Management

Meaning and the nature of management

¨ Management is a universal phenomenon. It is a very popular and widely used term. All organizations - business, political, cultural or social are involved in management because it is the management which helps and directs the various efforts towards a definite purpose. According to Harold Koontz, “Management is an art of getting things done through and with the people in formally organized groups. It is an art of creating an environment in which people can perform and individuals and can co-operate towards attainment of group goals”. According to F.W. Taylor, “Management is an art of knowing what to do, when to do and see that it is done in the best and cheapest way”.

¨ Management is a purposive activity. It is something that directs group efforts towards the attainment of certain pre - determined goals. It is the process of working with and through others to effectively achieve the goals of the organization, by efficiently using limited resources in the changing world. Of course, these goals may vary from one enterprise to another. E.g.: For one enterprise it may be launching of new products by conducting market surveys and for other it may be profit maximization by minimizing cost.

¨ Management involves creating an internal environment: - It is the management which puts into use the various factors of production. Therefore, it is the responsibility of management to create such conditions which are conducive to maximum efforts so that people are able to perform their task efficiently and effectively. It includes ensuring availability of raw materials, determination of wages and salaries, formulation of rules & regulations etc.

¨ Therefore, we can say that good management includes both being effective and efficient. Being effective means doing the appropriate task. Being efficient means doing the task correctly, at least possible cost with minimum wastage of resources.*

Business policy as a discipline

¨ Business Policy defines the scope or spheres within which decisions can be taken by the subordinates in an organization. It permits the lower level management to deal with the problems and issues without consulting top level management every time for decisions.

¨ Business policies are the guidelines developed by an organization to govern its actions. They define the limits within which decisions must be made. Business policy also deals with acquisition of resources with which organizational goals can be achieved. Business policy is the study of the roles and responsibilities of top level management, the significant issues affecting organizational success and the decisions affecting organization in long-run.

¨ An effective business policy must have following features-

¨ Specific- Policy should be specific/definite. If it is uncertain, then the implementation will become difficult.

¨ Clear- Policy must be unambiguous. It should avoid use of jargons and connotations. There should be no misunderstandings in following the policy.

¨ Reliable/Uniform- Policy must be uniform enough so that it can be efficiently followed by the subordinates.

¨ Appropriate- Policy should be appropriate to the present organizational goal.

¨ Simple- A policy should be simple and easily understood by all in the organization.

¨ Inclusive/Comprehensive- In order to have a wide scope, a policy must be comprehensive.

¨ Flexible- Policy should be flexible in operation/application. This does not imply that a policy should be altered always, but it should be wide in scope so as to ensure that the line managers use them in repetitive/routine scenarios.

¨ Stable- Policy should be stable else it will lead to indecisiveness and uncertainty in minds of those who look into it for guidance.

¨ Business policy as a discipline refers to that branch of knowledge which is connected to study of principles & practices of basic business administration. It specifies certain code of conduct to be followed by the manager & also various methods for managing resources efficiently.

¨ Any branch of knowledge that fulfils following two requirements is known as discipline:

¨ There must be scholars & thinkers who communicate relevant knowledge through research and publications.

¨ The knowledge should be formally imparted by education and training programs.

¨ Since business policy in management satisfies both these problems, therefore it qualifies to be a discipline. Though it is comparatively a new discipline but it is growing at a faster pace.*