In supervision, breaking a job into tasks occurs in which phase?

• A. Planning and organizing
• B. Directing
• C. Rewarding and disciplining
• D. Setting goals

Answer: (A)

Breaking a job into tasks is a planning and organizing activity. In supervision, planning involves deciding what needs to be done to reach objectives and outlining the activities required. Organizing takes those activities and structures them—defining each task, sequencing steps, and assigning responsibilities and resources. This decomposition makes the overall goal actionable and sets the stage for efficient assignment and scheduling. Directing is about guiding performance during execution, while setting goals concerns defining the desired outcomes; the specific step of breaking work into tasks belongs to planning and organizing, translating goals into concrete, manageable actions. For example, a maintenance project would be broken down into inspection, part replacement, testing, and documentation to show exactly how to complete the work.