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## Management Meaning, Characteristics and Functional Area ### Definitions * "Management is the force that integrates men and physical plant into an effective operating unit." -Keith & Guballani * "Management is the total task of welding into single working force-men, money, machinery, material and...

## Management Meaning, Characteristics and Functional Area ### Definitions * "Management is the force that integrates men and physical plant into an effective operating unit." -Keith & Guballani * "Management is the total task of welding into single working force-men, money, machinery, material and methods." -M. Banerjee * "Management is a human activity which directs and controls the organisation and operation of a business enterprise." -Wheeler * "Management is a co-ordination of the human and material resources essentially in the effective and efficient attainment of the objectives."-R. L. Trewatha and M.G. Newpot ### Other Definitions * "Management may be broadly defined as the art of applying the economic principles that underline the control of men and materials in the enterprise under consideration." -Prof. Kimball & Kimball * "Management is a multipurpose organ that manages a business, manages managers and manages workers and work." -Peter F. Drucker The following features of management are clear from the definition of Peter F. Drucker: * Management is a multipurpose organ. * It manages business. * Management manages both workers and work. * Management manages managers. From analysing the above definitions we can conclude that, "Management is the process of planning, organising, activating and controlling an organisation's operations in order to achieve co-ordination of men, machine, money and material essential in the effective and efficient attainment of objectives." ### Management-In Different Forms The term 'Management' must be explained in the following various senses: * Management as an activity. * Management as a process. * Management-as a discipline. * Management as a group. #### Management-As an Activity As an activity, management is the art of getting things done through the efforts of other people. It has power to make decisions regarding use and controls the resources of the organisation-its finances (money), equipment (machine), information, material and most important - its personnel (men). It must make the most efficient use of its resources. That is why Peter F. Drucker has called management as "Life-giving element." Without management, factors are only factors and they cannot produce goods and services. George R. Terry has presented a wider definition of management as "Management is the activity which plans, organises and controls the operations of the basic elements of men, materials, machines, methods and co-ordinates and gives leadership to human efforts so as to achieve the sought objectives of the enterprise." In the words of Mary Cushing Niles, "The job of management is to achieve the common objectives with the resources available." Similarly, according to Stanley Vance, "Management is simply the process of decision-making and control over the actions of human beings for the express purpose of attaining pre-determined goals."