Management is required in all kinds of organisations whether they are manufacturing computers or handlooms, trading in consumer goods or providing saloon services and even in non-business organisations. No matter what the organisation is or what its goals might be, they all have something in common – management and managers. Successful organisations achieve their goals by following a deliberate process called ‘management. Management consists of a series of interrelated functions that are performed by all managers. In simple words Management is the art of getting things done through people. Let’s understand the concept of management.
Concept of Management
Some of the common definition of management given by famous writers and thinkers are:
- According to Harold Koontz and Heinz Weihrich, Management is the process of designing and maintaining an environment in which individuals, working together in groups, efficiently accomplish selected aims.
- According to Robert L. Trewelly and M. Gene Newport, Management is defined as the process of planning, organising, actuating and controlling an organisation’s operations in order to achieve coordination of the human and material resources essential in the effective and efficient attainment of objectives.
- According to Kreitner, “Management is the process of working with and through others to effectively achieve organisational objectives by efficiently using limited resources in the changing environment.
- According to George R Terry, Management consists of planning, organising, actuating and controlling, performed to determine and accomplish the objectives by the use of people and resources.
So Management can be defined as a process of getting things done with the aim of achieving goals effectively and efficiently. Some important terms in this definition are:
- Process: Process means the primary functions or activities that management performs to get things done. These functions are planning, organising, staffing, directing and controlling.
- Effectiveness: Effectiveness is concerned with the end result. It basically means finishing the given task. Thus Effectiveness in management is concerned with doing the right task, completing activities and achieving goals
- Efficient: Efficiency means doing the task correctly and with minimum cost. Management is concerned with the efficient use of input resources which ultimately reduce costs and lead to higher profits.
it is important for management to achieve goals (effectiveness) with minimum resources i.e., as efficiently as possible while maintaining a balance between effectiveness and efficiency.
Characteristics of Management
Basic characteristics of management are:
- Management is a goal-oriented process: An organisation has a set of basic goals which are the basic reason for its existence. Management unites the efforts of different individuals in the organisation towards achieving these goals.
- Management is all pervasive: The activities involved in managing an enterprise are common to all organisations whether economic, social or political.
- Management is multidimensional: Management is a complex activity that has three main dimensions:
- Management of work: All organisations exist for the performance of some work. Management translates this work in terms of goals to be achieved and assigns the means to achieve it.
- Management of people: Human resources or people are an organisation’s greatest asset. Managing people has two dimensions:
- it implies dealing with employees as individuals with diverse needs and behavior;
- it also means dealing with individuals as a group of people
The task of management is to make people work towards achieving the organisation’s goals, by making their strengths effective and their weaknesses irrelevant.
- Management of operations: It requires a production process which entails the flow of input material and the technology for transforming this input into the desired output for consumption
- Management of operations: It requires a production process which entails the flow of input material and the technology for transforming this input into the desired output for consumption
- Management is a continuous process: The process of management is a series of continuous, composite, but separate functions (planning, organising, directing, staffing and controlling). These functions are simultaneously performed by all managers all the time.
- Management is a group activity: An organisation is a collection of diverse individuals with different needs. Management should enable all its members to grow and develop as needs and opportunities change
- Management is a dynamic function: Management is a dynamic function and has to adapt itself to the changing environment. In order to be successful, an organisation must change itself and its goals according to the needs of the environment.
- Management is an intangible force: Management is an intangible force that cannot be seen but its presence can be felt in the way the organisation functions
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