Final answer:
The management function used when Southern Living magazine mailed warnings to subscribers about a controversial recipe is Controlling. This action represents the monitoring and corrective component of the controlling process in response to an issue.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question revolves around a situation where Southern Living magazine had to address a controversy by reaching out to its subscribers. In this scenario, the management function utilized when the warnings were mailed to subscribers is D. Controlling. The controlling function involves monitoring performance to ensure that organizational goals are being met and taking corrective action as needed. By sending out warnings to subscribers about the controversial dinner roll recipe, the magazine was engaging in damage control to maintain its reputation and subscriber satisfaction, which are part of the control process to align performance with expectations.