Written by Management is the process of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling the resources of the organization to achieve organizational goals efficiently and effectively.
It is a crucial function in any organization, be it a business, government agency, or non-profit organization.
In this post, we will explore the meaning, characteristics, and importance of management.
Table of Contents
Meaning of Management
Management may be defined as the utilization of the resources of an organization in the most efficient and effective pursuit of organizational goals.
It is the process of achieving predetermined objectives by planning, organizing, leading, and controlling organizational resources.
Everyone who writes about or studies management seems to have created their own definition of management. A few of these definitions of management are provided below.
According to George Terry, “Management is the process consisting of planning, organizing, actuating and controlling, performed to determine and accomplish the objectives by the use of people and resources”
To Stanley Vane, “Management is simply the process of decision-making and control over the actions of human beings for the express purpose of attaining predetermined goals”, says Stanley Vane
In Mary Parker Follett’s words, “Management is getting things done through people”
Ordway Tead defined management as “the process and agency that directs and guides an organization’s operations in the realization of established aims.”
In general, management is seen as a series of interrelated activities grouped into four distinct categories (planning, organizing, leading and controlling).
Planning involves making decisions about what needs to be done to achieve the organization’s goals. Organizing involves determining how to do it and who will do it. Leading involves influencing employee behaviour to achieve organizational objectives, while controlling involves evaluating organizational performance and taking corrective action as needed.
Characteristics Of Management
1. Goal-oriented activity: Management is a goal-oriented activity in that it is usually focused on achieving specific objectives or goals.
These objectives may be related to profitability, growth, customer satisfaction, or employee development.
2. Concerned with managing resources: Management is concerned with the efficient and effective utilization of the resources of an organization.
In order to achieve organizational goals, managers must be able to manage not only human resources, but also financial, intellectual, and physical resources effectively and efficiently.
So, management is concerned with managing resources.
3. A decision-making process: Management involves a wide range of activities, from planning and organizing to leading and controlling, all of which require managers to make decisions.
For example, imagine a plant manager who wants to increase profitability by increasing production and sales.
In order to achieve this goal, the manager may take action to increase production and market the goods produced.
However, there may be several options for increasing production, such as increasing working hours, installing additional machines, hiring additional staff, or improving work procedures.
This necessitates that the manager make decisions and select the most appropriate option.
For this reason, management is a decision-making process.
4. Economic activity: Management is an economic activity because it focuses on achieving organizational goals with the least cost and effort possible.
Management aims to achieve organizational goals, but it must do so with the least cost and effort.
Therefore, managers must employ different techniques to reduce waste to its barest minimum while also improving job efficiency.
5. Creative activity: Management is not a one-size-fits-all process.
We have repeatedly seen that using one approach to manage people and resources does not always work because people are dynamic.
Managers are often faced with unique challenges, which required that they come up with innovative and creative solutions to solve these challenges.
Managers have to think of different ways of getting things done through the resources at their disposal.
They need to think beyond the usual or standard methods and try to find new ways of dealing with situations.
In this sense, management is a creative activity.
6. Derived demand: Management is a means to an end. Its value lies in its ability to help an organization achieve its goals and objectives.
The demand for management is, therefore, not intrinsic, but rather derived from the organization’s need to accomplish its goals and objectives.
For instance, a manufacturing company may require management to increase production, improve quality control, and reduce costs.
Without any objective, there would be no need for management. So, management is demanded to help achieve the goals and objectives of the organization
From the foregoing, we can conclude that the demand for management is derived.
7. Universality: Management is a universal phenomenon in that It is essential in all walks of life.
Management can be applied in various fields, such as education, healthcare, government, non-profit organizations, and business.
For example, as a student, you need to manage your time and resources to achieve academic excellence.
Similarly, in a business, management is necessary to ensure that resources, such as money, materials, and human capital, are used effectively and efficiently to achieve the goals of the organization.
Moreover, the need for management arises in every organization, regardless of its size or type.
Whether it is a small family business or a large multinational corporation, management is essential to ensure the smooth functioning of the organization.
So, in essence, management is universal because it is necessary for every type of business and profession
Importance Of Management
1. Necessary for survival: Management is essential for the survival of an organization as no organization can function without it.
No matter how many potential resources or expert manpower an organization may have, it won’t function efficiently without proper management.
Without management, there would be a lack of direction and coordination as there would be no one to guide the organization towards achieving its goals and objectives.
In the absence of management, employees would not know what to do, how to do it, or when to do it.
They would be unable to work together towards achieving common objectives, ultimately leading to the failure of the organization.
That is why it is often said that ”there is no organization without management”.
2. Maximum utilization of resources: Management helps in the maximum utilization of resources by guiding and controlling an organization’s resources towards achieving the organization’s goals.
Resources such as human, financial, and physical resources are limited and they need to be used efficiently and effectively.
Management ensures that the right resources are allocated to the right activities, tasks, and projects.
It ensures that there is no wastage of resources and that resources are used to their fullest potential.
3. Amends deviation: Management is able to monitor progress and quickly spot and correct deviations thanks to the controlling process.
In any organization, plans and strategies are made to achieve certain goals. However, unforeseen circumstances often result in deviations from the planned course of action.
Management plays a crucial role in amending these deviations by analyzing the situation, identifying the cause of the deviation, and taking corrective actions to bring the organization back on track in its bid to achieve its goals.
4. Accomplishment of goals: At the heart of any organization is the pursuit of a specific goal.
This goal is the reason why the organization exists in the first place.
However, the mere creation of an organization does not guarantee that the goal will be achieved.
This is where management comes in. Management ensures that the resources of the organization are maximumly utilized in the effective and efficient pursuit of organizational goals.
Without management, the resources of the organization would be disorganized and fail to meet the organization’s objectives.
However, effective management ensures that these resources are utilized to their fullest potential.
In fact, management helps an organization to transform disorganized resources like manpower, money, and material into useful enterprises.
5. Increases profit: One of the primary goals of any organization is to make a profit.
To increase profit, an organization needs to either increase its revenue or decrease its costs.
Increasing revenue is not always within the control of the organisation.
However, decreasing costs is something that can be achieved by adopting sound management practices.
Management, therefore, increases profit by lowering costs.
6. Ensure smooth running of the organisation: The basic function of management is planning.
Management, through planning, ensures that every resource in the organization is properly planned for so that the organization runs smoothly.
7. Increases overall productivity: The importance of management is not just limited to business, it also extends to the economy.
If sound management practices are implemented in the economy, wastage will be reduced to the barest minimum and efficiency will be attained in the economy.
For example, if the government adopts effective management practices in the allocation of resources, there will be a significant reduction in wastage and corruption, ultimately resulting in economic growth.
Conclusion
We have looked at the meaning, importance, and characteristics of management.
To emphasize, Management is defined as the process of achieving predetermined objectives by planning, organizing, leading, and controlling organizational resources. It consists of a series of interrelated activities that can be grouped into four distinct categories: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.
The characteristics of management include being goal-oriented, concerned with managing resources, a decision-making process, an economic activity, a creative activity, derived demand, and universality.
The importance of management lies in the fact that it is necessary for the survival of every organization, and it helps in the maximum utilization of resources towards achieving the goals of the organization.
