Nature of Management

Nature of Management

Giving below some important points of Nature of Management.

1. Universality: Management is a universal phenomenon, in the sense, it is the common and essential element in all enterprises. Managers perform more or less the same functions irrespective of their position or nature of the organization. The basic principles of management can be applied in all managerial situations regardless of the size, nature and location of the organization. Universality of managerial tasks and principles also implies that managerial skills are transferable and managers can be trained and developed.

2. Purposeful: Management is always aimed at achieving organizational goals and purposes. The success of management is measured by the extent to which the desired objectives are attained. In both economic and non-economic enterprises, the tasks of management are directed towards effectiveness (i.e., attainment of organizational goals) and efficiency (i.e., goal attainment with the economical use of resources).

3. Social process: Management essentially involves managing people associated with an organization or a work group. It includes retaining, Developing and motivating people at work, as well as taking care of their satisfaction as social beings. All these interpersonal relations and interactions makes the management as a social process.

4. Coordinating force: Management coordinates the efforts of the members of an organization through the orderly arrangement of inter-related activities so as to avoid duplication and overlapping. Management reconciles the individual goals with the organizational goals and integrates human and physical resources.

5. Intangible: Management is intangible. It is an unseen force. Its presence can be felt everywhere by the results of its effort which comes in the form of orderliness, adequate work output, satisfactory working climate, employees satisfaction etc.

6. Continuous process: Management is a dynamic and on-going process. The cycle of management continues to operate so long as there is the need of organized action for the achievement of group goals exists.

7. Composite process: Functions of management cannot be undertaken sequentially, independent of each other. Management is a composite process made up of individual ingredients. All the functions are performed by involving several ingredients. Therefore, the whole process is integrative and performed in a network fashion.

8. Creative organ: Management creates an energetic effect by producing results which are more than the sum of individual efforts of the group members. It provides sequence to operations, matches jobs to goals, connects work to physical and financial resources. It provides creative ideas, new imaginations and visions to group efforts. It is not a passive force adopting to external environment but a dynamic life-giving element in every organization.
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Concept of Management

In simple, the process of collecting different types of resources, coordinating them and implementing them in the proper way to achieve the predetermined goals of the organization is known as management.

It can be described as Manage+men+T which means managing the men tactfully to achieve the goals.

Management is the attainment of organizational goals in an effective manner through planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling organizational resources.

Organization resources include money, materials, men (human beings), and machines.

As per Koontz H, "Management is the art of getting things done through and with the people in formally organized groups."

Management is the process of Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing and Controlling to accomplish organizational objectives through the coordinated use of human and material resources.

Features of Management

1. Management is an organized activity
2. Management is a group activity
3. Management is a distinct process
4. Management is both a science and an art
5. Management integrates human and other resources
6. Management principles are universal in nature
7. Management aims at the accomplishment of predetermined objectives

Management as a process with four functions

The four basic management functions are planning, organizing leading and controlling.

1. Planning and Decision Making
2. Organizing and Staffing
3. Leading
4. Controlling

Planning activity

Planning management

Importance of Management

• Achievement of Group Goals
• Human Development
• Optimum Utilization of Resources
• Stability
• Fulfillment of social Obligations

1. PlanningPlanning is the primary and most basic function of Management. It is a function of deciding in advance, what is to be done, when is to be done, how it is to be done and by whom it is to be done.

2. Organizing

The next step after planning is Organizing. The process of organizing consists of the following steps:

1. Defining and determining the activities to achieve the goal.
2. Grouping of activities as per nature and convenience. For example, engineering works can be given to the engineering department at the same time purchasing activities can be assigned to the purchasing department.
3. Dividing or assigning duties to people at various levels.
4. Defining and fixing responsibility for the higher performance
5. Delegating authority to people at different levels.

3. Leading consists of:

1. Supervision of work
2. Issuing orders and instruction
3. Communication with the team.
4. Motivation (encouraging subordinates to work together)
5. Leadership to influence the team to behave responsibly.

4. Controlling consists of:

1. Taking corrective action for the attainment of the goal.
2. Establishing standards for measurement of performance.
3. Measuring performance and comparing with the standard.
4. Finding reasons for variation among different team members performance.

Management Pyramid
1. Top Management, which include, Board of directors, President, Executive Vice president and vice president.
2. Middle Management: Which consists of Department heads, Plant Manager, Plant superintendent.
3. Lower Management: This level consists of Foremen and Supervisors.

© 2009 Siny J