Introduction To Management

Introduction To Management 

Imagine an army with no general, a team with no coach, or a nation with no government. How could the army beat the enemy? How could the team win games? How could the nation avoid complete anarchy? 

They couldn’t. And an organization can’t succeed without a manager. Managers make sure that an organization stays, well … organized. Organizing and directing the work of others is the work of the manager. People need organization and direction if they are to work effectively, and managers provide that.

Management is a continuous, lively and fast developing science. Management is needed to convert the disorganized resources of men, machines, materials and methods into a useful and effective enterprise. management is a pipeline, the inputs are fed at the end and they are proceeded through management functions and ultimately we get the end results or inputs in the form of goods, services, productivity, information and satisfaction. Management is a comprehensive word which is used in different sciences in the modern business and industrial world. In the narrow sense, it signifies the technique of taking work from others. In this way a person who can take work from others is called manager. In the wide sense, the management is an art, as well as science, which is concerned with the different human efforts so as achieve the desired objective.

Definition:-

Management has been defined by different authors in a number of ways. Some call it a process of managing. Some call it a coordination of resources, some call it body of personnel challenged in the task of managing while others call it as an organized distinct discipline. The following are some of the main definitions of management:.

Management is the Art of getting things done through people   - Mary Parker Follett 

Management is a process of Planning, Organizing, actuating (directing) and controlling, performed to determine and accomplish the objectives by the use of people and resources  --George R Terry.

Some call management as an art , some call as science and now a days it is also becoming profession. so we can also say :-

Management is the art and science of getting things done through others, generally by organizing and directing their activities on the job. A manager is therefore someone who defines, plans, guides, assists, and assesses the work of others, usually people for whom the manager is responsible in an organization.

Characteristics /  Features of Management:

The main characteristics of management are as follows:

1. Management is an activity: Management is an activity which is concerned with the efficient utilization of human and non-human resources of production.
2. Invisible Force: Management is an invisible force. Its existence can be felt through the enterprise or institution it is managing. 
3. Goal Oriented: Management is goal oriented as it aims to achieve some definite goals and objectives. According to the Haimann, "Effective management is always management by objectives". Managers and other personnel officers apply their knowledge, experience and skills to achieve the desired objectives. Accomplishment through the efforts of Others: Managers cannot do everything themselves. They must have the necessary ability and skills to get work accomplished through the efforts of others.
4. Universal activity: Management is universal. Management is required in all types or organizations. Wherever there are some activities, there is management. The basic principles of management are universal and can be applied anywhere and in every field, such as business, social, religious, cultural, sports, administration, educational, politics or military.
5. Art as well as Science: Management is both an art and a science. It is a science as it has an organized body of knowledge which contains certain universal truths and an art as managing requires certain skills which apply more or less in every situation.
6. Multidisciplinary Knowledge: Though management is a distinct discipline, it contains principles drawn from many social sciences like psychology, sociology etc.
7. Management is distinct from ownership: In modern times, there is a divorce of management from ownership. Today, big corporations are owned by a vast number of shareholders while their management is in the hands of paid qualified, competent and experienced managerial personnel.
8. Need at all levels: According to the nature of task and scope of authority, management is needed at all levels of the organization, i.e., top level, middle and lower level.
9. Integrated process: Management is an integrated process. It integrates the men, machine and material to carryout the operations of the enterprise efficiently and successfully. This integrating process is result oriented.