Principles and Practices of Management

Management definition

Management is the execution of administrative policies set by administration. It entails directing the active operations within the enterprise, coordinating employees’ work with capital equipment and materials to create an acceptable product, as well as marketing the product or service in line with administration’s overarching policies.

According to the text, the Management carries out the policies of administration and expands as it reaches lower levels of supervision, while the administrative function becomes less important. The process of management consists of three steps.

• Formation of policy and its translation into plans;
• Execution and implementation of plans;
• Exercising administrative control over the plans.

The three primary responsibilities of management include ‘Planning’, ‘Implementing’, and ‘Controlling’.

Management, as defined by Dr. James Lundy, is the process of planning, coordinating, motivating, and controlling the efforts of others in order to achieve a specific goal. It involves effectively integrating the traditional factors of production (land, labor, and capital) while taking into account the organization’s unique objectives. In summary, this definition encompasses three key management activities.

• Planning;
• Implementing,
• Controlling.

Planning involves setting the objectives and strategies for a business, division, or department in order to maximize profitability. It also includes creating policies and constantly seeking innovative approaches. Implementation focuses on carrying out these plans. It involves selecting and assigning personnel, training and motivating them to perform effectively. Implementation activities include personnel selection, training, motivation, delegation, and direction.

Coordinating and controlling involve assessing the performance of individuals responsible for implementing the agreed-upon plans. This evaluation may encompass:

• controlling adherence to plans,
• appraising performance.

What are the main features of Management?

• Management is that important process the principal elements of which are planning, implementing and controlling.
• Management is an endeavor to achieve the pre-determined objectives: For the achievement of the enterprise-goals, management plans, organizes, co-ordinates, directs and controls the group-efforts and hence a group activity.
• Management aims at reaping rich results in economic terms. Management carries with it a major responsibility for creative action. It is no longer considered as passive or a mere adjustment of resources.
• Management also implied skill and experience in getting things done through people. Getting the suitable types of people to execute the operations is the significant aspect of management.
• Management is a science as also an art. As there are definite principles in management, it is an art. Further, it is also a science because by the application of these principles predetermined objectives can be achieved.
• Management is also gradually becoming a profession like other recognized professions.
• The principles of management have universal application. They are not the monopoly of industry alone, but can be applied in any sphere where group effort is required.
• Although management is a scientific method of getting things done through and with the people, yet the identity of the ‘Thinkers’ is quite different from the identity of the ‘Doers’.
• Management is needed at different levels of an organization.
• Management uses organization for achieving the objectives determined by administration.
• It is not necessary that those who manage may also be the owners of the enterprise.
• Principles of Management are dynamic and not static.

MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES

Managerial functions are grounded on specific principles. A principle is a basic truth that establishes the cause and effect relationship of a function, and a theory is a systematic collection of interconnected principles. The principles of management have a significant impact on enhancing the organization’s efficiency.

Visualizing the needs and importance of management principles can be done as follows:

• To Increase Efficiency. The established principles of management provide managers guidelines as how they should work in different situations. These principles increase managerial efficiency. Though, there is a serious limitation of management principles, that is, these have to be modified according to situations as these deal with human beings of diverse nature, these enable a manager to understand the different situation in a better way and save him from costly trial-and-error method.
• To Crystallize the Nature of Management. Lack of understanding of management principles makes it difficult to analyze the management job and to define the exact scope of managerial functions. Thus, individuals cannot be trained effectively for managerial positions.
• To Carry on Researches. If in any subject certain fundamental principles are developed, the scope and limitations defined, these become the basis for future researches. In the absence of these principles, researches become difficult and future horizons of knowledge cannot be expanded. The recent emphasis on management researches has increased the quantum to knowledge in this field.
• To attain Social Objectives. Management itself is part of the society and it takes the inputs from the society and gives the output to the society. Thus, the standards of the society depend upon the quality of the management. If the management is efficient, the resources of the society are better utilized thereby giving more satisfaction to the society and improving the quality of life of people. In this context, management principles play an important role. Thus, the understanding of management principles enables managers to take a more realistic view of organizational problems and their solution.

Management is concerned with the individuals within an organization, while the structure and behavior of groups of people are more complex than that of atoms. In order to effectively guide human behavior towards achieving objectives, certain principles are necessary. The development of management principles undoubtedly influences the cultural aspect of society by enhancing efficiency in utilizing both human and material resources. Nevertheless, when implementing management principles, managers should examine their validity and applicability beforehand.

It is important for individuals to understand the fundamental nature of management principles. The following basic nature of management principles should always be taken into consideration:

• Universality of Principles. Henry Fayol has emphasized that management principles are universal. These can be applied in different organizations – business, government, hospital, military, etc. The basic task before every human organization is to get the desired results through integrated human efforts. Thus, the managers of different managerial levels may use the principles with equal utility. This shows the flexibility of a manager to handle different departments of an organization or the functions of different organizations.
• Dynamic Nature of Principles. Management principles are flexible in nature and change with the changes in the environment in which an organization exists. Others are replacing many of the golden principles of management, which were thought to be very useful at one time, because of changes in the society. Continuous researchers are being carried on to establish principles in the changing society and no principles can be regarded as a final truth. Nothing is permanent in the landslide of management.
• Relative, Not Absolute Principles. Management principles are relative, not absolute and they should be applied according to the need of the organization. Organizations differ in respect of place, time, social, culture, etc. Moreover, individuals working in the same organization also differ. Thus, a particular management principle has different strength in different conditions and the principle should be modified or replaced by another.
• Limitations Due to Human Nature. Management involves the direction of human behavior in the organization. It is also related with other human factors- suppliers, customers, owners, government, etc. The complex nature of human behavior has considerably affected the progress of management principles. The principles of other disciplines dealing with human nature such as psychology, sociology, anthropology should also be taken into account.

PRINCIPLES OF ORGANIZATION

The organization structure has certain fundamental principles:

• It should reflect adequately a virile awareness of the dynamic goal of the enterprise.
• It should reflect adequate decentralization
• The unity of command and line of responsibility should be clear.
• The channel of communication should be free, easy and logical.
• The span of control should be legitimate (not too wide nor too narrow) without split in the line of control.
• The functional levels in the Organization chart should be armed with proper (-delegated) authority, matching their task and responsibility.
• The levels in the Chart (the nodes in the Organization net) should represent homogenous cohesive units of functions.
• The Chart should avoid overlapping of functions and authority.
• The channels of communication-vertically and horizontally-should be well laid out.
• The functional aims of the departments (branches) at different levels should be drawn up and reflected with precision.
• The hierarchical position of the staff functional levels and their structural relationship with the line management levels should be stated without ambiguity.

The organization’s structure can be compared to a living organism. Like branches and twigs that grow from the trunk and branches, every branch and twig depend on the main tree’s roots for nourishment. Similarly, in a business, the Chief Executive acts as the main leader. The other levels within the organization offer feedback and mutual team support, establishing a two-way process.

ORGANIZATION DYNAMICS – CLOSED AND OPEN SYSTEMS

Management and organization are both essential components of an enterprise. Management functions as a system, while organization provides the framework that supports the system. These shared features are inherent in all living units.

An organizational set up must be responsive to both internal and external impulses. It is common for organizations to become stagnant and repetitive, losing the sense of life and vitality. There are two types of organizational structures:

• open door organization,
• closed door organization. An open door organization is one that incorporates the mechanism of change.

The manager’s business situation and the problems they face are constantly changing. Here are some features of an Open Door Organization.

• An open door organization is task oriented. The accountability is clearly defined.
• The authority (within the related functional area) is also absolute (or nearly so) matching the absolute character of the accountability.
• Consultations are minimum and are not compulsive; the executive is free to consult and communicate (or otherwise) so long as he performs and delivers the objective.
• Rules and procedures exist but only as guides- the executives (within their sphere of responsibilities) having wide freedom of discretion to depart from the rules within the periphery of the broad corporate policies.
• The accountability is clear-cut; objective is verifiable- in terms of cost, output target, time and profit. The means are (relatively) unimportant so long as the end is achieved.
• The managerial behavior is highly flexible bending with lithe suppleness to the internal shifts in conditions and external maneuvers of the environmental zone of contract.

According to Harold Koontz, leadership involves influencing people to work towards a shared objective. The key elements found in all perceptions of leadership are:

• Influencing People
• To pursue a common goal.

The Trait Approach to leadership focuses on innate personal qualities as determining factors. According to this approach, if a leader possesses specific traits, their leadership index can be easily measured. To determine trait-based leadership, three necessary and sufficient conditions must be met. These conditions can be summarized as follows:

• The trait quality should follow a descending order as one traverses from the highest (top executives in leadership position) to the lowest (employees) levels of the enterprise system.
• There must be a high correlation between the level of a manager’s traits and the level of his success.
• The correlation between success (achievement) and traits should be higher as one goes up the management hierarchy from bottom (employees) level upward to top executive levels.

From various surveys and investigations, common elements of leadership have been observed:

• Intelligence
• Confidence
• Initiative
• Urge for achievement
• Strong power need Attitude Criterion Approach to Leadership

The approach to leadership studies known as the leader-attitude approach examines and evaluates various variables related to attitudes that influence leadership behavior and effectiveness. This approach identified two specific variables, referred to as employees orientation and production orientation. Darwin also developed a similar set of concepts based on numerous research studies.

Group dynamics were identified as the composite of two elements.

• Achieving a group goal
• Service of the group itself

The goal-oriented manager focuses on setting tasks, improving techniques, and enhancing productivity to achieve the group goal. In contrast, the relations-oriented manager prioritizes group service and maintenance, showing concern for people, promoting popular participation, nurturing informal group behavior, and fostering trustful and communicative relationships.

Another parallel concept that can be observed is the transition from Authoritarian Democratic behavior to the laissez faire leadership style. In terms of group dynamics, the authoritarian leader style aligns with achieving the group goal, while the democratic leader style focuses on group maintenance or service. The authoritarian leader directs and instructs their followers, while democratic leaders choose a participative approach to decision making.