Management: Meaning and Nature

Okay, here's the conversion of the provided text which is a chapter on the meaning and nature of management, into a structured markdown format: ## CHAPTER 1 ### MEANING AND NATURE OF MANAGEMENT ### INTRODUCTION When human beings are born into life, they grow up to participate in various activitie...

Okay, here's the conversion of the provided text which is a chapter on the meaning and nature of management, into a structured markdown format: ## CHAPTER 1 ### MEANING AND NATURE OF MANAGEMENT ### INTRODUCTION When human beings are born into life, they grow up to participate in various activities. Some people actually initiate activities and lead others to join them, while others may play the role of spectators. One will find that some activities are concrete while others may appear abstract; management happens to belong to this last group - the abstract. Although abstract, Management is aptly perceived to be the most integrating force behind all man's activities. This characteristic makes it the most complex, the most embracing, the most comprehensive, the most taxing, most important, but yet most subtle and perhaps the most interesting of all human activities. In the study of economics, we learn that all resources that man needs to work with are scarce (with the possible exception of air while one dwells within certain atmospheric strata). These resources, broadly speaking, refer to the three M's; that is, man, material, and money. When these three M's are dissected, they may, of course, expand into more M's. It is the duty of management to integrate and utilize these scarce "M's" to make man's life rather enjoyable by supplying human wants and needs, be it in the form of money, leisure hours, finished products, and emotional satisfaction in the most efficient way. It is therefore conclusive that what management is all about is "human satisfaction". Human satisfaction cannot be expected to descend on people in the form of a spirit. It is only possible when certain factors or elements are identified and judiciously utilized. The elements include people, ideas, resources, and objectives. Whether mentioned or not, it must be realized that human beings (people) constitute ideas, resources and objectives. The manager has to work with these factors, the most important of which is people. The manager must be capable of cultivating a conceptual thinking. He has to determine the objectives to be met; answer the question of what resources to allocate; rank matters, in terms of priorities; determine sequences and timing of activities; analyze problems and pose alternative solutions. All these call for proper generation of ideas and exertion of mental energy. It is indisputable that without them, the most laudable ideas would be meaningless. There is abundant justification for regarding management as the most crucial activity of man. This is because one who manages a concern is saddled with the responsibility of not only establishing but also nourishing and maintaining a type of internal and external environment in which people can work together in co-operation. It makes no difference whether or not these people are of the same sex, nationality, religious creed, linguistic group, color of skin, educational background, age, and political affiliation. To be able to do this, the manager will need to study, understand and respond to the various elements affecting his operational environment. Such elements must also include economic, social, ethical, moral, political, and technological factors. The manager's work, therefore, calls for some detail analysis, which can only be done by breaking it into some major elements. Broadly speaking, these are the functions of planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling. For any project to succeed people always work together co-operatively. Examples can be seen in government, church, military operations, and philanthropic organizations. It is usually the ability of those in management capacities that determines the effectiveness of working co-operatively towards a set goal. If the management level in formal organizations does not facilitate or permit effective coordination of the scarce human resources, then there would be no need for technical skills, engineering capabilities, material resources, or scientific knowledge. ### DEFINITION OF MANAGEMENT Various people have variously defined management at various times. Each intended meaning depends on the usage, the level of understanding, the beliefs, and the viewpoints of the individual. Even in developing countries, the word "management" is so loosely used that one must readily agree that there is no single universally acceptable meaning for it. For example, in Nigeria if you meet somebody in the street and after exchanging greetings happen to ask him "How are you?" You would not be surprised to hear him answer colloquially in Pidgin English "I deh manage". This seems another way of saying "things are alright". This, however, is not to conclude that management has lost its meaning, but rather to highlight the importance of the word. Sometimes "management" is used to stand for, or refer to, people. For example, if a supervisor tells his subordinate who asks him a question that the supervisor cannot readily answer, he (the supervisor) may tell the subordinate that he will discuss it with the top management. He is simply referring to people in the higher echelon of authority in the organization. He may mean the chief executive who may be the General Manager or a group of such higher executives. Management may also be used to refer to a career or profession. For example, when a son writes telling his father who may not have known what his son was doing overseas that he (the son) is now a manager of company. This explains the job out of which he earns a living in the same way any other professional would do. As soon as one accepts a job, which require him to direct the activities of the rest towards reaching a set objective, he is following a management career. This implies a rather broad concept from which one can trace, define, and categorise a job position. For instance, personnel officer, sales directors or operation supervisors - all belong to some professional groupings. Yet, another meaning of management may refer to a special field of learning or discipline. In schools, colleges, and universities today it is not uncommon to hear students say that they are studying. exact boundaries. This is true of both natural and physical sciences. Similarly, management as a discipline, cannot be confined within a set boundary. It can be submerged under the broader disciplines of economics in particular or social sciences in general. However, some areas of psychology for example the concept of motivation overlap with management processes. As used in sociology, the concepts of formal and informal organizations overlap into management. There is, of course, occasional argument that management is not something that can be taught or learned within the walls of university. Managers are "born and not made" is a common quotation. This emphasises the importance of experience and ability to make on - the sport decisions based on intuition and common sense over formal theoretical learning. The claim is that managers are men of action, and not of thought or philosophy. Management, it is said is an art and not science. There are however, fundamental truths in all these statements. But these truths do not call for undue exaggeration. Yet, management cannot be totally learned from books in the classroom. Experience is a necessary ingredient. Behind every art, there must be some application of science. Therefore, for management to succeed, a mixture of science is indispensable. In this context, it is obvious that formal training in management must not be disregarded. Experience has shown a lot of difference between trained managers and the unpolished self-made managers. With formal training comes the benefit of "accumulated knowledge, interpreted experience and the application of research findings" which enable managers to minimise risks and uncertainty, and reduce errors of judgement. To serve our purpose in this book, we shall see management and define it as a process of getting things done by using some other people to achieve a set objective. it is therefore, the process by which administers create, direct maintain and operate purposive organisations through systematic, co-ordinated, co-operative human effort. As a process therefore, management implies many things. It is dynamic, that is, it defies rigid formula and orthodoxy. It denotes activity that continues through varying spans of time. Changes are likely to continue invading organisational life since the process is on going. Lastly, it implies that the manager may be able to control and direct the nature and rate of change within the organisation up to a certain extent. The administrative process is predicated on the various interactions of people that make up the organisation. Those who hold administrative positions at various levels are responsible for directing, influencing, motivating, guiding and controlling the performance of subordinates as they work together towards achieving corporate objectives. This means that, managers' behaviour should be goal- centred. The organisation's work continues by this process of on - going decision making planning action and checking result. It is therefore conclusive that management can be defined as the process of efficient utilisation of available resources to achieve set objectives of a system. It can be viewed as a field of an identifiable entity pursuing multiple objectives through the co-ordinated activities and relations among members of its public. Given this explanation, we can assume that the task involved in the management of organisations include: 1. Determination of the mission of the system; 2. Security of inputs, that is organisational resources; 3. Transferring into products (good and services); 4. Legitimatisation of organisational activities; 5. Harnessing and co-ordination skills; and 6. Co-ordinating the relationship of the organisation publics. ### BASIC CHARACTERISTICS OF MANAGEMENT In an attempt to further aid those who start the study of management to have a thorough grasp of the subject, it becomes pertinent at this point to identify the basic characteristics of management. Although the ideas in this section might have been touched in what has been discussed so far, it makes a logical approach to summarise these characteristics. Let us examine these characteristics. * **Management is Purposeful:** Management can only be studies by analysing a "purposive organisation. This means an organisation having specific objectives(s). Management has to do with achieving specific goals. It is this achievement that measures the extent of the management's success. When a person has a group of subordinates reporting to him, it does not necessarily mean that he is a good or successful manager. Management is deemed to exist only when the specified objective(s) of the group endeavour has/have been accomplished. Take an example. If Mr. Ibelema, a Local Government Chairman, succeeds to convene a meeting of all the able-bodied men in his town, and tells them of his plan to use their labour in building a wall to surround their town to protect the inhabitants from nocturnal attacks and armed robbers, his success as a manager can only be measured when the wall shall have been successfully erected. * **Management Causes Things to Happen:** Sometimes people think of (or know) what should be done for the good of the community, but they realise that their wishes will not be done if there is no management. It is only when a manager springs up to focus the attention and efforts of the group or executing the contemplated action that the desired thing will be done. The manager, therefore, must know what to do, when and where to start, and how to follow-up. In some cases, a manager may not "win a popularity contest", but will be respected by members of his organisation. He has to appreciate members of his organisation, like, and help or assist them in whatever way necessary. When they realise that management is assisting them to accomplish something, they will in turn be glad to yield their obedience and put in effort that can lead to mission accomplishment. * **Management is People-centered:** This means that whatever is accomplished by management is by, with, and through the contributions of the efforts of many. No manager can ever do all things alone and accomplish the (is corporate objective. He has to work with others. Working with people is, however, more difficult than it sounds. When a specialist after many years becomes a manager, he quickly realises that his duties will shift from specialised practice into securing the co-operation of his group to accomplish set goals. It is important, therefore, that every specialist should know when to shift in the expected behaviour, when he practices his trade. and when he enters the administrative cadre. * **Management Pertains More to Activity Than to a Person or Group:** Although popular usage tends to make the work "management" more acceptable, it appears a more precise and descriptive term is “managing." Management is not a concrete or visible object. It is an activity like singing, dancing, or eating. To refer to a social or political group of people as management seems therefore to be an error, though such a usage is popular. Those practising management can be aptly referred to as "managers or executives". The fact that management as a field of knowledge can be studied, and its skill and application acquired, lends much significance to this thought. * **Management Effectiveness Requires certain Knowledge, Skill and Practice:** It is obvious that technical skill is required in accomplishing an assigned task; but basically the manager does not require any specialised technical expertise. Nevertheless, it is common to notice that many practicing managers were once technical experts in their various fields before becoming managers. But, the important thing, of course is that when one becomes a manager, to be effective he must possess some basic skills. For example, there is a lot of difference between getting a teacher to teach and knowing how to teach, or between getting a wine-taper to tap and knowing how to tap. * **Management is Intangible:** Management is an invisible force. We experience its presence (absence) by the good (hod) result of efforts. For example if you enter an organization and notice that there is no discipline among the employees you find, no good network of communications whereby the customers are directed as to what to do or where to go, you will hear many people say, "Ah! The management of this place is inefficient". This has been true of many of our airports, post offices, railway stations, and many other establishment. * **Managers are not Necessarily Owners:** In some cases, the Managers of an organisation are the owners. Yet, in many other instances, the owners are different from the managers. The owners have titles to the assets of the organisation while the managers are only hired to work for some salary or wages. If the organisation collapses, the managers simply lose their jobs in the organisation and apply for employment elsewhere, while the owners absorb the loss. For instance, when the Opobo Boat Yard, shipbuilding folded up, it was the state that suffered the loss, while the managers scattered to find other jobs for themselves. * **Management is not Synonymous with the Computer:** The computer is a mechanic instrument that simply aids the manager . (a human) in arriving at decisions. The computer furnishes the manager with necessary information and facilitates analysis of complex phenomena. But, the manager is to be aware of the type of data he feeds into the computer in the light of the result he expects. The computer cannot think and therefore cannot discriminate between relevant and irrelevant data. Its major job is to process the data. This means that the manager must use his discretionary judgement in evaluating and interpreting the data which he will command the computer to process. However, it must be noted that a decision based on wrong data can never be right. * **Management is Associated with Group Effort:** Although we sometimes talk of managing personal affairs, a more important and wider concept of management usually refers to a situation where many people work together towards a goal. For example, management can be seen to exist when a group of people works together, though in different capacities and departments, to render a given service within a given time, using given resources. Such is also the case in a flour mill or fertiliser company. * **Management is a Means of Influencing Human Life:** Management exerts much impact upon its environment. Competent management is capable of improving the organisation's environment, the community from which the workers come, and the country of operation. It can generate favourable actions and inspire men and women to better standard of living. With adequate management, past and present disappointments and frustration need not be taken for granted and accepted passively. Good management can displace despair with hope, backsliding with progress, and catering pauperism with invigorating opulence. * **The Manager is hot the Doer:** In an organisation, some people are actually responsible for producing the goods or services for which the customers pay. The manager is not directly associated with such group of employees. His responsibility involves establishing and maintaining conducive atmosphere for those that produce (the operatives) to perform effectively and efficiently. Therefore the manager need not be "the technician".