Management - Art or Science

MANAGEMENT in business and human organization activity is simply the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals. Management comprises planning, organizing, staffing, leading or directing, and controlling an organization (a group of one or more people or entities) or effort for the purpose of accomplishing a goal. Resourcing encompasses the deployment and manipulation of human resources, financial resources, technological resources and natural resources.

Basic functions of management

Management operates through varios function, often classified as planning, organizing, leading/motivating and controlling:

• Planning: deciding what needs to happen in the future (today, next week, next

month, next year, over the five years, etc) and generating plans for action;

• Organizing: making optimum use of the resources required to

enable the successful carrying out of plans;

• Staffing: job analyzing, recruitment and hiring individuals for appropriate jobs;

• Leading/Motivating: exhibiting leadership and motivational skills in order to

encourage others to play an effective part in achieving plans and ensure willing participation in the organization in the parts of workers;

• Controlling: monitoring, checking progress against plans, which may need

modification based on feedback.

The art ad science of management

One of the enduring questions in the field of management is whether it is an art or a science. Webter’s College Dictionary defines an art as “skill in conducting any human activity” and science as “any skill or technique that reflects a precise application of facts or a principle”.

Reflected in the differences in these definitions is the use of precision in science, in that there is a particular prescribed way in which a manager should act. Thus, management as a science would indicate that in practice, managers use a specific body of information and facts to guide their behaviors, but that management as an art requires no specific body of knowledge, only skill. Conversely, those who believe management is an art are likely to believe that there is no specific way to teach or understand management, and that it is a skill borne of personality and ability.

Those who believe in management as an art are likely to believe that certain people are more predisposed to be effective managers than are others and that some people cannot be taught to be effective managers. That is even with an understanding of management research and an education in management, some people will not be capable of being effective practicing managers.