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Q.1 Write a note on the functions of management...

INTRODUCTION

A central organ or agency is required to co-ordinate the activities and efforts of the various

individual working together in an organisation so that they can work collectively as a team

such an organ is called management. The term management conveys different meaning

depending upon the contest in which it is used.

Management is applicable everywhere and has become the key to success in the modern

organisation. Every organisation requires making of decision, coordination of activities,

handling of people and control of operation directed towards its objectives, management

helps organisation in that activities.

DEFINITION OF MANAGEMENT

It is very difficult to give a precise definition of the term management. In the managementLiterature, we find a large number of definitions given by different authors.

However, the different viewpoints may be classified in to the following categories, namely:

1.Management as an art of getting things done.

2. Management as a process.

3. Management as a group of managers.

4. Management as a discipline.

MANAGEMENT AS AN ART OF GETTING THINGS DONE

Mary Parker defines management as the art of getting thing done through others.This

definition emphasizes that the manager achieve organisational objectives by getting work

done through the workers. It represents the traditional view of management under which

workers are treated as a factor of production only. This definition is incomplete in the present

context; its deficiencies are as follows:

1. The definition is vague as it does not identify the functions which a managerhas to perform to get result from others.

2. It gives the impression of the manipulative character of the practice ofManagement.

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3. The employees are merely treated as means for getting results. In other word their

position is like a cog in the wheel. This definition ignores the needs of the workers and does

not offer them human treatments.

MANAGEMENT AS A PROCESS

The process of management involves the determination of objectives and putting them into

action. Henri Fayol viewed management as a process consisting of five functions which

every organisation performs. To manage is to forecast and plan, to organise, to command,

to coordinate, and to control. This definition clearly define the four functions of

management. But the modern trend is to classify managerial functions into five categories:

1. Planning

2. Organizing

3. Staffing

4. Directing

5. ControllingMANAGEMENT AS A GROUP OF MANAGERS

The term management is frequently used to denote a group of managerial personnel. When

one says that management of this company is very efficient it is implied that the persons

who are looking after the affairs of the company are very efficient. Thus, management is the

body or group of people which performs certain managerial functions for the accomplishment

of predetermined goals. These people are individually known as managers.

MANAGEMENT AS A DISCIPLINE

Management has been widely recognized as a discipline or field of study. It is taught as a

specialized branch of knowledge in educational institute. As a field of study, the subject

includes management subjects, principles, techniques and skills. Management is a multi-

disciplinary discipline. It has drawn heavily from Anthropology, Psychology, sociology etc.

after obtaining a diploma or degree in management, a person can try for a managerial job.

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CHARACTERISTICS

Management is a distinct activity having the following salient features or characteristics.

1. ECONOMIC RESOURCE: Management is an important economic resource together with

land, labour and capital. As industrialization grows, the need for mangers increases. Efficient

management is the most critical input in the success of any organized group activity as it is

the force which assembles and integrates other factors of production, namely, labour, capital

and materials.

2. GOAL ORIENTED: Management is a purposeful activity. It coordinates the efforts of workers

to achieve the goals of the organization. The success of management is measured by the

extent to which the organizational goals are achieve.

3. DISTINCT PROCESS: Management is a distinct process consisting of such functions as

planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling. These functions are so interwoven

that it is not possible to lay down exactly the sequence of various functions or their relative

significance. In essence, the process of management involves decision making and putting

of decisions into practice.

4. INTEGRATIVE FORCE: The essence of management is integration of human and other

resources to achieve the desired objectives. All these resources are made available to those

who manage. Managers apply knowledge, experience and management principles for

getting the results from the workers by the use of nonhuman resources. Managers also seek

to harmonize the individual goals with the organizational goals for the smooth working of the

organization.

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5. INTANGIBLE FORCE: Management has been called an unseen force. Its presence is

evidenced by the result of its efforts-orderliness, informed employees, buoyant spirit and

adequate work output. Thus, feeling of management is result-oriented.

6. RESULT THOUGH OTHERS: The manager cannot do anything themselves. They must have

the necessary ability and skills to get work accomplished through the efforts of others. They

must motivate the subordinates for the accomplishment of the tasks assigned to them

7. A SCIENCE AND AN ART: Management has an organized body of knowledge consisting of

well defined concepts, principles and techniques which have wide applications. So it is

treated as science. The application of these concepts, principles and techniques requires

specialized 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.

8. SYSTEM OF AUTHORITY: Management as a team of managers represents a system of

authority or a hierarchy of command and control. Manager at different levels possess varying

degrees of authority which gets gradually reduced as you go down in the hierarchy.

9. MULTIDISCIPLINARY SUBJECT: Management has grown as a field of study taking the help

of so many other disciplines such as engineering, anthropology, sociology etc, much of the

management literature is the result of the association of those discipline.

UNIVERSAL APPLICATION:

Management in universal in character. The principles and techniques of management are

equally applicable in the field of business, education military, government and hospitals.

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