Introduction to Management

Introduction

Management is essential to man’s economic existence and an organised collective activity. A central directing and controlling agency is required for any firm. The management’s organising skills, administrative ability, and enterprising initiative are entrusted with the productive resources – material, labour, money, etc. Thus, management provides direction to a business. Without capable managers and solid managerial leadership, production resources stay resources and never become production. Managers’ quality and performance influence the survival and success of any commercial enterprise in a competitive market and ever-changing environment. Management is so crucial today that it significantly impacts people’s well-being and the country’s fate.

Definition of Management

Management may be defined in many different ways. Many eminent authors on the subject have defined the term “management”; some of these definitions are reproduced below:

According to Lawrence A Appley, “Management is the development of people and not the direction of things”.

Joseph Massie states, “Management is the process by which a cooperative group directs action towards common goals”.

In the words of George R Terry, “Management is a distinct process consisting of planning, organising, actuating and controlling performed to determine and accomplish the objectives by the use of people and resources”.

James Lundy states, “Management is principally the task of planning, coordinating, motivating, and controlling the efforts of others towards a specific objective.”

In the words of Henry Fayol, “To manage is to forecast and to plan, to organise, to command, to co-ordinate and to control”.

According to Peter F. Drucker, “Management is a multi-purpose organ that manages a business, manages managers, and manages workers and work.”

In the words of J.N. Schulze, “Management is the force which leads, guides and directs an organisation in the accomplishment of a pre-determined object”.

In the words of Koontz and O’Donnell, “Management is defined as the creation and maintenance of an internal environment in an enterprise where individuals working together in groups can perform efficiently and effectively towards the attainment of group goals”.

According to Ordway Tead, “Management is the process and agency which directs and guides the operations of an organisation in realising of established aims”.

According to Stanley Vance, “Management is simply the process of decision-making and control over the actions of human beings for the express purpose of attaining pre-determined goals”.

According to Wheeler, “Business management is a human activity which directs and controls the organisation and operation of a business enterprise. Management is centred in the administrators of managers of the firm who integrate men, material and money into an effective operating limit”.

In the words of William Spriegel, “Management is that function of an enterprise which concerns itself with the direction and control of the various activities to attain the business objectives”.

In the words of S. George, “Management consists of getting things done through others. Manager accomplishes the objectives by directing the efforts of others”.

In the words of Keith and Gubellini, “Management is the force that integrates men and physical plant into an effective operating unit”.

According to Newman, Summer and Warren, “The job of management is to make a cooperative endeavour to function properly. A manager gets things done by working with people and other resources”.

According to John F M, “Management may be defined as the art of securing maximum results with minimum effort to secure maximum prosperity and happiness for both employer and employee and give the public the best possible service”.

In the words of Kimball and Kimball, “Management embraces all duties and functions that pertain to the initiation of an enterprise, its financing, the establishment of all major policies, the provision of all necessary equipment, the outlining of the general form of organisation under which the enterprise is to operate and the selection of the principal officers. Management is the group of officials in an enterprise’s primary control”.

In the words of E.F.L. Brech, “Management is a social process entailing responsibility for the effective and economical planning and regulation of the operations of an enterprise, in fulfilment of a given purpose or task, such responsibility involving:

1. Judgement and decision in determining plans and in using data to control performance and progress against plans; and
2. The guidance, integration, motivation and supervision of the personnel composing the enterprise and carrying out its operations”.

According to E. Peterson and E.G Plowman, Management is “a technique using which the purpose and objectives of a particular human group are determined, classified and effectuated”.

Mary Cushing Niles states, “Good management or scientific management achieves a social objective with the best use of human and material energy and time and with satisfaction for the participants and the public”.

According to the definitions above, “management” is a technique for extracting work from others in an integrated and coordinated manner to achieve specific goals using material resources. Management is mobilising physical, human, and financial resources and arranging their use for corporate operations to achieve the set goals. Management could be defined as “a distinct ongoing process of allocating an organization’s (human and economic resources) inputs by typical managerial functions (planning, organising, directing, and controlling) to achieve stated objectives, namely – output of goods and services desired by its customers” (environment). In the process, work is done with and through organisation personnel in an ever-changing business environment.”

Management is a process that occurs in all organised social and economic activity. It is not limited to a factory, store, or office. It is a driving force in all complex organisations attempting to attain specific goals. A corporation, government operation, education and health services, military organisations, trade associations, and so on require management.

• Nature of Management

Examining the numerous definitions of management reveals that management possesses specific qualities. The following are the vital managerial traits.

1. Management seeks to maximise economic returns: The manager’s primary responsibility is to ensure productive performance through planning, direction, and control. Management is required to achieve the intended results. A manager’s economic function is to use existing resources rationally to maximise profit. A professional manager can only demonstrate his administrative ability by reducing costs and increasing profits. “Management is the art of implementing the economic concepts that underpin the control of persons and materials in the enterprise under examination,” writes Kimball.
2. Management also includes the ability and experience to get things done through people: Management entails completing tasks through people. The economic purpose of obtaining a profitable return cannot be carried out without the cooperation and favourable response of “people.” The most crucial management component is finding the right individuals to conduct the operations. “Management is the art of getting things done through people in formally organised groups,” write Koontz and O’Donnell.
3. Management is a process, function, or activity: This procedure will continue until the administration’s objectives are met. “Management is a social process that involves the coordination of human and material resources through the functions of planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling to achieve stated goals.”
4. Management is a universal activity: Management is not limited to corporate ventures. It also applies to political, social, religious, and educational organisations. When a group effort is required, management is required.
5. Management is Science and Art: Management is both a science and an art because of certain management principles. It is also a science because preset goals can be reached by applying these concepts.
6. Management is gradually becoming a profession because established principles are being applied in practice, which entails specialised training. It is guided by an ethical code stemming from its societal responsibility.
7. Management is an effort to achieve pre-determined goals: Management is concerned with guiding and supervising the organisation’s various operations to achieve the pre-determined goals. Every managerial activity has specific goals. In truth, management is concerned with the actual direction of human efforts.
8. Management is a collective activity. It exists only when a group acts toward a common goal. Management is always concerned with collective efforts rather than individual ones. To achieve an organization’s goals, management plans organises, coordinates, directs, and regulates the collaborative effort.
9. Management is a system of authority. Authority is the power to compel people to act in a specific way. Management formalises a standard set of rules and procedures for subordinates to follow and assures their adherence. Because management is a method of guiding personnel to complete a task, the concept of management implies authority to extract work from others.

• Management entails decision-making. It involves making decisions about a firm’s organization and operation in its various dimensions. The quality of decisions made by managers can determine an organization’s success or failure. As a result, decisions are critical to a manager’s performance.
• Management necessitates effective leadership: A manager must be able to lead and persuade subordinates to take the necessary action. According to R. C. Davis, “Management is the duty of executive leadership everywhere.” High-level management entails managers’ ability to affect the behaviour of their subordinates.
• Management concepts and principles are dynamic rather than static. They must evolve in response to social developments.
• Management is an interdisciplinary subject: Management is an interdisciplinary subject that draws ideas and concepts from other fields. It borrows ideas and concepts from various disciplines, including economics, statistics, mathematics, psychology, sociology, and anthropology.
• Management is a goal-oriented activity: Management is a goal-oriented activity. It is concerned with achieving an organization’s predetermined goals.
• Management at various levels: Management is required at several levels of an organisation, including the top, medium, and lower levels.
• Organizational requirement: An organisation is required for management success. Management uses the organisation to achieve predetermined goals.
• Managers do not have to be owners: Managers do not have to be owners of the business. Management and owners (capital) are distinct entities in joint stock businesses.
• Management is immeasurable: it cannot be seen with the naked eye. Only the organization’s quality and outcomes, such as earnings and enhanced production, demonstrate it.

Is Management a science or an art?

Whether management is a science or an art is frequently raised. Management is believed to be “the oldest of arts and the youngest of sciences.” This describes the changing nature of management but does not answer the question, “What is management?” To get an accurate answer, you must first understand what “Science” and “Art” signify.

What is “Science”?

“A systematic body of information relevant to a field of study that incorporates certain general truths describing past occurrences or phenomena” is how science is defined.

The preceding definition includes three crucial aspects of science. They are as follows:

1. It is a systematised body of knowledge that uses scientific methods of observation;
2. Its principles are derived by ongoing observation and experimentation, and
3. Its principles are precise and have global applicability without limitation. Based on the features of science listed above, it is possible to conclude that:
   1. Management is a systematised body of knowledge whose principles have emerged through observation.
   2. Experimentation (as in natural sciences) cannot be accompanied by management because management deals with people.
   3. Defining, analysing, and measuring phenomena by repeatedly repeating the same conditions is impossible in management.

The preceding observation limits management as a science. Management, like other social sciences, is an “inexact science.”

What is “Art”?

“art” refers to “a certain manner of doing things; it defines how an objective is to be reached.” Management must be approached as an art form like every other operational task. Most administrative acts must be nurtured as arts of mastery to secure action and results.

The preceding definition includes three fundamental aspects of art. They are as follows:

1. Science is applied in the form of art. It is putting theory into practice.
2. After learning a specific art, practice is required to achieve perfection.
3. It is conducted to achieve a goal through intentional efforts. According to the above art qualities, it is possible to conclude that:
   1. While executing the tasks of getting things done by others, management must use knowledge of certain underlying principles required for every art.
   2. Only by constant practice does management achieve proficiency in the art of management.
   3. Management entails applying precise knowledge to solve problems, face situations, and achieve goals fully and on schedule.

The preceding statement elevates management to the level of high art.

Management is both a science and an art.

Management is both a science and an art form. Management science presents several general concepts that managers can use to guide their professional efforts. The art of management consists of dealing with every issue effectively. In truth, neither science nor art should be overemphasised or undervalued; science and art of management work hand in hand and are mutually interdependent and complementary.

Management is thus both a science and an art. “The art of administration is as old as human history, but the science of management is a recent phenomenon,” as the saying goes.

Scope of Management

Management is far too broad to be discussed in a few pages. Herbison and Myres have attempted to categorise it into three major categories, namely

1. Economic Resource
2. System of Authority
3. Class or Elite

Let us examine each one individually.

1. Economic Resource: Business Economics divides production variables into four categories: land, labour, capital, and entrepreneur. Primary production can be accomplished by utilising all four of these elements. However, to turn that into a viable venture, proper utilisation of personnel, money, material, machinery, and production procedures must be ensured. This is ensured by employing management foundations and techniques. The better an enterprise’s management, the faster it grows in profit, sales, production, and distribution. As a result, management itself functions as an economic resource.
2. System of Authority: As previously said, management is an authority system. It formalises a uniform set of rules and procedures for subordinates to follow and ensures their adherence to the rules and regulations. Because management is a method of guiding personnel to complete a task, the concept of management implies authority to extract work from others.
3. Class or Elite: Management is a unique class with its values. The managerial class, also known as a collective group of those individuals who execute managerial activities, is an essential component of every organisation. The class’s importance has grown to the point where the entire group of managers is called “management” in every organisation.

Management’s Goal

The following is an explanation of management’s purpose:

1. Reducing uncertainty in working procedures;
2. Keeping costs low and inspiring others to do the same.
3. Taking calculated chances
4. Prospective risk management
5. Use sound judgment.

Characteristics of Management

Management is a distinct activity that possesses the following distinguishing properties or characteristics:

1. Economic Resource: Management, along with land, labour, and capital, is an essential economic resource. As industrialization progresses, so does the demand for managers. Efficient management is the most critical aspect in the success of any organised group activity since it is the force that assembles and integrates other production factors such as labour, capital, and materials.
2. Goal-oriented: Management is a goal-oriented activity. It coordinates workers’ efforts to fulfil the organization’s aims. Management success is defined by the extent to which organisational goals are met.
3. Distinct Process: Management is a distinct process that includes functions such as planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling. These functions are so intertwined that specifying their order or relative importance is impossible.
4. Integrative Force: The essence of management is integrating human and other resources to achieve the desired goals. Managers strive to align individual aspirations with organisational goals so that the organisation runs smoothly.
5. Integrative Force: Management has been described as an unseen force. Its presence can be seen in its efforts: orderliness, knowledgeable staff, a positive attitude, and acceptable work production. As a result, management has a result-oriented mindset.
6. Results through Others: Managers cannot do everything on their own. They must be able to complete work through the efforts of others and motivate their subordinates to do the tasks allocated to them.
7. A Science and an Art: Management is a systematic body of knowledge comprised of well-defined concepts, principles, and processes with broad applications. As a result, it is treated as a science. The manager’s implementation of these concepts, principles, and practises necessitates particular knowledge and abilities. Management is regarded as an art since the talents developed by a manager are his possession.

Management: An Emerging Profession

Professionals are held in high regard in all societies. People want to work in medical, accounting, engineering, and law fields. The need of corporate executives for social prestige and respect has fueled an increasing trend toward management professionalisation.

A profession is supported by specialised knowledge and training, has a code of behaviour regulated by a professional body, and is duly recognised by society. The following are the fundamental prerequisites of a profession:

1. Knowledge: A significant and growing corpus of knowledge and information on the relevant topic.
2. Competent Application: Skilled and prudent application of knowledge in solving complicated and significant situations. This necessitates knowledge and training in the relevant subject.
3. Professional Body: The representative body regulates admittance into the profession and member behaviour.
4. Self-Control: An established rule of conduct imposed by the profession’s membership.
5. Social Responsibility: Motivated primarily by a desire to assist others and the community.
6. Community Approval: Society’s recognition of professional position.

Does management meet the requirements of a profession? The following sections look at how the above tests or criteria can be used for management:

1. Specialized Knowledge: Underlying the subject of management is a rapidly developing body of knowledge. Many management theorists have contributed to the discipline of management since the turn of the century. We now have a structured corpus of knowledge that can be used to develop managers. Management is frequently taught as a discipline in universities and other educational institutions.
2. Competent Application-Education and Training: MBAs are typically recommended for managerial positions, while an MBA is not required to enter this field. People with degrees in psychology, engineering, and other fields can also work in management. As a result, there are no required qualifications for managers.
3. Managerial skills cannot be learned through trial and error. Method: To be a successful manager, formal education and training in management are required. Many management institutes have been established in India and other countries, offering MBA and management courses.
4. Professional Body: The establishment of a representative body is required for the regulation of any profession. For example, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India establishes educational and training criteria for anyone wishing to enter the accounting profession. In India, organisations like the Indian Management Association and the All India Management Association have been formed. However, none have the legal ability to impose minimum qualifications for managerial positions or supervise managers’ conduct, as the Medical Council of India and the Bar Council of India do. The Management Association has established a code of conduct for managers but lacks the authority to take action against any manager who violates this code.
5. Social Responsibility: Today’s managers realise their social responsibility to customers, employees, and other groups. Social standards and ideals impact their actions. As a result, managers, like doctors and chartered accountants, have a respectable social standing.
6. Social Acceptance: Managers in modern organisations are respected in society. A manager’s rank and standing in his work organisation usually have a favourable association. This status impacts the manager’s status outside of the organisation. As a result, the community recognises management as a career.

It appears arrogant to describe management as a profession. According to all indicators, management professionalisation is still far from complete. It only partially fits the above qualifications for a career, as discussed below:

1. Although management has a well-defined body of knowledge, determining whether it fits the criterion of competent application is complex. Having special qualifications to be appointed as a manager is not necessary. However, one must be a law graduate to practise law. The medical profession is in a similar situation. Management education and training are becoming increasingly important in the industrial sector.
2. There is no professional body to regulate managers’ educational and training standards. For example, the Bar Council of India regulates the legal profession. It is encouraging to see that management associations are rapidly expanding worldwide. It is envisaged that they could create behavioural norms for practising managers.
3. Management fails the self-control test because there is no centralised authority to establish and enforce professional standards and codes of conduct for managers. As a result, it is possible to argue that management does not meet all of the requirements of a profession. As a result, it is not entirely recognised as a profession. However, it is progressing in that direction because:
   • Management is supported by a well-defined body of knowledge that can be taught and learned.
   • Modern organizational management necessitates the skilful use of management principles, methodologies, and skills. As a result, formal management education and training are in high demand, and the demand for management degrees is constantly expanding.
   • Managers are conscious of their social duties to diverse societal groups. Their acts are motivated by societal commitments rather than personal interests.

Who is a manager?

A manager is in charge of planning and supervising a group of people’s work, monitoring their progress, and taking remedial action as needed. For many people, this is their initial step toward a career in management.

Managers can direct workers directly or delegate authority to many supervisors who, in turn, direct the workers. They are the people in charge of reviewing workflow, coordinating efforts, meeting goals, and providing leadership. As a result, a manager must be conversant with the work of all the groups he or she supervises, but he or she does not need to be the greatest in any or all of the areas. It is more necessary for a manager to understand how to manage employees than to understand how to do their job well.

The title of a manager indicates what he or she is in charge of.

Examples:

1. An Accounting Manager is in charge of overseeing the Accounting function.
2. The Production Manager created a manufacturing staffing strategy.
3. The Manager of Design Engineering supervises engineers and support workers designing a product or service.

Roles of a Manager

Managers constantly shift gears, restructure, and reorganise everything to achieve goals. Henry Mintzberg summarised managers’ many roles in carrying out their responsibilities in the late 1960s under three broad headings: interpersonal, informational, and decisional. Let us go over them one by one.

1. Interpersonal roles: The manager relies on three interpersonal responsibilities to keep the organisation functioning correctly. Managers play the figurehead position when they execute ceremonial and symbolic functions. These include greeting guests, attending social activities involving their subordinates (such as weddings and funerals), awarding merit certificates to workers who demonstrate promise, and so on. Hiring, training, motivating, and disciplining staff are all part of the leadership job. Managers function as a connecting connection between their organisation and others or between their units and other organisational units. Mintzberg defined this activity as contacting outsiders who supply information to the manager. This category includes mail acknowledgement, external board work, and so on.
2. Informational roles: According to Mintzberg, the most crucial components of a manager’s job are receiving and communicating information. Managers require information from a variety of sources to make sound decisions. This activity is typically carried out by reading magazines and conversing with others to learn about changes in client tastes, competition manoeuvres, and the like. Mintzberg referred to this as the monitor position. The manager in the disseminator job gives critical information to subordinates that would otherwise be unavailable to them. Managers also play the spokesman’s job when representing the organisation to outsiders.
3. Decisional roles: The manager has four decision roles. As an entrepreneur, the manager strives to enhance the unit. He implements planned changes to respond to environmental conditions. Managers respond to problems outside their control as disturbance handlers, including strikes, material shortages, complaints, grievances, etc. Managers are responsible for allocating human, physical, and monetary resources as resource allocators. As negotiators, managers arbitrate internal issues and negotiate with other units to acquire advantages for their units.

Effective Management Skills

An effective manager must possess specific planning, organizing, leading, managing, and decision-making skills to handle activities offered to him from time to time.

A manager must possess and continually develop specific critical talents to be effective. According to Robert L. Katz, all managers require three main categories of skills: technical, human, and conceptual.

1. Technical ability is the capacity to use specialised tools, methods, or approaches. Because lower-level managers directly interact with individuals doing work tasks, technical skill is critical to their effectiveness. For example, the success of a drilling supervisor on an oil rig relies heavily on his drilling technical knowledge. However, as one progresses through the organization’s management levels, the value of technical expertise reduces because the manager has less direct interaction with day-to-day problems and operations. As a result, the president of an oil business does not need to be well-versed in the technical aspects of drilling for oil or refining it.
2. Human skill: The ability to collaborate, understand, and motivate others. This ability is necessary at all levels of management within an organisation, but it is especially vital at lower levels of management because the supervisor interacts frequently with operating people.
3. Conceptual skill: This is the mental ability to coordinate and integrate the interests and actions of the organisation. It refers to the ability to comprehend the “big picture” and grasp how a change in one part of the organisation can affect the entire organisation.

Technical ability is most important at lower management levels and becomes less important as one moves up the command chain.

For example, a production supervisor in a manufacturing plant will require more technical skills than the firm president because he or she will deal with day-to-day manufacturing challenges.

On the other hand, as we advance through the management ranks, the importance of conceptual skills grows. The higher the manager in the hierarchy, the more involved he or she will be in broad, long-term decisions affecting large parts of the organisation. Conceptual skills are perhaps the most crucial skills for top management and are responsible for total performance. Human skills are essential at all levels of the organisation. One explanation is that excellent technical or conceptual talents are not particularly helpful if they cannot be used to inspire and influence other organisation members.

Jerdee and Caroll’s study of managerial roles and behaviour supports Katz’s argument that specific talents are more valuable at some levels than others. Over 400 managers from various levels of management and business types and sizes were asked to estimate how much time they spent on eight management tasks: planning, investigating, coordinating, evaluating, supervising, staffing, negotiating, and representing. Lower—and middle-level managers responded that supervising was their primary activity, whereas top managers claimed to spend a more significant proportion of their time planning.

4. Design skill: Koontz and Weihrich added one more skill to the list above. Design competence is the capacity to address challenges that benefit the organisation. Managers at higher levels should be able to do more than notice a problem; they should devise a realistic solution in light of their reality. Managers who notice a problem and become problem watchers will fail.
5. Institution-building skill: According to Prof. Pareek (1981), top-level executives play eight critical responsibilities in creating long-lasting institutions, as listed below:
   • Identity creation role: Top executives must build an organisation’s market identity. This influence can be achieved by providing exceptional employee welfare, developing enviable marketing skills, and fostering technical advancements. In other words, companies must “carve out a niche” for themselves in the market.
   • Enabling role: Top executives must develop their resources (people, materials, equipment, and other resources) in the service of an organisation. A positive work environment must be created where people want to give their all to the organisation.
   • Synergising role: Synergy refers to the fact that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. In organisational terms, synergy means that when different departments cooperate and interact, they become more productive than if they had worked alone. For example, it is more efficient for each department in a small corporation to interact with one financial department rather than each department having its financing department. Top executives must aim to integrate their human and non-human resources to meet the organization’s goals effectively and efficiently.
   • Balancing role: The top executive must establish a good balance between conformity and inventiveness inside the organisation. When rules are followed rigidly and scrupulously, they can hurt employee behaviour and ruin employees’ creative potential.
   • Linkage-building role: The chief executive must generate appropriate links between the organisation and outside constituents such as government, financial institutions, community, and society.
   • Futuristic role: The CEO must prepare the company for future challenges.
   • Creating an impact: This refers to impacting others through superior technology, marketing skills, innovative abilities, and so on.
   • Provide superordination: The chief executive must be able to instil a sense of pride and importance in his or her employees, making them believe that they are working in an important field that benefits society.

Functions of a Manager

As previously stated, the company has numerous management functions and numerous manager titles. Regardless of title, the manager oversees planning, leading, monitoring, and regulating the employees and their work.

1. An Operations Manager is in charge of the company’s operations.
2. A Night Manager is in charge of all activities that occur at night.

According to Reitz, managers often work long hours, their days are divided into a significant number of quick and varied activities, they deal with a huge number of different people, they undertake little introspective preparation, and spend most of their time engaged in oral communication. They devote significant time to gathering, disseminating, and processing information.

According to Stoner, managerial work is distinguished by the following characteristics:

1. Managers work with and through other people: To achieve business objectives, managers collaborate with internal (subordinates, supervisors, peers) and external (customers, clients, suppliers, union representatives, etc.) groups. They combine individual efforts with teamwork. They make plans, build structures, encourage people, and achieve goals.
2. Managers act as mediators: Employees in an organisation do not always agree on specific issues, such as setting goals and determining how to attain them. Managers at a large bank’s corporate headquarters may consider growing into merchant banking, leasing, and credit card industry, whilst workers at the branch level may focus on increasing deposits by venturing deep into rural areas. Employees struggle to think and behave as a cohesive unit unless disagreements are settled quickly. Their morale may deteriorate as well. Managers frequently step in to restore order, clear paths to goals, clarify things to people, put out fires, and fulfil objectives.
3. Managers are politicians: To achieve goals smoothly, managers must create healthy connections with various groups. Within a firm, they may be required to cultivate groups and join specific coalitions. They frequently rely on such connections to gain support for their plans and judgments.
4. Managers are diplomats. They attend organizational meetings as formal representatives of their work units. When dealing with external parties, they may represent the organization and a specific unit (clients, customers, government officials, etc.).
5. Managers are symbols. They represent a company’s success or failure. When they succeed, they are praised; when they fail, they are criticised and attacked. In a nutshell, they represent both corporate and staff goals. When their dreams do not come true, they are shown the door.

Managers are there to maximise the use of business resources.

Henry Fayol’s classification is more popular and widely accepted. He categorises administrative functions into five main categories: planning, organising, directing, staffing, and controlling. Managers fulfil these functions within the constraints imposed by the external environment. They must consider the interests of various stakeholders, including the government, employees, unions, customers, shareholders, competitors, and the general public. It may be easy to segregate managerial functions and analyse them separately for theoretical purposes, but they resist such categorisations in practice. They are practically inseparable.

Each function blends into the next and can be performed in any order or sequence, not necessarily in the order illustrated above, but typically in the planning, organising, staffing, directing and controlling.

1. Planning: Planning is the process of determining future decisions. It is the process of defining enterprise objectives and deciding on future courses of action required to achieve them. It is the process of deciding what will be done, when and where it will be done, how it will be done, and by whom. Enterprise actions are guided by planning. It assists managers in dealing with change. It helps managers track progress toward targets and take remedial action if development is insufficient. Planning is a key function of management, influencing all other management functions.
2. Organizing: The arrangement of an organization’s resources – people, materials, technology, and finance – to fulfil company goals is referred to as organising. It entails decisions about job division, authority and responsibility allocation, and task coordination. As a company grows, the function becomes more important. A structure is built to deal with the challenges arising from growth. The numerous work activities are defined, grouped, ordered, and coordinated using this formal structure. Organizing, therefore, relates to various dynamic aspects: What duties must be completed? Who will carry them out? How will the tasks be organised? Who is responsible for reporting to whom? Where must decisions be made?
3. Staffing: Staffing is the function of hiring qualified individuals for the organisation. It is an activity in which individuals are recruited, selected, trained, developed, motivated, and compensated to fill various positions. It encompasses not only the flow of employees into an organisation but also their mobility through (promotion, job rotation, transfer) and out of the organisation (termination, retirement).
4. Directing: The job of directing is to guide and supervise the operations of subordinates. Acquiring physical and human assets and appropriately deploying them to roles is not enough; individuals must be oriented toward organisational goals. This project includes four major components:
   • Leadership: Leadership is the process of influencing the activities of an individual or a group to achieve desired results. A manager must complete tasks with and through people. The level of leadership demonstrated by an organization’s management determines its success.
   • Motivation: Motivation is a manager’s effort to inspire, encourage, and compel employees to take the necessary action. It is the process of persuading individuals to take desired actions. Managers must provide a pleasant working environment and appealing rewards to encourage employees.
   • Communication: Communication is the exchange of information and understanding between two people. It is a method of communicating ideas, facts, and opinions to others. By definition, communication involves two people: a sender and a receiver. Effective communication is critical in organisations since managers can accomplish little without it.
   • Supervision: It is not enough for managers to inform their employees what they must do to get the job done. They must also monitor and supervise the operations of their subordinates. Supervision entails ensuring that subordinates complete their tasks promptly and accurately. It entails supervising employees at work.
5. Controlling: The goal of controlling is to guarantee that actions contribute to achieving goals. It aids in keeping organisational activities on track and aligned with objectives and goals. Controlling involves observing, measuring, and comparing performance to what was planned. If the measured performance is deficient, the management must investigate the cause and take corrective action. If the performance is deemed satisfactory, some planning decisions must be made, such as changing the original plans. To be effective, the managing role must be preceded by appropriate planning. Thus, controlling entails four aspects:
   • Establishing performance standards,
   • measuring actual performance,
   • comparing actual performance to the standard and
   • taking remedial actions to ensure goal achievement.

To succeed, managers must actively participate in the essential managerial functions listed above. These functions are interconnected, and most managers combine them to address business challenges.

10 Review Questions

1. Why is management considered essential for economic existence and organized collective activity?
2. How did Joseph Massie define management, and what key element does his definition emphasize?
3. According to the text, why is management regarded as both a science and an art? Provide examples from the definitions provided.
4. What are the key characteristics that distinguish management as a process, function, or activity?
5. Explain the argument for management being an “interdisciplinary subject” and list at least three disciplines it draws from.
6. Discuss the role of management as an “economic resource” and how it contributes to the growth and success of an enterprise.
7. How does the text describe the nature of management in terms of authority and decision-making?
8. What are the criteria mentioned in the text that define a profession, and does management meet these criteria?
9. Describe the managerial traits that contribute to the effective and efficient achievement of organizational goals.
10. What are the main responsibilities of a manager, according to the text, and how do they contribute to organizational success?