MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES
Characteristics of Management
Basic characteristics of management are:
1. Management is a goal-oriented process: An organisation has a set of basic goals
which are the basic reason for its existence. Management unites the efforts of different
individuals in the organisation towards achieving these goals.
2. Management is all pervasive: The activities involved in managing an enterprise are
common to all organisations whether economic, social or political.
3. Management is multidimensional: Management is a complex activity that has three
main dimensions:
1. Management of work: All organisations exist for the performance of some work.
Management translates this work in terms of goals to be achieved and assigns the means
to achieve it.
2. Management of people: Human resources or people are an organisation’s greatest
asset. Managing people has two dimensions:
1. it implies dealing with employees as individuals with diverse needs and behavior;
2. it also means dealing with individuals as a group of people
The task of management is to make people work towards achieving the organisation’s
goals, by making their strengths effective and their weaknesses irrelevant.
3. Management of operations: It requires a production process which entails the flow of
input material and the technology for transforming this input into the desired output for
consumption
4. Management of operations: It requires a production process which entails the flow of
input material and the technology for transforming this input into the desired output for
consumption
5. Management is a continuous process: The process of management is a series of
continuous, composite, but separate functions (planning, organising, directing, staffing and
controlling). These functions are simultaneously performed by all managers all the time.
6. Management is a group activity: An organisation is a collection of diverse individuals
with different needs. Management should enable all its members to grow and develop as
needs and opportunities change
7. Management is a dynamic function: Management is a dynamic function and has to
adapt itself to the changing environment. In order to be successful, an organisation must
change itself and its goals according to the needs of the environment.
8. Management is an intangible force: Management is an intangible force that cannot
be seen but its presence can be felt in the way the organisation functions
