Which description best matches management skills?

• A. The ability to schedule tasks across departments
• B. The process of hiring and training new staff
• C. The power to purchase goods and services
• D. The ability to plan, organize, direct, and control individuals or groups of people to achieve specific goals

Answer: (D)

Management skills involve guiding and coordinating people to reach goals. It’s about planning what to do, organizing the necessary resources and people, directing them through leadership and motivation, and then controlling or monitoring progress to adjust as needed. This full set—planning, organizing, directing, and controlling—is what enables a manager to move a group toward specific objectives.

The other options describe specific tasks rather than the complete capability: scheduling tasks across departments is a narrow operational activity, hiring and training is more about human resources functions, and purchasing goods and services is procurement. None of these alone capture the full range of activities that define management skills.