1. Meaning of management
Management is a process of getting things done with and through people so that goals are reached effectively and efficiently.
- Effectiveness — finishing the right task, on time (focus: result).
- Efficiency — using the least resources for that result (focus: cost and waste).
A unit can be effective without being efficient (target met, money wasted) or efficient without being effective (cheap, but late). Management seeks both.
Key terms
- Effectiveness
Completing the task and achieving the target on time.
- Efficiency
Achieving the result with minimum cost and resources.
2. Objectives of management
- Organisational: survival (earn enough to cover costs), profit (reward for risk, funds for growth), growth (sales, employees, products, capital).
- Social: benefit for society — quality goods at fair prices, environment-friendly methods, employment for disadvantaged sections, community welfare.
- Personal: employees' financial needs (pay), social needs (recognition, good relations) and higher needs (growth).
In a case, identify the objective from whose need is met.
| Objective | Whose need | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Organisational | The firm itself | Survival (cover costs), profit (reward risk), growth (sales, branches, products) |
| Social | Society | Quality goods at fair prices, eco-friendly methods, jobs for disadvantaged groups, community health or schools |
| Personal | Employees | Fair pay and benefits; recognition and good relations; training and growth |
Key terms
- Social objective
Creating benefit for society beyond the firm's own gain.
3. Characteristics and importance
Characteristics: goal-oriented; pervasive (universal); multidimensional (work, people, operations); continuous; group activity; dynamic (adapts to change); intangible (felt through results).
Importance: it achieves group goals; increases efficiency; creates a dynamic organisation; helps people reach personal objectives; helps develop society (quality goods, jobs, new technology).
| Characteristic | Key idea |
|---|---|
| Goal-oriented | Exists to achieve predetermined goals |
| Pervasive | Needed in all organisations, everywhere |
| Multidimensional | Work, people and operations |
| Continuous | Functions repeat again and again |
| Group activity | Many people, common goals |
| Dynamic | Adapts to a changing environment |
| Intangible | Not seen; felt through results |
Key terms
- Pervasive
Present in every kind of organisation and in every country.
- Dynamic
Changing in response to the environment.
4. Science, art or profession?
- Science: has systematic knowledge and principles built from observation, but results vary with people — an inexact (soft) science.
- Art: theory exists, it is applied in a personal style, and skill grows with practice and creativity — management is an art.
- Profession: body of knowledge (yes), restricted entry by law (no), association (exists, e.g. AIMA, but optional), ethical code (no legal force), service motive (yes) — not a full profession.
| Feature of a profession | Met by management? |
|---|---|
| Well-defined body of knowledge | Yes |
| Restricted entry (degree or licence by law) | No |
| Professional association | Partly: exists, not compulsory |
| Ethical code | Partly: exists, no legal force |
| Service motive | Yes |
| Feature of science | Does management have it? |
|---|---|
| Systematised body of knowledge | Yes: principles and theories |
| Principles based on experiment | Yes, but experiments involve people |
| Universal validity | Not fully: results vary with human behaviour |
| Feature of art | In management |
|---|---|
| Theoretical knowledge exists | Large literature on management |
| Personalised application | Each manager uses it in an own style |
| Practice and creativity | Skill grows with practice; new solutions |
Key terms
- Inexact science
A science whose principles do not give the same result every time because they involve human behaviour.
5. Levels and functions of management
Levels: top (chairperson, CEO, board: goals, strategy, survival, coordination of departments); middle (department heads: interpret policy, staffing, assigning duties, inter-department links); supervisory or operational (foremen, supervisors: oversee workers, quality, wastage, morale, pass problems up).
Functions: planning (decide in advance), organising (divide work, give authority and resources), staffing (right people in the right jobs, training), directing (lead, motivate, communicate, supervise), controlling (measure, compare with standards, correct). All levels perform all functions; time spent differs.
| Level | Who | Main tasks |
|---|---|---|
| Top | Chairperson, CEO, MD, board | Goals and strategy; coordinate all departments; survival and social impact |
| Middle | Heads of production, finance, marketing, HR | Interpret policies; staff and assign duties; motivate; link with other departments |
| Supervisory | Foremen, supervisors | Oversee workers; quality and wastage; morale; pass problems upward |
Key terms
- Supervisory management
The level of management that directly oversees operative workers.
6. Coordination
Meaning: synchronising the activities of departments and people for unity of action.
Characteristics: integrates group efforts; ensures unity of action; continuous; all-pervasive; every manager's responsibility; deliberate.
Need: growth in size, functional differentiation, specialisation.
Essence of management: it is not a separate function but the binding force present in every function and at every level.
| Characteristic of coordination | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Integrates group efforts | Unites different interests into one purpose |
| Ensures unity of action | All work towards a common goal |
| Continuous process | From planning to controlling |
| All-pervasive | All departments and levels |
| Responsibility of all managers | Top to supervisory |
| Deliberate function | Consciously done; cooperation alone is not enough |
Key terms
- Coordination
The deliberate synchronising of group efforts towards common goals.
- Functional differentiation
Division of an organisation into departments with their own objectives.
Exam tips
Common mistakes
- Using "efficient" when the case is about meeting a deadline (that is effectiveness).
- Writing coordination as the sixth function.
- Calling management a full profession, or an exact science.
- Naming the level from a job title without reading what the person does.
How marks are usually awarded
- 1 mark: one correct option or one quoted line.
- 3 marks: three points, or concept + quoted line + explanation.
- 5 marks: five labelled points; in "evaluate" questions, a conclusion.
- Cases: quote the line, name the concept, explain it.