Chapter 1 Nature and Significance of Management

Management is the process of working together to achieve a specific goal by utilising the resources effectively and efficiently.

All the characteristics of management are important. Two characteristics of management are: 

1. Goal - Oriented : Management is a goal oriented process management unit with all the efforts to achieve the goals.
2. Management is all pervasive : Activities of managing are common in every organisation.

Coordination is the force that binds all the other functions of management. Coordination is the process of synchronising the activities of different departments.

The two indicators of growth of an organisation are profit and expansion. Because when an organisation is earning profit and which is increasing continuously then it is considered that the organisation is growing.

The objectives of management achieved by Indian Railways in the above case are :

• Organisational Objective
• Social Objective.

Ritu being the manager of the northern division of the organisation is at the middle level management.

The middle level management is the link between top and low level managers. Her main role is to look after the implementation of the plan & policies that are decided & directed by the top management by directing and supervising the lower management.

Following are her basic furchions:

1. To interpret the policies framed by top management.
2. To ensure that her department has the necessary personnel.
3. To assign the necessary duties and responsibilities to the person of their respective department.
4. To motivate the personnel for achieving their desired goals.
5. To cooperate with the other departments for smooth functioning of her organisation.

Following are the basic features according to which management can be viewed as a profession:

a. Systemised Knowledge: Every profession is based on a well-defined body of knowledge. So as in management a systemised and well-defined of knowledge is required. And this knowledge can be acquired from management colleges and professional institutes.

b. Restricted Entry: Entry in any profession is restricted as it requires specific qualifications and degrees. But in management there is no need for any specific qualifications and degree. But professional knowledge and training is required to be a manager. Therefore as some extent this restricts the entry as the person with management degree and diplomas are preferred.

c. Code of Conduct: Every profession needs to follow a specific code of conduct to guide the behaviour of its members. Therefore if an organisation with a good management team. Which works effectively will automatically provide good quality of product at reasonable prices.

Management is considered as a multi-dimensional content because management is a complex activity which has not only one but many dimensions. There we are three main dimensions of management.

a) Management of work: Any organisation exists for the performance of some work. Management translates this work in terms of goals and the way to achieve it.

b) Management of people: Human Resource is the asset of the organisation. And it is one of the important dimensions of management. This dimension is concerned with utilizing the skills and strength of the people and to work upon their weakness by providing them required training It deals with employees as an individual and as a team.

c) Management of operations: Every organisation has some basic product or service to provide for survival. And for this production process is required to get the desired output for consumption. And this dimension is interlinked with both management of work and management of people.

And that is why management is considered as a multi-dimensional concept.

The quality of management that is lacking in the company x is coordination.

All the departments of the company are not coordinating with each other and as a result they blame each for the poor performance of the company.

To bring coordination the management should take following steps:

1. Once the goals are set then they should communicate to all departments in advance to make them understand their goals and its importance.
2. The manager of the company should ensure that all departments coordinate with each other.
3. The managers should try to make a balance whenever there is a difference of interest so that they all work in the same direction.
4. Meetings of all department heads should be organised to solve the emerging problem in the company.

Yes, Coordination is the essence of management the process by which a manager synchronises the activities of different departments is known as coordination. Coordination is the force that binds the functions of management. It is the common link that runs through all activities such as purchase, production, sales and finance for smooth working of the organisation. The process of coordinating the activities of an organisation begins at the planning stage itself. Planning is the initial stage where objectives and goals of the organisation are set. Not only in planning but all the stages from planning to staffing coordination is required to achieve the specific goal with no or minimum conflict.

In the above case, Ashita produces the required number of bracelets within the stipulated time at total cost of Rs. 55,000. Here Ashita works effectively as she completes the task in a given period of time. But she is not efficient as she spends Rs 5,000 more whereas she should spend Rs. 50,000 on production. In other words she spent Rs. 110 on production of one bracelet instead of Rs. 100. So, Ashita is effective but not efficient.

And Lakshita produces 450 bracelets at the cost of Rs. 90 per bracelets. Here Lakshita is efficient because she saves Rs. 10 on each unit of bracelets. She reduces the cost of production which leads to making more profit. But she is not effective as she is not able to produce the required number of bracelets in a given period of time which leads to delay in delivery of the bracelet. So, Lakshita is efficient but not effective.

Management is considered to be both an art and a science because it fulfills the criteria of both an art as well as a science.

Following are the features of management as an art and as a science:

Management as an Art: Management fulfills the following criteria for it to be called as an art.

1. Existence of Theoretical knowledge: All art forms presupposes the existence of certain the practical knowledge. Similarly, in management also there is a lot of literature available in various areas of management.

2. Personalised application: Art is concerned with personal application of knowledge. And the use of basic knowledge will vary from individual to individual. For example, two singers, two dancers or two actors will always differ in demonstrating their art. Similarly, A manager applies the scientific method and body of knowledge to a given situation or a problem in his own unique manner. A good manager works with a combination of practice, creativity, imagination initiative and innovation.

3. Based on Practice and Creativity: All art involves the creative practice of theoretical knowledge. For example music, we all know that there are seven notes in a musician but the musician uses these notes with his own creativity to make the music different. Similarly in management a manager applies his knowledge as per his own creativity and sometimes gives his own theories for use in a particular situation.

Management as a Science: Management fulfills the following criteria for it to be called science.

1. Systematised body of knowledge: Science is a systematic body of knowledge. The principles of science are based on a course and effect relationship. Similarly in management it is also a systematised body of knowledge, and it has its own theory and principles that developed over a period of time. Communication management has its own vocabulary.

2. Principles based on Experimentation: The scientific principles are first developed through observation and then tested by experiments. Similarly the principle of management evolved over a period of time on the bases of observation and experiments. The management deals with human beings and human behaviour therefore the outcomes of the experiments are not accurate. That's why management can be called an inexact science. Despite this the management scholars have been able to identify the general principles of management

3. Universal validity: Scientific principles have universal validity and application. Similarly in management the principles are also valid but their application and use is not universal. Because the principles of management are not as exact as the principles of science. However, they have to be modified according to the situation. These principles are used for training and development of managers.

Profession is an occupation for which specialized skills and knowledge are required. And entry in any profession is restricted as it requires specialized skills and some minimum educational qualification.

Characteristics of profession as a profession.

1. Well defined body of knowledge: Professions are based on a well-defined body of knowledge that can be acquired through instructions.
   This characteristic of profession is applicable in management also as management is also based on a systematic body of knowledge comprising well-defined principles.

2. Restricted Entry: Entry to a profession is restricted through acquiring an educational degree or through examination.
   This characteristic of the profession is not applicable in management as there is no restriction on anyone being designated or appointed as manager in any business firm. But in today's world the organisation gives more preference to management graduates for the need of specialization.

3. Professional association: Every profession is affiliated to a professional association which regulates entry and grants certificate of practice.
   This characteristic of the profession is also not applicable in management. There are some associations of practising managers in India, like the AIMA (All India Management Association) that has laid down conduct to regulate the activities of their members. But there is no compulsion for a manager to be a member of the management association.

4. Service Motive: The main motive of a profession is to serve their client's by providing them committed service.
   This characteristic is not purely applicable in management as the main motive of management is to achieve the specific goal of the organisation. And that may be profit maximisation.

However, profit maximisation as the objective of management does not hold and is fast changing. 

So, finally it can be said that management does not fulfil all the characteristics of the profession. But in today's growing world for status and recognition  management is moving towards profession.

Management is the place of working together to achieve a specific goal by utilising the resources available effectively and efficiently. For management it is important to be both effective and efficient. Effectiveness and efficiency are two sides of the same coins. Effectiveness means finishing the given task in a given period of time. In other words it is concerned with the end result. It is one of the important aspects of management.

Efficiency means doing the task correctly, and with least amount of resources at minimum cost. If an organisation is efficient then it would reduce the cost of the organisation and as a result it will lead to increase in profit. Effectiveness and efficiency are two important aspects of the management for achieving the desired goal. Being effective means actually achieving the goals without considering the cost of input. While, being efficient will reduce the cost of input which results in increase in profit. That is why if the company focuses on effectiveness, then it may have to compromise on efficiency and vice versa.

For example if a company need to hire more employees to achieve the target then it would increase the cost of production as they need to give salary to the employees that are hired for that project. Here the task will complete effectively not efficiently.

And if the company continues to work with available resources then it would delay the project. Here the cost is not increased and the work is done efficiently not effectively. So, the company has to compromise on one for the other. Therefore, it is important for management to achieve goals with minimum resources as possible while maintaining a balance between effectiveness and efficiency.

Management is the process of planning, organizing, directing and controlling the efforts of members and resources of the organisation to achieve the organizational goals effectively and efficiently.

There are five functions of management that are planning, organising, directing, staffing and controlling. All the functions are interrelated with each other because no function can be complete without the other function. For example without planning organising can't be performed.

Functions of management is as follows:

1. Planning: Planning is the initial and very important function of the management. In this function what is to be done and who is to do it is decided. Planning is the step in which goals and the way of achieving them efficiently and effectively determine in advance.

2. Organising: This function is performed to determine what activities and resources are required to accomplish the organisational goals. And to decide who will do a particular task, where it will be done and when it will be done. Grouping of the task into manageable department and reporting relationships within the organisational hierarchy involved in organising. Proper organisational techniques lead to accomplishment of work and promote both efficiency and effectiveness in the organisation.

3. Staffing: Under this function organisation finds the right people for the right job. In this function right people are hired with required qualifications. This is also known as the human resource function and it involves activities such as recruitment, selection, placement and training.

4. Directing: It involves leading, guiding and motivating employees to perform the tasks assigned to them. By providing a required work environment and encouraging them to do their best. The two key components of directing are motivation and leadership. Leadership means getting work done by direction of the leaders. A manager directs by praising and criticising the employee in a way that they give their best.

5. Controlling: This function of management involves monitoring the performance to achieve the organisational goal. This function also involves the measuring of actual work as compared to standard work and taking corrective action where any deviation occurs. This helps in achieving the target on time, efficiently and effectively.

So, we can say that all the functions of the management are interdependent on each other.

There are three levels of management top level, middle level and lower level. And all the three levels of management will have to work together for modification of the product with the motive of increasing Sales.

1. Decisions should be taken by top level of management are:

1. Direction of modification after scanning the environment.
2. Deciding sales targets and various sales plans and sales incentives.
3. To determine how to enhance the value of the product in qualitative terms?
4. Marketing and promotional techniques are required for increasing sales.

2. Steps should be taken by middle level management are:

1. To interpret the rules and policies framed by top management to the lower level management.
2. To hire the personnel with required skills and qualifications.
3. Assigning responsibility as per capability and establishing the Supervisor - Subordinate relationship.
4. To motivate the people to achieve the desired target/goals.
5. To cooperate with all departments and their members.
6. To take the feedback and arrange the follow-up meetings.

3. Decisions should be taken by lower level management are:

1. To help and direct the workers about how to do the work.
2. To interpret the desired targets to the work force and labourers.
3. To reduce the wastage and motivate the workers so that they can give their best.
4. To communicate the grievance and feedback to the middle management.
5. Maintaining Safety Standards.

In the above case the problem is in coordination and in communication of the work schedule. Because the duplication of work occurs due to lack of coordination between the levels of management. And also there is a problem of communication because the confusion occurs due to lack of communication.

Remedies to be taken are following:

1. Plans and control systems should be coordinated.
2. Should follow a proper communication pattern with clear instructions.
3. Proper coordination should be made among the workers by motivating and guiding the workers to achieve  the goals.
4. Feedback should be taken by the manager from bottom level at required intervals.
5. Should have transparency in the working pattern.