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NATURE, SCOPE AND FEATURES OF MANAGEMENT

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WELCOME
Module 1 - Nature, Scope and Features of Management

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OBJECTIVES
At the end of this module, you will be able to:
Define management
Describe the nature of management
List the features of management
Describe the origin of management
Identify the factors affecting management

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DEFINING MANAGEMENT
Man is a social animal with several needs. Man operates to fulfill his various
needs with the help of several social groups in society, such as family, school,
business, government, etc.
For efficient functioning of each of these social groups there is a need for
planning, organising, controlling, directing, and co-ordinating all activities of a
group, supported by leadership, communication, motivation, and morale. The
combination of these activities is called management.
Management is getting things done through and with other people.
Management involves co-ordinating men, money, machinery, materials and
information towards a common goal.

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DEFINING MANAGEMENT

Management is a multipurpose organ that manages a business, manages a

manager and manages workers and work.
- Peter Drucker
Management is the attainment of pre-established goals by the direction of
human performance along pre-established lines. It is management of people
and not the direction of things.
- Lawrence Appley
Management is the creation and maintenance of internal environment in an
enterprise, where individuals working together in groups can perform
efficiently and effectively towards the attainment of group goals
- Koontz and ODonell

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NATURE, SCOPE AND FEATURES OF MANAGEMENT

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NATURE OF MANAGEMENT
While this has been a classical debate going on for years, one needs to finally
accept that management is an art, science, and a profession all at the same
time. Click each aspects of management to understand the nature of
management.
Management as an Art
All arts require the theoretical knowledge of the art as well as the skill and
creativity to perform.
Management too requires not just the theoretical knowledge, but also the skill
to apply the knowledge successfully in various situations. Creativity is an
essential element in the ability to approach and resolve different management
problems. Like all arts, management too is directed towards the
accomplishment of some concrete results or goals.
Management as a Science
Science consists of a specific set of defined facts and principles which form its
knowledge base. These facts are derived through observations and
experiments using scientific methods.
Management too has a set of principles that are based on scientific studies,
observations, and long term experiments. Management principles, like science,
establish a cause and effect relationship between the various variables that
come into play. Similar to science, management can predict the outcome of
certain actions based on the established principles.
That said, since management deals with human beings, there are occasions
where the cause and effect relationships fail. So it is better to say that
management is a social science, which is rather inexact.
Management as a Profession
Professions are occupations that require acquiring specialised skills and
knowledge by undergoing rigorous academic studies, under recognised
academic institutions.
With the increasing challenges of the modern world, the extent of theoretical
knowledge and skill required to solve problems has also increased. Managers
with expertise in the field, with academic training and certification in
management are in high demand. As for all other professions, associations
have been formed to enforce management code of conduct. With academic
training, managers are capable of applying knowledge-based decision making
instead of intuition and individual based decision making. Managers apply
management practices based on worldwide experiences and information.

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CHECK YOUR KNOWLEDGE
Drag the three forms of management in the box, adjacent to their supporting
arguments.
OPTIONS
A. Theoretical knowledge and skill required to solve problems. Managers
with expertise in the field, with academic training and certification in
management are in high demand.
B. Has a set of principles that are based on scientific studies,
observations, and long term experiments.
C. Requires not just the theoretical knowledge, but also the skill to apply
the knowledge successfully in various situations.
ANSWERS
Art
Science
Profession

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FEATURES OF MANAGEMENT
Management is purposeful and goal oriented. It is a means to achieve definite
economic and social objectives.
Management is universal and can be applied at all locations in every organised
activity of any scale.
Management is situational; it differs from situation to situation.
Management is a continuous ongoing process with a set of defined activities
that go on until the objectives are achieved.
Management is creative.
Management is multidisciplinary; it applies knowledge/information from other
disciplines like Economics, Maths, Statistics, Psychology, Sociology etc.
Management is dynamic; it changes as per time.
Management is what management does and its success is measured by its
performance.
Management exists at all levels in an organisation.

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ORIGIN OF MANAGEMENT
The need for management originates from the basic economic problem of
limited resources and unlimited wants. Mans wants and needs are unlimited.
Even if some are satisfied, they reoccur after sometime.
On the other hand, the resources required to fulfill these wants are limited.
Hence, the resources need to be prioritised and managed efficiently to satisfy
the most critical needs.

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FACTORS INFLUENCING MANAGEMENT
Management is influenced by several internal and external environmental
factors.
Internal factors are those factors that an organisation can control and
influence, such as the place where the activities are conducted, the number of
labour employed in the activities, the number and type of machines used, and
the amount of money invested.
External factors are factors that are beyond the control of the management.
These include the economic, political, legal, cultural, climatic, technological,
ethical, and moral factors. Such factors are driven by society and the state at
large.
External Factors
Economic Factors
Political
Legal
Social & Cultural
Climatic
Technological
Global
Ethical & Moral
Internal Factors
Place
Labour
Machines
Money

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EXTERNAL FACTORS INFLUENCING MANAGEMENT
The internal factors affecting any business and their causes are very specific to
each organisation and vary from organisation to organisation. External factors
tend affect a large number of organisations simultaneously and more or less in
a similar way. Click each external factor to learn more about them.
Economic Factors
If the economy in general is not doing well, an individual business
would also suffer in terms of decreased demand.
Political Factors
If the political climate in a country is stable, it would fill an
organisation with confidence leading to increased
investments and vice versa.
Legal Factors
If the legal framework in a country is stringent towards financial
misdemeanors, a business would feel more secure in dealing with new
customers and suppliers.
Social & Cultural Factors
Opening up of the societal culture typically throws up more and better
opportunities for a business and also helps employ a more diversified
workforce. The recent mall culture in India has created immense
opportunities in organised retail.
Climatic Factors
Climatic conditions largely affect the kind of industries the region will
attract. So it is quite natural that Jute industry is clustered in West
Bengal.
Technological Factors
Technological developments bring more sophistication and speed to
the work. However, if a business fails to adapt itself to these changes,
the same development can also act as a handicap. So while Apple
computers continues to do well, Kodak failed to survive on account of
its inability to keep pace with the technological changes.
Global Factors
Globalisation has generally made all businesses susceptible to political
changes in any country - either positively or negatively. So the
Presidential elections are followed as avidly by Indians as by the
Americans themselves.
Ethical & Moral Factors
Ethical and moral climate of a particular region greatly affects the
decision of businesses to locate there or not. So a country known to
have a high rate of corruption would be avoided by multinationals to
the extent possible.

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CHECK YOUR KNOWLEDGE
Which of the following statements are true about the various external factors
influencing management?
OPTIONS
A. The societal culture largely affect the kind of industries the region will
attract.
B. Globalisation has generally made all businesses susceptible to political
changes in any country - either positively or negatively.
C. Technological developments bring more sophistication and speed to
the work. However, if a business fails to adapt itself to these changes,
the same development can also act as a handicap.
D. If the political climate in a country is stringent towards financial
misdemeanours, a business would feel more secure in dealing with
new customers and suppliers.

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SUMMARY
In this module, you learned to:
Define management
Describe the nature of management
List the features of management
Describe the origin of management
Identify the factors affecting management

Principles & Practices of Management

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