Concept and objectives of management
Management is the process of getting things done through other people, so that goals are reached effectively and efficiently. A process means a series of steps. Here the steps are the five functions.
Features of management
- Goal-oriented: it always works for a clear goal.
- All-pervasive: needed in every kind of group: shop, school, hospital, government.
- Multi-dimensional: it manages work, people and operations.
- Continuous: the functions keep repeating.
- Group activity: many people with different needs work together.
- Dynamic: it changes with the environment.
- Intangible: you cannot touch it, but you can see its results (order, happy staff, goals met).
Objectives
- Organisational: survival (earn enough to stay in business), profit (to cover costs and risks), growth (bigger sales, more branches).
- Social: good products at fair prices, jobs for weaker sections, care for the environment.
- Personal: fair pay, respect, chance to learn and grow for employees.
Effectiveness and efficiency
Effectiveness means finishing the given job on time. It is about the end result. Efficiency means doing the job with the least use of resources (money, time, material). It is about cost versus output.
A firm can be effective but not efficient: it meets the deadline by spending too much on overtime. It can be efficient but not effective: it saves money but misses the deadline. Good management balances both: the right result at low cost.
Importance of management
- Helps reach group goals: it points everyone towards one common aim.
- Increases efficiency: it cuts waste through planning and control.
- Creates a dynamic organisation: it helps the firm adapt to change.
- Helps reach personal objectives: motivation and leadership help people meet their own needs too.
- Helps develop society: better products, more jobs, new technology.
Management as a science, an art and a profession
As a science
A science has a body of knowledge, principles found by testing, and results that apply everywhere. Management has its own knowledge and principles, but they deal with people, whose behaviour changes. So results are not exact. Management is an inexact (flexible) science.
As an art
An art needs knowledge, personal skill, creativity and practice. Managers read books, but each one uses the ideas in a personal style and improves with practice. So management is fully an art.
As a profession
A profession has a special body of knowledge, a formal entry test or degree, a professional association, an ethical code and a service motive. Management has the knowledge and some associations (like the All India Management Association), but there is no compulsory degree and no body that must license managers. So it is not a full profession.
Levels of management
Levels show the chain of superiors and juniors.
- Top level: chairman, board of directors, CEO, managing director. They set overall goals and policies, plan for the long term, and answer for the whole firm's results.
- Middle level: heads of departments like production, sales, finance. They turn top plans into department plans, hire and train staff, and link the top and lower levels.
- Lower (supervisory) level: foremen and supervisors. They guide workers daily, keep quality, cut waste and pass on workers' problems upward.
Functions of management
- Planning: deciding in advance what to do and how.
- Organising: dividing work, grouping jobs and giving authority.
- Staffing: finding, choosing, training and placing the right people.
- Directing: guiding, motivating, leading and communicating with people.
- Controlling: comparing actual results with the plan and fixing gaps.
Coordination: the essence of management
Coordination means joining the work of different departments and people so they move together towards one goal. Example: sales must not promise more goods than production can make.
Features
- Integrates group efforts.
- Ensures unity of action.
- Is a continuous process.
- Is all-pervasive (needed in every department and level).
- Is the responsibility of all managers.
- Is a deliberate (planned) effort.
Why it is needed
A firm grows in size, work is split into many specialised jobs, and each department has its own aims. Without coordination, departments pull in different directions. That is why coordination is called the essence (heart) of management: it is present in every function.
Key formulas and definitions
- Management = getting things done through people, effectively and efficiently.
- Effectiveness = job done on time (end result).
- Efficiency = output ÷ input (least cost for the result).
- Functions: Planning → Organising → Staffing → Directing → Controlling.
- Levels: top, middle, lower (supervisory).
- Coordination = essence of management.
Worked examples
1. A bakery must make 500 cakes by Friday. It makes them by Friday but spends ₹20,000 more than the budget on overtime. Is it effective, efficient, both or neither?
Effective (goal met on time) but not efficient (cost too high).
2. A factory uses 10 workers to make 200 chairs a day. After better planning, 8 workers make the same 200 chairs. What changed?
Efficiency rose. Output stayed 200 but input fell. Output per worker went from 20 to 25 chairs.
3. The sales head of a phone company decides monthly targets for her team. Which level of management is she at?
Middle level. She is a department head who turns top plans into department targets.
4. Two managers read the same book on motivation but motivate staff in very different ways. Which nature of management does this show?
Management as an art: personal skill and style in using the same knowledge.
5. Production made 10,000 shirts but sales could sell only 6,000. What is missing?
Coordination between production and sales. Plans of both departments were not tied together.
Common mistakes
- Mixing up effectiveness and efficiency. Effective = on time; efficient = low cost.
- Calling management a full profession. It lacks a compulsory degree and licence body.
- Treating coordination as a sixth separate function. It is the essence present in all functions.
- Placing supervisors at the middle level. Supervisors and foremen are the lower level.