisation to provide employees with theseopportunities.

Directing

Directing is the managerial function of guiding,supervising and leading people. According to Chandan‘it is concerned with directing the human effortstowards organisational goal achievement’. Sometimesdirecting and leading are seen as one function.Often it is the success or failure of this functionthat will determine whether the organisation willachieve its objectives. Leading also determines thelevels of satisfaction the employees of the organisationexperience.


Some of the requirements for successful leadershipin an organisation are: clear-cut objectives whichshould be known to all the managers and employees,meaningful supervision by the superiors of thesubordinates, participatory managerial style, unityof direction, and purposive and effective follow-up.

Leadership

Leadership is defined as the relationship in whichthe one person influences others to work togetherwillingly on related tasks to attain goals devisedby the leader and the group. Leaders can be formalor informal. Formal leaders are found in formalinstitutions like bureaucratic organisations, politicalparties, and military. Here the organisationalfunctioning is governed by written and formal rules.They determine how the leader is selected/electedand what his/her powers are and how they are tobe exercised. On the other hand, informal leadershipdepends on the personal qualities of the leader suchas the charm, intelligence, skills etc. French andRawen mention five sources of power that a leaderdraws from (1) coercive, (2) reward, (3) legitimate,(4) expert, and (5) referent. The first three sources– coercive, reward and legitimate are primarily foundin formal organisations while the latter are foundin informal settings.

Leadership Theories

A brief overview of the various theories of leadershipis presented below.

Trait theories: Trait theories advocate that thereare a set of traits that help an individual to becomea leader. Some of the traits are listed as self-confidence, courage and integrity, will power,emotional stability, intelligence, enthusiasm, energy,charisma etc. Trait theory has been criticized onsome counts. It focuses too much on the leader and

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not on the leadership process, the nature of followersand the situation in which the leadership is provided.It oversimplifies the leadership process and reducesit to traits of the leader. Whereas it is a knownfact that different situations require different typesof leadership qualities. Also it does not explain howleaders who were successful in the past fail andvice-versa.

Behavioural theories: This perspective explainsleadership by looking at leaders in terms of whatthey do. Many theories within the category seeleadership as comprising of two important factors:

Employees-centred dimension and production-centreddimension. Employee-centred dimension stresses oncreating a work environment in which employeescan have satisfying work experience. Their mainconcerns are employees’ welfare and happiness ratherthan attaining organisational objectives. Productioncentred dimension gives importance to attainingorganisational objectives rather be concerned aboutemployee welfare. In different situations thesedimensions have to balanced and a good leader isone who can balance these two requirementssuccessfully.

Situational theories: These theories emerged whenmanagement thinkers realized that the context inwhich leadership is exercised influences theleadership process. Earlier theories had failed totake into account this important aspect. Mostsituational theories support the view that there isa relationship between organisational situation andthe leadership style. Some of the factors that influencethe process is the nature of work of the organisation,the organisation’s past experience, the value systemof the leader and the followers, resources availableand the overall political–economic situation.


Leadership Styles

Autocratic Leaders

Autocratic leaders are those who assume all authorityto themselves. Subordinates are discouraged to offersuggestions or participate in decision making process.Autocratic leadership has some advantages and areuseful in certain situations. In this style, firstlydecision making is quick and in emergencies it canbe advantageous. Secondly, decisions will reflectthe leader’s priorities and will not be diluted. Thirdly,if subordinates are inexperienced or are not qualified,then autocratic leadership is better. Autocraticleadership has many disadvantages also. As autocraticleaders do not take into account opinions of others,it may result in bad decisions. Secondly, the lackof consultation may adversely affect subordinate’smotivation and alienate them. It will increaseresentment towards the leader and the organisationas a whole.

Participative or Democratic Decision-making

In the democratic or participative decision makingprocess the subordinates are consulted. Their opinionsare actively sought and a consensus arrived at beforedecisions are taken. The decisions thus taken mayor may not reflect the opinion of the leader.

The major advantages of this type of decisions makingare that maximum possible information is collectedand different view points are to be considered.Participation of many individuals mean that decisionstaken will have a better chance of being acceptedby others. As a result, confidence and loyalty amongthe workers will increase.

However, success of democrats decision makingdepends on certain conditions. A pre-condition fordemocratic decision making is that individuals aremotivated to contribute to the decision making process.

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Absence of this motivation will lower the quality ofdecisions made. There should also be trust betweenthe leaders and the members. If there are vestedinterests or if the organisation has something tohide from the employees then the decision makingprocess will be flawed. Further, there should alsobe a spirit of give and take as no one can get totallysatisfactory decisions.

Laissez-faire or Free-rein Leadership

The leader gives the organisation maximum freedomto make decisions. The leader is in most cases afigure head and at other times a coordinator betweenthe various members. It gives maximum autonomyto the members leading to creativity and freedomof expression. The major disadvantages are that inunder-motivated organisations this type of leadershipwill result in chaos.

Autocratic leadership style, democratic leadershipstyle and laissez-faire leadership style are modelsof leadership which may not be found in the realworld. Leadership characteristics of all these modelsare found in different leaders in difference situationsand at different times.

Another point to be noted is that in differentorganisations the nature of work and tradition makesthe leader adopt one or other leadership styles.The leaders adopt the laissez-faire method in situationwhere encouraging creativity is the aim – for example,in universities or laboratories. On the other hand,in family run business houses where control isconsidered as important, leadership styles adoptedare closer to the autocratic leadership style.

Coordinating

Coordination is the process of integrating the objectivesand activities of two or more units (departments or


functional areas) of an organisation in order to achieveorganisational goals efficiently. In the organisingfunction, we have seen the need for division of workamong the various units of the organisation. Efficiencyincreases with specialization of activity and groupingof related work. But the division of work bringsabout its own problems. Departments become soinvolved in their work that they forget theorganisational objectives. Departmental interests areplaced above organisational interests.

Ways to Achieve Coordination

Hierarchy is an important method to achievecoordination. People who are high in the hierarchyhave more authority and responsibility. Hierarchyin fact channels and regulates the exercise ofauthority, work allocation and flow of communication.Problems between departments if and when theyarise can be sorted out by the superior officer.

Another important method of coordination is rulesand regulations. Rules and regulations makeorganisational work predictable. Rules and regulationsstandardize routine work which saves the time ofthe managers. Everyone in the organisation willknow what behaviour is expected from him/her andfrom others. Tasks will be performed accordingly.

The identification of objectives and formulation ofplans also improve coordination. This gives theorganisation a unity of purpose and a unity of direction.They help the various units with differentresponsibilities to direct their efforts toward achievingtheir targets.

Larger organisations often use committees to improvecoordination. These committees consist of membersof different departments of the organisations.Committee meetings help them exchange information,understand each others viewpoints and problemsand resolve conflicts.

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Vertical and horizontal communication system areused in all organisations to share information. Intraorganisational official communications in the formof departmental notes, memos, official letters etc.,help improve coordination between the various sections.Nowadays, with the rise of information technology,IT enabled Management Information Systems areused to transmit data up and down the levels ofthe organisation. This system enables quick reporting,processing, storing and retrieval of information asand when required.

Till now we have discussed the formal means ofimproving coordination. But it is now realized thatinformal relationships between employees are asimportant as the formal means of coordination. Personalrelationships between the various members improveoverall coordination within the organisation. Inorganisations where proper understanding and trustbetween employees exists, the need for formal meansof coordination, which are time consuming andcumbersome, will be less. This will contribute toa better work environment and improve efficiencyof the organisation.

Reporting

Reporting means keeping the superiors informedabout the various aspects of work including progressof the various programmes, problems in implementationand problems related in staff. Reporting is done atevery level.

The Annual Report of the organisation is its statementof achievement and shortcomings to the generalbody of the organisation and to the society at large.Within the organisation, the Chief Executive Officerreports to the Board of Management or the governingbody. Subordinates of the executive officer will reportto him/her and so on down to the lowest level ofthe organisation.


Need for Effective Reporting

1) Reporting keeps the management informed aboutthe organisation’s performance.

2) Reporting allows the management to takecorrective actions when things go wrong.

3) Reporting inculcates a sense of responsibilityamong employees as they have to report theprogramme activities to the higher authorities.

Reporting Process

1) Establish means by which reporting is done.

2) Keep a time period within which the report isdone.

3) It should be decided as to whom the report shouldgo and in what form.

4) Reporting also includes action to be taken onthe report.

Budgeting

The word ‘budget’ originally meant a bag, pouch orpocket attached to a person. But in the modernsense, a budget is a complete statement regardingthe organisation’s income and expenditure of thepast financial year and provides an estimate of thesame for the coming financial year. The organisation’sbudget is usually approved by the highest controllingbody, the Board of Management or the GoverningCouncil.

Once the budget is approved, the allocation of fundsto various sections/departments of the organisationtakes place. The concerned heads of departmentshave to function within the funds allocated to them.Sometimes due to changes in environment or insidethe organisation, a revised budget is formulated

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after a period of time which may increase or decreasethe funds allocated to a particular department.

Budgeting is a specialized activity and persons involvedshould possess considerable knowledge in accounts,economics, costing etc. to prepare a proper budget.

Any organisation which is developing a budget forthe first time does a lot of guess estimates as availableinformation may not be enough to prepare a budget.Subsequent budgets can be made on the informationcollected from the previous experiences. A budgetis very much like a plan in the sense that it isforward looking and aims at making things happen.

A budget contains the expenditure, income andoutcome planned for a specific period of time. Usuallybudgets are made for a year, that is, annually. Throughthe budget, the manager controls the activities ofthe organisation. Therefore budgeting refers to thecontrolling of the organisation based on a budget.

Need for Budgeting

1) Finance is the fuel on which the organisationruns. One of the most effective ways of directingand controlling the organisation is by controllingthe financial part of the organisation.

2) Budgeting helps to control the excessiveexpenditure. Sometimes managers tend to overspend with justifications and sometimes withoutjustifications. Well prepared budget with clearallocations to various heads prevents this costlypractice.

3) Budgeting also helps in preventing administrativeand financial malpractices. At times, unscrupulousemployees try a variety of means to earn moneyat the cost of the organisation. But budgetaryallocation prevents this practice to a great extent.


At the end of the year audit is done in whichbudgetary allocations are compared with actualexpenditure incurred. Discrepancies if any haveto be explained. This ensures that there is acheck and balance.

4) Budgeting improves the coordination in theorganisation. Proper appropriation to differentoverheads within the organisation helps preventconflict and overlapping.

5) Budgeting also helps in measuring the performanceof the organisation. The actual performance ofthe organisation can be seen in relation toobjectives set forth in the budget.

6) Budgets are also a source of information. Budgetaryallocations to various activities of the organisationreveal the priorities of the organisation. This isuseful to people outside the organisation as wellas its employees and supporters.

7) Lastly, the very process of budget preparationis an educative exercise. Managers review theexisting situation, discuss the needs of theorganisation in the coming year, and keeping inview the priorities of the organisation, preparethe budget. Thus the budgeting process makesthe managers aware of the objectives of theorganisation, its resource base and anticipate/forecast trends and changes in the externalenvironment.

Evaluation and Feedback

Evaluation means ‘to assess the value of everyorganisation’s rationale for its existence and thecontribution it makes for the welfare of the society.It is for this reason that government and donoragencies provide funds and the people support theseorganisations. Naturally it has to be seen whether

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the organisation has been fulfilling its mission ornot. Thus evaluation of the organisation’s functioningand its programmes is a logical necessity.

Socially relevant programmes of NGOs have multipledimensions. Therefore, evaluation of the programmehas to include the following dimensions— the relevanceand the need of the programme for the client/s;the extent of participation of clients/community inthe various stages of the programme; accessibility,availability and quality of the services rendered;sustainability and financial viability of the programme.Lately it has also been felt that the gender dimensionof the programme should be part of the programevaluation process. Therefore, the extent of femaleparticipation and the benefits obtained for womenhas become an important part of the evaluation process.Due to the decline in donor funds and governmentsupport, most organisations are hard pressed forfunds. Therefore the financial aspect of the programmeis of crucial importance. Thus evaluation takes intoconsideration cost effectiveness and timeliness ofthe programme implemented.

The American Public Health Association defines“evaluation as the process of determining the valueor amount of success achieved in terms of itspredetermined objectives”. It includes at least thefollowing steps; formulation of the objectives,identification of proper criteria to be used in measuringsuccess and determination and explanation of thedegree of success, recommendation for furtherprogramme activity.

According to the ‘Encyclopedia of Social Work inIndia’, 1) evaluation should have an objective approachto the study of problem, 2) it should focus on positiveas well as a negative aspects of the problem, 3)evaluation should contribute to the improvement inthe functioning of the organisation. In other words,evaluation has educative aspects also.


Evaluation can be of two types— (i) internal, whichis done by the organisation’s functionaries themselvesto assess their progress, and (ii) external, whichis done by outside agencies like government, donoragencies etc.

Conclusion

We have seen the seven functions of a manager.We also had an overview about the role of thesefunctions in the organisations. You were also givenan introduction on how some of these functionsespecially planning, directing, coordination andbudgeting are done. In your own field work agenciesyou can collect further information on how specificagencies perform these functions.

References

Chandan, J.S. (1987), Management : Theory and Practice,Vani Educational Books, Delhi.

Stoner, Jaes A.F. and Charles Wankel (1987),Management (Third Edition), Prentice Hall of India Pvt.Limited, New Delhi.

Terry, George R. and Stephen G. Franklin (1994),Principles of Management, All India Traveller Book Seller,Delhi.

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