State and explain any four characteristics of management.

Characteristics/Features/Nature of Management

Management is a set of activities directed towards the attainment of goals. It has certain characteristics as discussed below.

1. Universal and pervasive: In the modern competitive world, every organization such as a family, business organization, not-for-profit organization, and government organization requires management for effectiveness and survival. Even an individual requires management to be successful. Without proper management, it is almost impossible for Principles of Management

organizations and individuals to get success in any situation. The management principles and techniques are applied throughout the world in all types of organizations. Hence, management is universal and pervasive in nature.

2. Goal oriented: Goal is the expected outcome of an organization over a certain period of time. Every organization is established for achieving certain goals. All the managerial activities are directed towards achieving the goals. Hence, management is goal oriented.

3. Continuous process: Organizations are going concerns. In other words, they are established for an indefinite period of time. Management is concerned with identifying the organizational problems and solving them with best possible measures. Hence, management is a continuous process which exists as long as the organizations exist.

4. Multi-dimensional activity: Management is multi-dimensional in nature. It is not confined to the management of people and other resources only. It also involves management of system, processes and operations. Hence, management is a multi-dimensional activity.

5. Group activity: Management is more concerned with group activities. It involves the use of teams to get the activities done to achieve the goals. The individual efforts are coordinated into groups.

6. Dynamic function: An organization exists in a dynamic environment. The environmental factors such as political, economic, socio-cultural, technological, legal, ecological and global factors are constantly changing. The changes in environmental factors have a major impact on the organization's growth and performance. The management of an organization should address the environmental dynamism so that opportunities are maximized and threats are minimized. This way, management remains as a dynamic function.

7. Both a science and an art: Science is a systematic body of knowledge. It is based on principles and facts. Art is the application of knowledge and skill for desired results. It is the use of the general theoretical principles for achieving the best possible results.

Management combines the features of both science as well as art. It is a science because it has an organized and systematic body of knowledge. is an art because it requires certain skills to apply the knowledge into It practice. Science provides the knowledge and art deals with the application of knowledge.

8. A profession: A profession may be defined as an occupation that requires specialized knowledge, qualification and abilities. Over the past few decades, factors such as the growing size of organizations, separation of ownership from management, and growing competition have led to an increased demand for professionally qualified managers. Due to these factors, the task of manager has been quite specialized and professional.

9. Multi-disciplinary: Management is multi-disciplinary in nature. It includes knowledge from various disciplines such as economics, statistics, mathematics, anthropology, psychology, sociology, ecology, operation management, and history. Management integrates concepts from these disciplines for managing the organizations.