Management is the process of planning, organising, staffing, directing and controlling the enterprise resources efficiently and effectively for achieving the goals of the organisation. Effectiveness in management is concerned with doing the right task, completing activities and achieving goals. Efficiency means doing the task correctly and with minimum cost.
Characteristics: The key features of management are: (i) goal oriented process (ii) all pervasive (iii) multidimensional (iv) continuous process (v) group activity (vi) dynamic function (vii) tangible force.
Objectives: Management fulfils three basic objectives: organisational, social and personal.
Importance: Management is important because it helps in achieving group goals, increases efficiency, creates a dynamic organisation, helps achieve personal objectives and contributes to the development of society.
Nature: Management is a combination of an organised body of knowledge (science) and its skillful application (art). Although it does not satisfy all the requirements of a profession, it is to a large extent professional in character.
Levels: Management is considered a three-tier activity. The top management focuses on determination of objectives and policies, middle management attempts to achieve these objectives through the effort of other managers and supervisory or operational management directly oversees the efforts of the workforce.
Functions: All managers perform the following interrelated functions: Planning, Organising, Staffing, Directing and Controlling.
Coordination: Coordination is the essence of management. It is the process of achieving unity of action among interdependent activities and departments of an organisation.