Question

Nalini has an online flower and gifts retail business. She coordinates efforts across eight outlets in four cities. From November to February, the wedding season increases demand. She plans well in advance, ensures adequate workforce, monitors progress, and coordinates with departments for advertising and execution. Quoting lines from the paragraph, identify and explain four features of an important concept of management highlighted in the above case.

Hint:

Coordination is the essence of management that helps integrate efforts, avoid duplication, and keep departments aligned toward common goals.

Answer 1

The concept highlighted is Coordination
Features:
1. Coordination integrates group efforts:
Line – “This acts as a binding force between the departments…”  
Explanation – Coordination brings together the efforts of individuals and departments to achieve a unified goal. It ensures that all employees work in harmony rather than in isolation, thereby reducing confusion and conflict.  

2. Coordination ensures unity of action: 
Line – “…ensures that all action is aimed at achieving organizational goals.”  
Explanation – It aligns the activities of various departments such as operations, marketing, and human resources so that everyone moves in the same direction. This eliminates duplication of effort and ensures that the organisational objectives are clearly targeted.  

3. Coordination is a deliberate function:
Line – “She coordinates the efforts of her staff in a conscious and deliberate manner…”  
Explanation – Coordination does not happen automatically. It is a conscious and purposeful effort made by the manager to ensure proper communication and understanding between all parts of the organisation. Nalini’s efforts to synchronise her staff's actions are a clear example of this.  

4. Coordination is a continuous process:  
Line – “...begins at the planning stage and continues till controlling.”  
Explanation – Coordination is not restricted to one phase of management. It begins with planning and continues through organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling. Nalini consistently monitors activities across cities and departments, ensuring a constant flow of information and alignment of activities throughout the entire business cycle.  

Coordination is an essential element of management that binds together all functions and activities of the enterprise. It ensures the smooth and efficient functioning of the organisation by unifying efforts across departments and levels. In the case of Nalini, coordination is evident in her proactive planning, conscious supervision, inter-departmental collaboration, and continuous monitoring. These actions demonstrate that coordination is not just a one-time task but a continuous managerial responsibility.  

Coordination leads to synergy in the workplace by minimizing inefficiencies and fostering cooperation. It becomes increasingly important in large and geographically spread businesses like Nalini’s, where planning, operations, and marketing need to be synchronised seamlessly to meet seasonal demands and organisational goals.