Management is a process that is very important for day-to-day life and it is used in household-to-business organizations to ease the work process. Here we have discussed what is management and its meaning and definition of management, and its importance, characteristics, and objectives.
what is management in business? What are the functions and types of management, and what are the characteristics of management? All these basic questions will be covered here.
► What is Management in Business?
Management is the process of planning, organizing, staffing, leading, motivating, and making decisions to achieve organizational objectives.
Management is Science as well as Art and it is a profession also. We have covered this topic in another article.
Also Read :Management as a Science or Art?
◉ Management Meaning
- Management is a term derived from the Italian word “Managgiare”, which literal meaning is “to handle”
- and the Latin word “Manus” which literally means “Hand”
- and in the french word “Mesnagement” is a term that simply means modern-day management.
Mgmt. is a set of principles relating to the functions of planning, organizing, directing, and controlling and the practical application of these principles while managing resources of the company including human resources.
► Definition of Management
In Short,
“Management is a process of getting things done through people to achieve goals effectively and efficiently.”
Here is the complete definition,
“Management is a process and the art of getting things done through people using available resources with the aim of achieving goals effectively and efficiently.”
If we break down the above definition then the most important terms to be noted here are;
◉ “Art”
Management is an art because it requires perfection through practice, practical knowledge, and skills. (It is science also as it requires some principles to be followed while performing any task.)
◉ “Process”
Process means the primary functions that managers perform to get things done. These managerial functions are planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling.
◉ “Effectiveness”
Effectiveness refers to finishing the given task. Thus Effective Manager is concerned with doing the right task with the end result. It basically means completing activities and achieving goals.
◉ “Efficient”
Efficiency means doing the task correctly and minimizing the cost. An efficient Manager is concerned with the efficient use of input resources which ultimately reduce costs and lead to higher profits.
Top 10 Management Definitions by Author
Here are some of the best definitions of management given by famous authors and writers.
“Management is the process of designing, and maintaining an environment in which individuals, working together in groups, efficiently accomplish selected aims.” – Harold Koontz and Heinz Weihrich
“Management is defined as the process of planning, organizing, actuating and controlling an organization’s operations in order to achieve coordination of the human and material resources essential in the effective and efficient attainment of objectives.” – Robert L. Trewelly and M. Gene Newport
“Management is the process of working with and through others to effectively achieve organizational objectives by efficiently using limited resources in the changing environment.” – Kreitner D
“Management is a multipurpose organ that manages a business and manages managers and manages workers and work.” – Peter Drucker
“Management is to forecast, plan, organize, command, coordinate and control the activities of others.” – Henry Fayol
“Mgmt. is an art and science of decision-making and leadership” – Donald J. Cough
“Good Management, or scientific Mgmt., achieves a social objective with the best use of human and material energy and time, and with satisfaction for the participants and the public.” – Mary Crushing Nile
“Management is the art of knowing what you want to do and then seeing that they do it in the best and the cheapest manner.” – F.W. Taylor
“Management is defined as the process by which a cooperative group directs action towards common goals.” – Joseph Massie
“It is a social and technical process that utilizes, resources, influences, human action, and facilities changes in order to accomplish organizational goals.” – Theo Haimann and William Scott
Also Read :3 Levels of Management
► Objective of Management
- Organizational Objectives: Mgmt. is expected to work for the achievement of the objectives of the particular business or organization in which it exists. Some elements are Survival, Growth, Profits, ..etc.
- Social Objectives: Managers are not the only representative of the owners and workers, but are also responsible to the various groups outside the organization which creates a good corporate image in the industry. Some elements are the Supply of quantity at reasonable prices, Creation of Employment, ..etc.
- Personal objectives: An organization consists of several persons who have their own goals and objectives. Some examples are a Competitive Salary, Personal growth, and Skill development, a Good working environment, ..etc.
Some other Purposes/Objectives are as follows;
- Better Utilisation of resources
- Effective Planning
- Maintain Organizational Culture
- Profit Maximization
- Increase Customer Satisfaction
- Career Planning
- To cope with Risks
- Coordination between employees
► Nature of Management
To understand the basic nature of mgmt. it must be analyzed with different aspects in terms of art and science, in relation to administration, and as a profession, in terms of managerial skills and style of managers.
- Multidisciplinary
- Universality of Administration
- Dynamic Nature of Principle
- It is a Continuous Process
- It is a Group Activity
- It is Goal Oriented
- Management is a Science as well as an Art
◉ Management as an Art:
A Manager applies his experience & skills to manage and coordinate the effort of their people to perform his duties in the organization. The main elements are:
- Personal Skill
- Application of knowledge
- Result Orientation
- Creativity
- Practical knowledge
◉ Management as a Science:
- Mgmt. is considered a Social Science, It is designed not only to bring profits to the organization but also to serve as a helpful tool for society.
- Different principles & theories are developed through continuous observation, Research & Development (R&D), and experiments.
- It constitutes a systematized body of knowledge which have practicability.
- Universal acceptability is there.
◉ Management as a Profession:
- Learning Ability
- Post Learning Experience
- Ethical code of Conduct
- National Recognition
- Working Principles
Also Read :What is Administrative Management?
► Scope of Management
It is a process for managing and controlling changes in the requirements for a project. In an organization, different managers are assigned different tasks so that there is efficiency in the tasks.
These specific tasks are termed the scope of the mgmt. These tasks are clubbed into Finance Managers, Human Resource Managers, Marketing Managers, Production Managers, Research & Development, Core Operations, patient care, hospitality, ..etc.
- Human Resource Mgmt. (HRM)
- Financial Mgmt. (FM)
- Marketing Mgmt.
- Production and Operation Mgmt.
- Risk Mgmt.
- Strategic Mgmt.
- Cost & Accounting Mgmt.
- Quality Mgmt.
► Significance/Importance of management
- Encourages Innovation
- Facilitates growth and expansion
- Optimum use of resources
- Improves life of workers
- Improves corporate image
- Encourages Team Work
- Good Corporate Image
- The welfare of the Society
- Increase Motivation
- Higher Efficiency
► Characteristics of Management
- A continuous and never-ending process
- Result and goal-oriented process
- All-pervasive/universal
- It’s science as well as art.
- Multidimensional (work/people/operations)
- It’s a group activity
- It’s a dynamic function
- It is an intangible force but its impact is felt
- It involves decision making
► Principles of Management
There are 14 principles of management given by Henry Fayol that are as follows;
- Division of work
- Authority and Responsibility
- Discipline
- Unity of command
- Unity of direction
- Subordination of personal/individual interests to the general interest.
- Remuneration
- Centralization
- Scalar chain
- Order
- Equity
- Stability of tenure of personnel
- Initiative
- Esprit de corps
Must Read :14 Principles of Management (in detail)
► Functions of Management
Management is a continuous process of achieving organizational goals and objectives effectively and efficiently by using Managerial functions.
These managerial functions were originally identified by Henri Fayol as five elements; Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Leading (directing), and Controlling. There are now four commonly accepted Managerial functions.
The four basic functions of management are planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.
◉ Planning:
Planning is the act of establishing organizational goals and creating a course of action to achieve them. During the planning phase, managers make strategic decisions to set a direction for the organization.
◉ Organizing:
The purpose of organizing is to distribute the resources and delegate tasks to personnel to achieve the goals established in the planning stage.
Managers may need to work with other departments of the organization, such as finance and human resources, to organize the budget and collect raw materials.
◉ Leading:
Leading consists of motivating employees and influencing their behavior to achieve organizational objectives. Leading focuses on managing people, such as individual employees, teams, and groups rather than tasks.
Managers who are successful leaders usually connect with their employees by using interpersonal skills to encourage, inspire and motivate team members to perform to the best of their abilities.
◉ Controlling:
Controlling is the process of evaluating the execution of the plan and making adjustments to ensure that the organizational goal is achieved.
During the controlling stage, Managers monitor employees and evaluate the quality of their work. They give employees feedback, providing positive remarks on what they are doing well and suggestions for improvement.
These four managerial functions are actually highly integrated and can be considered a chain where each function builds on the previous function. These functions work together in the creation, execution, and realization of organizational goals.
Styles of Management
Most of the time Style of Mgmt is known as Types of Leadership style. A few of them are as follows;
- Democratic
- Participative
- Autocratic
- Leadership
- Collaboration
- Laissez-faire
- Participatory democracy
- Performance Mgmt.
- Transformational leadership
- Transactional leadership
- Situational leadership
