What is meant by management?
• Management is the process of getting a task done with the aim of achieving the goals of the organization in an effective and efficient manner.
• The different functions of management are planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling.
• The term effective means completing the given task and efficient means completing the task with minimum cost and time.
• In short, management is the process of planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling in such a manner that the goals of the organization are met with minimum cost and time.
Name any two important characteristics of management.
Management is the process of planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling in such a manner that the goals of the organization are met with minimum cost and time. The two important characteristics of management are:
• Management is pervasive to all the organizations across all sizes, regions, and characteristics. All the types of organizations- large or small, focused on economic, political or social interest, and in area field, management is a must. Management exists in all the firms and is differed only on the basis of the type of practice of management.
• The process of management is continuous. All the function of management planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling are performed simultaneously. The focus of the manager may differ. At times, planning may be a priority, while on another day controlling is important.
Identify and state the force that binds all the other functions of management.
• Coordination binds all the functions of management.
• Coordination is not a function or an objective of an organization.
• The process of management is continuous. All the function of management planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling are performed simultaneously.
• The activities of different departments are coordinated towards achieving the common goals of the organizaion.
List any two indicators of growth of an organisation.
the two indicators of growth of an organization are:
• Profit - If an organization earns a profit on a regular basis, it can be said that it is growing.
• Expansion - Expansion leads to more employees and turnover which is a good indicator of growth.
Indian Railways has launched a new broad gauge solar power train which is going to be a path-breaking leap towards making trains greener and more environment-friendly. The solar power DEMU (Diesel Electric Multiple Unit) has 6 trailer coaches and is expected to save about 21,000 liters of diesel and ensure a cost saving of Rs 12, 00,000 per year. Name the objectives of management achieved by Indian Railways in the above case.
The management is efficient in this case. The task was done within time and with minimum cost. The management has successfully worked.
Ritu is the manager of the northern division of a large corporate house. At what level does she work in the organisation? What are her basic functions?
Ritu is the manager of the northern division of a large corporate house working at the middle-level division. She is a link between the top management and lower management. The basic functions are:
• To interpret the policies formulated by the top management.
• To encourage the workers to achieve the goals.
• To coordinate among the division heads of various departments,
• To ensure that all workers under her department carry out the functions in the best possible way.
• To assign the duties to the workers.
State the basic features of management as a profession.
The basic features of management as a profession are:
• Management is based on a systematic concept of a well-defined body of knowledge consisting of principles and theories. This knowledge can be attained through colleges, institutes, and books.
• Management is related to certain professional associates that regulate the functions of its members. It is not mandatory for every member to be a part of any such association.
• It is not compulsory to have any specific qualification or degree to become a manager. But, a degree in management is preferred. This puts a restriction on the entry of people in the management.
• Management has to follow a professional code of conduct that guides the people for their ethical behavior. This helps to ensure efficiency and effectiveness of the production process.
Why is management considered to be a multi-dimensional concept?
Management is called a multidimensional concept as it has three dimensions which areto the following:
• Management of work: All the organizations have to perform some work such as production or sale. A work is defined with the goals that it's achieved and the method of doing so.
• Management of people: The main asset of an organization is human labour. Managing people is extremely important. The employees have to considered as individuals well as a team. Personal goals have to be achieved along with the firm’s goal.
• Management of operations: All the organizations either engage in producing a good or selling a good. It means the conversion of inputs into outputs. This production process requires management.
Company X is facing a lot of problems these days. It manufactures white goods like washing machines, microwave ovens, refrigerators, and air conditioners. The company’s margins are under pressure and the profits and market share are declining. The production department blames marketing for not meeting sales targets and marketing blames production department for producing goods, which are not of good quality meeting customers’ expectations. The finance department blames both production and marketing for declining return on investment and bad marketing. State the quality of management that the company is lacking? What quality of management do you think the company is lacking?
Explain briefly. What steps should the company management take to bring the company back on track?
Coordination is missing in the management.The production, marketing, and finance department are not working together to achieve the goals of the organizations.This has led to a fall in market share and investment.
The organization must improve its coordination. It would help to bind together different department’s activities.The goals could be met more efficiently.
Coordination is the essence of management. Do you agree? Give reasons.
• Yes, coordination is the essence of management.
• If there is no coordination among the different functions of the management, the organisation cannot be achieved.
• It would lead to a chaotic situation causing distress among the employees.
• The department may even hamper the progress of other departments.
• Coordination is extremely important to coordinate the different departments and to be synchronized to achieve the goals of the organisation.
Ashita and Lakshita are employees working in Dazzling enterprises dealing in costume jewelry. The firm secured an urgent order for 1,000 bracelets that were to be delivered within 4 days. They were assigned the responsibility of producing 500 bracelets each at a cost of Rs 100 per bracelet. Ashita was able to produce the required number within the stipulated time at the cost of Rs 55,000 whereas, Lakshita was able to produce only 450 units at a cost of Rs 90 per unit. State whether Ashita and Lakshita are efficient and effective. Give reasons to justify your answer.
• Management is the process of getting a task done with the aim of achieving the goals of the organization in an effective and efficient manner. The term effective means completing the given task and efficient means completing the task with minimum cost and time.
• Ashita was effective because she completed her task within time but not efficient as they had to bear a high-cost of Rs 55000.
• Lakshmi was neither effective or efficient as she did not complete her task on time.
Management is considered to be both an art and science. Explain.
Management is considered to be both an art and science due to the following reasons:
MANAGEMENT AS ART:
• Existence of theoretical knowledge- all the form of art such as music and dance presupposes a defined body of knowledge and literature. Management also has a lot of literature for theoretical knowledge and learning. Many principles have been developed in the field of Management such as Taylor's scientific theory of Management and Fayol's principles of management.
• Personalized application: Art is the personalized application of existing knowledge. Each individual uses this basic knowledge in his own personal knowledge. For example, all the doctors have received the same medical knowledge but some of them may be able to save a patient from a critical condition but others not.
• Based on practice and creativity- Art is based on practice and innovation. Artist uses the existing literature according to his own creativity and innovation. A manager may apply the same theory and principle of management to different situations according to his own level of creativity.
Management as science.
• Systematic body of knowledge- science has a systematic body of knowledge based on cause and effect relationship. Similarly, management has also formulated its own policies over time.
• Theory-based on experimentation- in Science all the theories are based on experimentation. Similarly, in management, the principle of management have evolved based on repeated observations in the experiment. But in management the cause and effect relationship is absent. This is because management deals with human and human behavior. Human behavior is constantly changing to the result of these theories may be different from one situation to another.
• Universal validity - the concept and principle used in Science are valid universally. Similarly, the principles and theories of Management are valid to some extent but are not universal. The application of the theories and their results may vary from one situation to another situation but they act as a guideline for action in different situations.
Do you think management has the characteristics of a fullfledged profession?
Profession refers to an occupation which is backed up by specialized knowledge and training with restricted entry. The concept of management and profession are explained below:
• Well defined body of knowledge- every profession has a well-defined body of knowledge which can be learned through instructions. This feature of the profession is present in management as it also consists of systematic knowledge of concepts and theories which can be acquired by Institutions and books.
• Restricted entry- The entry into any profession is restricted by the basis of an exam or education qualification. A person can enter into a profession only after acquiring the required knowledge through the formal education system. This feature is not applicable to Management which is open to all the individuals. There is no restriction on any person becoming a manager.
• Professional Association- professions are affiliated to a professional Association which regulates entry, grants certificate of practice and develops a code of conduct. This feature is not applicable to management as it is not mandatory for a manager to be a member of any Management Association.
• Ethical code of conduct- every profession has to follow a strict code of conduct. All the members are expected to follow it with utmost sincerity. This feature is not applicable in management because of the absence of any such code of conduct.
• Service motive- The main aim of the profession is to serve the citizen of a country. This feature is also not applicable to Management which aims at fulfilling the goals of the organisation mostly the maximization of profit. In conclusion, management does not have all the features of a profession. But it is now going into the path of professionalization of Management.
“A successful enterprise has to achieve its goals effectively and efficiently.” Explain.
“A successful enterprise has to achieve its goals effectively and efficiently.” This statement is explained below:
• Management is the process of getting a task done with the aim of achieving the goals of the organization in an effective and efficient manner.
• The different functions of management are planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling.
• The term effective means completing the given task and efficient means completing the task with minimum cost and time.
• It is important for an organisation to be both effective and efficient in its working.
• Being effective implies that the goals are being achieved and being efficient means that the goals are being achieved with minimum cost. It leads to an increase in profit.
• Often a company has to compromise with either of the two.
• For example, a firm has set a goal to produce a thousand boxes of cookies in a month. But due to frequent power failure, the workers work on double shifts and extra wages are been given to achieve the target.
• In this case, the firm is effective but not efficient. So it is important to maintain a balance between the two.
Management is a series of continuous interrelated functions. Comment.
Management is the process of planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling in such a manner that the goals of the organization are met with minimum cost and time.
All of the above functions have to be performed simultaneously and in synchronization. All the types of functions are explained below:
a. Planning- Planning is the first step in Management. It means deciding what to do, how to do, and who should do it. It also involves the establishment of the goals of the organisation to be achieved and also devising the method of achieving them both effectively and efficiently.
b. Organizing - The duties and the tasks are grouped together and allotted to different departments. Hierarchy established throughout the department. Proper organisation helps to increase the effectiveness and efficiency.
c. Staffing - Staffing involves hiring the correct people with the required qualification for the work. It also includes the training and development of the people.
d. Directing- directing refers to the guiding of the employees in the firm. It has four aspects- supervision, leadership, motivation, and communication.
e. Controlling- It important to control and check that the work is moving forward in the correct path. It involves comparing the actual work against the expected standards and policies. It also ensures that the work is done up to the mark and there is no error from the target set. In case of any error, adequate measures have to be taken to correct it.
In conclusion, the functions of the management are interdependent on each other and have to be formed simultaneously.
A company wants to modify its existing product in the market due to decreasing sales. You can imagine any product about which you are familiar. What decisions/steps should each level of management take to give effect to this decision?
The decision taken at each step of management to increase the sales are:
• Top management: To study the product carefully, and to formulate policies to increase sales.
• Middle management: To interpret the policies formulated by the top management, to encourage the workers to achieve the goals and assign them duties. To coordinate among the division heads of various departments.
• Lower management: To ensure the quality of the product, to give periodic reports to the above levels of management, and to assign duties to the employees.
A firm plans in advance and has a sound organisation structure with efficient supervisory staff and control system but on several occasion it finds that plans are not being adhered to. It leads to confusion and duplication of work. Advise remedy
The firm lacks in directing its employees. This issue can be solved by the following steps:
• The employees must be properly trained.
• A proper pattern of communication must be followed.
• The middle-level management must consist of good leaders who can motivate the employees from time to time.