Concept Of Management

A theoretical scope of the term management is drawn from the Internet where the definition written by Mary Parker Follet (1868-1933) in the early twentieth century is conceptualized. She defined management “as the art of getting things done through people”. Analysis of this definition shows that in any organization certain things are to be done but through people who work in the organization. Moreover, this things has to be done functionally because one can also think of management functionally as the action of measuring a quantity on regular basis and of adjusting some initial plan, or as the actions taken to reach one’s intended goal.

Henri Fayol (1949) considers management to consist of five functions

· Panning

· Organizing

· Leading

· Coordinating

· Controlling

These functions form the basis of which the act of management can be used to achieve any objective. Planning has to do with deciding what needs to happen in the future and generating plans of action. Organizing means making optimum use of the resources required enabling the successful carrying out of plans. Leading is exhibiting skills in these areas for getting others to play an effective part in achieving plans. Controlling means monitoring or checking progress against plans, which may need modification, based on available feedback.

Managers of businesses or firms linked the concept of management with the activities and actions performed. This linkage is expressed in the analysis of scholars who stated that Managers are charged with the responsibility of taking actions that will make it possible for individual’s to make their best contributions to group objective. Management thus applies to small and large organizations, to profit and non-profit enterprises, to manufacturing as well as service industries. Weihrich and Koontz (1993) expanded their own definition of management, which is described as “the process of designing and maintaining an environment in which individuals, working together in groups, efficiently accomplish selected aims”. The expansion is thus.

· People carryout the functions of planning, organizing, staffing, leading and controlling as managers.

· In any kind of organization, small or big management functions could be applied even to managers at all organization level.

· In the application of management function, the arm of all managers is the same, which is to create a surplus for the organization.

· Management in organizations is concerned with productivity, which implies effective and efficient use of resources.

In summary, the concept of management is referred to as one process, which brings into play various functions applied in the utilization of the resources of an organization so as to ensure effectiveness and efficiency