Management is the backbone of coordinating resources behind the scenes to power organizations forward. Like a sports coach rallying their team around a game plan to win, management enables companies to transform ideas into impact on scale.
Yet it often operates under a veil of mystery. This comprehensive guide will demystify what management means across industries and organizations of all sizes.
Check out our video on What Is International Business Management? To enhance your understanding!
What is Management?
Management refers to the process of administering and coordinating resources effectively to accomplish organizational goals. The core pillars involve planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and monitoring to optimize people, processes, budgets, and more.
Let’s break it down using a birthday party example:
- The party planner first sets goals (throw an epic birthday bash!). They make a budget, create tasks like food, decorations, and entertainment, and delegate them to friends.
- On party day, the planner directs the setup and checks that everything goes smoothly. If the cake doesn’t arrive, they adapt by getting cupcakes. If guests drift toward boredom, they organize games to get their energy back up.
- Finally, they review with the group what worked and what didn’t, celebrating the organizing victory while noting improvements for future parties.
This simplified scenario showcases management’s nuts and bolts to coordinate resources for accomplishing goals, learning, and adapting along the way.
Now, let’s examine why management is so critical.
Expand your managerial skills and propel your career by completing these 11+ Best Project Management Certification
Have a look at this blog on What is Product Management?
Importance of Management
Management is the steering wheel that enables organizations to carry out strategy efficiently. Without it, great ideas may never materialize or scale successfully. From tiny startups to Fortune 500 companies, skilled management allows companies to:
- Achieve goals using optimal resources in balanced departments and through the execution of plans
- Make informed decisions with accurate monitoring systems and analytics
- Save costs by eliminating redundancies and wasted efforts
- Motivate teams by connecting work to a larger vision and clarifying roles
- Identify issues quickly with key performance indicator (KPI) monitoring to rapidly respond and improve
- Uphold standards around quality, brand, ethics, and legal compliance
- Coordinate complex activities on schedule and within budget parameters
- Cultivate talent through training programs tailored to strengthen capabilities
- Spark innovation by analyzing customer data to guide new offerings
- Balance stability and agility while adapting to market changes when necessary
Without adept management, organizations risk disjointed workflows, wasted resources, limited innovation, lackluster products, and disengaged, unproductive teams. Strong leadership prevents these pitfalls by leveraging management best practices honed over decades.
Expand your managerial skills and propel your career. Join our Executive PG Certification in General Management by IIM Ranchi today!
Characteristics of Management
- Continuous: This indicates that the management continues for the time that the company is in operation. Each manager in an organization is required to carry out the various duties in a sequence.
- Intangible: Management is not a tangible product. This means that you cannot touch or see “management,” but its presence can change the way an organization functions. Good management helps organizations achieve their goals, while bad management makes an organization suffer.
- Dynamic: Management should be dynamic. They should be able to adapt according to the constantly changing market. For example, restaurant management should be able to cope with online food ordering trends.
- Multidimensional: A management being multidimensional means they should possess at least surface-level knowledge of all the domains it is managing. A good manager works closely with all the teams.
Learn more about how PRINCE2 is being adopted for Business Project Management
Understand about Risk Mitigation from this blog
Functions of Management
Henri Fayol pioneered modern management by studying successful enterprises. He established fourteen principles as invaluable guideposts that still hold up today. A few key takeaways from Fayol’s management principles include:
- Organization: It has structure, order, and coordination.
- Top-Down Authority: Management has decision-making power.
- Unity of Command: Employees report to one supervisor.
- Teamwork: It fosters interdependent collaboration.
- Fair Compensation: Incentivize and reward productivity
- Stability During Change: Strike balance as needed.
- Initiative: Leaders should actively solve problems.
By internalizing core concepts, managers can optimize workflows, empower employees, execute strategies, and adapt to opportunities and challenges.
Get to know how to write a SOP for Business Management!
Key Functions of a Manager
Hence, as we’ve outlined the functions of management, you might wonder how these align with the role of a manager. A manager leads a team and oversees company operations. Their role significantly contributes to the stability of management. Let’s explore a few key functions of a manager.
- Planning: It involves setting goals and strategies for the long-term growth of the company.
- Motivating: A manager should motivate the employees during times of crisis and tight deadlines.
- Evaluating: A manager should be able to efficiently evaluate and measure progress and halts and accordingly work towards the achievement of goals.
Also learn about MBA in Business Management
Get 100% Hike!
Master Most in Demand Skills Now !
Understand what are deliverables from this blog.
Management Objectives
Management principles act as a guiding light, whereas the destination manager’s progress explains management objectives. It can span from financials to social responsibility across three categories. Let us get an insight into these three categories:
Organizational Objectives: These objectives meet company goals around production, services, quality, growth, profits, and social and environmental impact.
Social Objectives: Ethical decisions, embracing diversity, equity, and inclusion, and uplifting local communities are social objectives in management.
Personnel Objectives: These objectives create engaging work environments that help employees develop skills to advance their careers.
Skilled management that balances these objectives brings success. It enables firms to purposefully move the needle while supporting personal and collective growth.
Learn Amazon’s style of management with our blog on the STAR interview method. Get to know how to ace the behavioral management process.
Levels of Management
The level of management corresponds to the hierarchy in an organization with respect to employees. It is mainly based on the role and hierarchy of managers. Their responsibilities depend on what part of the organization they operate within, spanning strategic to tactical capacities across three tiers.
Top-Level Managers
- Titles: CEO, President, Vice President
- Responsibilities: Set a long-term vision and strategy for the overall company
- Decisions: Corporate direction, new markets to expand into, high-level budgets, etc.
Mid-Level Managers
- Titles: Regional Managers, Heads of Business Units
- Responsibilities: Oversee departments/regions and operational success
- Decisions: Implement corporate strategy, allocate resources, etc.
Frontline Managers
- Titles: Supervisors, Team Leads
- Responsibilities: Direct daily operations through frontline workers
- Decisions: Schedule shifts, address performance issues, etc.
Think of the organizational chart as a pyramid; higher levels focus on broader strategy, while middle and frontline managers keep day-to-day operations running smoothly.
You can also explore What is Retail Management? blog from Intellipaat for more reading on the topic
Qualities of Effective Managers
While specific responsibilities differ by level, stellar managers consistently embody core competencies. These qualities of a manager create proper management in an organization.
- Leadership: A good manager should be a good leader. They should inspire, engage, and develop teams.
- Strategic Thinking: An effective manager should be a strategist. They should anticipate changes and spot opportunities efficiently.
- Innovative Problem-Solving: A manager should be efficient in assessing issues and implementing solutions accordingly. You can refer to this blog from Intellipaat for more information
- Accountability: Committing to goals and tracking outcomes shows the accountability of a manager.
- Collaboration: A manager should ensure the cooperation and collective success of teams. You can refer to this blog from Intellipaat for more information
- Empathy: An effective manager should listen actively and seek to understand perspectives.
- Agility: A good manager should be able to adjust plans nimbly as circumstances evolve.
These culminating soft skills separate good from great managers, especially when balanced through changing times. You can refer to this Top Leadership Theories to Understand and Apply blog from Intellipaat for more information.
Also learn about Conflict Management
Management Styles
Beyond capabilities, managers operate in different styles as well. Common approaches to management styles include:
- Visionary: Share future vision to inspire, best during turnarounds
- Coaching: Mentor individuals to excel, effective for rising talent
- Democratic: Build consensus before deciding, useful for new initiatives
- Pacesetting: Drive challenging standards through example, best for innovations
- Directive: Establish clear instructions and norms, ideal in crises
Effective management determines the most optimal style per situation to get the best from teams.
You can have a look at this Top 15 Project Management Skills to Master in 2024 blog for more reading.
Differences Between Management and Administration
The terms “management” and “administration” are often confused with each other. While they exhibit certain similarities, they possess distinguishing features in the working of an organization. Let’s have a look into their differences for a better understanding of the concepts.
Understand about Planning Poker – An agile planning technique
| Management | Administration |
| Focuses on achieving organizational goals by planning, directing, and controlling resources | Establishes policies, rules, procedures, and guidelines for overall functioning |
| Concerned with the implementation and execution of plans | Involves decision-making and providing high-level guidance |
| Deals with operational aspects and supervising employees | Focuses on strategic aspects and long-term planning |
| Leads and motivates teams toward specific objectives | Formulates and implements organizational policies |
| Managers accountable for team/department performance | Administrators accountable for overall organizational performance |
You can refer to additional points from this blog Management Vs. Administration: What’s the Difference?.
Careers in Management
Having a career in management can lead to various job roles like social media manager, marketing manager, HR manager, sales manager, operations manager, finance manager, engineering manager, etc. Let’s have a look at the national average salaries of these job roles below:
Understand the differnece between Project manager and Program manager
| Job Role | Average Salary in India |
| Social Media Manager | ₹3,01,870 per year |
| Marketing Manager | ₹3,50,172 per year |
| Human Resource Manager | ₹3,61,987 per year |
| Sales Manager | ₹4,65,917 per year |
| Operations Manager | ₹5,45,916 per year |
| Finance Manager | ₹7,41,064 per year |
| Engineering Manager | ₹9,21,304 per year |
Understand the roles and respnsibilities of a project manager
Conclusion
Behind every great product, thriving company, or impact organization lies adept management coordinating its inner workings. It convenes the right people, resources, systems, and culture to harmoniously execute strategy and vision. Management gives wings to ideas, transforming them into tangible, real-world value.
For expert training in management principles, management practices, management methodologies, etc., check out Intellipaat’s Executive Post-Graduate Certification in General Management.
If you have any questions regarding the topic, check out our Intellipaat community page.