1.

Concepts, Nature and Process Of Management

Traditional View of management: An art of getting things done through people. It is been criticized on the following
grounds:
(i) It does not give the functions which a manager has to perform to get results from others.
(ii) Gives the impression of the manipulative character of the practice of management.
(iii)The employees are merely treated as means for getting results.
(iv)The needs of workers have been ignored, they are supposed to work like machines.
Modern Definition of management: Management involves planning, organising, staffing, directing, and controlling, the
activities of the enterprise for the efficient utilisation of resources to achieve organisational goals. The modern concept of
management has the following features:

(i) Management is goal oriented process. Its purpose is to accomplish the objectives of the organisation.
(ii) It involves effective and efficient utilisation of human and other resources like capital, machines, material, etc.
(iii) It performs the function of planning, organising, staffing, directing, and controlling. Thus, management could be viewed
as a process consisting of these functions.
(iv) It is an integral part of any group activity and is concerned with enhancing its effectiveness and efficiency.

For a long term survival and growth of a business, its management must try to achieve goals (effectiveness) with use of
minimum resources (efficiency) and thus maintain a balance between effectiveness and efficiency.

Management as a Discipline. Management has acquired the status of a discipline or field of study. Management is both a
science and an art. The knowledge, skills, techniques and principles which managers use in managing are broadly
referred to as the field of management science. It is regarded as an art because the performance of managerial
functions requires certain skills which are a personal possession of a manager. Management is recognized as a
science because it has developed certain principles and techniques which have more or less universal application.
In other words, it consists of specific concepts, principles, theories and practices which are taught to the students
of management.
Management as a group. Has become a very common term used to denote a team or group of managers who run an
organisation. Management of an enterprise is represented by the group of people which performs managerial
functions for the accomplishment of its goal, individually known as Managers.

Nature and Characteristics of Management

1. Management is Goal-Oriented. The purpose of management is to achieve the goals of the organisation. There is no
need of management if there are no pre-determined goals or objectives. The success of management is judged by the
extent to which organisational goals are achieved. The basic purpose of management is to achieve maximum efficiency of
the organisation.
2. Management is a Continuous Process. i.e. its functions are repeated time and again. It is an ongoing process of planning
the activities and execution of plans through organising, staffing, directing and controlling.
3. Management is a Coordinative Force. The essence of management is the coordination or integration of human and
other resources for effective performance. It brings together physical and financial rèsources and leads the human
resources for the efficient use of non-human resources. All these resources are properly organised and divided into various
work-units for the purpose of achieving greater coordination. Management acts as a catalytic agent in getting maximum
productivity.
4. Management is an Intangible Force. Management has been called the unseen force. Its presence is evident by the
results of its efforts -orderliness, informed employees, buoyant spirit and higher output.
5. Management is a part of Group Effort. Management is an integral part of any group activity. It is essential to undertake
any organised activity. It involves the use of group efforts in the pursuit of well defined goals or objectives.
6. Management accomplishes Results through the Cooperation of Others. The managers cannot do everything
themselves. They must motivate the subordinates for the accomplishment of the tasks assigned to them. It is through
motivation that managers can influence the behaviour of their subordinates.
7. Management balances Effectiveness and Efficiency. Sound management requires that all organisational activities are
performed effectively and efficiently. An organisation is said to be effective if it is able to accomplish its objectives. It
will be termed as efficient if it is able to accomplish its objectives by making optimum use of resources.
8. Management is a Dynamic Discipline. (not important) Management is a field of study which is taught in universities and
management institutes. In fact, management is multidisciplinary in nature. It contains principles drawn from many social
science Much of management literature is the result of the association of these disciplines.
9. Management is a Science as well as an Art. Management has an organised body of knowledge consisting of distinct
concepts, principles and techniques which have wide application. So it is treated as a science. The application of these
concepts, principles and techniques requires specialised knowledge and skills on the part of the manager. Since the skills
acquired by a manager are his personal possession, management is viewed as an art.
10. Management is Pervasive or Universal. The principles and techniques of management have universal application. They
can be applied to all types of organisations. However, the principles and techniques should not be applied blindly as they
are not rigid laws. They should be modified to suit the given situation and the type of organisation.
Objectives of Management
Objectives are the goals or ends towards which the activities of a business are directed. They serve as standards or
benchmarks against which the performance is measured and assessed.
1. Organisational Objectives:
(a) Survival. The basic objective of any buisness is survival. In order to survive, a business must earn enough revenues to
cover costs of operations.
(b) Profit. Mere survival is not enough for the business. Management has to ensure that the business makes reasonable
profits. Profits provide a vital incentive for the continued successful operation of the enterprise. The management must
earn sufficient profits to meet the various costs of business expansion.
(c) Growth. To remain in the market, management must exploit fully the growth potential of the organisation. Growth of a
business may be measured in terms of increase in annual production, sales turnover, number of employees, capital
investment, etc.
2. Social Objectives: Management is an organ of the society and so it must have social objectives. Such objectives are
intended to do socially useful things , it include the following:
(a) Supply of quality goods at reasonable prices.
(6) Generation of employment opportunities.
(c) Providing fincacial support to community projects.
(a) Protection of environment by using environmental friendly methods of production.
(e) Providing employment to physically challenged people.
Repured companies like Tata Steel, ITC, Asian Paints, etc. have been working for rural development by financing schemes
for the health, eductaion and training of rural masses.
3. Personal Objectives
These objectives pertain to individual employees and managers, as for example:
(a) Good salary and other benefits.
(b) Opportunities for training, promotion, etc.
(c) Recognition of meritorious work.
(a) Good and healthy working conditions.
Management must facilitate the accomplishment of the personal objectives of the employees. It must also integrate the
personal goals of the individuals with those of the enterprise.
Importance of Management
Management is the thinking organ that provides vision to the business. The importance of management to a modern
business is discussed below:
1. Accomplishment of Goals. It is the management which determines the goals of the organisation and of various
departments and functional groups. The goals are communicated to the employees to seek their cooperation. All
organisational activities are directed towards the organisational objectives. Clear-cut definition of goals is essential for the
success of any organisation.
2. Effective Utilisation of Resources. Management ensures optimum utilisation of resources. Through planning and
organisation, management eliminates all types of wastages and achieves efficiency in all business operations. Management
motivates workers to put in their best performance. This would lead to the effective working of the business.
3. Sound Organisation. Management establishes sound organisation for the accomplishment of the desired objectives by
clarifying authority responsibility relationships among various positions in the enterprise. It fills various positions with
persons having the right qualifications and training. Management also provides the workers with proper environment and
encourages the spirit of co-operation.
4. Providing Vision and Foresight. Management keeps itself in touch with the external environment and supplies vision and
foresight to the enterprise. It helps in predicting what is going to happen in future which will influence the working of the
enterprise. It also takes steps to ensure that the enterprise is able to meet the demands of changing environment.
5. Harmony in Work. In an organisation employees come from different backgrounds, they have different attitudes and
different styles of working and if everyone start following his own style, it can lead to chaos and confusion in the
organisation. By giving directions managers bring uniformity and harmony in the action of employees.
6. Help the Employees in Achieving Personal Objectives. Every manager motivates and leads his team in such a manner
that individual members are able to achieve personal goals while contributing to the overall organisational objective.
Through motivation and leadership management helps individuals to develop team spirit, cooperation and commitment to
group success.
7. Development of Society and Nation. Management plays a pivotal and crucial role in economic and social development
of a country. The development of a country lies on the quality of management and available resources. Management can
increase the national income and standard of living of the people by producing maximum cost. Thus management is
important at national level and is regarded as a key for the economic growth of a country.
Management and Administration
Administration is concerned with laying down objectives of the enterprise, formulating its policies, determining the broad
organisation structure, and overall control of the undertaking. Administration is a top level function which includes
determination of objectives and policies and overall control of business operations. To quote Oliver Sheldon,
"Administration defines the goal; management strives towards it.
Administration is a determinative function, whereas management is an executive function concerned with implementation
of policies laid down by administration. There is often a debate as to whether or not there is a difference between
'management' and 'administration'. Conflicting views by various authors have led to a controversy over the use of these
terms. The debate over the use of the terms 'management' and administration' has given rise to three viewpoints :
(i) American Viewpoint : Administration is a higher level function, whereas management is a lower level function.
(ii) British Viewpoint: Management is a generic term and includes administration.
(iii) Modern Viewpoint : Both the terms are used interchangeably.
Now we shall discuss these viewpoints on the usage of the terms 'management and administration':
(i) Administration is a Higher Level Function. The American authors like Oliver Sheldon and William Spriegel consider
administration as a determinative function and management as an executive function. Administration involves setting of
major objectives, determination of policies, laying down broad programmes and so forth. Management refers essentially to
the executive function, i.e., the direction of human effort`s with a view to getting things done. Thus, administration comes
first and management follows it.
(ii) Management is a Generic Term. The British authors like Brech and Kimball and Kimball hold that management is a
broad term and includes administration. Management is concerned with goal-setting and policy- making whereas
administration deals with implementation of goals and policies. Thus, the first and the second viewpoints differ from each
other.
(iii) Management and Administration are Synonymous. The modern viewpoint advocates that there is no distinction
between the terms 'management' and 'administration'. The distinction between management and administration may be
of academic interest only. But in practical life, this distinction seems superfluous. In order to avoid the controversy, we can
classify management into: (a) Administrative management; and (b) Operative management

*Difference between management and administration on page 13/14*

*Management as Science/Art/Profession on page 14-20*