What Is Management? Definition, Characteristics, Scope, and Core Functions

Introduction of management

In today’s dynamic business landscape, effective management is more crucial than ever. Management is an art of getting things done by others. At its core, management is a problem-solving process that enables organizations to achieve their objectives through the strategic utilization of Organizational resources include men (human beings), money, machines and materials. 

Management involves working with people from different:

1. Ages
2. Cultures
3. Backgrounds
4. Departments or specializations

“Management is the process of working with and through diverse groups of people across different ages, cultures, and departments to achieve organizational goals efficiently and effectively.”

1. Age Diversity – Managing both younger and older employees require understanding different communication styles, expectations, and work habits.
2. Cultural Diversity – Managers must respect and adapt to different cultural values, languages, and traditions, especially in global or multicultural teams.
3. Departmental Differences – Coordinating across areas like finance, marketing, HR, and production requires collaboration and clear communication.

It also involves a systematic approach that encompasses planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling human efforts. Each of these functions plays a vital role in ensuring that an organization not only meets its goals but does so efficiently and sustainably. In others words it can be stated that A set of activities includes planning and decision making, organizing, leading, and controlling directed at an organization’s resources as human, financial, physical, and information with the aim of achieving organizational goals in an efficient and effective manner.

What is management?

Management is a problem-solving process of effectively achieving organizational objectively by effective utilization use of scarce resources in a changing environment. Management is thus the process of planning, organising, staffing, directing and controlling human efforts to achieve organizational objectives effectively.  In simple words it can be state that it is a process of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling to meet organizational goals. 

Definition of management

1. According to Koontz and Weihrich - Management is the process of designing and maintaining an environment in which individuals, working together in a group, efficiently accomplish selected goal 
2. According to F.W. Taylor - Management is the art of knowing what you want to do and then seeing that it is done in the best and cheapest way
3. According to George R Terry - Process consisting of planning, organizing, actuating and controlling, performed to determine and accomplish the objectives by the use of people and resources

As a manager, people carry out the managerial functions of planning, organizing, staffing, leading and controlling. Managements applies to any kind of organization. It applies to managers at all organizational level. The aim of all managers is the same to create a surplus. Managing is concerned with productivity this implies effectiveness & efficiency.

Characteristics of Management

Following are the nature and characteristics of Management:

1. Management is an activity - It is a process of organized activity concerned with efficient utilization of resources of production like men, material, machine, money etc.
2. Management is a purposeful activity - It is concerned with the achievement of an objective through its functions. Objectives may be explicit or implicit.
3. Management both art or Science - The scientific approach lies in decision-making, planning and in the appropriate use of technology. The artistic approach to management can be found in the tasks of communicating, leadership and goal-setting. Hence, management is a combination of both an art and a science.
4. Management concerned with the efforts of a group - Management is concerned with management of people and not the direction of things. It motivates the workers to contribute their best.
5. Management is getting things done - A manager does not do any operating work himself but gets it done through others.
6. Management applies economic principles - Management is the art of applying the economic principles that underlie a control of men and materials in the enterprise under consideration.
7. Management involves decision making - It is a decision-making process and the decisions are involved in all the functions of management.
8. Management coordinates all activities and resources - It is concerned with coordination of all activities and resources to attain the specific objectives.
9. Management is a universal activity - The techniques and tools of management are universally applicable.
10. Management is an integrating process - It integrates the men, materials and machines for achieving stated objectives.
11. Management is concerned with direction and control - It is concerned with direction and control of human efforts to attain the specific objectives.
12. Management is intangible - It is abstract and cannot be seen - It is evidenced by the quality of organization and through its results.
13. Management is a profession - It is becoming a profession because there is established principles of management which being applied in practice.
14. Management is an interdisciplinary approach – Management as a body of discipline takes the help or other social science like psychology, sociology, engineering, economics, mathematics etc.
15. Management is dynamic and not static - Management adopts itself to the social changes and also introduces innovation in methodology.

Scope of management

The scope of management is very wide. The functional areas of management may be classified into the following categories.

1. Production Management
2. Marketing Management
3. Financial Management
4. Human Resource Management

Production Management 

Production function so as to produce the right goods in right quantity at the right time and at the right cost. It consists of the following activities.

1. Designing the product
2. Location and layout of plant and building
3. Operations of purchase and storage of materials
4. Planning and control of factory operations
5. Repairs and maintenance
6. Inventory control and quality control
7. Research and development etc.

Marketing Management 

It refers to the identification of consumer’s needs and supplying them the goods and services, which can satisfy those, wants. The activities are as follows:

1. Marketing Research to determine the needs and expectations of consumers
2. Planning and developing suitable products
3. Setting appropriate prices
4. Selecting the right channels of distribution
5. Promotional activities like advertising and salesmanship to communicate with the customers.

Financial Management 

Financial management seeks to ensure the right amount and type of funds to business at the right time and at reasonable cost. The activities are as follows:

1. Estimate the volume of funds requires for long term and short-term needs of business
2. Selecting the appropriate sources of funds
3. Raising the required funds at the right time
4. Ensuring proper utilization and allocation of raised funds
5. Administration of earnings.

Human Resource Management 

It involves planning, organizing, directing and controlling the procurement, development, compensation, maintenance etc. of the human resources in an enterprise. It consists of the following activities:

1. Manpower planning
2. Recruitment
3. Selection
4. Training and Development
5. Performance Appraisal
6. Compensation and promotion
7. Employee services and benefits
8. Maintaining personnel records etc.

Management by Objectives

Steps of Management objectives

1. To establish long-term and short-term organizational goals
2. To establish long-term and short-term objectives for each manager, clarifying the key performance standards
3. Periodic review of performance
4. Encouraging managers to accept responsibility 

Benefits management by objectives 

1. The need for planning will be recognized 
2. It provides for objectives and accountability for performance
3. It encourages participative management
4. It helps in job enrichment
5. It provides for a good feedback system

Functions of management

1. Henri Fayol identifies five functions of management viz, planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating and controlling.
2. Koontz and O’Donnell, divides the management functions into planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling.
3. Warren Haynes and Joseph Massie classifies management functions into decision-making, planning, organizing, staffing, directing, controlling, and communicating.
4. Luther Gulick, states seven such functions under the catch word “POSDCORB” Which stand for
• P – Planning
• O– Organizing
• S – Staffing
• D – Directing
• Co – Coordinating
• R – Reporting
• B – Budgeting

As per managers are concerned, the following five functions are essential. They are Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing, and Controlling. In addition to above five functions, the two functions such as Innovations and representation are also necessary for managers.

Management Process

For managerial purpose, the following five functions are very essential for managers. They are planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling.

Planning

Planning is nothing but looking ahead and preparing for future. It is a process of deciding the business objectives and charting out the methods of attaining those objectives. This process encompasses deciding what tasks need to be done, how and where they will be executed, who will be responsible, and how outcomes will be assessed. In simple terms Process of deciding business objectives and identifying methods to accomplish.

1. What is to be done?
2. How and where is it to be done? 
3. Who is to do it?
4. How results are to be evaluated?

This planning process is done not only for the organization as a whole but for every division or department or sub-unit of the organization. It is a function, which is performed by managers at all levels, like top, middle and supervisory levels of management.

Plans made by top management of the organization’s whole may cover periods as long as five or ten years. plans made by middle- or first-line managers, cover such shorter periods. Such plans may be for the next days or weeks, or months, etc. for example, for a two-hour meeting to take place in a week. 

Following are the sub functions of planning:

forecasting, decision making, strategic formulation, policy-making, programming, scheduling, budgeting, problem solving, innovation and research activities.

Principle of Planning

1. Take Time to Plan
2. Planning can be Top to Down or Bottom to Top
3. Involve and Communicate with all those Concerned
4. Plans must be Flexible and Dynamic
5. Evaluate and Revise

Steps in Planning

1. Determining the goals or objectives for the entire organization.
2. Making assumptions on various elements of the environment.
3. To decide the planning period.
4. Examine alternative courses of actions. 
5. Evaluating the alternatives.
6. Real point of decision making
7. To make derivative plans.

Organizing

Effective organizing is crucial for any successful business. It involves coordinating human resources with essential materials, machinery, and financial assets to achieve established objectives. Once managers have established objectives and developed plans to achieve them, they must design and develop a human organization that will be able to carry out those plans successfully. By aligning talent with resources, we can ensure that our teams are empowered to drive success and innovation.

• According to Allen, this organization refers to the “Structure which results from identifying and grouping work, defining and delegating responsibility and authority, and establishing relationships.”
• According to Amitai Etzioni, “An organization is a social unit or human grouping, deliberately structured for the purpose of attaining specific goals”.

The process of organizing involves the followings:

1. Identifying the activities necessary to achieve the objectives.
2. Grouping activities into various departments.
3. Assigning duties or tasks to appropriate individuals.
4. Delegating necessary authority to individuals and fixing responsibilities for results.
5. Defining authority and responsibility relationship among individuals.

Sub-functions of organizing functions are as follows:

Functionalisation, divisionalisation, departmentation, delegation, decentralization, activity analysis, task allocation. In simple terms, Organizing requires humans and materials to create organization involves correct selection of staffing. Success of organization depends on how well it can coordinate the various resources.

Techniques for achieving coordination

1. Coordination by Rules or Procedures
2. Coordination by Targets or Goals 
3. Coordination through the Hierarchy
4. Coordination through Departmentalization
5. Using a Staff Assistant for Coordination
6. Using a Liaison for Coordination
7. Using a Committee for Coordination
8. Using Independent Integrators for Coordination
9. Coordination through Mutual Adjustment

Staffing

Staffing is a critical function in building a successful organization.  It involves the strategic process of identifying and recruiting the right individuals for each role, ensuring that the organization has the necessary manpower to thrive. In simple words, in staffing, the manager attempts to find the right person for each job. Staffing fixes a manager’s responsibility to recruit and to make certain that there is enough manpower available to fill the various positions needed in the organization.

Staffing involves Selecting and training individuals for specific job functions, and charging them with the associated responsibilities. Staffing is not a onetime process its staffing is an ongoing responsibility that requires continuous attention and adaptation. people continuously leaving, getting fired, retiring and dying. Often too, the changes in the organization create new positions, and these must be filled. The number of employed personnel in an organization or program. Also called workforce.

• According to Koontz and O’Donnell, “The managerial function of staffing involves manning the organizational structure through proper and effective selection, appraisal and development of personnel to fill the roles designed into the structure”.

Staffing function has the following sub functions. They are manpower planning, recruitment, selection, training and development, placement, compensation, promotion, appraisal etc.

Directing

After plans have been made and the organization has been established and staffed, the next step is to move towards its defined objectives. This function can be called by various names: ‘Leading’, ‘Directing’, ‘Motivating’, ‘Actuating’, and so on which involves communication, leadership and motivation by the managers. Function of the manager explains to his people what they have to do and helps them do it to the best of their ability.

Directing thus involves three sub-functions. They are as follows

1. Communication is the process of passing information and understanding from one person to another.
2. Leadership is the process by which a manager guides and influences the work of his subordinates.
3. Motivation means arousing desire in the minds of workers to give their best to the enterprise. It is the act of stimulating or inspiring workers. If the workers of an enterprise are properly motivated, they will pull their weight effectively, give their loyalty to the enterprise, and carry out their task effectively.

Two broad categories of motivation are financial and non-financial. Financial motivation takes the form of salary, bonus, profit sharing, etc., while non-financial motivation takes the form of job security, opportunity of advancement, recognition, praise, etc.

Controlling

In any successful organization, it is essential for managers to ensure that all activities align with the established plans, instructions, and principles.

Controlling concept

1. Feed Forward Control - Control that attempts to identify and prevent deviations before they occur is called feed forward control, sometimes called preliminary or preventive control. 
2. Concurrent Control - Control that monitors ongoing employee activities during their progress, to ensure they are consistent with quality standards, is called concurrent control.
3. Feedback Control - In this case, the control takes place after the action. Sometimes called post-action or output control

Principles of Effective Control

1. Effective controls are timely.
2. Control standards should encourage compliance.
3. Setting effective standards is important 
4. Use management by exception.
5. Employees should get fast feedback on performance.
6. Do not over rely on control reports.
7. Fit the amount of control to the task.

Three elements are involved in the controlling function

1. Establishing standards of performance.
2. Measuring current performance and comparing it against the established standards.
3. Taking action to correct any performance that does not meet those standards. In the absence of sound control, there is no guarantee that the objectives, which have been set, will be realized. The management may go on committing mistakes without knowing them. Control compels events to conform to plans.

Controlling function has the following sub functions. They are

1. Fixation of standards,
2. Recording,
3. Measurement,
4. Reporting,
5. Corrective action.

Managerial Roles in management 

Behavioural patterns and activities involved in carrying out the functions of management; includes interpersonal, informational, and decision-making roles

1. Interpersonal roles: Providing leadership to employees, acting as a liaison between groups, networking and fostering relationships. Management is largely a question of getting work accomplished through the efforts of other people. Including; 
• Providing leadership to employees 
• Building relationships
• Acting as a liaison between groups and individuals both inside and outside the company
2. Informational roles: Managers spend a fair amount of time gathering information from sources both inside and outside the organization. They also distribute information to employees, other managers, and other stakeholders
• Monitor- evaluate the performance of managers in different functions
• Disseminator-communicate to employees the organization’s vision and purpose
• Spokesperson- give a speech to inform the local community about the organization’s future intentions
3. Decisional roles: From deciding how to respond to a customer complaint to deciding whether to acquire another company or develop a new product line, managers up and down the organizational ladder face an endless stream of decisions.
• Entrepreneur- commit organization resources to develop innovative goods and services
• Disturbance handler- to take corrective action to deal with unexpected problems facing the organization from the external as well as internal environment
• Resource allocator- allocate existing resources among different functions and departments
• Negotiator- work with suppliers, distributors and labor unions

What makes managers Successful?

1. Hard work
2. Smart work
3. Patience
4. Out of box thinking
5. Reading and acquiring knowledge
6. Ethical consciousness
7. Collaborative relationship
8. Perseverance 

Conclusion

Management is the foundations of any successful organization. It is a systematic process that ensures organizational goals are met through effective planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. By understanding its characteristics, scope, and various roles, managers can make correct decisions and organizations can enhance their performance and achieve sustainable success in a dynamic and competitive environment.

FAQ’s

What is management?

Management is the attainment of organizational goals in an effective and efficient manner through planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling organizational resources. Organizational resources include men (human beings), money, machines and materials. Management is the process of designing and maintaining an environment in which individuals, working together in group, efficiently accomplish selected aims. 

1. Centralization 
2. Scalar chain 
3. Order 
4. Equity 
5. Stability of tenure 
6. Initiative

What are management features?

Management involves five functions - planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling organizational resources. These functions are organized to achieve organizational goals. Management involves effective and efficient use of resources

What are the nature of management?

1. Multidisciplinary 
2. Proactive in nature 
3. Relative not absolute principle 
4. Management as profession 
5. Universality of management 
6. Management is a distinct process. 
7. Management is an organized activity 
8. Management aims at the accomplishment of predetermined objectives. 
9. Management is both a science and an art. 
10. Management is a group activity 
11. Management principles are universal in nature 
12. Management integrates human and other resources.

Importance of management

1. Improves standard of living 
2. Change and growth 
3. Achievement of goals and objectives 
4. Establishing sound goals and objectives 
5. Effective leadership and motivation 
6. Optimum and profitable utilization of resources

Previous

Next