What is Management?
– “Management is an art of getting things done through and with the people in formally organized groups. It is the art of creating an environment in which people can perform and individuals and can co-operate towards attainment of group goals”.
– According to F.W. Taylor, “Management is an art of knowing what to do when to do it and see that it is done in the best and cheapest way”.
Management can be defined in detail in the following categories:
- Management as a Process
- Management as an Activity
- Management as a Discipline
- Management as a Group
- Management as a Science
- Management as an Art
- Management as a Profession
Features of Management
- Management is Goal-Oriented: The success of any management activity is assessed by its achievement of the predetermined goals or objective. It is a tool which helps use of human & physical resources to fulfill the pre-determined goals.
- Management integrates Human, Physical and Financial Resources: Management integrates human efforts to those resources. It brings harmony among the human, physical and financial resources.
- Management is Continuous: Management is an ongoing process. It involves continuous handling of problems and issues. It is concerned with identifying the problem and taking appropriate steps to solve it.
- Management is all Pervasive: Management is required in all types of organizations whether it is political, social, cultural or business because it helps and directs various efforts towards a definite purpose. Whether it is a small business firm that may be engaged in trading or a large firm like Tata Iron & Steel, management is required everywhere irrespective of size or type of activity.
- Management is a Group Activity: It involves the use of group effort to achieve the predetermined goal of management of ABC & Co. is good refers to a group of persons managing the enterprise.
Functions of Management
There are four fundamental functions of management i.e. planning, organizing, actuating and controlling”.
- Planning:
– It deals with drawing out a future course of action & deciding in advance the most appropriate course of actions for achievement of pre-determined goals.
– Planning is deciding in advance – what to do, when to do & how to do.
– it is an intellectual activity and it also helps in avoiding confusion, uncertainties, risks,
wastages etc.
- Organizing :
– It is the process of bringing together physical, financial, and human resources and developing productive relationships amongst them for the achievement of organizational goals.
– Organizing as a process involves:
a) Identification of activities.
b) Classification of grouping of activities.
c) Assignment of duties.
d) Delegation of authority and creation of responsibility.
e) Coordinating authority and responsibility relationships.
- Staffing :
– Managerial function of staffing involves manning the organization structure through proper and effective selection, appraisal & development of personnel to fill the roles designed in the structure.
Staffing involves:
a) Manpower Planning R
b) Recruitment, Selection & Placement.
c) Training & Development.
d) Remuneration.
d) Performance Appraisal.
e) Promotions & Transfer.
- Directing (Leading):
– Direction is that inert-personnel aspect of management that deals directly with
influencing, guiding, supervising, and motivating sub-ordinate for the achievement of organizational goals.
– Direction has the following elements:
a) Supervision: It is the act of watching & directing work & workers.
b) Motivation: means inspiring, stimulating, or encouraging the subordinates with zeal to work.
c) Leadership: may be defined as a process by which a manager guides and influences the work of subordinates in the desired direction.
d) Communication: is the process of passing information, experience, opinion etc from one person to another.
- Controlling:
– Controlling is the process of checking whether or not proper progress is being made towards the objectives and goals and acting if necessary, to correct any deviation.
– The purpose of controlling is to ensure that everything occurs in conformity with the standards.
– An efficient system of control helps to predict deviations before they occur.
– Therefore controlling has the following steps:
a) Establishment of standard performance.
b) Measurement of actual performance.
c) Comparison of actual performance with the standards and finding out deviation if any.
d) Corrective action.
