What is management?

In a business or organization, management refers to the function that coordinates everybody’s efforts to achieve goals using available resources effectively and efficiently. Management can refer to either the people who manage, or the function of managing.

Management includes leading or directing, staffing, organizing, planning and controlling a company to achieve a goal or reach a target.

The basic function of management in business is to get the employees to work together so that goals and objectives can be achieved.

For example, a manager who is in charge of building a bridge has to coordinate the efforts of his or her team and ensure all members get the resources required to get the job done. The manager is held responsible if the goal is not met.

Nasdaq.com defines management as: “The people who administer a company, create policies, and provide the support necessary to implement the owners’ business objectives.”

Management versus Leadership: while a managers’ and leaders’ jobs share many similarities, their main differences are: 1. The manager’s aim is to coordinate. 2. That of a leader is to motivate and inspire.

Etymology of the word management

The English verb to “manage” comes from the Italian word to handle maneggiare, which derives from the Latin word manus, meaning ‘hand’.

The French word mesnagement, which later became ménagement, influenced the meaning of the word “management” in England in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Management is said to have four basic functions:

Planning: selecting the tasks that need to be done to meet goals, outlining how these tasks are carried out, and when they should be done.

Organizing: this involves deciding who does what (in the tasks outlined in the planning stage). It is the creation of mechanisms to put a plan into action.

Influencing: motivating the team members, guiding their activities so that the goals are more likely to be achieved. Influencing is a vital component of effective leadership and improving productivity.

Controlling: involves measuring performance by gathering and examining data, comparing how well employees and resources (such as machinery) are performing with what was planned, and determining what to about it if there are discrepancies.

Famous quotes about management

John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937), an American business magnate and philanthropist, said: “Good management consists in showing average people how to do the work of superior people.”

Lido Anthony “Lee” Iacocca (born 1924), an American businessman who engineered the Ford Mustang and Ford Pinto cars and revived the Chrysler Corporation in the 1980s, said: “Management is nothing more than motivating other people.”

Jack Welch (born 1935) was head of General Electric company between 1981 and 2001. During his tenure, the company’s value increased by over 4,000%. Mr. Welch said: “You can’t grow long-term if you can’t eat short-term. Anybody can manage short. Anybody can manage long. Balancing those two things is what management is.”

Anthea Turner (born 1960), a British TV presenter and media personality, said: “The first rule of management is delegation. Don’t try and do everything yourself because you can’t.”

Video – What is Management?

In this tutorial, Britt Andreatta explores business management – the use of key skills and practices designed to help an organization reach its highest potential.