What is Management? Definition of Management

Harold Koontz and Heinz Weihrich define management as “the process of designing and maintaining an environment in which individuals, working together in groups, efficiently accomplish selected aims.”

Louis E. Boone and David L. Kurtz define management as “the use of people and other resources to accomplish objectives.”

Dalton E. McFarland defines management as “a process, by which managers create, direct, maintain, and operate purposive organizations through systematic, coordinated, cooperative human effort.”

Mary Parker Follet termed management as “the act of getting things done through people.”

Definitions by Follet and Louis E. Boone and Kurtz call attention to the fact that managers achieve organizational goals by getting others to do the necessary tasks. The other two definitions suggest that management is much more than “just getting the work done” and suggest the following aspects of management

1. Managers carry out the functions of planning, organizing, staffing, leading and controlling: Henry Fayol was the first management thinker to outline the five basic functions carried out by managers. Every manager performs these basic functions. These functions are discussed in detail in the later part of this chapter.

2. Management is essential to any kind of organization: Wherever there are groups of people working together to achieve some common objectives, it becomes essential to guide, organize and control them. The term ‘management’ applies to any organization irrespective of the size or nature of operations. The prime concern of a CEO of a multinational company, the General Manager of a hotel, the first-level supervisor, the manager of a cricket team and the student president in a college is to manage their people and resources effectively.