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The controversy with regard to the nature of management, as to whether it is an art or a science, is very old. This controversy, however, is not very much in the air now though the controversy is yet to be settled.
It is to be noted that the learning process in art differs from that of science. Learning of art involves its continuous practice while learning of science basically involves the assimilation of principles.
Much of the controversy of management being as art or science is on account of the fact that the earlier captains of industry and managers have used intuition, hunches, commonsense, and experience in managing organizations. They were not trained professional managers, although they were very brilliant and had developed commonsense through which they managed well. However, commonsense and science differ considerably in solving the problems.
Management as an Art 1. Practical Knowledge 2. Personalized Application of Knowledge 3. Improvement through Continuous Practice 4. Situational Application 5. Emphasis on Creativity Management as a Science 1. Systematized Body of Knowledge 2. Principles Based on Experimentation 3. Verifiable Principles 4. Universal Application Management: Both Art and Science Comparison between art and science as used in management
Art
Science
Advances by practice
Advances by knowledge
Feels
Proves
Guesses
Predicts
Describes
Defines
Opines
Measures
Expresses
Impresses
Management – Art or Science
Art is defined as the use of skills to bring a desired result. Skills refer to one’s proficiency to do a specific work. Thus, art has the following features:
Knowledge refers to possession of facts and techniques of a particular field. Knowledge can be acquired through study and/or practical experience. Generally, in art, more emphasis is given on acquiring knowledge through practical experience. In management, knowledge is acquired both through study and experience. Thus, management is an art.
In art, there is personalized application of knowledge to achieve the desired results. This is possible because the same set of results can be achieved through a number of alternative ways. This is done in management too; each manager has his own way of achieving results. Thus, management is an art.
In art, improvement is made through continuous practice. This practice eliminates those activities which are not relevant for achieving the desired results and improving those activities that are relevant. Through this way, the person engaged in any art tends to move towards perfection. This is exactly done in management.
Art has situational application. This implies that an art which is appreciated in one situation may not be appreciated in another situation. This is true for management too. Thus, a particular management practice which is quite effective in an organization may not be effective in another organization because of change in situational context.
Further, in the same organization, management practices may change over the period of time because of change in contextual variables.
Art puts emphasis on creativity through which new things or ways of working are created. This is done in management too; managers create new products, new ways of working, new means of financing, new ways of marketing and so on.
The above discussion shows that management is an art.
Science is a body of systematized knowledge generated through logical consistency, critical evaluation and experimental study. Thus, science has the following features:
Science is a systematized body of knowledge. Its principles are based on cause-effect relationship, that is, a particular factor has been caused by what factor can be explained in a definite way.
For example, if you throw a ball up, after going upward the ball will ultimately come back on the ground because of earth’s gravitational force. In management, there is lack of such a cause-effect relationship; cause-effect relationship is defined in flexible way, not in definite way. Thus, management is not a true science.
In science, principles are evolved on the basis of experiments conducted in laboratories. Such principles are tested again and again for final approval. In management, this is not done in all cases; in many cases, management principles are based on personal observations and experiences.
Though experiments are conducted under controlled conditions, their findings are not tested like science. From this point of view, management is not a true science.
Scientific principles can be verified by any one. Such verification will give the same results again and again. Management principles are not verifiable in many cases. In fact, in many cases, it is difficult to appreciate the bases on which management principles have been evolved. Thus, management is not a true science.
Principles of science have universal application, that is, they remain true irrespective of the conditions in which these are applied. As against this, management principles are situation bound. It implies that a management principle which works well in one country may not work equally well in another country. This is because of situational differences between the two countries.
Further, a management principle which works effectively in one organization may not work effectively in another organization of the same country. Thus, management cannot be called ‘true science’.
The above discussion shows that management is not a true science. Therefore, management is called an ‘inexact science‘ or ‘pseudo-science‘.
Thus, to be a successful manager, a person requires the knowledge of management principles and also the skills of how the knowledge can be utilized. Absence of either will result in inefficiency.
A comparison between art and science is presented in the below table which suggests that a manager requires both aspects of management to be successful.
It can be seen that management uses both scientific knowledge and art in managing an organization. As the science of management increases so should the art of management. A balance between the two is needed. Neither should be over-weighed or slighted.
Some feel that further gains in science of management will restrict art more and more. This is true to a limited extent only. The fact remains that to be useful, knowledge of science must be applied, that is, art must be present. Therefore, the old saying that ‘knowledge is power‘ is partially true.
The correct saying should be ‘applied knowledge is power‘. People having abundant knowledge may have little use if they do not know how to use knowledge. This is particularly true for management which is a situational phenomenon.
or,
Management as an art or science or a combination of both, let’s see the words ‘SCIENCE’ and ‘ART’. A science can be referred to as knowledge about the structure and behavior of the natural and physical world, based on facts that you can prove. This can be done through experiments. Hence, predictions can be made from such experiments. ART on the other hand can be seen as a skillful way of doing things.
Management as an art deals with the application of skills in the process of getting things done through people and available resources. On the other hand, as a science it deals with making decisions and implementing them based on the gathering of past and present data, analysing them and the correlation of such data in order to predict future occurrence.
To buttress my point, in the modern world, the budgets of various countries and organizations are made through the use of existing data which is one of the duties attached to management. Hence, in budgeting, prediction are made from past and present information which can be attributed to science.
Also, all over the world, we have laboratories that are specially designed to study the behavior, attitudes and the way of life of people in order to suggest the best ways of leading, controlling and relating with them in order to achieve desired goals from them.
Not only that, future productions and sales are also forecasted which are all related to science. Certain decisions are made through the use of statistical tools like the chi-square, regression equations, partial correlation, Mann-Whitney test and so on which are also known all over the world as scientific tools.
Management as an Art:
Art refers to the way of doing specific things; it indicates how an object can be achieved. In the words of George R. Terry, “Art is bringing about of a desired result through the application of skill.” Art is, thus, skilful application of knowledge which entirely depends on the inherent capacity of a person which comes from within a person and is learned from practice and experience. In this sense, management is certainly an art as a manager uses his skill, knowledge and experience in solving various problems, both complicated and non-complicated that arise in the working of his enterprise successful. In the words of Ernest Dale, “Management is considered as an art rather than science mainly because managerial skill is a personnel possession and is intuitive.”
Management as a Science:
Science may be described as a systematized body of knowledge based on proper findings and exact principles and is capable of verification. It is a reservoir of fundamental truths and its findings apply safely in all the situations. In this sense, management is a science as it has also developed some systematized knowledge. Like other sciences, management has also developed certain principles, laws, generalization, which are universal in nature and are applicable wherever the efforts of the people are to be coordinated. But management is not as exact science as other physical sciences like physic, chemistry, biology, astronomy etc. The main reason for the inexactness of science of management is that it deals with the people and it is very difficult to predict their behavior accurately. In this way, management falls in the area of ‘social sciences’. Thus, it is a social science.
Conclusion- Management is an Art and Science Both
From the above study, we conclude that management is an art and science both. According to American Society of Mechanical Engineers. “Management is the art and science of preparing, organizing and directing human efforts to control the forces and utilize the material of nature for the benefit of men.
Management in some form or another is an integral part of living and is essential wherever human efforts are to be undertaken to achieve desired objectives. The basic ingredients of management are always at play, whether we manage our lives or business. Management is a set of principles relating to the functions of planning, organizing, directing, and controlling, and the applications of these principles in harnessing physical, financial, human and informational resources efficiently and effectively to achieve organizational goals.
Management is essential for organized life and necessary to run all types of organizations. Managing life means getting things done to achieve life’s objectives and managing an organization means getting tings done with and through other people to achieve its objectives.
There are basically five primary functions of management. These are:
The controlling function comprises co-ordination, reporting and budgeting, and hence the controlling function can be broken into these three separate functions. Based upon these seven functions, Luther Guelick coined the word POSDCORB, which generally represents the initials of these seven functions i.e. P stands for Planning, O for Organizing, S for Staffing, D for Directing, Co for Co-ordination, R for reporting & B for Budgeting.
But, Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing and Controlling are widely recognized functions of management.
Planning
Planning is future oriented and determines an organization’s direction. It is a rational and systematic way of making decisions today that will affect the future of the company. It is a kind of organized foresight as well as corrective hindsight. It involves the predicting of the future as well as attempting to control the events. It involves the ability to foresee the effects of current actions in the long run in the future.
Peter Drucker has defined planning as follows:
“Planning is the continuous process of making present entrepreneurial decisions systematically and with best possible knowledge of their futurity, organizing systematically the efforts needed to carry out these decisions and measuring the results of these decisions against the expectations through organized and systematic feedback”.
An effective planning program incorporates the effect of both external as well as internal factors. The external factors are shortages of resources; both capital and material, general economic trend as far as interest rates and inflation are concerned, dynamic technological advancements, increased governmental regulation regarding community interests, unstable international political environments, etc.
The internal factors that affect planning are limited growth opportunities due to saturation requiring diversification, changing patterns of work force, more complex organizational structures, decentralization etc
Organizing
Organizing requires a formal structure of authority and the direction and flow of such authority through which work subdivisions are defined, arranged and co-ordinated so that each part relates to the other part in a united and coherent manner so as to attain the prescribed objectives.
According to Henry Fayol, “To organize a business is to provide it with everything useful or its functioning i.e. raw material, tools, capital and personnel’s”.
Thus the function of organizing involves the determination of activities that need to be done in order to reach the company goals, assigning these activities to the proper personnel, and delegating the necessary authority to carry out these activities in a co-ordinated and cohesive manner. It follows, therefore, that the function of organizing is concerned with:
Identifying the tasks that must be performed and grouping them whenever necessary
Assigning these tasks to the personnel while defining their authority and responsibility.
Delegating this authority to these employees
Establishing a relationship between authority and responsibility
Coordinating these activities
Staffing
Staffing is the function of hiring and retaining a suitable work-force for the enterprise both at managerial as well as non-managerial levels. It involves the process of recruiting, training, developing, compensating and evaluating employees, and maintaining this workforce with proper incentives and motivations. Since the human element is the most vital factor in the process of management, it is important to recruit the right personnel.
According to Kootz & O’Donell, “Managerial function of staffing involves manning the organization structure through proper and effective selection, appraisal & development of personnel to fill the roles designed in the structure”.
This function is even more critically important since people differ in their intelligence, knowledge, skills, experience, physical condition, age and attitudes, and this complicates the function. Hence, management must understand, in addition to the technical and operational competence, the sociological and psychological structure of the workforce.
Directing
The directing function is concerned with leadership, communication, motivation and supervision so that the employees perform their activities in the most efficient manner possible, in order to achieve the desired goals.
The leadership element involves issuing of instructions and guiding the subordinates about procedures and methods.
The communication must be open both ways so that the information can be passed on to the subordinates and the feedback received from them.
Motivation is very important, since highly motivated people show excellent performance with less direction from superiors.
Supervising subordinates would lead to continuous progress reports as well as assure the superiors that the directions are being properly carried out.
Controlling
The function of control consists of those activities that are undertaken to ensure that the events do not deviate from the per-arranged plans. The activities consist of establishing standards for work performance, measuring performance and comparing it to these set standards and taking corrective actions as and when needed, to correct any deviations.
According to Koontz & O’Donell, “Controlling is the measurement & correction of performance activities of subordinates in order to make sure that the enterprise objectives and plans desired to obtain them as being accomplished”.
The controlling function involves:
a. Establishment of standard performance.
b. Measurement of actual performance.
c. Measuring actual performance with the pre-determined standard and finding out the deviations.
d. Taking corrective action.
All these five functions of management are closely interrelated. However, these functions are highly indistinguishable and virtually unrecognizable on the job. It is necessary, though, to put each function separately into focus and deal with it.
Or ,
Management, as defined by Mary Parker Follett,
"The art of getting things done through people."
Management refers to the activities, and often the group of people, involved in the five general functions:
Planning
Organizing
Staffing
Directing
Controlling
PLANNING:
It is the ongoing process of developing the business's mission and objectives and determining how they will be accomplished. Planning includes both the broadcast view of the organization, e.g. it's mission, and the narrowest, e.g. a tactic for accomplishing a specific goal.
ORGANIZING:
Organizing is an essential function of management. It is the process of accumulating resources from different sources in order to work according to the plans laid out by the management.
STAFFING:
It is function in which qualified people are appointed to different posts relating to their skills and strengths. The activities included in this function are recruiting, hiring, training, evaluating and compensating.
DIRECTING:
Directing is a function that comes after staffing of the organization, it is the function in which the management is supposed to lead, direct to a specific goal and motivate the employees for the achievement of any objective, big or small.
CONTROLLING:
It is a function in which the performance of the organization is measured and then evaluated after which the standard observed is determined to be either good or bad, which then in turn leads to taking preventive and corrective measures.
SID-SARFRAZ | STUDENT
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:
It is a process or series of continuing and related activities.
It involves and concentrates on reaching organizational goals.
It reaches these goals by working with and through people and other organizational resources.
Functions of Management:-
Planning
Organizing
Staffing
Leading
Controlling
PLANNING
Planning refers to what is to be done, how it is to be done and when it is to be done.
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.
Four steps in Planning are as follows:-
Objective
Method
Timing
Strategy
Planning is supposed to be done at each and every level of an organization by each and every employee. It is basically forecasting the future course of action. It bridges gap between present and future, planning our vision and mission.
Planning includes:-
Designing procedures
Policies
Rules
Programmes
Budgets
Planning can be short run or long run, but it is mostly for both, simultaneously. Short term plans are made to benefit long terms plans.
This is the core function of management because it is the foundation of the other four areas. Planning involves mapping out exactly how to achieve a specific goal. As a manager, he or she will need to map out detailed actions; what to do, when to do it and how it should be done. Think of it as bridging a gap for where we currently are and where we want to be. For example, if the company’s goal is to earn profit, the manager needs to determine the steps necessary to achieve that goal. This can include spending more on advertising, hiring more experienced employees, cutting costs, or improving the products being sold.
Planning is always an going process. There will be times when external factors will affect the company both positively and negatively. This in turn may alter the original planning process in reaching certain goals. This is known as strategic planning. Depending on the exact scope of an organization, the strategic planning process can look ahead as far as ten years or more. The findings are usually collected in a strategic planning document.
ORGANIZING
Organizing is accumulating physical, human and monetary resources. This assembling would depend on the objective set by an organization.
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.
The function of organizing contains following characteristics:-
Determination of activities of the enterprise in the line of its objectives
Dividing the activities into appropriate groups
Assignment of these activities to individuals
Delegation of authority
Fixing responsibilities
Co-ordination of these activities and authority relation
In short, Organization is all about division of work amongst individuals and co-ordination of their efforts to achieve the objective set by the organization.
Immediately after planning, the manager needs to organize the team according to plan. This involves organizing all of the company’s resources to implement a course of action and determining the organizational structure of the group. And in order to do this correctly, management will need to evaluate the different divisions of departments and the staff to figure out the best way to accomplish the tasks needed to reach their goals.
This function is also known to be the backbone of management. Without organization, a company will have no structure and their day-to-day operation of business will most likely collapse. If management is disorganized, it can trickle down to the employees because they will lose confidence in their leaders.
STAFFING
For achieving an objective, the company needs to appoint individuals for various positions in order to complete that objective.
The purpose of staffing is to control all recruitment and personnel needs of the organization. After management decides what needs they have, they may decide to hire more employees in a certain department. It is also responsible for training and development, promotions, transfers, and firing. A lot of times management and the human recourse department will work together because their roles are similar in this case.
The importance of this function has grown lately, mostly because of the increasing size of businesses and the advancement of technology. A good example of this is the IT department. The size of the IT department in a company ten years ago is nothing compared to what it is now because of the dependence we have on computers and servers. Without the staffing function, a business will certainly fail because there will not be an experienced, sufficient amount of employees within each department.
LEADING/DIRECTING
The manager in this function, is supposed to direct or lead appointed individuals and explain them how is their appointed jobs to be done.
Supervision, motivation, leadership, and communication are all involved in the directing function. Management needs to be able to oversee and influence the behavior of the staff and achieve the company’s goals, whether that means assisting or motivating them. When morale is high within a company, it usually has a significant impact on job performance and efficiency. Incentive programs and rewards are a great way for a business to keep its employees happy and motivated.
However, the most important aspect of directing is having good communication. This means building positive interpersonal relationships, effective problem solving and evaluating one another. Most directing takes place in in meetings and other meeting sessions with the department leaders to ensure that everyone is on the same page. Poor communication will lead to poor execution in an organization.
The essential steps in this function are as follows:-
Issuing orders and instructions
Guiding and counselling
Supervision
CONTROLLING
In this function the manager is supposed to explain the job essentials to the individuals and guide them in achieving their goals.
Controlling involves:-
Measurement of accomplishment against standards
Analyzing reasons and devitions
Responsibility Fixation
Taking corrective measures
The last function of management deals with monitoring the company’s progress and ensuring that all of the other functions are operating efficiently. Since this is the last stage, there are bound to be some irregularities and complexity within the organization. This in turn can lead to certain situations and problems arising that are disrupting the company’s goals. Given is the stage where all the final data is gathered, it is the management’s job to take corrective action, even where there is the slightest deviance between actual and predictable results.
Controlling is the following roles played by the manager:-
Gather information that measures performance
Compare present performance to pre-established performance norms.
Determine the next action plan and modifications for meeting the desired performance parameters.
SCIENCESOLVE | STUDENT
There are identified 5 key functions of management: planning, organizing, staffing, coordinating, controlling. Each function influences the other 4, affecting, more or less, the intended level of performance.
The planning function determines the methods and paths that need to be followed to achieve the established goals. The planning function also allocates the needed human and material resources to reach the targeted goals.
The organizing function can be seen as a process that consists of the following phases: identification of actions that must be performed to achieve the desired goals, organization of these actions in classes, creations of authorities and responsibilities with respect to the identified activities, and establishment of relationships between the identified classes of activities.
Staffing function consists of the following sub-functions: recruitment, placement, training, development, remuneration, performance analysis, and promotions.
Coordinating function acts with the help of the following key-tools: communication, motivation, supervision, and leadership.
The controlling function ensures the proper corrections, if necessary, to achieve the targeted goals. This function passes through the following 4 phases: foundation of the targeted performance indicators, measurement of the actual indicators, comparisons between the actual and targeted indicators, and restorative actions, if needed.
Ans:-Definition:The term 'management ' has been used in different sensed sometimes it refers to the process of plannings ,organizing,staffing,directing,coordinating and controlling at other times it is use to describe it as a function of managing people. It is also referred to as a body of knowledge,a practice & discipline.
Nature Of management:
Universal process:Wherever there is human activity, there is management. Without efficient management, objectives of the company can not be achieved.
Factor of production: Qualified and efficient managers are essential to utilization of labor and capital.
Goal oriented: The most important goal of all management activity is to accomplish the objectives of an enterprise. The goals should be realistic and attainable.
Supreme in thought and action: Managers set realizable objectives and then mastermind action on all fronts to accomplish them. For this, they require full support form middle and lower levels of management.
Group activity: All human and physical resources should be efficiently coordinated to attain maximum levels of combined productivity. Without coordination, no work would accomplish and there would be chaos and retention.
Dynamic function: Management should be equipped to face the changes in business environment brought about by economic, social, political, technological or human factors. They must be adequate training so that can enable them to perform well even in critical situations.
Social science: All individuals that a manager deals with, have different levels of sensitivity, understanding and dynamism.
Important organ of society: Society influences managerial action and managerial actions influence society. Its managers responsibility that they should also contribute towards the society by organizing charity functions, sports competition, donation to NGO’s etc.
System of authority: Well-defined lines of command, delegation of suitable authority and responsibility at all levels of decision-making. This is necessary so that each individual should what is expected from him and to whom he need to report to.
Profession: Managers need to possess managerial knowledge and training, and have to conform to a recognized code of conduct and remain conscious of their social and human obligations.
Process: The management process comprises a series of actions or operations conducted towards an end.
Significance Of Management:
1.Encourages Initiative:
Management encourages initiative.
Initiative means to do the right thing at the right time without being told or
influenced by the superior. The employees should be encouraged to make their
own plans and also to implement these plans. Initiative gives satisfaction to employees
and success to organization.
2. Encourages Innovation
Management also encourages
innovation in the organization. Innovation brings new ideas, new technology,
new methods, new products, new services, etc. This makes the organization more
competitive and efficient.
3. Facilitates growth and
expansion
Management makes optimum utilization
of available resources. It reduces wastage and increase efficiency. It
encourages team work and motivates employees. It also reduces absenteeism and
labour turnover. All this results in growth, expansion and diversification of
the organization.
4. Improves life of workers
Management shares some of its
profits with the workers. It provides the workers with good working environment
and conditions. It also gives the workers many financial and non-financial
incentives. All this improves the quality of life of the workers.
5. Improves corporate image
If the management is good, then
the organization will produce good quality goods and services. This will
improve the goodwill and corporate image of the organization. A good corporate
image brings many added benefits to the organization.
6. Motivates employees
Management motivates employees by
providing financial and non-financial incentives. These incentives increase the
willingness and efficiency of the employees. This results in boosting
productivity and profitability of the organization.
7. Optimum use of resources
Management brings together the
available resources. It makes optimum (best) use of these resources. This brings
best results to the organization.
8. Reduces wastage
Management reduces the wastage of
human, material and financial resources. Wastage is reduced by proper
production planning and control. If wastage is reduced then productivity will
increase.
9. Increases efficiency:
Efficiency is the relationship
between returns and cost. Management uses many techniques to increase returns
and to reduce costs. Higher efficiency brings many benefits to the organization.
10. Improves relations
Management improves relations
between individuals, groups, departments and between levels of management.
Better relations lead to better team work. Better team work brings success to
the organization.
11. Reduces absenteeism and
labour turnover
Absenteeism means the employee is
absent without permission. Labour Turnover means the employee leaves the
organization. Labour absenteeism and turnover increases the cost and causes
many problems in the smooth functioning of the organization. Management uses different
techniques to reduce absenteeism and labour turnover in the organization.
12. Encourages Team Work
Management encourages employees
to work as a team. It develops a team spirit in the organization. This unity
bring success to the organization
Scope Of Management:
Although it is difficult to precisely define the scope of management, yet the following areas are included in it:
1. Subject-matter of management: Planning, organizing, directing, coordinating and controlling are the activities included in the subject matter of management.
2. Functional areas of management: These include:
Financial management includes accounting, budgetary control, quality control, financial planning and managing the overall finances of an organization.
Personnel management includes recruitment, training, transfer promotion, demotion, retirement, termination, labor-welfare and social security industrial relations.
Purchasing management includes inviting tenders for raw materials, placing orders, entering into contracts and materials control.
Production management includes production planning, production control techniques, quality control and inspection and time and motion studies.
Maintenance management involves proper care and maintenance of the buildings, plant and machinery.
Transport management includes packing, warehousing and transportation by rail, road and air.
Office Management includes activities to properly manage the layout, staffing and equipment of the office.
Development management involves experimentation and research of production techniques, markets, etc.
3. Management is an inter-disciplinary approach: For the correct implementation of the management, it is important to have knowledge of commerce, economics, sociology, psychology and mathematics.
4. Universal application: The principles of management can be applied to all types of organizations irrespective of the nature of tasks that they perform.
5. Essentials of management: Three essentials of management are:
Scientific method
Human relations
Quantitative technique
6. Modern management is an agent of change: The management techniques can be modified by proper research and development to improve the performance of an organization.
Ques:2. What is the function of management ? Is management a science or an art ?
Ans:-Functions of Management
Management has been described as a social process involving responsibility for economical and effective planning & regulation of operation of an enterprise in the fulfillment of given purposes. It is a dynamic process consisting of various elements and activities. These activities are different from operative functions like marketing, finance, purchase etc. Rather these activities are common to each and every manger irrespective of his level or status.
Different experts have classified functions of management. According to George & Jerry, “There are four fundamental functions of management i.e. planning, organizing, actuating and controlling”.
According to Henry Fayol, “To manage is to forecast and plan, to organize, to command, & to control”. Whereas Luther Gullick has given a keyword ’POSDCORB’ where P stands for Planning, O for Organizing, S for Staffing, D for Directing, Co for Co-ordination, R for reporting & B for Budgeting. But the most widely accepted are functions of management given by KOONTZ and O’DONNEL i.e. Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing and Controlling.
For theoretical purposes, it may be convenient to separate the function of management but practically these functions are overlapping in nature i.e. they are highly inseparable. Each function blends into the other & each affects the performance of others.
It is the basic function of management. It deals with chalking out a future course of action & deciding in advance the most appropriate course of actions for achievement of pre-determined goals. According to KOONTZ, “Planning is deciding in advance - what to do, when to do & how to do. It bridges the gap from where we are & where we want to be”. A plan is a future course of actions. It is an exercise in problem solving & decision making. Planning is determination of courses of action to achieve desired goals. Thus, planning is a systematic thinking about ways & means for accomplishment of pre-determined goals. Planning is necessary to ensure proper utilization of human & non-human resources. It is all pervasive, it is an intellectual activity and it also helps in avoiding confusion, uncertainties, risks, wastages etc.
It is the process of bringing together physical, financial and human resources and developing productive relationship amongst them for achievement of organizational goals. According to Henry Fayol, “To organize a business is to provide it with everything useful or its functioning i.e. raw material, tools, capital and personnel’s”. To organize a business involves determining & providing human and non-human resources to the organizational structure. 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.
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 i.e. square pegs in square holes and round pegs in round holes. According to Kootz & O’Donell, “Managerial function of staffing involves manning the organization structure through proper and effective selection, appraisal & development of personnel to fill the roles designed un the structure”. Staffing involves:
Manpower Planning (estimating man power in terms of searching, choose the person and giving the right place).
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- 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.
It implies measurement of accomplishment against the standards and correction of deviation if any to ensure achievement of organizational goals. The purpose of controlling is to ensure that everything occurs in conformities with the standards. An efficient system of control helps to predict deviations before they actually occur. According to Theo Haimann, “Controlling is the process of checking whether or not proper progress is being made towards the objectives and goals and acting if necessary, to correct any deviation”. According to Koontz & O’Donell “Controlling is the measurement & correction of performance activities of subordinates in order to make sure that the enterprise objectives and plans desired to obtain them as being accomplished”. Therefore controlling has following steps:
Establishment of standard performance.
Measurement of actual performance.
Comparison of actual performance with the standards and finding out deviation if any.
Management is oldest of Art and Youngest of Science
It is said that "management is the oldest of arts and the youngest of sciences". This explains the changing nature of management but does not exactly answer what management is? To have an exact answer to the question it is necessary to know the meanings of the terms "Science" and "Art".
What is "Science"?
Science may be described- "as a systematic body of knowledge pertaining to an area of study and contains some general truths explaining past events or phenomena".
The above definition contains three important characteristics of science. They are
It is a systematized body of knowledge and uses scientific methods for observation
Its principles are evolved on the basis of continued observation and experiment and
Its principles are exact and have universal applicability without any limitation.
Judging from the above characteristics of science, it may be observed that-
Management is a systematized body of knowledge and its principles have evolved on the basis of observation.
The kind of experimentation (as in natural sciences) cannot be accompanied in the area of management since management deals with the human element.
In management, it is not possible to define, analyse and measure phenomena by repeating the same conditions over and over again to obtain a proof.
The above observation puts a limitation on management as a science. Management like other social sciences can be called as "inexact science".
What is "Art"?
'Art' refers to "the way of doing specific things; it indicates how an objective is to be achieved." Management like any other operational activity has to be an art. Most of the managerial acts have to be cultivated as arts of attaining mastery to secure action and results.
The above definition contains three important characteristics of art. They are-
Art is the application of science. It is putting principle into practice.
After knowing a particular art, practice is needed to reach the level of perfection.
It is undertaken for accomplishing an end through deliberate efforts.
Judging from the above characteristics of art, it may be observed that-
Management while performing the activities of getting things done by others is required to apply the knowledge of certain underlying principles which are necessary for every art.
Management gets perfection in the art of managing only through continuous practice.
Management implies capacity to apply accurately the knowledge to solve the problems, to face the situation and to realise the objectives fully and timely.
The above observation makes management an art and that to a fine art.
Management is both a Science as well as an Art
Management is both a science as well as an art. The science of management provides certain general principles which can guide the managers in their professional effort. The art of management consists in tackling every situation in an effective manner. As a matter of fact, neither science should be over-emphasised nor art should be discounted; the science and the art of management go together and are both mutually interdependent and complimentary.
Management is thus a science as well as an art. It can be said that-"the art of management is as old as human history, but the science of management is an event of the recent past."
If you want to see another answer of this question
Planning means looking ahead. It is deciding in advance what is to be done. Planning includes forecasting. According to Henry Fayol - "purveyance, which is an essential element of planning, covers not merely looking into the future but making provisions for it. A plan is then a projected course of action". All planning involves anticipation of the future course of events and therefore bears an element of uncertainty in respect of its success. Planning is concerned with the determination of the objectives to be achieved and course of action to be followed to achieve them. Before any operative action takes place it is necessary to decide what, where, when and who shall do the things. Decision making is also an important element of planning. Planning determines both long-term and short-term objectives and also of the individual departments as well as the entire organisation. According to Fayol - "The plan of action is, at one and the same time, the result envisaged, the line of action to be followed, the stages to go through, and the methods to use. It is a kind of future picture wherein proximate events are outlined with some distinctness...." Planning is a mental process requiring the use of intellectual faculties' imagination, foresight, sound judgement etc.
Planning is deciding in advance what is to be done. It involves the selection of objectives, policies, procedures and programmes from among alternatives. A plan is a predetermined course of action to achieve a specified goal. It is a statement of objectives to be achieved by certain means in the future. In short, it is a blue print for action.
According to Louis A Allen - "Management planning involves the development of fore casts, objectives, policies, programmes, procedures, schedules and budgets".
According to The OHaimann - "Planning is deciding in advance what is to be done. When a manager plans, he projects a course of action, for the future, attempting to achieve a consistent, co-ordinated structure of operations aimed at the desired results".
According to Koontz O'Donnel - "Planning is an intellectual process, the conscious determination of courses of action, the basing of decisions on purpose, acts and considered estimates".
Decision Making
Decision making is a daily activity for any human being. There is no exception about that. When it comes to business organizations, decision making is a habit and a process as well.
Effective and successful decisions make profit to the company and unsuccessful ones make losses. Therefore, corporate decision making process is the most critical process in any organization.
In the decision making process, we choose one course of action from a few possible alternatives. In the process of decision making, we may use many tools, techniques and perceptions.
In addition, we may make our own private decisions or may prefer a collective decision.
Usually, decision making is hard. Majority of corporate decisions involve some level of dissatisfaction or conflict with another party.
Ques. 4. Explain types of plan and process of planning .
Planning is based on the theory of “thinking before acting”. Planning is an integral part of our life. We make plans in each and every step of life whether it be to go to school or to buy household goods during shopping. We make plans according to the limitations of our budget and resources to get maximum satisfaction and to fulfill goals from out activities.
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Planning is the most basic and primary function of management. It is the pre-decided outline of the activities to be conducted in the organization. Planning is the process of deciding when, what, when where and how to do a certain activity before starting to work.
It is an intellectual process which needs a lot of thinking before a formation of plans. Planning is to set goals and to make certain guidelines achieve the goals. Also, Planning means to formulate policies, segregation of budget, future programs etc. These are all done to make the activity successful.
All other function of management is useless if there is not proper planning system in an Organization. So planning is the basis of all other functions. Thus Planning is the map or a blueprint for the organization.
According to Theo Haimann, “Planning is deciding in advance, what is to be done. When a manager plans, he projects a course of action for the future, attempting to achieve a consistent, coordinated structure of operations aimed at the desired results.”
According to Alford and Beaty, “Planning is the thinking process, the organized foresight, the vision based on fact and experience that is required for intelligent action.”
According to ME. Hurley, “Planning is deciding in advance what is to be done. It involves the selection of objectives, policies, procedures and programs from among alternatives.”
Types of Planning
Any organization can have different plans. We can classify the types of plans in the following ways:
On the basis of Nature
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Operational Plan: Operational plans are the plans which are formulated by the lower level management for short term period of up to one year. It is concerned with the day to day operations of the organization. It is detailed and specific. It is usually based on past experiences. It usually covers functional aspects such as production, finance, Human Resources etc.
Tactical Plan: Tactical plan is the plan which is concerned with the integration of various organizational units and ensures implementation of strategic plans on day to day basis. It involves how the resources of an organization should be used in order to achieve the strategic goals. The tactical plan is also known as coordinative or functional plan.
Strategic Plan: Strategic plan is the plan which is formulated by the top level management for a long period of time of five years or more. They decide the major goals and policies to achieve the goals. It takes in a note of all the external factors and risks involved and makes a long-term policy of the organization. It involves the determination of strengths and weaknesses, external risks, mission, and control system to implement plans.
On the basis of managerial level:
Top level Plans:Plans which are formulated by general managers and directors are called top-level plans. Under these plans, the objectives, budget, policies etc. for the whole organization are laid down. These plans are mostly long term plans.
Middle-level Plans: Managerial hierarchy at the middle level includes the departmental managers. A corporate has many departments like purchase department, sales department, finance department, personnel department etc. The plans formulated by the departmental managers are called middle-level plans.
Lower level Plans: These plans are prepared by the foreman or the supervisors. They take the existence of the actual workplace and the problems connected with it. They are formulated for a short period of time and called short term plans.
On the basis of time:
Long Term Plan: Long-term plan is the long-term process that business owners use to reach their business mission and vision. It determines the path for business owners to reach their goals. It also reinforces and makes corrections to the goals as the plan progresses.
Intermediate Plan: Intermediate planning covers 6 months to 2 years. It outlines how the strategic plan will be pursued. In business, intermediate plans are most often used for campaigns.
Short-term Plan: Short-term plan involves pans for a few weeks or at most a year. It allocates resources for the day-to-day business development and management within the strategic plan. Short-term plans outline objectives necessary to meet intermediate plans and the strategic planning process.
On the basis of use:
Single Plan: These plans are connected with some special problems. These plans end the moment of the problems to be solved. They are not used, once after their use. They are further re-created whenever required.
Standing Plan: These plans are formulated once and they are repeatedly used. These plans continuously guide the managers. That is why it is said that a standing plan is a standing guide to solving the problems. These plans include mission, policies, objective, rules and strategy.
Hence these are the basic types of plans in any organization.
Planning process
Planning is a complex process which requires high level of studies and analysis. To create a plan there must be determination of objectives and outlining of the course of action to achieve the goals. There is no set formula for planning. A planning process which is suitable for one kind of organization may not be suitable for another type of organization. However, we can take the following steps as the guideline to draw a plan:
Analysis of the environment: Planning begins with the awareness of the opportunities in the external environment and within the organization. For this SWOT analysis is most suitable. Strength and weaknesses are the internal factors whereas opportunities and threats are the environmental factors which are to be analyzed.
Setting the objectives: The second step of planning is to set objectives and goals for the organization as a whole and for each department. Long term, as well as short-term plans, are to be created. Objectives are specified to each and every manager and department head. Objectives give direction to the major plans. So managers should have an opportunity to contribute their ideas for setting their own objectives and of the organization.
Develop premises: Planning premises are the assumptions about the future on the basis of which the plans will be ultimately formulated. Planning premises are the key to the success of planning as they supply pertinent facts and information regarding the future such as general economic conditions, production cost, and prices, probable competitive behavior, governmental control etc. Forecasting is an essential part of premises.
Determine and evaluate alternatives: The fourth step is to search and identify the alternative course of action. It suggests that a particular objective can be achieved through numerous ways. But the most relevant alternatives must be listed down so that selection is made easier. Once various alternatives are identified, they must be well analyzed with their strong and weak points.
Selection of Best Alternative: This is the point where the certain plan is adopted. When the alternatives are determined most suitable alternative must be chosen out from the list which can give maximum output with minimum risk.
Formulation of a derivative plan: Derivative plans are the backing plans which are very essential. Once the basic plan has been formulated, it must be translated into day to day operation of the organization. Middle and low-level managers must draw up the appropriate plans, programs and budget for their sub-units.
Budget formulation: After decisions are made and plans are set the next step is giving them sufficient funds to carry them out. Optimum budgeting must be done for every course of action.
Implementation of a plan: Once the plans are set up, now the plans must be well informed and shared with the employees and managers expecting full commitment and trust. Finally, the plans must be carried out.
Follow up action: Obviously once a plan is carried out it generates certain output. The progress must be well monitored and managers need to check the progress of their plans so they can take necessary steps to improve the plans if needed.Quest.
Question 5. Explain importance & steps of decision making.
Ans:-1. Better Utilisation of Resources
Decision
making helps to utilise the available resources for achieving the
objectives of the organisation. The available resources are the 6 Ms, i.e. Men,
Money, Materials, Machines, Methods and Markets. The manager has to make
correct decisions for all the 6 Ms. This will result in better utilisation of
these resources.
2. Facing Problems and Challanges
Decision making helps the
organisation to face and tackle new problems and challenges. Quick and correct
decisions help to solve problems and to accept new challenges.
3. Business
Growth
Quick and correct decision making
results in better utilisation of the resources. It helps the organisation to
face new problems and challenges. It also helps to achieve its objectives. All
this results in quick business growth. However, wrong, slow or no decisions can
result in losses and industrial sickness.
4. Achieving Objectives
Rational decisions help the
organisation to achieve all its objectives quickly. This is because rational
decisions are made after analysing and evaluating all the alternatives.
5. Increases Efficiency
Rational decisions help to increase
efficiency. Efficiency is the relation between returns and cost. If the returns
are high and the cost is low, then there is efficiency and vice versa. Rational
decisions result in higher returns at low cost.
6. Facilitate Innovation
Rational decisions facilitate
innovation. This is because it helps to develop new ideas, new products, new
process, etc. This results in innovation. Innovation gives a competitive
advantage to the organisation.
7. Motivates Employees
Rational decision results in
motivation for the employees. This is because the employees are motivated to
implement rational decisions. When the rational decisions are implemented the
organisation makes high profits. Therefore, it can give financial and non-financial
benefits to the employees.
Steps of Decision Making Process
Following are the important steps of the decision making process. Each step may be supported by different tools and techniques.
Step 1: Identification of the purpose of the decision
In this step, the problem is thoroughly analysed. There are a couple of questions one should ask when it comes to identifying the purpose of the decision.
What exactly is the problem?
Why the problem should be solved?
Who are the affected parties of the problem?
Does the problem have a deadline or a specific time-line?
Step 2: Information gathering
A problem of an organization will have many stakeholders. In addition, there can be dozens of factors involved and affected by the problem.
In the process of solving the problem, you will have to gather as much as information related to the factors and stakeholders involved in the problem. For the process of information gathering, tools such as 'Check Sheets' can be effectively used.
Step 3: Principles for judging the alternatives
In this step, the baseline criteria for judging the alternatives should be set up. When it comes to defining the criteria, organizational goals as well as the corporate culture should be taken into consideration.
As an example, profit is one of the main concerns in every decision making process. Companies usually do not make decisions that reduce profits, unless it is an exceptional case. Likewise, baseline principles should be identified related to the problem in hand.
Step 4: Brainstorm and analyse the different choices
For this step, brainstorming to list down all the ideas is the best option. Before the idea generation step, it is vital to understand the causes of the problem and prioritization of causes.
For this, you can make use of Cause-and-Effect diagrams and Pareto Chart tool. Cause-and-Effect diagram helps you to identify all possible causes of the problem and Pareto chart helps you to prioritize and identify the causes with highest effect.
Then, you can move on generating all possible solutions (alternatives) for the problem in hand.
Step 5: Evaluation of alternatives
Use your judgement principles and decision-making criteria to evaluate each alternative. In this step, experience and effectiveness of the judgement principles come into play. You need to compare each alternative for their positives and negatives.
Step 6: Select the best alternative
Once you go through from Step 1 to Step 5, this step is easy. In addition, the selection of the best alternative is an informed decision since you have already followed a methodology to derive and select the best alternative.
Step 7: Execute the decision
Convert your decision into a plan or a sequence of activities. Execute your plan by yourself or with the help of subordinates.
Step 8: Evaluate the results
Evaluate the outcome of your decision. See whether there is anything you should learn and then correct in future decision making. This is one of the best practices that will improve your decision-making skills.
Conclusion
When it comes to making decisions, one should always weigh the positive and negative business consequences and should favour the positive outcomes.
This avoids the possible losses to the organization and keeps the company running with a sustained growth. Sometimes, avoiding decision making seems easier; especially, when you get into a lot of confrontation after making the tough decision.
But, making the decisions and accepting its consequences is the only way to stay in control of your corporate life and time.
Question 6. Explain types of decision & decision making under different conditions.
Ans:-Types of Decisions
Programmed and Non-Programmed Decisions: Herbert Simon has grouped organizational decisions into two categories based on the procedure followed. They are:
Programmed decisions: Programmed decisions are routine and repetitive and are made within the framework of organizational policies and rules. These policies and rules are established well in advance to solve recurring problems in the organization. Programmed decisions have short-run impact. They are, generally, taken at the lower level of management.
Non-Programmed Decisions: Non-programmed decisions are decisions taken to meet non - repetitive problems. Non-programmed decisions are relevant for solving unique / unusual problems in which various alternatives cannot be decided in advance. A common feature of non-programmed decisions is that they are novel and non-recurring and therefore, ready made solutions are not available. Since these decisions are of high importance and have long-term consequences, they are made by top level management.
Strategic and Tactical Decisions: Organizational decisions may also be classified asstrategic or tactical.
Strategic Decisions: Basic decisions or strategic decisions are decisions which are of crucial importance. Strategic decisions a major choice of actions concerning allocation of resources and contribution to the achievement of organizational objectives. Decisions like plant location, product diversification, entering into new markets, selection of channels of distribution, capital expenditure etc are examples of basic or strategic decisions.
Tactical Decisions: Routine decisions or tactical decisions are decisions which are routine and repetitive. They are derived out of strategic decisions. The various features of a tactical decision are as follows:
Tactical decision relates to day-to-day operation of the organization and has to be taken very frequently.
Tactical decision is mostly a programmed one. Therefore, the decision can bemade with in the context of these variables.
The outcome of tactical decision is of short-term nature and affects a narrow part of the organization.
The authority for making tactical decisions can be delegated to lower level managers because : first, the impact of tactical decision is narrow and of short-term nature and Second, by delegating authority for such decisions to lower-level managers, higher level managers are free to devote more time on strategic decisions.
Decision Making Conditions
everyday a manager has to make hundreds of decisions in the organization. Managers do not function in a theoretical world but they function within the reality that many thongs are not known. There are three conditions that managers may face as they make decisions. They are (1) Certainty, (2) Risk, and (3) Uncertainty.
(1) Certainty
A state of certainty exists only when the managers knows the available alternatives as well as the conditions and consequences of those actions. There is little ambiguity and relatively low possibility of making a bad decision. It assumes that manager has all the necessary information about the situation. Hence, decisions under certainty means a perfectly accurate decision will be made time after time. Of course, decision making under certainty is rare.
(2) Risk
A state of risk exists when the manager is aware of all the alternatives, but is unaware of their consequences. The decision under risk usually involves clear and precise goals and good information, but future outcomes of the alternatives are just not known to a degree of certainty. A risk situation requires the use of probability estimates. The ability to estimate may be due to experience, incomplete but reliable information, or intelligence. Statistical analysis can be applied to the calculation or probabilities for success or failure.
(3) Uncertainty
In today's complex environment most significant decisions are made under a state of uncertainty where there is no awareness of all the alternatives and also the outcomes,even for the known alternatives. To make effective decisions, managers must require as much relevant information as possible. Such decisions require creativity and the willingness to take a chance in the face of such uncertainties. In such situations, managers do not even have enough information to calculate probabilities and degrees of risk. So, statistical analysis is of no use. Hence, managers need to make certain assumptions about the situation in order to provide a reasonable framework for decision making. Intuition, judgment, and experience always play major roles in the decision making process under conditions of uncertainty.
Hence, In conclusion, we can say that greater the amount of reliable information, the more likely the manager will make a good decision. Hence, manager should make sure that the right information is available at the right time.
Question 7. What is group decision making ?
Group Decision Making
Ans:-Definition: The Group Decision Making is the collective activity wherein several persons interact simultaneously to find out the solution to a given statement of a problem. In other words, group decision making is a participatory process wherein multiple individuals work together to analyze the problem and find out the optimum solution out of the available set of alternatives.
In group decision-making, the number of participants often ranges from two to seven. It is not necessary that all the group members agree with each other and hence most of the times, the decision is taken on the basis of a majority if no other mode of a majority is prescribed. The majority means the number of votes in favor or against the proposed alternative.
There are several techniques that can be used to increase the efficiency of group decision making. These are as follows:
The concept of group decision making is based on the proverb that two heads are better than one. This means when the decisions are taken jointly, the expertise or experience of each member could be capitalized to reach to an optimum solution. Thus, the synergy gets created when the decisions are made in a group as more ideas and opinions pop up during the discussion session.
But however, the group decision making can be time-consuming and often leads to the conflict between the group members. Also, no single member is held accountable in case of a failure of such decision, since it is the whole group that agrees with that decision.
Management as an Art
