Definition of Management
1. Management is the process undertaken by one or more individuals to coordinate the activities of others to achieve results not achievable by one individual acting
alone.
2. Management is a process of designing and maintaining an environment in which individuals working together in groups efficiently to accomplish the desired goals.
This definition can be expanded as follows:
a) Managers carry out the management functions of planning, organizing, staffing, leading and controlling
Planning is defining the future state of the department or organisation
Organizing is Putting similar tasks together to form a department
Staffing – Identifying who should do the tasks that are already identified
Leading – Showing them how to do what they should do
Controlling – Setting targets and objectives that should be persued by the staff
b) Management applies to any kind of organization
c) Management applies to managers at all organizational levels
d) Management is concerned with effectiveness and efficiency (to be effective is to do right things and to be efficient is to do it correctly).
3. M.P Follet defines Management as an art of getting things done through other people. In it, managers achieve organizational goals by enabling others to perform
rather than performing the tasks by themselves. This is done through delegation, communication and empowerment
4. J.F. Stonner defines Management as the process of planning, organizing, staffing, leading and controlling the efforts of workers and of using organizational resources.
The definition suggests
a) Management is a continuous process
b) Several interrelated activities have to be performed by managers irrespective
of their levels, to achieve desired goals.
c) Managers use resources of the organization both physical as well as human,
to achieve the goals of the company.
d) Management aims at ensuring for effective use of organizational resources.
1.2 HISTORY OF MANAGEMENT
1. The practice of management is as old as human civilization.
2. The progress of mankind over the centuries is attributed to the effective management of resources.
