Concept and Meaning of Management
Manager’s job involves planning for the future by anticipating changes in the external environment, organizing people into groups, allocating resources to them, and motivating them to attain organizational goals. Good management is essential for any organization, be it a government agency, a non-profit organization, or an industrial firm if it is to achieve its objectives.
“Management means, in the last analysis, the substitution of thought for brawn and muscle, of knowledge for folkways and superstition, and of cooperation for force. It means the substitution of responsibility for obedience to rank, and of the authority of performance for the authority of rank.”
Every business organization needs a unifying central guiding, directing, and controlling agency that functions as a mind of the organization. As the mind of the human body guides directs and controls the organs of the human body, similarly the management energies the organization for efficient and profitable functioning.
Peter F. Drucker remarks, “Neither results nor do resources exist inside the business. Both exist outside. It is the function of management to use resources for the realization of results in such a way that the business firm is not only able to pay its way but also able to earn some surplus to meet the needs of growth and expansion.
Simply speaking, management is what managers do. But that simple statement much doesn’t tell us much does it? A more thorough explanation is that is “Management” is coordinating work activities so that they are completed efficiently and effectively with and through other people.
“Coordinating work activities so that they are completed efficiently and effectively with and through other people “.
—Stephen P. Robbins and Mary Coulter
“Management is the function of guiding, directing and unifying human efforts and activities for the accomplishment of the given task”.
—Y.K. Bhushan
“Management consists of getting things done through others; a manager is one who accomplishes objectives by directing the efforts of others “.
—C.S. George
“Management is the art of getting things done through and with people in formally organized groups. It is the art of creating the environment in which people can perform and individuals could cooperate towards attaining of group goals”.
—Harold Koontz
“Management is a distinct process consisting of planning, organizing, activating and controlling perform activities to determine and accomplish stated objectives by the use of human beings and other resources”.
—George R. Terry
“Management is a social and technical process which utilizes resources, influences human activities and facilitates change in order to accomplish organizational goals”.
—Theo Haimann and William G. Scott.
As a business concern is promoted, the objectives are defined and groups of individuals are formed for achieving the common objectives. The group so formed is entrusted the job of accomplishing the said objectives. Fixed groups of individuals are assigned well-defined duties and fixed responsibilities. Their efforts are coordinated, instructed, and guided. Leadership is provided with motivation to achieve in order to get the best of what these groups of individuals can give to the organization with which they are attached. Thus,” Planning, Co-coordinating, motivating and controlling the human efforts directed towards a specific pre-determined objective is management”.
It is clear from the above definitions that management has been defined in different senses, emphasizing the different concepts of management. However, it is not fair to define management in terms of only one aspect. For example, when one says that management is what management does, the social and human aspects of management are overlooked. Similarly, the definition” Management is the management of people and not things,” is incomplete as it lays undue emphasis on the contribution of workers and under-estimates the contribution of other factors of production.
In the same manner, the coordination of materials and human resources is also a very important concept of management. Without proper integration and coordination, maximum utilization of available resources is impossible.
To conclude, management may be finally regarded as; (i) Formulation of a plan, policies, and objectives; (ii) Securing men, money, machine, material, method and market (6M) for their achievement; (iii) Putting all them into operation; (iv) Directing and motivating the men at work; (v) Supervising and controlling their performance; and (vi) Providing maximum satisfaction and service to the employer, employees, and public at large.
