Characteristics of Management

1) - Management is a goal-oriented process: 

An organisation has a set of basic goals which are the basic reason for its existence. These should be simple and clearly stated. Different organizations have different goals. 

According to Theo Haiman “Effective management is always management by objectives." Group efforts are directed towards the achievements of some predetermined goals. Management is concerned with establishment and accomplishment of these objectives.

No goal in the hand no need of management. In other words, we need management when we have some goals to be achieved. A manager on the basis of his knowledge and experience tries to achieve the goals which are already decided. Hence, nothing is wrong to say that management is a goal-oriented process.

Management always aims at achieving the organisational objectives. The functions and activities of manager lead to the achievement of organisational objectives. Management unites the efforts of different individuals in the organization towards achieving common goals for example, if the objective of a company is to sell 1000 computers then manager will plan the course of action, motivate all the employees and organise all the resources keeping in mind the main target of selling 1000 computers.

2) - Management is all pervasive/Universal Character: 

The activities involved in managing an enterprise are common to all organisations whether economic, social or political.

Anything minus management is nothing or zero. Here by anything we mean all types of activities-business and non-business. If we deduct management out of these activities, the result will be failure or zero. It means management is necessary to conduct any type of activities. Hence, it is pervasive or universal. 

Management is essential in all types of concerns. It somewhere there is some human activity, management is must there. The basic principles of management are universal. These can be applied in all types of concerns i.e. business, social, religious, cultural, sports, educational and International technology.

Management is a universal phenomenon. Managerial activities are performed in all types of organisations, in all departments and at all levels. Management is required in all organisation whether big or small, manufacturing or service organisation, profit or non-profit making organisation.

Concept of management is used in whole world. The use of management is not restricted to business firms only it is applicable in profit-making, non-profit-making, business or non-business organisations; even a hospital, school, club and house has to be managed properly. Concept of management is used in the whole world whether it is USA, UK or India means  what managers do in India, USA, Germany or Japan is same, how they do it may be quite different.

3) - Management is multidimensional: 

Management is a complex activity. It does not mean one single activity but it includes three main activities that has three main dimensions.

a) - Management of work:  Management translates this work in terms of goals to be achieved and assigns the means to achieve it. This is done in terms of problems to be solved, decisions to be made, plans to be established, budgets to be prepared, responsibilities to be assigned and authority to be delegated.

Every organisation is established for doing some work, like a school provides education, a hospital treats patients, a factory produces, etc. Of these, no work can be completed satisfactorily without management.

All organisations are set up to perform some task or goal. Management activities aim at achieving goals or tasks to be accomplished. The task or work depends upon the nature of Business for example, work to be accomplished in a school is providing education, in hospital is to treat patient, in industry to manufacture some product. Management makes sure that work is accomplished effectively and efficiently.

All organisations are set up to perform some task or goal. Management activities aim at achieving goals or tasks to be accomplished. The task or work depends upon the nature of Business for example, work to be accomplished in a school is providing education, in hospital is to treat patient, in industry to manufacture some product. Management makes sure that work is accomplished effectively and efficiently.

b) - Management of people: Human resources or people are an organisation’s greatest asset. Despite all developments in technology “getting work done through people” is still a major task for the manager. Managing people has two dimensions. 

Each organisation is established for doing some work and the same is conducted by people. Hence, it is necessary to manage the people so that the work can be accomplished in a better way.

• it implies dealing with employees as individuals with diverse needs and behavior.
• it also means dealing with individuals as a group of people. The task of management is to make people work towards achieving the organization's goals, by making their strengths effective and their weaknesses irrelevant.

People refer to Human resources and Human resources are the most important assets of an organisation. An organisation can win over competitor with efficient employees only because two organisations can have same physical, technological and financial resources but not human resources. Management has to get task accomplished through people only.

Managing people has two dimensions:

(i) Taking care of employee’s individual needs

(ii) Taking care of group of people

c) - Management of operations: This requires a production process which entails the flow of input material and the technology for transforming this input into the desired output for consumption. This is interlinked with both the management of work and the management of people.

To achieve the goals of an organisation many operations or activities need to be conducted, such as, production, sale, purchase, finance, accounting, R&D, etc. Again, management is needed to make sure that operations are accomplished efficiently and effectively.

Operations refer to activities of production cycle such as buying inputs, converting them into semi-finished goods, finished goods.

Management of operations concentrates on mixing management of work with management of people, i.e., deciding what work has to be done, how it has to be done and who will do it.

4) - Management is a continuous Process: 

The process of management is a series of continuous, composite, but separate functions These functions are simultaneously performed by all managers all the time.

The various managerial activities cannot be performed once for all, but it is a continuous process. A manager is busy sometimes in doing one managerial activity and at other times some other activity.

Management is a continuous or never ending function. All the functions of management are performed continuously, for example planning, organising, staffing, directing and controlling are performed by all the managers all the time. Sometimes, they are doing planning, then staffing or organising etc. Managers perform ongoing series of functions continuously in the organisation.

5) - Management is a group activity: 

An organisation is a collection of diverse individuals with different needs. Every member of the group has a different purpose for joining the organisation but as members of the organisation they work towards fulfilling the common organisational goal.

It means that it is not a single person who consummates all the activities of an organisation but it is always a group of persons (managers). Hence, management is a group effort.

Management always refers to a group of people involved in managerial activities. The management functions cannot be performed in isolation. Each individual performs its role at its status and department, and then only management function can be executed.

Even the result of management affects every individual and every department of the organisation so it always refers to a group effort and not the individual effort of one person.

6) - Management is a dynamic function: 

Management is a dynamic function and has to adapt itself to the changing environment. An organization interacts with its external environment which consists of various social, economic and political factors. In order to be successful, an organisation must change itself and its goals according to the needs of the environment.

Management is a dynamic activity as it has to adjust itself to the regularly changing environment. In this context, it can be rightly said that nothing is eternal in management.

It is necessary here to clearly understand that the recognition of management in the form of group is only in reference to big organisations, because in these kinds of organisations many managers are appointed at various managerial levels. On the other hand, in small organisations only one manager is sufficient as he can himself manage all the affairs of the organisation. For these kinds of organisations it would not be right to call management a group activity.

Management has to make changes in goal, objectives and other activities according to changes taking place in the environment. The external environment such as social, economical, technical and political environment has great influence over the management.

As changes take place in these environments, same are implemented in organisation to survive in the competitive world.

Management has to be performed continuously, in a rapidly every changing business environment. It is constantly engaged in the moulding of the enterprise. It is also concerned about the change of environment itself so as to ensure the success of enterprise. Hence it is on-going function.

7) - Management is an Intangible force: 

Management is an intangible force that cannot be seen but its presence can be felt in the way the organisation functions.

Management is that power which cannot be seen. It can only be felt. If any organisation is heading toward higher levels of achievement, it signifies the existence of good management and vice versa. In other words, achievement reflects the quality of management and its effectiveness.

Management function cannot be physically seen but its presence can be felt. The presence of management can be felt by seeing the orderliness and coordination in the working environment. It is easier to feel the presence of mismanagement as it leads to chaos and confusion in the organisation.

It can be seen in the form of results and could not be actually seen. For ex: when we are not able to produce desired quantity, we say it is the result of poor management.

8) - Management is Composite process: 

Management consists of series of functions which must be performed in a proper sequence. These functions are not independent of each other. They are inter-dependent on each other. As the main functions of management are planning, organising, staffing, directing and controlling; organising cannot be done without doing planning, similarly, directing function cannot be executed without staffing and planning and it is difficult to control the activities of employees without knowing the plan. All the functions inter-dependent on each other that is why management is considered as a composite process of all these functions.

9) - Management is balancing effectiveness and efficiency: 

Effectiveness means achieving targets and objectives on time. Efficiency refers to optimum or best utilisation of resources. Managements always try to balance both and get the work done successfully. Only effectiveness and only efficiency is not enough for an organisation: a balance must be created in both. For example, if the target of an employee is to produce 100 units in one month time and achieving the target by wasting resources and mishandling the machinery, will not be in the interest of organisation. On the other hand, if the employee spends lot of time in handling the machine carefully and managing the resources carefully and fails to complete the target on time, it will also not be in the interest of organisation. Manager sees to it that this target is achieved on time-and with optimum use of resources.

10) - Management is a distinct function: 

Management is a distinct function performed to fix and achieve stated objectives by the use of manpower and other factors of production. Different from the activities, techniques and procedures, the process of management consists of such functions as planning, organizing, staffing, directing, coordinating, motivating and controlling.

11) - Management is a Social Process: 

Management is taken as a social process. It has a social responsibility to make reasonable use of scarce resources keeping in view the benefit of the community as a whole.

12) - Management is System of Authority: 

Authority is the power to compel men to work in a specific manner. Management cannot work in the absence of authority. There is a chain of authority and responsibility among people working at different levels of the organization. There cannot be an efficient management without well defined lives of command a superior subordinate relationship at the every levels of decision making.

13) - Management is a factor of Production: 

Management is not an end in itself. It is a means to achieve the group objectives. It is a factor of production that is required the co-ordinate with the other factors of production for the accomplishment of predetermined goals and objectives.

14) - Management is Art as well Science: 

Management is a science since its principles have universal application. Management is an art as the results of management depends upon the personal skill of managers. The art of the manager is essential to make the best use of management science. Thus management is both science and art.

15) - Management is a Profession: 

It has systematic and specialized body of knowledge consisting of principles, techniques, rules and laws. It can be taught as a specialized subject.