Introduction : It is very difficult to accuratelydefine management. There is no universally accepted definition of management.Management involves both acquisition and application of knowledge. It does notgo by rule of thumb or intuition alone even though it is considered to be anextension of common sense. Hence, management is a combination of both an artand a science. The scientific approach lies in decision-making, planning and inthe appropriate use of technology.
The artistic approach to management can be found in the tasksof communicating, leadership and goal-setting. A few commonly used definitionsof management are given below:
• Managing is an art or process of getting things donethrough the efforts of other people.
• Managing is the art of creation and maintenance of aninternal environment in an enterprise where individuals, working together ingroups, can perform efficiently and effectively towards the attainment of groupgoals.
• Management is the process of setting and achieving goalsthrough the execution of five basic management functions (i.e. Planning,Organising, Staffing, Directing and Controlling) that utilise human, financialand material resources.
• Management is a process or an activity that brings togetherseveral varied resources like persons, materials, techniques and technologiesto accomplish a task or tasks.
• Management, as a distinct field of study, is also the bodyof organised knowledge which underlies the art of management.
What arevarious principles of management? How are modern organization different fromtypical classical organizations
Taylor’s Principles
The fundamental principles that Taylor saw underlying thescientific approach to management may be summarised as follows:
• Replacing rules of thumb with science (organisedknowledge);
• Obtaining harmony in group action, rather than discord;
• Achieving cooperation of human beings, rather than chaoticindividualism;
• Working for maximum output, rather than restricted output;and
• Developing all workers to the fullest extent possible fortheir own and their company’s highest prosperity.
It may be noted that these basic principles of Taylor are notfar from the fundamental beliefs of the modern manager, even though some of thetechniques Taylor and his colleagues and followers developed in order to puthis philosophy and principles into practice, had certain mechanistic aspects.
What arevarious principles of management? How are modern organization different fromtypical classical organizations
Fayol’s Principles
Noting that the principles of management are flexible, notobsolete and must be usable regardless of changing and special conditions,Fayol listed fourteen principles based on his experience. They are summarisedbelow:
• Division of work: Specialisation allows workers andmanagers to acquire an ability, sureness, and accuracy which will increaseoutput. More and better work will be produced with the same effort.
• Authority: The right to give orders and the power to exactobedience are the essence of authority. Its roots are in the person and theposition. It cannot be conceived of apart from responsibility.
• Discipline: Discipline is composed of obedience,application, energy, behaviour and outward marks of respect between employersand employees. It is essential to any business. Without it no enterprise canprosper. It is what leaders make it.
• Unity of command: For any action whatsoever, an employeeshould receive orders from one superior only. One person, one boss. In no caseis there adaptation of a social organism to a duality of command.
• Unity of direction: One head and one plan should lead agroup of activities. It is necessary that all sing the same objective and thatis one head, one plan.
• Subordination of individual interest to general interest:The interest of one person or group in a business should not prevail over thatof the organisation.
What are variousprinciples of management? How are modern organization different from typicalclassical organizations
• Remuneration of personnel: The price of services renderedshould be fair and should be satisfactory to both employees and employer. Alevel of pay depends on an employee’s value to the organisation and on factorsindependent of an employee’s worth - such as cost of living, availability ofpersonnel and general business conditions.
Modern organization different from typical classicalorganizations, in terms of practices of various principles of management
Stability
Modern organizations are moredynamic with multiple business strategies. Believing that traditionalorganizations are stable this might be true, and since their activities areplanned upfront it does not allow for progress and change, meaning these strategiescan become outdated
Flexibility
Unlike traditional organizationswhich are fixed, inflexible and planned, modern organizations are more flexiblefor change in every aspect of their work environment: from knowledge andskills, to approaches and workflows.
Risk management
Traditional organizations maintainspecific policies and standards in order to mitigate any kind of risk. They arerisk-averse, unlike modern enterprises which are risk-takers with well-definedcalculations which assess risks from multiple dimensions. This is not onlyapplied for a given issue at a certain point in time that has already occurred,instead, they look at the possibility of potential risk.
Technology
Traditional organizations arecentralized and (too) careful to accept advanced methodology and technology.With this rapid pace in technological innovation, the chances to survive withever-changing market demands are much harder, maybe even impossible. Goingmodern means switching to a contemporary mindset, focused on what is happeningnow. Companies that do not accept technological modernization and new ways ofworking will be anchored in the past.
To keep up with these dynamicmarket demands, organizations need to transform their business by introducingnew products and services with digital signatures and augment their existingportfolio to fit in the digital ecosystem.
