The 5 M’s of management are:
- Man
- Material
- Machine
- Money
- Methods
1. Man – Man, the first of the five M’s is the most important. The right personnel for the right position is a sure bet for organizational effectiveness and efficiency. Man in management is referred as a human resource. Even in the automated world no organization can flourish without human resource. Human resources determine the workings of the other four basic business resources. People make sure materials; machines, money and methods are utilized in a productive manner to achieve goals or aims and objectives of organizations and enterprises. With the right man in the right job, a large portion of effective business management will have been achieved.
You have labor that is required to perform certain tasks to produce your products. If your labor force is not happy you may find your operations struggling. When a direct employee (The ones actually making your company money) interfaces with a piece of equipment they must be comfortable working at a specific station for extended periods of time. Thus, making the factory automation equipment ergonomically compliant will help ensure a safe and productive environment for your direct labor force. Man/Operator
- Was the document properly interpreted?
- Was the information properly circulated to all the functions?
- Did the recipient understand the information?
- Was the proper training to perform the task administered to the person?
- Was too much judgment required to perform the task?
- Were guidelines for judgment available?
- Did the environment influence the actions of the individual?
- Are there distractions in the workplace?
- Is fatigue a mitigating factor?
- Is his work efficiency acceptable?
- Is he responsible/accountable?
- Is he qualified?
- Is he experienced?
- Is he medically fit and healthy?
- How much experience does the individual have in performing this task?
- can he carry out the operation without error?
2. Material – Material is a basic ingredient in management be it a service industry or a product industry. Most of the industries locate them self nearby to the availability of material. Without materials, human resource is made redundant. A group of cement factory workers waiting for supply of limestone may have nothing much to do for as long as the supply does not arrive. Even if it arrives, but in poor quality, the production is certainly doomed for a loss. Quality compromised is business pauperized. Poor quality of materials potentially ruins entrepreneurship.
3. Machine – Machine are the basic tools to produce goods or to generate services. Selection of an appropriate machine not only enhances efficiency but also saves times and increases revenue. Tailoring the requirement of the organization, selections of a right technical machine and equipment, availability of spare parts, substitutes and technology and the organization budget are the crucial criteria while purchasing a machine. Maintenance and overhauling issues along with its life span also cannot be overlooked. In service industry, technology matters a lot these days. Machines have made man fulfill almost effortlessly various dreams of creating things that make a existence more worthwhile.
4. Money – Without money, no venture or enterprise can motivate workers, get quality and sufficient materials, get the right machines and maintain them or even ensure that time is properly managed. Where there is not enough money, no good workers, materials, or machines can be employed or purchased…
Money management is the process of managing money, which includes investment, budgeting, banking and taxes. It is also called investment management. Money management is a strategic technique employed at making money yield the highest of interest-yielding value for any amount of it spent. Spending money to provide all cravings (regardless of whether they are justifiable or not to be included in budget basket) is a natural human phenomenon. The idea of money management techniques is developed to plummet the amount individual, firm and institutions spends on items that add no significant value to its living standard, long-term portfolios and asset-basins. Warren Buffett, in one of his documentaries, admonished prospective investors to embrace his highly esteemed “frugality” ideology.
5. Method – Every thing has a right way to do and this right way is known as method in management. In short it means an art of doing. A set of procedures and instructions is known as a method. The visible methods of a company include: Plans, Policies, Procedures, and Data. The less visible ones include a company’s norms and its culture, and the norms and culture of the society around it and the methods of its customers suppliers, associates, and competitors. A method determines how people work and their work priorities. Methods link people to each other and link people to materials. The scientific method is a method for solving complex problems. GAAP is a method for evaluating financial performance.
ISO9000 is a method for evaluating quality performance. ISO9000 quality assurance standards have as much to do with improving quality as GAAP has to do with improving profits. A popular method of management is what is referred to as ‘management by objectivities’. This involves setting objectives and targets for different aspects of the organization. The manager’s job is then to make sure that these objectives are achieved given an allocated amount of resources. The objective will be achieved, exceeded, or fallen short of requiring remedial action where appropriate.
