Nature of Management

Concept of Management

Management is known as backbone of an organization. The functioning of an organization depends on its management system. An efficient management system is essential for successful functioning of an organization. For example, when we say; Unilever Nepal Ltd. is reputed company of Nepal, it means management system of this company is effective.

Management is the art of getting things done through others in systematic and effective manner. It is the process of getting things done through others with the help of basic activities like planning, organizing, directing, co-ordinating and controlling. Its main motive is to gain economic objectives of the organization in systematic and effective manner through the effort of subordinates.
According to the F.W Taylor, “The art of knowing, exactly what you mean to do and then seeing that do it in the best and cheapest way.” The term management may be studied from the various angles or senses like as an activity, as a process, as a discipline and as a group.

i. Management as an activity:
The activities of the Managers, like communicating information, decision-making and maintaining interpersonal relation to achieve the goal is management. According to Koontz, “Management is what a manager does”. Management as an activity includes –
1. Informational activities – In the functioning of business enterprise, the manager constantly has to receive and give information orally or in written. A communication link has to be maintained with subordinates as well as superiors for effective functioning of an enterprise.
2. Decisional activities – Practically all types of managerial activities are based on one or the other types of decisions. Therefore, managers are continuously involved in decisions of different kinds since the decision made by one manager becomes the basis of action to be taken by other managers. (E.g. Sales Manager is deciding the media & content of advertising).
3. Inter-personal activities – Management involves achieving goals through people. Therefore, managers have to interact with superiors as well as the sub-ordinates. They must maintain good relations with them. The inter-personal activities include with the sub-ordinates and taking care of the problem. (E.g. Bonuses to be given to the sub-ordinates).

ii. Management as a process:
The Management is the process of converting inputs (4M’s) into outputs (Goods and Services) through series of inter-related functions of an organization Like Planning, organizing, directing, and controlling. According to George R. Terry, “Management is a distinct process consisting of planning, organizing, actuating and controlling, performed to determine and accomplish stated objective by the use of human beings and other resources”. As a process, management consists of three aspects:
1. Management is a social process – Since human factor is most important among the other factors, therefore management is concerned with developing relationship among people. It is the duty of management to make interaction between people – productive and useful for obtaining organizational goals.
2. Management is an integrating process – Management undertakes the job of bringing together human physical and financial resources so as to achieve organizational purpose. Therefore, is an important function to bring harmony between various factors.
3. Management is a continuous process – It is a never-ending process. It is concerned with constantly identifying the problem and solving them by taking adequate steps. It is an on-going process.

iii. Management as a discipline:
Management is a specialized branch of human knowledge, which involves the study of certain principles and practices of basic administration. It specifies certain code of conduct to be followed by the manager & also various methods for managing resources efficiently.
Management as a discipline specifies certain code of conduct for managers & indicates various methods of managing an enterprise. Management is a course of study, which is now formally being taught in the institutes and universities after completing a prescribed course or by obtaining degree or diploma in management, a person can get employment as a manager.
Any branch of knowledge that fulfils following two requirements is known as discipline:
1. There must be scholars & thinkers who communicate relevant knowledge through research and publications.
2. The knowledge should be formally imparted by education and training programmes.
Since management satisfies both these problems, therefore it qualifies to be a discipline. Though it is comparatively a new discipline but it is growing at a faster pace.
iv. Management as a group:
This concept of management represents a team, class or section of people involve in various managerial functions. All the managers from the chief executives to the first line supervisors and their functions collectively are known as function. But in general, it represents a group consisting of board of director, chairman, managing directors, general manager, Branch or department managers.

Characteristics of Management

The common characteristics of management involves

1. Management is goal oriented process:
   Management always aims at achieving the organizational objectives. The functions and activities of manager lead to the achievement of organizational objectives.
2. Management is Pervasive:
   Management is a universal phenomenon. The use of management is not restricted to business firms only it is applicable in profit-making, non-profit-making, business or non-business organizations.
3. Management is Multidimensional:
   Management does not mean one single activity but it includes three main activities:
   • Management of work:
     All organizations are set up to perform some task or goal. Management activities aim at achieving goals or tasks to be accomplished. Management makes sure that work is accomplished effectively and efficiently.
   • Management of people:
     People refer to Human resources and Human resources are the most important assets of an organization. An organization can win over competitor only with efficient employees.
   • Management of operations:
     Operations refer to activities of production cycle such as buying inputs, converting them into semi-finished goods, finished goods.
4. Management is a continuous process:
   Management is a continuous or never ending function. All the functions of management are performed continuously, for example planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling are performed by all the managers all the time. Managers perform ongoing series of functions continuously in the organization.
5. Management is a group activity:
   Management always refers to a group of people involved in managerial activities. The management functions cannot be performed in isolation. Each individual performs his/her role at his/her status and department, and then only management function can be executed. 
6. Management is a dynamic function:
   Management has to make changes in goal, objectives and other activities according to changes taking place in the environment. The external environment such as social, economical, technical and political environment has great influence over the management. 
7. Intangible:
   Management function cannot be physically seen but its presence can be felt. The presence of management can be felt by seeing the orderliness and coordination in the working environment. For example, if the inventory of finished products is increasing day by day it clearly indicates mismanagement of marketing and sales.
8. Composite process:
   Management consists of series of functions which must be performed in a proper sequence. These functions are not independent of each other. They are inter-dependent on each other. All the functions inter-dependent on each other that is why management is considered as a composite process of all these functions.
9. Balancing effectiveness and efficiency:
   Effectiveness means achieving targets and objectives on time. Efficiency refers to optimum or best utilization of resources. Managements always try to balance both and get the work done successfully. Only effectiveness and only efficiency is not enough for an organization: a balance must be created in both.
10. Social process,
11. Distinct process,
12. Science art and a profession,

Management: Science, Art or Profession

There are controversy and variation among scholars whether management is a science, an art, or a profession. Some have opinion that it is science i.e. social science, some have opinion that it is an art or skill, and others have opinion that it is a profession.

Management as Science: Science is a systematized body of knowledge, principles and truth which are experimentally proved. The basic principles of management are based on scientific observation and experiment and are applied in all types of organisations. So it is a social science as it deals with people and their behavior. Following are the features of science which are also covered by management:

1. Existence of systematized body of knowledge,
2. Basic truth and universally applicable principles
3. Use of scientific methods of observation
4. Principles based on experiment and research
5. Established cause and effect relationship

Management as ART: Art is a skill, talent, and intellectual work for the practical implementation of theoretical knowledge to achieve specific objective. The main motive of art is to come into a specific result through deliberate effort. It needs creativity and personalized process and style. The main features of art which are covered by the management are

1. existence of practical knowledge,
2. personal skill,
3. result-oriented approach,
4. creativity
5. improvement through practice.

Management as Profession: A profession may be defined as an occupation of specialized and personal nature of service for which there is a fee called professional charge is to be paid. The examples of profession are occupation of lawyer, doctors, engineers, accountants, etc. The common features of profession which are covered by the management are

1. specialized knowledge,
2. formal education and training,
3. representation of association,
4. service element/social obligation
5. ethical standards

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Management and Administration

In general sense, both management and administration are same concepts. Both terms are used for the same purpose and related with determination of objectives and preparation of policies and implementation of them in practical field. There is controversy among scholars regarding the concept of management and administration.

According to Theo Haimann, “Administration means overall determination of policies, setting of major objectives, the identification of general purposes and laying down of board programs and projects”.

According to the Newman,”Administration means guidance, leadership and control of the efforts of the groups towards some common goals”

According to the American point of view, management, and administration are two different concepts. Administration concentrates in higher level authority. Management is the part of subordinate level authority and has responsibility to direct and control human efforts for execution of plans and policies lay down by administration.

According to the British point of view, management is a comprehensive term which includes both administration and entrepreneurship. They have view that administration is the part of management which is concerned with providing guidance for formulation of plans and policies and for the development of strategy to achieve goal. It is the function which covers middle and in some extended lower level management

According to the modern concept, management, and administration are same concept. There is no basic or fundamental difference between them. Both are intellectual and mental concepts. If any difference is there between management and administration it is only in terminology.

Generally, the term administration is used in government and legal organizations whereas the term management is used in social and business organizations.

Key Differences Between Management and Administration

BASIS FOR COMPARISON	MANAGEMENT	ADMINISTRATION
1. Meaning	An organized way of managing people and things of a business organization is called the Management.	The process of administering an organization by a group of people is known as the Administration.
2. Authority	Middle and Lower Level	Top Level
3. Role	Executive	Decisive
4. Concerned With	Policy Implementation	Policy Formulation
5. Area of Operation	It works under administration	It has full control over the activities of the organization.
6. Applicable to	Profit making organizations, i.e. business organizations	Government offices, military, clubs, business enterprises, hospitals, religious and educational organizations.
7. Decides	Who will do the work? And How will it be done?	What should be done? And When is should be done?
8. Work	Putting plans and policies into actions	Formulation of plans, framing policies and setting objectives
9. Focus on	Managing Work	Making best possible allocation of limited resources
10. Key person	Manager	Administrator
11. Represents	Employees, who work for remuneration	Owners, who get a return on the capital invested by them
12. Functions	Executives and Governing	Legislative and Determinatives

Functions of Management

All the managerial activities from setting of objectives to taking necessary steps to ensure for achieving organizational objectives are managerial functions. Different experts have classified functions of management. According to Henry Fayol, “To manage is to forecast and plan, to organize, to command, & to control”. 
1. Planning
It is the basic function of management. It deals future course of action & deciding in advance the most appropriate course of actions for achievement of pre-determined goals. Planning is determination of courses of action to achieve desired goals. Thus, planning is a systematic thinking about ways & means for accomplishment of pre-determined goals. 
2. Organizing
It is the process of bringing together physical, financial and human resources and developing productive relationship amongst them for achievement of organizational goals. 
3. Staffing
Staffing has assumed greater importance in the recent years due to advancement of technology, increase in size of business, complexity of human behavior etc. The main purpose o staffing is to put right man on right job i.e. square pegs in square holes and round pegs in round holes. 

4. Directing
It is that part of managerial function which actuates the organizational methods to work efficiently for achievement of organizational purposes. Direction is that inert-personnel aspect of management which deals directly with influencing, guiding, supervising, motivating sub-ordinate for the achievement of organizational goals. 

• Supervision– implies overseeing the work of subordinates by their superiors. It is the act of watching & directing work & workers.
• Motivation– means inspiring, stimulating or encouraging the sub-ordinates with zeal to work. Positive, negative, monetary, non-monetary incentives may be used for this purpose.
• Leadership- may be defined as a process by which manager guides and influences the work of subordinates in desired direction.
• Communications- is the process of passing information, experience, opinion etc from one person to another. It is a bridge of understanding.

5. Controlling
It implies measurement of accomplishment against the standards and correction of deviation if any to ensure achievement of organizational goals. The purpose of controlling is to ensure that everything occurs in conformities with the standards. An efficient system of control helps to predict deviations before they actually occur. 

Levels of Management

Except in small-scale organizations, management hierarchy is divided into different levels and in each level, a manager or head is appointed. According to the nature and size of the organization, management system may be divided into three levels

1. Top level
2. Middle level, and
3. Lower level

Top-level management is constituted with a management committee elected directly from shareholders as members of board of directors. Besides, this level also involves chief executive like chairman managing director or general manager. This level of management is responsible for welfare and development of the organization

Middle level of management consists of departmental heads like personnel manager production manager, marketing manager, finance manager, procurement manager and similar other positions. This level plays the role of mediator between TOP level management and first-line management.

Subordinate level management is known as first-line or operating level management. This level consists of supervisors foreman, sales officers, account officers superintendents, and other operational heads. They are responsible for the implementation of plans and strategies developed by the middle-level management This level is directly responsible for the completion of works and planned objectives.

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