Grade-XII Business Organization & Office Management
01-NATURE OF MANAGEMENT
Concept of Management:
Management is a universal talk of every work of life. In whatever form, may be a business
activity or any other activity, management will be there. In modern time as the size of business
increases, new products and production techniques are developed, new business policies are made,
government interference become essential. It is a process of getting results by doing things others.
The word management can be explained as "Manage+Men+T", which means, manage the
men tactfully to do something in good and proper way to achieve the pre-determined goals of the
organization. With the help of good force of managerial person, ratio of development will increase.
With the help of efficient management selection of employees for specific job, proper management
of tools, machines and other equipments, institutional work can be done. It is the most important
function to control & co-ordinate the efforts of different individual or group of person. It is an art of
handling people. It consists of planning, organizing and controlling. It is a continuous process and
art of getting things done through other people.
Definition:
According to Koontaz and O' Donnell, "Management is an art of getting things done
through and with the people in formally organized group."
According to Henry Fayol, "To manage is to forecast and to plan, to organize, to command,
to co-ordinate and to control."
The definitions above show that it is a continuous process of getting things done by proper
use of manpower and other resources. It also helps to control, organize and co-ordinate the function
of an organization.
Characteristics of Management:
As blood, soul & mind are important for the life, same as management is for business.
Someone has written, "Management is the soul of Industrial development." The progress and
prosperity of business organization is based on management. It is the brain of an organization,
without management nothing can be done in the business. So, it has some characteristics which are
as follows.
1. Management is universal
2. Management, social process
3. Goal oriented
4. Science & Art
5. Group Effort
6. Intangible
7. Required at all level
8. Separate from ownership
9. Purposeful activity
1. Management is universal:
Management is taken as universal activity whether an organization is big or small,
government, hospitals, schools, colleges, etc. management is needed. Wherever there is a
human activity there is management. Every step of life requires management because with
the help of management each & every task can be handled easily, properly & effectively.
2. Management, social process:
Management involves dealing with the people, the effort of human beings are
controlled & directed by the management. It has social obligation to make efficient use of
scare material for the benefit of the society.
3. Goal oriented:
Effective management is always management by objectives and also it has no
justification to exist without goals. An efficient and good management tries to achieve the
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Grade-XII Business Organization & Office Management
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
predetermined goals by the minimum resources. Management is established only to achieve
the goal. Hence, it is goal oriented.
Science & Art:
Management is both science and art. It is based on some skills; knowledge is also
required to achieve the goals effectively. So, it is concerned with art tough it is not exactly
like music or dance.
Group Effort:
It deals with group of activities because no individual can do all the activities at the
same time. So, it is based on group efforts. It is also used to achieve the common goals with
group efforts. A group also can achieve the predetermined goals easily and effectively.
Intangible:
It is important but unseen process of the organization. We can only feel it. It cannot
be seen functioning with eyes but can feel by observing the result.
Required at all level:
It is one of such process which requires all level, top level, middle level & low level
of an organization. According to levels the process of management is different.
Separate from ownership:
Management & ownership are two different things in a company. In a company,
shareholders are the owner and managerial work is in the hand of 'Board of Directors'.
Purposeful activity:
The activity of management is connected with planning, direction, controlling, staffing, etc.
and also there is some purpose behind it. Its main aim is to achieve the economic and social
objective. Without any purpose management cannot be formed.
Functions of Management:
In competitive days management become a typical job, a manager have to perform different
types of managerial job to achieve the goals of the organization. It is said that, "management is
what manager does," Management is that type of process which requires different level of the
requirement of the organization. The functions are defined differently by experts. The main
branches of function of management are as follows.
1. Planning
2. Organizing
3. Directing
4. Staffing
5. Controlling
1. Planning:
It involves the fore-casting of future problem and selecting the proper course of
action to solve the problem. It may be either for a short period or longer or both type. The
main element of planning are what should be done? How shall be done? Who will be
responsible for doing? How shall be done? Who will be responsible for doing?, etc.
Planning is essential for every level of the management. With the help of planning function,
a manager can perform organizational activities properly and clearly.
2. Organizing:
Organized efforts are essential for the success of any enterprise. It involves the
division and subdivision of activities into the department, section and job as well as the
integration of activities of an organization. It is a collection of various factors like man,
machinery, material, money, etc.
3. Directing:
It is concerned with guiding the people at work for securing their cooperation in the
execution of work. It helps in influencing, motivating human resources towards the
achievement of organizational goals. The directing function actually starts the work. It
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Grade-XII Business Organization & Office Management
guide the human resources how the work be done? With the help of good directing, people
can easily obtain their goals.
4. Staffing:
Men are the biggest asset of an organization. This function of management is also related
with human resources. Human resources are very important for proper and regular
functioning of an organization. No organization can run without human factor. No
enterprise can succeed unless right men are put on the right job. The staffing process
concerned with appointment of personnel for individual job. It involves the following steps.
i. Determine the effective man power.
ii. Set their qualification according to work and remuneration.
iii. Training & recruitment of the employees.
5. Controlling:
It is the important function in all types of enterprises. It is concerned with measuring
and comparing the operating results with plan and take corrective action if any deviation
occur. So that similar problem may not occur in future. It involves the following steps.
i. Laying down norms and standard of desired performance.
ii. Measuring the actual performance.
iii. Interpreting and comparing the actual performance.
iv. Taking Corrective action.
Level of Management:
The organization may have various levels of management. The simple meaning of the term
'level' is the arrangement of managerial position. So, the level of management means dividing the
authority and responsibility among the managerial person. The level of management will depend
upon the size, technology process, quantity of production, nature of organization, etc. Generally,
levels of management are categorized in three types.
1. Top Level Management
i. Share Holders
ii. Board of Directors
iii. Chief Executive
iv. Managing Director
2. Middle Level Management
i. Department Head
ii. Production Manager
iii. Finance Manager
iv. Branch Manager
3. Lower Level Management
i. Supervision
ii. Foreman
iii. Sales Officer
iv. Accountant
v. Laborer
1. Top Level Management:
It is the highest level in managerial process. It is responsible for all over success or failure
of organization. It consists of share holders, Board of Directors, Chief Executive, Managing
Director, etc. It establishes overall organizational goals & strategies for their achievements.
These persons are also responsible for deciding objectives, policies and take final decision.
It includes.
i. Determination of objective of the organization.
ii. Formulate plans & policies
iii. Setup organizational structure.
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Grade-XII Business Organization & Office Management
iv. To attain resources 4M-Men, Material, Machine & money.
v. It provides overall direction and control the operation.
2. Middle Level Management
It consist middle order rank of management, such as branch manager, production
manager, finance manager, departmental head, superintendent or other persons of some
rank. It is also known as functional management. The personnel of middle level
management are answerable to top level management and control & order the low level
management. They assist the planning, coordinating, motivating, controlling the activities of
various department. The functions of middle level management are as follows.
i. Select required no. of employees.
ii. To provide training the new employees.
iii. To report and make suitable recommendation to the top level management.
iv. To motivate the personnel for attaining the goals.
v. To maintain co-operation and coordination.
vi. To issue instructions for the staff.
3. Lower Level Management:
It is also known as first line management, First level management and supervisory
management. It includes personnel like fore-man, supervisor, sales officer, finance officer,
etc. Their main job is to get work done from other workers and employees who are working
directly under them. They receive instructions from middle level management and act in
accordance with policies & program laid down by top level management.
The main functions of Low Level Management are as follows;
i. To issue the instruction to the workers and supervise and control the work.
ii. Classify and assign the worker's job.
iii. To solve the problem of workers.
iv. To arrange necessary tools machinery & equipment.
v. To maintain good relation & discipline among the workers.
Administration & Management:
It is a higher level activity which is concerned with determination of goals and policy
farming of an enterprise. It decides the objective, policies, rules and regulation through which
various activities of any enterprise are regulated and controlled.
Management is a continuous process which helps in predicting, "what is going on to happen
on near future," that will influence the working of an enterprise. It is the brain of an organization.
But in management study, management and administration are confusing term and has
become the controversial issue. Some writers express their view that both are same whether some
regard the term management & administration is differ from each other. After analyzing the
different views of various authors, the controversial issue can be explained in the following
manner.
1. No difference between management & administration:
Some authors are with the view that there is no difference between management &
administration. A manager has to perform 5 functions like planning, organizing, directing,
staffing & controlling. Similarly an administrator also performs these 5 functions. So, these
two terms are interchangeable.
2. Administration is differ from management:
The second view is that administrator consisting top level management, spend more
time on configuration of plans, policies and lesser time on their execution whereas manager
consisting middle level management and lower level management, spend lesser time on
planning or policy making and more time in execution of plan. This can be explained with
help of following diagram.
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Grade-XII Business Organization & Office Management
Non-business Org. (Schools, Hospitals, etc.)
Top Level Mgmt
Administration
Middle Level Mgmt
Management
Low Level Mgmt
(Deals with business organization only)
Diagonal line in the rectangle indicates the ladder. As we move up along the ladder the
importance of administration increases i.e. more time is spent on planning, organizing and such as
we move down the ladder importance of management increases i.e. more time is spent on execution
of plans.
Difference between management & administration:
Basis
Administration
Management
Meaning
Used to determine the objectives,
Art of getting work done through
plans & policies
others.
Nature
Decision making function, it frames
Functional activity, which execute the
policy.
policy.
Aim
Used for deciding plans & policies of
Used for achieving predetermined
an enterprises.
objectives.
Level
Concerned with top level
Concerned with middle & low level
management only.
management.
Scope
Its scope is wider than management.
Its scope is limited, it is subordinate of
admin.
Usage
It is used with reference to nonIt is used in reference to business
business organization like:
enterprises, which have economic
Government, Institute, Schools, etc.
motive.
Relation
Only related to owners and top level
Only related to employees of any
management.
enterprise.
Ability
It requires administrative ability
It requires technical ability rather than
rather than technical ability.
administrative ability.
Functions
Main functions are planning &
Main functions are directing &
organizing.
controlling.
Management-A science, an art or a profession:
In a context of management it is a controversy that management is a science, an art or a
profession. There are different thoughts about management; some consider it is a science, while
some say it is an art, still other call it as a profession. The nature is discussed as below.
1. Management, as a science:
Science refers to an organized and systematic body of knowledge acquired by
mankind though observation, experimentation and also based on some universal principles,
concepts, and theories. Principles of science are developed through testing & observation.
With the help of concept of science it can safely be concluded that management is also a
science because it is based upon certain principle and concerned as a systematized body of
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Grade-XII Business Organization & Office Management
knowledge, observation, test and experiment is a science, however it is not exact as physics,
chemistry, biology, etc.
Since, it is concerned with human & human behavior; it can be called as social
science.
2. Management, as an art:
Art is concerned with particle knowledge and personal skill for doing out the desired
results. In management, a manager should have practical knowledge & skill. Otherwise his
performance will be adversely affected.
Management is a way of doing a specific action while doing the function of an art is
to achieve the success in a given action.
According to George R. Terry, "Art is bringing about of a desired result through
application of skill." Thus, art has 5 essential features.
i. Practical Knowledge
ii. Personal Skill
iii. Concrete Result
iv. Constructive Skill
v. Improvement through practice
These 5 functions of art also belong to the management. When a manager uses his
management skill then he must have practical knowledge for solving managerial problem. A
manager also has power to face the problem to find out the result, which is only possible
when he/she has constructive skills.
To improve the managerial skill, managerial work should be done on regular basis
because regularity and practice make the work effective. So, we can say that manager is an
artist since he/she posses the skill of getting the work done through and with the people.
Therefore, it can be concluded that manager is an artist and management is bound to
be an art.
3. Management, as a profession:
Profession is an economic activity. It refers rendering services to other by getting
specialized knowledge. A professional renders his/her services to other for earning his
livelihood.
Features of profession are as follows:
i. Store of Knowledge
ii. Facility of Trainings
iii. Service Motto
iv. Restriction on Entry
While examining the features of profession, these are also related to management. In
management process a manager must have special knowledge about management work. He
can acquire knowledge from various trainings and professional provides services for the
livelihood and also for earning money & provide services to the society.
When an illiterate person wants to professional trainings then there is restriction then
he never become a manager but if an illiterate person having financial resources wants to
establish an enterprise and become its manager then no one can stop him from doing so. So,
we can say that management also deals with profession and engage in doing different kinds
of work which are related to person.
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