Concept of Management

Every business requires planning for the future to find a way to successful business for
which the person in the helm of affairs has to take decisions and is responsible for the
consequences for his decision making whether favourable or unfavorable.

In short this is the crux of the science of management. According to Bradford and
Johnson, “Management is an intangible part of production which develops within the
lives of men. It is first a mental process, a concentration of desires, a will power.

In economic terms management is one of the factors of production together with land,
labour and capital.

According to specialists in administration and organization, management is a system of

authority.

In view of sociologists, management is a class and status system. A manager should be

a person elite of brains and education.

According to Newman and Summer, management is considered to be a process

consisting of organizing, planning, leading and controlling.

Organization deals with assigning various tasks to different people and coordinating their
efforts as well maintaining a careful balance between different parts of the enterprise.
Planning is concerned with setting goals, objectives and targets and delineating
mechanisms for attaining them at various levels throughout the organization as well as
for the total organization.

Leading is concerned with the manner in which the manager integrates the needs of the
employee with those of the departments or total organization. Leading necessitates clear
direction, coupled with a spirit of cooperation. Leadership is also concerned with the
maintenance of high standards, discipline and occasionally the judicious mix of authority,
power and influence in order to attain target objectives.

Controlling is concerned with measuring and narrowing the gap between planned
performance and actual performance, and with the monitoring of performances, as well
as, taking corrective actions wherever necessary. Management is thus a complex,
integrated and ongoing dynamic process.

The management is viewed as:

1. An economic resource.
2. A system of authority.
3. A class or elite.

Nature of Management
(i) Universal Process: Wherever there is human activity, there is management. Without
efficient management, objectives of the company can not be achieved.
(ii) Factor of Production: Qualified and efficient managers are essential to utilization of
labor and capital.

(iii) Goal Oriented: The most important goal of all management activity is to accomplish
the objectives of an enterprise. The goals should be realistic and attainable.

(iv) Supreme in Thought and Action: Managers set realizable objectives and then
mastermind action on all fronts to accomplish them. For this, they require full support
form middle and lower levels of management.

(v) Group activity: All human and physical resources should be efficiently coordinated
to attain maximum levels of combined productivity. Without coordination, no work would
accomplish and there would be chaos and retention.

(vi) Dynamic Function: Management should be equipped to face the changes in

business environment brought about by economic, social, political, technological or
human factors. They must be adequate training so that can enable them to perform well
even in critical situations.

(vii) Social Science: All individuals that a manager deals with, have different levels of
sensitivity, understanding and dynamism.

(viii) Important Organ of Society: Society influences managerial action and managerial

actions influence society. Its managers responsibility that they should also contribute
towards the society by organizing charity functions, sports competition, donation to
NGO’s etc.

(ix) System of Authority: Well-defined lines of command, delegation of suitable

authority and responsibility at all levels of decision-making. This is necessary so that
each individual should what is expected from him and to whom he need to report to.

(x) Profession: Managers need to possess managerial knowledge and training, and

have to conform to a recognized code of conduct and remain conscious of their social
and human obligations.

(xi) Process: The management process comprises a series of actions or operations

conducted towards an end.

Management as a Process
As a process, management refers to a series of inter-related functions. It is the process
by which management creates, operates and directs purposive organization through
systematic, coordinated and co-operated human efforts, according to George R. Terry,
“Management is a distinct process consisting of planning, organizing, actuating and
controlling, performed to determine and accomplish stated objective by the use of
human beings and other resources”. As a process, management consists of three
aspects:-
(i) Management is a social process – Since human factor is most important among the
other factors, therefore management is concerned with developing relationship among
people. It is the duty of management to make interaction between people – productive
and useful for obtaining organizational goals.

(ii) Management is an integrating process – Management undertakes the job of

bringing together human physical and financial resources so as to achieve
organizational purpose. Therefore, is an important function to bring harmony between
various factors.

(iii) Management is a continuous process – It is a never ending process. It is

concerned with constantly identifying the problem and solving them by taking adequate
steps. It is an on-going process.

Significance of Management
(i) It helps in Achieving Group Goals – It arranges the factors of production,
assembles and organizes the resources, integrates the resources in effective manner to
achieve goals. It directs group efforts towards achievement of pre-determined goals. By
defining objective of organization clearly there would be no wastage of time, money and
effort. Management converts disorganized resources of men, machines, money etc. into
useful enterprise. These resources are coordinated, directed and controlled in such a
manner that enterprise work towards attainment of goals.

(ii) Optimum Utilization of Resources – Management utilizes all the physical & human
resources productively. This leads to efficacy in management. Management provides
maximum utilization of scarce resources by selecting its best possible alternate use in
industry from out of various uses. It makes use of experts, professional and these
services leads to use of their skills, knowledge, and proper utilization and avoids
wastage. If employees and machines are producing its maximum there is no under
employment of any resources.

(iii) Reduces Costs – It gets maximum results through minimum input by proper
planning and by using minimum input & getting maximum output. Management uses
physical, human and financial resources in such a manner which results in best
combination. This helps in cost reduction.

(iv) Establishes Sound Organization – No overlapping of efforts (smooth and

coordinated functions). To establish sound organizational structure is one of the
objective of management which is in tune with objective of organization and for
fulfillment of this, it establishes effective authority & responsibility relationship i.e. who is
accountable to whom, who can give instructions to whom, who are superiors & who are
subordinates. Management fills up various positions with right persons, having right
skills, training and qualification. All jobs should be cleared to everyone.

(v) Establishes Equilibrium – It enables the organization to survive in changing

environment. It keeps in touch with the changing environment. With the change is
external environment, the initial co-ordination of organization must be changed. So it
adapts organization to changing demand of market / changing needs of societies. It is
responsible for growth and survival of organization.
(vi) Essentials for Prosperity of Society – Efficient management leads to better
economical production which helps in turn to increase the welfare of people. Good
management makes a difficult task easier by avoiding wastage of scarce resource. It
improves standard of living. It increases the profit which is beneficial to business and
society will get maximum output at minimum cost by creating employment opportunities
which generate income in hands. Organization comes with new products and researches
beneficial for society.