Introduction to Management
Management (Concept)
Management is a term used to refer to process of managing the activities of an enterprise. It can be
used to refer to a group of managerial personnel of an enterprise.
“Management is principally a task of planning, coordinating, motivating and controlling the efforts of
others towards a specific objective” – Dr. James Lundy
“Management is the art of getting things done through other people” – JL Haynes.
Objectives of Management
Managing an organization effectively requires the formulation of clear objectives. The objective is well
defined, and the objective points (question) of making necessary efforts to achieve it. Objects and aims
direct a man to proceed in a certain way for achieving organizational aims.
Objective serves as guidelines or landmarks or road lines for action and efforts to achieve managerial
goal. Well defined objective steers an organization to success.
The main objectives of management:







To increasing organizational effectiveness.
To achieve optimum utilization of various resources.
To have co-ordination between various department in the organization.
To have co-ordination between various agencies, and company.
To control the material quality.
To reduces the execution time for various activities of the organization.
To control the quality of workmanship.
To manage and control economy execution.
Importance of Management
a) Direction, coordination and control of group efforts: In business, many persons work together.
They need proper direction and guidance for raising their efficiency
b) Orderly achievement of business objectives: Efficient management is needed in order to achieve
the objectives of business activity in an orderly and quick manner.
c) Performance of basic managerial functions: Planning, Organizing, coordinating and Controlling
are the basic functions of management. Management is needed as these functions are
performed through the management process.
d) Effective communication at all levels: Management is needed for effective communication
within and outside the Organization.
e) Motivation of employees: Management is needed for motivating employees and also for
coordinating their efforts so as to achieve business objectives quickly.
f) Success and stability of business enterprise: Efficient management is needed for success,
stability and prosperity of a business enterprise.
Management and Administration
Basis
Management
Administration
Meaning
Management is an art of getting things done
through others by directing their efforts towards
achievement of pre-determined goals.
It is concerned with formulation of
broad objectives, plans & policies.
Nature
Management is an executing function.
Administration is a decision-making
function.
Process
Management decides who should as it & how
should he dot it.
Administration decides what is to be
done & when it is to be done.
Function
Management is a doing function because
managers get work done under their supervision.
Administration is a thinking function
because plans & policies are
determined under it.
Skills
Technical and Human skills
Conceptual and Human skills
Level
Middle & lower level function
Top level function
According to Theo Haimann, “Administration means overall determination of policies, setting of major
objectives, the identification of general purposes and laying down of broad programmes and projects”.
It refers to the activities of higher level. It lays down basic principles of the enterprise. According to
Newman, “Administration means guidance, leadership & control of the efforts of the groups towards
some common goals”.
Whereas, management involves conceiving, initiating and bringing together the various elements;
coordinating, actuating, integrating the diverse organizational components while sustaining the viability
of the organization towards some pre-determined goals. In other words, it is an art of getting things
done through & with the people in formally organized groups.
Principles of Management
(1) Division of Work: This principle of Fayol tells us that as far as possible the whole work should be
divided into different parts and each individual should be assigned only one part of the work
according to his ability and taste rather than giving the whole work to one person.
(2) Authority and Responsibility: According to this principle, authority and responsibility should go
hand in hand. It means that when a particular individual is given a particular work and he is
made responsible for the results, this can be possible only when he is given sufficient authority
to discharge his responsibility.
(3) Discipline: Discipline is essential for any successful work performance. Fayol considers discipline
to mean obedience, respect for authority, and observance of established rules. Discipline can be
established by providing good supervision at all levels, clearly explaining the rules, and
implementing a system of reward and punishment. A manager can present a good example to
his subordinates by disciplining himself.
(4) Unity of Command: According to the principle of unity of command, an individual employee
should receive orders from only one superior at a time and that employee should be answerable
only to that superior. If there are many superiors giving orders to the same employee, he will
not be able to decide as to which order is to be given priority. He thus finds himself in a
confused situation.
(5) Unity of Direction: Unity of direction means that there should be one head for one plan for a
group of activities having the same objective. In other words, there should be one plan of action
for a group of activities having the same objective and there should be one manager to control
them.
(6) Subordination of Individual Interest to General Interest: This principle can be named ‘Priority to
General Interest over Individual Interest.’ According to this principle, the general interest or the
interest of the organisation is above everything. If one is asked to place individual interest and
the general interest in order of priority, definitely the general interest will be placed at the first
place.
(7) Remuneration to Employees: Fayol is of the opinion that the employees should get a fair
remuneration so that the employees and the owners find equal amount of satisfaction. It is the
duty of the manager to ensure that employees are being paid remuneration according to their
work. If, however, they are not paid properly for their work, they will not do their work with
perfect dedication, honesty and capacity.
(8) Centralisation and Decentralisation: According to this principle, the superiors should adopt
effective centralisation instead of complete centralisation and complete decentralisation. By
effective centralisation, Fayol does not mean that authority should be completely centralised.
(9) Scalar Chain: It refers to a formal line of authority which moves from highest to the lowest ranks
in a straight line. This chain must be followed in a strict manner. It means each communication
must move from top to bottom and vice versa in a straight line. The important condition here is
that no step (post) should be overlooked during communication. Gang Plank is the exception of
the principle of scalar chain. This concept was developed to establish a direct contact with the
employee of equal rank in case of emergency to avoid delay in communication.
(10)Order: According to the principle of order, a right person should be placed at the right job and a
right thing should be placed at the right place. According to Fayol, every enterprise should have
two different orders-Material Order for Physical Resources and Social Order for Human
Resources.
(11)Equity: This principle tells that the managers should treat their subordinates in a just and kind
manner so that they develop a feeling of dedication and attachment for their work. All the
employees should be treated equally and impartially.
(12)Stability of Personnel: From the point of view of management it is absolutely harmful to change
the employees frequently as it is a reflection of inefficient management. Therefore, according to
this principle there should be stability of tenure of the employees so that the work continues
efficiently.
(13)Initiative: Initiative means the capacity to work while expressing one’s thoughts. According to
Fayol, it is the duty of the manager to encourage the feeling of initiative among his employees
for doing some work or taking some decision but within the limits of authority and discipline.
(14)Esprit de corps: As per this principle, a manager should continuously make efforts to develop a
team spirit among the subordinates. To do this, he/she should use the word ‘We’ instead of”
during the conversation with subordinates.
Social Responsibility of Management
Social responsibility is defined as the obligation and commitment of managers to take steps for
protecting and improving society’s welfare along with protecting their own interest. The managers must
have social responsibility because of the following reasons:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Organizational Resources - An organization has a diverse pool of resources in form of men,
money, competencies and functional expertise. When an organization has these resources
in hand, it is in better position to work for societal goals.
Precautionary measure - if an organization lingers on dealing with the social issues now, it
would land up putting out social fires so that no time is left for realizing its goal of producing
goods and services. Practically, it is more cost-efficient to deal with the social issues before
they turn into disaster consuming a large part if managements time.
Moral Obligation - The acceptance of managers’ social responsibility has been identified as a
morally appropriate position. It is the moral responsibility of the organization to assist
solving or removing the social problems
Efficient and Effective Employees - Recruiting employees becomes easier for socially
responsible organization. Employees are attracted to contribute for more socially
responsible organizations. For instance - Tobacco companies have difficulty recruiting
employees with best skills and competencies.
Better Organizational Environment - The organization that is most responsive to the
betterment of social quality of life will consequently have a better society in which it can
perform its business operations. Employee hiring would be easier and employee would of a
superior quality. There would be low rate of employee turnover and absenteeism. Because
of all the social improvements, there will be low crime rate consequently less money would
be spent in form of taxes and for protection of land. Thus, an improved society will create a
better business environment.
Management Ethics
Management ethics is the ethical treatment of employees, stockholders, owners and the public by a
company. A company, while needing to make a profit, should have good ethics. Employees should be
treated well, whether they are employed here or overseas. By being respectful of the environment in
the community a company shows good ethics, and good, honest records also show respect to
stockholders and owners.
Ethics and ethical behavior are the essential parts of healthy management. From a management
perspective, behaving ethically is an integral part of long-term career success. Wide access to
information and more business opportunities than in the past makes ethics a need in modern business
world.