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Hot's on the left, cold's on the right, and you-know-what doesn't flow uphill! It seems simple, but managing a Plumbing and Heating business is actually quite challenging. As with all organizations and companies, there are specific management functions that are carried out day to day in the Plumbing business. The four traditional functions of strategic management include: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. In the Plumbing and Heating business these four functions are keys to accomplishing goals. By managing effectively and efficiently, goals can be achieved with minimal waste, no pun intended!

In the northeast, weather plays a big part in "Planning". Fall brings the colder weather and outdoor facilities such as pool cabanas and sprinkler systems must be winterized. Boilers and furnaces will soon be started and in the peek winter months of December, January, and February they will be working non-stop. During the summer months there is an increase in housing starts and remodeling. Air conditioning needs replace heating as the number one priority. Smart managers in the Plumbing industry plan for these seasonal changes by adapting their advertising and purchasing with this in mind. Parts that historically fail with regularity during specific times of the year are shopped, prices negotiated, and materials inventoried. By analyzing current situations as well as the future demands of customers, good managers wisely choose business strategies and determine the specific resources they will need at certain times of the year. By determining objectives during the planning stage, advertising dollars can be spent on specific ads featuring the seasonal needs of their potential customers, further increasing their company's potential for growth and earnings.

Once the planning stage has been completed, successful managers in the Plumbing and Heating business can begin focusing on "Organizing". During this function, identifying competitive threats and addressing customer's needs is very important. Management's key role in organizing is to assemble and coordinate all the necessary resources needed to achieve their companies' goals. The most successful managers are able to keep their companies flexible and adaptable, providing them with an approach that enables them to change direction with shifting market trends. Providing human, financial, physical, and informational resources are the function of management during organizing. Keeping a watchful eye on

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