Functions of Management

Management is the process of reaching organizational goals by working with and through people and other organizational resources. 

Management has the following 3 characteristics:

1. It is a process or series of continuing and related activities.
2. It involves and concentrates on reaching organizational goals.
3. It reaches these goals by working with and through people and other organizational resources.

MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS:

The 4 basic management functions that make up the management process are described in the following sections:

1. PLANNING
2. ORGANIZING
3. STAFFING
4. DIRECTING
5. CONTROLLING 

PLANNING: Planning involves choosing tasks that must be performed to attain organizational goals, outlining how the tasks must be performed, and indicating when they should be performed.

Planning activity focuses on attaining goals. Managers outline exactly what organizations should do to be successful. Planning is concerned with the success of the organization in the short term as well as in the long term.

ORGANIZING:

Organizing can be thought of as assigning the tasks developed in the planning stages, to various individuals or groups within the organization. Organizing is to create a mechanism to put plans into action.

People within the organization are given work assignments that contribute to the company’s goals. Tasks are organized so that the output of each individual contributes to the success of departments, which, in turn, contributes to the success of divisions, which ultimately contributes to the success of the organization.Organizing as a process involves:

• Identification of activities.
• Classification of grouping of activities.
• Assignment of duties.
• Delegation of authority and creation of responsibility.
• Coordinating authority and responsibility relationships.

STAFFING:

It is the function of manning the organization structure and keeping it manned. Staffing has assumed greater importance in the recent years due to advancement of technology, increase in size of business, complexity of human behavior etc. The main purpose o staffing is to put right man on right job.
Staffing involves:

• Manpower Planning (estimating man power in terms of searching, choose the person and giving the right place).
• Recruitment, Selection & Placement.
• Training & Development.
• Remuneration.
• Performance Appraisal.
• Promotions & Transfer.

DIRECTING:

It is that part of managerial function which actuates the organizational methods to work efficiently for achievement of organizational purposes. It is considered life-spark of the enterprise which sets it in motion the action of people because planning, organizing and staffing are the mere preparations for doing the work. Direction is that inert-personnel aspect of management which deals directly with influencing, guiding, supervising, motivating sub-ordinate for the achievement of organizational goals. Direction has following elements:

• Supervision
• Motivation
• Leadership
• Communication

Supervision- implies overseeing the work of subordinates by their superiors. It is the act of watching & directing work & workers.

Motivation- means inspiring, stimulating or encouraging the sub-ordinates with zeal to work. Positive, negative, monetary, non-monetary incentives may be used for this purpose.

Leadership- may be defined as a process by which manager guides and influences the work of subordinates in desired direction.

Communications- is the process of passing information, experience, opinion etc from one person to another. It is a bridge of understanding.

CONTROLLING:

Controlling is the following roles played by the manager:

1. Gather information that measures performance
2. Compare present performance to pre established performance norms.
3. Determine the next action plan and modifications for meeting the desired performance parameters.

Principles of Management

Management Principles developed by Henri Fayol: 

1. DIVISION OF WORK: Work should be divided among individuals and groups to ensure  that effort and attention are focused on special portions of the task. Fayol presented work specialization as the best way to use the human resources of the organization.                                                                                                                   
2. AUTHORITY: The concepts of Authority and responsibility are closely related. Authority was defined by Fayol as the right to give orders and the power to exact obedience. Responsibility involves being accountable, and is therefore naturally associated with authority. Whoever assumes authority also assumes responsibility.                                                              
3. DISCIPLINE: A successful organization requires the common effort of workers. Penalties should be applied judiciously to encourage this common effort.                                                                              
4. UNITY OF COMMAND: Workers should receive orders from only one manager.                                                                                              
5. UNITY OF DIRECTION: The entire organization should be moving towards a common objective in a common direction.                                                                                                        
6. SUBORDINATION OF INDIVIDUAL INTERESTS TO THE GENERAL INTERESTS: The interests of one person should not take priority over the interests of the organization as a whole.                                                                                                                                        
7. REMUNERATION: Many variables, such as cost of living, supply of qualified personnel, general business conditions, and success of the business, should be considered in determining a worker’s rate of pay.                                                                                                  
8. CENTRALIZATION: Fayol defined centralization as lowering the importance of the subordinate role. Decentralization is increasing the importance. The degree to which centralization or decentralization should be adopted depends on the specific organization in which the manager is working.                                                                                                                  
9. SCALAR CHAIN: Managers in hierarchies are part of a chain like authority scale. Each manager, from the first line supervisor to the president, possess certain amounts of authority. The President possesses the most authority; the first line supervisor the least. Lower level managers should always keep upper level managers informed of their work activities. The existence of a scalar chain and adherence to it are necessary if the organization is to be successful.                                                                                                    
10. ORDER: For the sake of efficiency and coordination, all materials and people related to a specific kind of work should be treated as equally as possible.                                                                          
11. EQUITY: All employees should be treated as equally as possible.                                                                                                                 
12. STABILITY OF TENURE OF PERSONNEL: Retaining productive employees should always be a high priority of management. Recruitment and Selection Costs, as well as increased product-reject rates are usually associated with hiring new workers.                                                                                                 
13. INITIATIVE: Management should take steps to encourage worker initiative, which is defined as new or additional work activity undertaken through self direction.                                                    
14. (TEAM SPIRIT) ESPIRIT DE CORPS: Management should encourage harmony and general good feelings among employees.

Concept, Nature & Scope of Management

Definition:

According to F.W. Taylor

"Management is an art of knowing what is to be done and seeing that it is done in the best possible manner." (planning and controlling)

As there is no universally accepted definition for management, it is difficult to define it.

But a simple traditional definition, defines it as the "art of getting things done by others". This definition brings in two elements namely accomplishment of objectives, and direction of group activities towards the goal. The weaknesses of this definition is that firstly it uses the word "art", whereas management is not merely an art, but it is both art and science. Secondly, the definition does not state the various functions of a manager clearly.

Nature of Management:

Management Art or Science?

Management involves characteristics of both art and science. While certain aspects of management make it a science, certain others which involve application of skills make it an art. Every discipline of art is always backed by science which is basic knowledge of that art. Similarly, every discipline of science is complete only when it is used in practice for solving various kind of problems. Whereas under "science" one normally learns the "why" of a phenomenon, under "art" one learns the "how" of it. In the words of Robert H. Hilkert: "In the area of management, science and art are two sides of the same coin".

In the beginning of development of management knowledge, it was considered as an art. There was a jungle of management knowledge. Any one used it to get things done in his own way. But later by codifying and systemizing the management, it became a science as well as being an art.

Management as an art has the following characteristics:

• Just like other arts it has practical application. The knowledge of management should be learned and practiced by managers, just as medical or legal practitioners practice their respective sciences. In this sense, management is an art.
• The manager gains experience by continuous application of management knowledge. This experience helps them to develop more skills and abilities for translating management knowledge into practice.
• Application of management knowledge calls for innovativeness and creativity.
• The fourth reason to consider management as an art is that in many situations, theoretical knowledge of management may not be adequate or relevant for solving the problem. It may be because of complexity or unique nature of the problem.

Management as a Science

Management as a science has the following characteristics:

• Its principles, generalizations and concepts are systematically . In this case the manager can manage the situation or organization in a systematic and scientific manner.
• Its principles, generalizations and concepts are formulated on the basis of observation, research, analysis and experimentation, as is the case with the principles of other sciences.
• Like other sciences, management principles are also based on relationship of cause and effect. It states that same cause under similar circumstance will produce same effect. Suppose if workers are paid more (cause), the produce more (effect).
• Management principles are codified and systematic, and can be transferred from one to another and can be taught.
• Management principles are universally applicable to all types of organizations.

Management: A Profession

The following criteria identifies the statues of a profession to management:

• Profession is a body of specialized knowledge.
• Professional knowledge in systemized and codified form can be learned through formal education system.
• A profession emphasizes on having a central body to formulate a code of behavior for its members.
• A profession calls for rendering competent and specialized services to clients.
• A profession maintains the scientific attitude and commitment for discovering new ideas and upgrading in order to improve quality of service and level of efficiency provided to clients.
• A profession requires members to exercise restraint and self-discipline.

Management knowledge meets the first two criteria because it has grown into a systematic body of knowledge and also it can be acquired and learned through the formal education.

There is no minimum qualification prescribed either for getting entry in the management profession or for becoming members of it. In practice, whosoever manages in known as manager, irrespective of qualifications. Peter Drucker in support of this view says that "no greater damage could be done to our economy or to our society than to attempt to professionalize management by licensing managers, for instance, or by limiting access to management to people with a special academic degree."

Regarding professional approach, a manager has to continuously strive for discovering new ideas, relationships and concepts and act in a dynamic and innovative manner to cope with the changing environment. Even so, managers are not respected as other professionals like doctors, advocates and chartered accountants.

Levels of Management:

Top Level of Management

It consists of board of directors, chief executive or managing director. The top management is the ultimate source of authority and it manages goals and policies for an enterprise. It devotes more time on planning and coordinating functions.

Middle Level of Management

The branch managers and departmental managers constitute middle level. They are responsible to the top management for the functioning of their department. They devote more time to organizational and directional functions. In small organization, there is only one layer of middle level of management but in big enterprises, there may be senior and junior middle level management.

Lower Level Management

Lower level is also known as supervisory / operative level of management. It consists of supervisors, foreman, section officers, superintendent etc. According to R.C. Davis, “Supervisory management refers to those executives whose work has to be largely with personal oversight and direction of operative employees”. In other words, they are concerned with direction and controlling function of management.