Management: concept, definition and process (2023)

After reading this article you will learn about management:- 1.management concept 2.Management definitions 3.Process 4. Principles 5.Comments.

Management concept:

One way to look at management is to think in terms of what a manager does. With this approach we can arrive at the management process that describes the work of each manager.

Management work can be broken down into some basic management functions, namely:

(1) planning,

(2) Organization,

(3) Directly,

(4) control.

Planning is the setting of goals and the formulation of plans, strategies, programs, policies, procedures and standards necessary to achieve the organization's desired goals. To implement the plans, an organizational structure must be in place.

Human and material resources or inputs are allocated to the different units and relationships are established between the subunits. Organizing is the second function of a manager. Organization is the process of developing a structure among people, functions, and physical facilities to carry out plans and achieve goals.

The third function of a manager is to guide, stimulate and motivate people in the organization so that they willingly take the desired actions in accordance with the plans and goals outlined. Motivation is an integral part of leadership to ensure the desired results.

The fourth and final function of management is control to ensure intentional action in accordance with plans and objectives. Control includes setting standards, measuring and comparing actual results against the standard, and taking corrective actions as necessary to eliminate deviations from the plan.

Experts agree that management is another type of activity, primarily responsible for getting things done through other people and distinct from all other types of human activity. Likewise, they also agree that all managerial roles are universal and all managers in all fields of human endeavor perform these typical managerial roles regardless of what they manage.

However, we do not have a unified view from the authorities on what management functions are and what exactly management is. Differing opinions and approaches are reflected in the following frequently cited definitions of management.

1."Administration is foreseeing, planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating and controlling."—Henry Fayol. He tries to describe management in terms of what a manager does, not what management is.

2."Administration is a polyvalent body that directs a company and manages the manager and manages the worker and the work."— P. Drucker: The Practice of Management

Drucker highlights three management jobs:

(i) running a business;

(ii) directors; Y

(iii) Management of Workers and Manpower.

Even if one went down, we would no longer have management and we would not have any commercial or industrial operations either. According to P. Drucker, the manager must balance and harmonize three main functions of the company.

Therefore, a manager is a dynamic and life-giving element in any company. Without efficient management, we cannot guarantee the best allocation and use of human, material and financial resources.

Management definitions:

(i) General definition of management:

Management is a distinct continuous process in which an organization's inputs (human and financial resources) are allocated to typical managerial functions (planning, organising, directing and controlling) to achieve specific objectives, i.e. the production of desired goods and services. by its customers (Environment).

This involves working with and through the organization's employees in an ever-changing business environment.

This definition encompasses key ideas from any management school of thought:

(1) The functional school understands management as a planning, organization, direction and control process.

(2) The behavioral school is not only interested in the process, but how the process affects the organization, i.e. with and through staff or human resources.

(3) The quantitative school wants to improve the quality of decision-making, that is, the fulfillment of the objectives set by the company.

(4) The systems approach focuses on the entire organization, ie inputs-processes-outputs.

(5) The contingency approach emphasizes the dynamic nature of the management process in an ever-changing business environment.

(ii) Precise definition of management:

Let's formulate an exact definition of management. It should be the basis for our study of management principles. The essence of management must be identified as a process. A process is something a person does.

A process also implies continuous and incessant cyclic operations. In management we have the plan-action-control cycle. Our definition must include this management cycle. A process shows the dynamic nature of management.

It also implies that change is a constant reality of organizational life and management is the management of change. Finally, management is considered as a social process, as it is directly related to the management of human resources to achieve cooperation and teamwork among people in their performance.

There are two purposes in the management process:

(1) Maximum productivity or profitability and

(2) Maximum human well-being and contentment.

A definition of management as a process consists of five parts: first, the coordination of resources; second, the performance of managerial functions as a means of achieving coordination; the third, which establishes the objective or purpose of the management process, that is, it must be a business activity with a purpose; The fourth aspect is that management is a social process and the fifth is its cyclical nature.

Let's describe each part individually:

1. Management is coordination:

The manager of a company must effectively coordinate all activities and resources of the organization, that is, people, machines, materials and money, the four Ms of management.

2. Management is a process:

The manager achieves proper coordination of resources through the management functions of planning, organizing, staffing, directing (or leading and motivating), and controlling.

3. Management is a goal-oriented process:

It is aimed at achieving predetermined goals or objectives. Without a goal we don't have a goal to achieve or a path to follow to reach our goal ie a goal, both management and the organization need to be oriented towards goals or objectives.

4. Management is a social process:

It is the art of doing things through other people.

5. Management is a cyclical process:

It represents the plan-act-check-replan cycle, that is, a continuous process to achieve planned goals.

(iii) Management: an art, a science or a profession?

Science implies the existence of a body of knowledge in a systematic way, based on careful observation, precise measurement, experimentation and conclusions or conclusions derived from a detailed analysis of data, that is, facts and figures.

Knowledge is testable through experiments that provide us with the phenomenon of cause and effect. In other words, science provides the theory, principles and laws of all areas of human knowledge. Science gives knowledge, which in turn gives power for application.

Management is an evolving science. You have now developed certain principles and building blocks into a management process that is universally applicable in all areas of human organizations, for-profit and not-for-profit. However, management is not comparable to exact sciences such as physics, chemistry, biology, etc. It's about people and it's a social science like economics.

It is clear that management principles are not fundamental truths and their application does not always bring the desired results. Human behavior is constantly changing and highly unpredictable. It is not subject to the laws of mechanics.

A human being is not an inanimate machine. Therefore, managing complex people is inevitably a fuzzy science. Even so, the theoretical foundation of knowledge is fundamental for the development of a solid practice. Rather, theory must be continually supplemented by practical knowledge. Science and art are complementary and complement each other.

Art reflects the practical application of knowledge and is perfected through knowledge and experience. Art is not only based on knowledge, but is inspired by intuition, inspiration and other purely subjective attributes.

A manager is not only a scientist, but also an artist. As a scientist, he builds on existing management theory and philosophy and develops new insights, new principles, and new schools of management thought.

As an artist, you must rely on your own experience, intuition and judgment when making management decisions and acting on decisions to achieve established goals. Scientific attitude and method are applied in problem solving approach, e.g. For example, market research, business research, etc. But decision-making cannot be reduced entirely to science.

In reality, human judgment and experience have a veto power in decision making, and as a decision maker, a manager is an artist. Ultimately, decision making, the heart of management, is an art acquired through conscious effort and practice.

"Knowledge is power" is an old saying. But the correct saying should be: “Applied knowledge is power”. Neither the science nor the art of management should go hand in hand and both are mutually dependent and complementary. Theoretical medicine and technology classes are almost always accompanied by practical work in a hospital or workshop.

Planning and organizing are referred to as management mechanics and indicate an emphasis on the science of management, while direction (including communication), motivation, coordination, and control are management dynamics that emphasize the art of management. Getting work done by people is an art of management.

It is hard work that requires initiative, determination, tact, discretion and other superior qualities. We need art management skills to be able to do management work. The art of management is fully reflected in a manager's ability to make decisions. Judgment and imagination are essential even in a computerized economy. A computer cannot replace a manager in decision making.

“A professional manager is someone who specializes in the work of planning, organizing, directing, and controlling the efforts of others, and does so through the systematic use of classified knowledge, a shared vocabulary and principles, and adheres to standards of practice and code of conduct. ethical conduct. established by a recognized body”.— Luis A. Foreigners.

The management revolution has slowly but surely brought about the separation of real estate management from corporate management in all countries. Thus, in the last three decades, management assumes a professional character.

1. State of knowledge:

Management has now developed a specialized body of management theory and philosophy. Management literature is growing in all countries. In fact, management knowledge is the best passport to enter the world of work.

2. Management tools:

Management topics such as accounting, business law, psychology, statistics, econometrics, data processing, etc. were developed. These branches of the management profession have increased the practical usefulness of the science of management.

3. Separate Discipline:

Management studies is recognized as an independent discipline at many universities and colleges. Since 1951, we even have specialized management schools offering master's degrees in business administration and management.

For orientation and retraining in management areas, for example, export management, personnel management, general management, production management, marketing management, financial management, etc., seminars, special courses, training programs are becoming more and more more popular

4. Specialization:

There is a growing trend to select and appoint highly qualified, trained and experienced individuals to lead the business in all functional areas of management. So today we have a growing trend of leadership by experts or professionals.

5. Code of Conduct:

Enlightened businesspeople have recognized that corporate governance is a social institution and must fulfill social responsibility: toward customers, employees, and the public or community. Companies now have a conscience and a social conscience.

The consumer-centric marketing concept reflects a code of business conduct. Pressures from consumerism, unions, public opinion and legislation are definitely driving management to develop a code of ethics. Commercial relationships in the market are no longer governed by "buyer beware". We now have "seller's caution" rather than "buyer's caution" affecting market practices.

6. Vocational school:

We now have Business Management Associations in many countries to promote the dissemination of knowledge in all aspects of management and build a bright public image of the management profession.

Management Process:

Management principles:

Fayol's followers gave other management principles such as universality of management, control by exception, equality of authority and responsibility, power and responsibility, and coordination.

By introducing two modifications to Fayol's concepts, we could easily lay the foundations of modern management theory:

(1) Management is the planning, organization, management, coordination and control of technical, financial, commercial, accounting and security activities.

(2) It is not order but motivation that can help us understand why men and women work and how to get the most productivity out of them.

Thus, we substitute motivation for command. Direction and command are not enough to do things for humans. Today's manager needs to encourage, communicate, develop and encourage his employees to achieve superior performance. Modern management attaches great importance to motivation as the key to productivity.

The pattern of leadership developed at the Du Pont Company has had a far-reaching impact on modern business. Taylor and Fayol's writings stimulated further research into management theory and its application to business. Du Pont's example provided a pattern that many other companies followed with great success.

The work of Taylor and Fayol, the two pioneers in the evolution of business thinking, is indeed complementary:

(1) Both pointed out that the problem of human resources and their management at all levels is the main key to productivity and industrial progress.

(2) Both the implicit scientific approach and the scientific method to solve management problems.

(3) Taylor worked primarily at the operational level from the bottom up in the organizational hierarchy. While Fayol focused on the CEO and worked on the organizational hierarchy.

(4) However, both emphasized the technical or professional aspects of management, and both are responsible for the economic revolution that took place after 1940.

Management comments:

(1) Management is a social process.

(2) It is directly responsible for the allocation, use and coordination of all human and material resources that arise in the business environment or in the company. The environment provides these resources as inputs to an organization. Most of these resources are scarce and can be used elsewhere. Management must develop an optimal mix of these resources or inputs.

(3) Resources are coordinated and integrated by management through the performance of typical management functions, namely planning, organization, personnel, direction, motivation, communication and control. These functions form the management process. Basic features are subject to basic management functions.

(4) The management process is required to define the objectives and targets and take the appropriate actions, ie implement the plan to achieve the established targets. Control ensures that performance is as planned and allows management to eliminate any discrepancies between actual results and expected results.

(5) Because people are our most important resource, management has a special responsibility to create a supportive work environment and ensure maximum employee morale and productivity. Therefore, management must not only manage the business, but also the managers and workers.

Motivation and leadership are the two unique managerial functions or activities to ensure maximum utilization of human resources without sacrificing human well-being and happiness.

(6) As a leader, you need to take on different roles in different situations, e.g. B. Planner, coordinator, leader, liaison (link), monitor, speaker, information disseminator, risk manager, resource allocator, negotiator. , duty manager, interpersonal and interdepartmental conflict solver, etc.

(7) Classical or bureaucratic management is appropriate when the environment remains relatively unchanged. Behavioral and organic management is appropriate when the environment is dynamic and innovation and creativity are paramount.