Principles of Management

Management:
Principles and Practice

Unit I

Functions of Management and its Evolution

  Learning Objectives:

    • Introduction to Management
    • Definition of Management
    • Is Management a Science?
    • Is Management an Art?
    • Is Management a Profession?
    • Why management?
    • Management Process
    • Forerunners of Modern Management
    • Modern Thinkers.

Introduction to Management:

The Industrial Revolution I Europe affected a great impetus to the growth and diversification of business enterprises. Replacement of human and animal power by machines, new inventions and increased demand for goods led to expansion of commercial undertakings and the establishment of branches in the foreign countries.   The rapid developments achieved in the field of communication, transportation, automation and energy sources immensely influenced modern industrial life.

All the major achievements of society have been made possible through organized effort.   Men have recognized the need for organized work when he realized that single-handedly he couldn’t achieve anything due to his inherent limitations – biological, mental and psychological and social.

Such organized effort is found in the production of goods and services by business enterprises.   Management is an essential in put in all organized endeavor.   It involves harnessing of resources and integrating human effort.   Thus, management is a dynamic life-giving element in every organization.   Management is not restricted to factory, shop or office.   It is necessary for business firms, government enterprises, educational and health services, military organizations, trade associations and so on.

The emergence of giant corporations in large numbers has necessitated the growth of management as a discipline.   As a discipline, it has drawn knowledge, tools and techniques from a number of disciplines and that is why it is called an interdisciplinary.

Definition of Management... [continues]

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