good management essay

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What Great Managers Do

• Marcus Buckingham

Much has been written about the qualities that make a great manager, but most of the literature overlooks a fundamental question: What does a great manager actually do ? While there are countless management styles, one thing underpins the behavior of all great managers. Above all, an exceptional manager comes to know and value the particular quirks and abilities of her employees. She figures out how to capitalize on her staffers’ strengths and tweaks her environment to meet her larger goals.

Such a specialized approach may seem like a lot of work. But in fact, capitalizing on each person’s uniqueness can save time. Rather than encourage employees to conform to strict job descriptions that may include tasks they don’t enjoy and aren’t good at, a manager who develops positions for his staff members based on their unique abilities will be rewarded with behaviors that are far more efficient and effective than they would be otherwise.

This focus on individuals also makes employees more accountable. Because staffers are evaluated on their particular strengths and weaknesses, they are challenged to take responsibility for their abilities and to hone them.

Capitalizing on a person’s uniqueness also builds a stronger sense of team. By taking the time to understand what makes each employee tick, a great manager shows that he sees his people for who they are. This personal investment not only motivates individuals but also galvanizes the entire team.

Finally, this approach shakes up existing hierarchies, which leads to more creative thinking.

To take great managing from theory to practice, the author says, you must know three things about a person: her strengths, the triggers that activate those strengths, and how she learns. By asking the right questions, squeezing the right triggers, and becoming aware of your employees’ learning styles, you will discover what motivates each person to excel.

Great leaders tap into the needs and fears we all share. Great managers, by contrast, perform their magic by discovering, developing, and celebrating what’s different about each person who works for them. Here’s how they do it.

“The best boss I ever had.” That’s a phrase most of us have said or heard at some point, but what does it mean? What sets the great boss apart from the average boss? The literature is rife with provocative writing about the qualities of managers and leaders and whether the two differ, but little has been said about what happens in the thousands of daily interactions and decisions that allows managers to get the best out of their people and win their devotion. What do great managers actually do ?

• Marcus Buckingham is a researcher of high performance at work, co-creator of StrengthsFinder and StandOut, and a coauthor of Nine Lies About Work: A Freethinking Leader’s Guide to the Real World (Harvard Business Review Press). His most recent book is Love + Work: How to Find What You Love, Love What You Do, and Do It for the Rest of Your Life (Harvard Business Review Press).

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Introductory essay

Written by the educators who created Leading Wisely, a brief look at the key facts, tough questions and big ideas in their field. Begin this TED Study with a fascinating read that gives context and clarity to the material.

Understanding management means understanding people. What motivates us to engage deeply and perform powerfully at work? How do we inspire that in teams? What are the best ways to organize ourselves to exploit opportunities and solve problems? These are critical questions for all leaders who share the goal of thriving in a global, digital, fast-paced future.

There are countless ways we can approach those topics, and diverse perspectives to consider—as is evident from the thousands of management manuals, podcasts, executive seminars and more. For example, among the TED Talks included in Leading Wisely, Itay Talgam shares a lyrical metaphor on the style of the great conductors, while Clay Shirky delivers a statistical deconstruction of the power of informal networks. It's precisely this enormous scope and variety that defines the reality of modern management and which makes it so fascinating, and so vital. Modern thinking on management — from teaching and research inside universities to the way the world's most revered businesses organize themselves — has continuously evolved throughout the 20th and early 21st century. What's more, the pace of this evolution is increasing: the TED Talks in this collection cover a number of topics that didn't even exist ten years ago! This means successful managers must learn quickly, forecast trends and execute wisely.

Division of labor and beyond: Management theory is born

Industrialization shaped the work of the first management theorists in the US and Europe, where efforts to perfect new production processes gave management a practical focus and scientific method. Mining engineer Henri Fayol was one of the first to set out clear principles of management, which were formed through experiences organizing labor and machinery to extract coal in the most cost-efficient way. In the early decades of the 20th century Fayol identified six core principles of management: forecasting, planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating, and controlling. A century later, these key principles still shape our ideas about management, even though we may implement them in more sophisticated ways.

In Fayol's time, managers enacted these six principles through authority and discipline, and the regimentation of that approach created as many problems as it did advantages. For example, perfecting production techniques through the division of labor involved a systematic breaking-down of production into repetitive, individual tasks, or 'piece work'. This formed the foundation of a new mass-production economy and significantly improved the standard of living for many workers and consumers--but the work was often tedious and didn't draw upon the worker's ideas or abilities in any meaningful way.

Fayol's contemporary, Henry Ford, provides the most famous example. In his quest to mass-produce an affordable automobile, Ford identified 84 specific steps required to assemble the Model T and hired Frederick Taylor, the creator of "scientific management," to conduct time and motion studies on the factory floor. In this way, Ford reasoned, he would know exactly how long it should take his workers to complete each of the 84 steps, and he could direct the exact motions each worker should use so that the assembly proceeded with maximum efficiency. Ford also reasoned that he could reduce the time spent on each task if his workers didn't have to move from one assembly to the next. So in 1913, inspired by a grain mill conveyor belt he'd seen, Ford introduced the first moving assembly line for factory production.

Only a year later, Ford surprised everyone when he announced that he would double wages and reduce working hours at his Detroit auto plant. Wall Street investors were dismayed. Media around the world reported Ford's announcement as a philanthropic gesture, or speculated that Ford was trying to create a bigger market for his Model T by creating a new middle-class American workforce. The reality? Ford realized he could lower turnover, and the costs of recruiting and training new employees, by offering better conditions and pay.

Beyond efficiency: Valuing people

When he raised wages and shortened the work day, Ford signaled that employee satisfaction was an essential element of successful management. There was a growing appetite to understand workers in this context and, more than that, to take a sociological or even anthropological viewpoint.

Although sociologists like Emile Durkheim had begun this work in the late 19th century, the backlash against division of labor gained momentum in the 1920s and '30s, when the horrors of the First World War fueled disillusionment with wide-scale mechanization. Many felt that workers were treated as machinery measured by volume of production alone.

In contrast, Elton Mayo highlighted the importance of social ties and a sense of belonging in the workplace. In Mayo's view, managers had to acknowledge these needs and listen to their employees, in order to make workers feel valued.

Mayo's ideas originated in part from his work at the Hawthorne General Electric Plant in Chicago, where he measured the effect of lighting levels on employees at the plant. Mayo found that simply taking an interest in the activities and opinions of staff produced a motivating effect—though when his work concluded and the plant returned to business as usual, productivity dropped.

Although Mayo championed a different kind of dynamic between managers and their subordinates in order to improve conditions and increase output, workers were given no real decision making power. Nevertheless, his work advanced management theory in a significant way, and decades later we can appreciate its influence on the people-oriented, more democratic operation of many modern companies like Semco. Its CEO, TED speaker Ricardo Semler, acknowledges that "it takes a leap of faith about losing control" to reorient a company so that it truly takes care of its people and treats them as its most important asset.

The new leader

As our conception of the workforce changed – from assembly lines of replaceable robots in the era of Fayol and Ford, to individuals with diverse talents to empower (and exploit) today — so has the role of the leader. The command-and-control approach – appropriate and effective in factory-like environments – has given way to newer, more nuanced approaches to leadership that lean more heavily on inspiration and persuasion.

Modern management theorist and TED speaker Simon Sinek believes that great leaders inspire action because they think, act and communicate from 'the inside out'—beginning with and focusing primarily on their core beliefs and values. Sinek suggests that people, whether they're your employees or customers, "don't buy what you do—they buy why you do it." Hiring people who understand and embrace these core beliefs and values, Sinek claims, means they don't work just for a paycheck—they work with "blood and sweat and tears."

When people see their work in this way, the rules and incentives that leaders have leaned on in the past to manage and motivate employees may be unnecessary. In fact, as TED speakers Dan Pink and Barry Schwartz observe, they may actually do harm. Pink shows through a series of surprising experiments that traditional carrot-and-stick motivators like bonuses and pay-for-performance plans can actually decrease creative thinking and employee engagement. What's more, according to Barry Schwartz, these incentives, coupled with an over-reliance on rigid procedures, "cause people to lose morale and the activity to lose morality." Schwartz believes that moral skill, moral will, and practical wisdom are absolutely essential if organizations want to deal with complex challenges in a smart and timely way.

The importance of innovation

Up to now, we've focused on how we organize resources—and in particular, human resources—to complete tasks and meet our goals. However, this alone doesn't equip managers to launch a successful startup to compete in a fast-moving global marketplace, or to keep pace with consumers' changing values, wants and needs. Innovation and marketing are central tenets of modern management, too. How do you harness market knowledge to position yourself as distinctive and essential, and to predict what people will want and use? How can you empower team members to come up with ingenious and elegant ideas?

In an earlier era, innovation often occurred in the first stage of production, which involved creating the product blueprint; innovation may also have altered the production process in order to bring costs down. But today, organizations increasingly aspire toward innovation at all stages, in order to compete and to thrive.

To enable innovation, leaders encourage a diversity of perspectives and empower employees to contribute in unconventional, 'left-field' ways; quite often, this plays out in ways that contradict the chain of command and strict discipline which characterized early management theory. For example, some companies formalize the freedom to experiment with 'left-field' ideas in programs like Google's "20% time" and Apple's "Blue Sky" program; these provide contractual 'free time' for employees to work on their own projects, which the company may later adopt and launch. (It's worth noting that this idea goes as far back as Edison, who encouraged a young Henry Ford to play around with combustion engines in his spare time while Ford worked at Edison's light bulb manufacturing plant.)

Ideas from everywhere: The new "crowd-sourced" workforce and on-call experts

Along with enabling creativity within their teams, in recent years, forward-looking organizations have become more sophisticated in harnessing participation from the public. Through social media platforms, open-source development environments and other collaborative tools, we're increasingly able to amass ideas from around the globe, and from people traditionally considered 'consumers' rather than the 'producers' of our organizations' goods and services.

This signals a profound reversal from Henry Ford's earlier efforts to gather people under one roof around a specific task; rather, as TED speaker Clay Shirky notes, we're now able to take the question or task to the people—who may not be 'employees' as we've traditionally thought of them, and who may never meet us face-to-face in our offices. Shirky predicts that in the coming decades, loosely coordinated groups will be increasingly influential and that "one arena at a time, one institution at a time" more rigidly managed organizations will move towards different and more open methods of management.

The technology that enables crowdsourced solutions also allows leaders to tap 'expert' knowledge from around the world. We have instant access to advice from thought leaders and consultants when we're overwhelmed by the array of information and the pace of innovation in today's world—but then managers must discern what's most helpful to achieve the organization's goals, filtering out what is and isn't useful. What's more, we need to be judicious about when and how we call in the experts: in her TED Talk, Noreena Hertz argues that the constant urge to defer to experts is damaging our ability to think independently and solve our own problems. Indeed, as you make your way through the talks in this TED Study, you'll need to decide for yourself what best applies to you and your team.

All work and no play: The need for balance

Today's technology enables managers and their teams to be connected to the office 24/7, if we want to be, and organizations can draw on workforces from all over the world, at short notice. This creates amazing opportunities and thorny problems for managers. For example, how should a manager interact with employees who may be scattered on several continents, working for multiple employers on several simultaneous projects?

Technology companies developed ways to manage the 'scrum' of work and organize loose networks of employees and stakeholders, in order to coordinate a wide range of activities. Outside the tech sector, these concepts are becoming increasingly central to modern management.

Even in a more standard office environment, the challenges of prioritizing and maintaining efficiency have multiplied. The stereotypical modern open-plan office with its endless meetings and distractions can make the idea of single-minded, creative problem solving seem impossible, as Jason Fried notes in his TED Talk "Why work doesn't happen at work."

It would be difficult to explore the evolution of management without also considering the evolution of work itself. How much work do we actually want to do? And how much are we able to do, before it starts to adversely affect our lives and the organizations we work for?

Striking the right balance between our professional and personal lives is becoming easier and more difficult. For example, our ability to connect to the office 24/7 provides flexibility, but it also means managers and their teams may be tempted—or expected—to put in more hours than ever before. TED speaker Nigel Marsh suggests that workers need to set and enforce their own, individual boundaries, but he doesn't let their employers off the hook: managerial (and organizational) duty of care must come into play. This is a huge societal issue, one that's measured by national governments and critical to our individual health and happiness. But it's not solely an altruistic appeal—for organizations with an eye on productivity, employee engagement and retention, it's simply smart business.

Facebook COO and TED speaker Sheryl Sandberg is particularly interested in the challenges that many women face as they advance in their professions and become wives and mothers. Although many fathers undoubtedly feel these pressures as well, Sandberg notes that by and large it's women who are dropping out of the workforce, and this means that women are all too often conspicuously absent from the top levels of governments, corporations and other organizations. Sandberg asks managers to consider what messages they're sending to the young women in their organizations, and to create ways for all people to engage fully at work so that we benefit from their diverse and valuable perspectives.

Sandberg is candid about her own struggles with work-life balance, and her example is also interesting because it touches on so many of the other issues that we've raised in this introductory essay. Facebook is a company of 7,000 employees working across 15 countries, constantly striving to meet the needs of its more than one billion users and figuring out how to harness the power of that global network. It must continuously innovate to maintain its leadership position as social media proliferate at an amazing rate. Executives like Sandberg must nurture the talent and creative thinking of team members who fuel that innovation—or risk losing them to others who may offer more appealing opportunities.

Get started

Let's begin Leading Wisely with TED speaker Itay Talgam, who uses a musical metaphor to illuminate the evolution of management and describe different leadership styles in "Lead like the great conductors".

Itay Talgam

Lead like the great conductors, relevant talks.

Simon Sinek

How great leaders inspire action.

The puzzle of motivation

Barry Schwartz

Our loss of wisdom.

Noreena Hertz

How to use experts -- and when not to.

Clay Shirky

Institutions vs. collaboration.

Sheryl Sandberg

Why we have too few women leaders.

Nigel Marsh

How to make work-life balance work.

Jason Fried

Why work doesn't happen at work.

Chip Conley

Measuring what makes life worthwhile.

109 Time Management Topics & Essay Examples

Learn about the effects of poor time management, timetables, and organizational skill! Explore this list of 106 topics about time , compiled by our experts .

⌚ How to Write a Time Management Essay: Do’s and Don’ts

🏆 best research titles about time management, 📌 most interesting time management topics to write about, 👍 good research topics about time: management & organization, ❓ time management essay questions.

When writing a Time Management Essay, it may be easy to revert to merely enumerating and explaining how to achieve perfection through various approaches. While this is an essential part of such essays, you should not forget about other aspects of it. Here are some examples of what you should do in your paper:

• Explain the intent of your essay. Are you teaching stress management tactics to save people the time they spend worrying or discipline? Your readers should be aware of your subject.
• When mentioning a tactic, explain its purpose. People will be more intent to listen to you when they understand the intent behind the ideas that you are presenting. Compare these statements: “Keeping a bullet journal helps manage time better” and “A bullet journal’s purpose is helping people get subconsciously ready for today’s tasks.” Which one attempts to clarify the process?
• Describe the mechanisms behind the outlined techniques. Doing so helps people adjust any goal-setting process to their own needs rather than blindly following it.
• Use credible sources to back up your claims. For example, when writing about mind mapping, you can reference some of the studies conducted on this method.
• If you can, give precedents of the successful implementation of the idea that you are describing. Mention people or even companies that have benefited from applying these methods to their daily working process.

All this advice should be used together with standard essay-writing rules. Outlining and brainstorming may save you, the writer, time that you would have spent on rewriting faulty paragraphs. You should do your research beforehand and structure your work so that the topics within it do not overlap.

Additionally, reference credible book and journal titles since your audience will believe factual, source-supported evidence more willingly.

Finally, when it comes to thinking about time management essay titles, choose one that is reflective of your subject and approach it. Each structural choice should help you further your thesis statement, linking to it and helping your readers follow your train of thought.

There are other things you should avoid doing when covering your topic. All of them center on the idea that time management essay topics should be respectful of the reader. Do not:

• Write about your audience as if they are incompetent. Advice that seems condescending place is often unappreciated and neglected.
• Name-drop inventors and techniques with no explanation. Doing so will only confuse your readers needlessly and make you seem unaware of your subject yourself.
• Plagiarize from anywhere, including time management essay samples. Gaining inspiration is one thing, while purposefully copying and not referencing stolen content is an academic crime.
• Leave your paragraphs inconclusive. Apart from academically referenced facts, you should also voice your own resolutions that your used sources support.
• Promise your readers a solution to all of their problems. You are merely demonstrating sample means to better anyone’s time-management. Using these methods is an entirely different thing.

Other evident don’ts are those that your instructor should outline. Do not ignore the rules of essay writing that have been stated to you explicitly, such as the maximum word count. Your essay’s structure is reflective of your discipline and time-management.

Therefore, a careless outline or a disregard for the rules demonstrates that your work has had no positive effect on you and may have the same outcome on your readers.

Want to know more paper samples? Find more at IvyPanda!

• Time Management Theories and Models Report In using the time management grid, I developed a grid and filled it with the tasks that I was supposed to accomplish.
• Time Management and Its Effect in Reducing Stress among Students One of the causes of stress among high school students and college students is the difficulty in interacting with a completely new set of students and an even larger social group within the body of […]
• Reflection on Time Management Skills While there is enough time available to improve my planning skills, I still have a long way to go to master the art of time-management.
• The Importance of Time Management Time is one of the most important resources within the operations and execution of tasks and or activities of organizations and individuals.
• Time Management at the Workplace Traditionally, time management is associated with one’s ability to accomplish more assignment and duties within a certain period of time, but often the first task for a time manages is to eliminate some of the […]
• Tools of Time Management for Students Students can write down all of the projects they need to complete and the deadlines for those. It is also crucial for individuals to study at what time of the day they can be the […]
• Procrastination and Time Management In case the available time is not properly allocated to all activities to be achieved within a given period, then the available time will not be allocated to the correct event.
• Time and Stress Management for Better Productivity Procrastination is the forwarding of events that have to be done at a specific time to another time in the future.
• Poor Time Management and Addressing Strategies I knew that I should not do it but the first time I broke the rule I did it unconsciously. In fact, because of these phone checks, I paid more attention to the phone rather […]
• Time Management of a Nurse Graduate This essay discusses why time management is a critical skill for a nurse graduate and what strategies can be employed to alleviate the impact of transition from a student to a healthcare worker.
• Time Management: Getting Things Done At any time, the individual knows the task to complete and the manner in which it is to be completed. The GTD system can easily lead to a disconnect between the tasks to be completed, […]
• Quality and Time Management Improvement Techniques Because of the lack of consistency in the types of information retrieved, the firm needs to adopt the approach that allows for arranging the existing data within the shortest amount of time.
• School Principal: Successful Time Management As the key administrator of the school, the principal is expected to set the tone for a society of learners-teachers who unreservedly exchange information, thoughts and ideas.
• Time Management in Tertiary Studies The essay endeavours to examine the importance of time management and the role of lectures in relation to tertiary studies. To start with, the essay will explore the importance of time management in the lives […]
• “Just in Time” – Philosophy of Management All the benefits of this system tend to be woven in the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of the processes that are involved.
• Time Management for Nurses It is important for healthcare professionals to find time for patients because of identifying their needs and to know what can be done to improve the situation.
• Time Management in Everyday Life Time and tide wait for none and this is a very old saying but at the very same time it is extremely important to realize and absorb the essence of the same.
• Value of Time Management First, when speaking about time management and the basic skills, it is crucial to mind the most important activities that should be performed and goals that should be achieved to guarantee the development of a […]
• Time Management for a Post-Graduate Student The various articles in these encyclopedias will help to form a basis for the research and will also act as a guide in conducting further research in other publications.
• Time Management: An Essential Skill for Top Performers According to Cornell’s system, the top column of a paper should have a cue column and a note-taking column. In this method, individuals should draw a circle in the middle of the paper and then […]
• Time Management Among Essential Student Skills It is important to realize that the learning environment is often challenging and may require the application and development of specific skills and competencies in order to experience success.
• Budget Plan: Time Management Aspects The application will not be able to diagnose this, but it will be able to warn the patient and recommend possibly going to the doctor.
• Plan-Do-Study-Act for Time Management at Home I will have to stick to a sleep schedule to change my current sleep habit, resulting in the recommended seven to eight hours every night.
• Time Management Tools in the Workplace Thus, one can intelligently distribute the available time on the number of tasks and assess productivity at the end of the day. The Medical Assisting Pocket is a tool that enables them to improve and […]
• Completion of Time Management At the same time, there is a growing feeling of helplessness in front of an avalanche of problems urgently requiring the intervention and the belief that lack of time like lack of air leads to […]
• Three Easy Ways to Improve Your Time Management For effective time management to be achieved, the level of disorganization has to be kept at the lowest level in both workplace and learning environments. As a result, there is no time wastage in moving […]
• Reconstructing for Handicapped Students: Project Time Management Originally, the reconstruction process requires the adaptation of various facilities for increasing the comfort of using them for the students with disabilities, nevertheless, the reconstruction process itself requires detailed preparation and creation of the required […]
• Concise Time Management and Personal Development Suppose that creativity can be encouraged by exploring some of the qualities and characteristics of creative thinkers and the activities/steps that can be undertaken to improve the processes involved.
• Time Management: How Developing Professional Knowledge and Abilities Impact Career Success First, it is important to assess the entire time available and then it is needed to assort the time in accordance to the need. As a result, it is important to formulate the right balance […]
• Time Management Theory and Study Skills It is during this time that a right balance between work and leisure would be the decisive factor in shaping ones future course of life.
• Researching Time Management Aspects Time management refers to the process of planning how to divide the time you have between the activities you need to perform as well as to the idea of controlling how the schedule is followed.
• Time Management Skills and Techniques Because of the lack of experience in the arrangement of activities, the experience of managing time is likely to be rather deplorable.
• Time Management Issues Among Managers The authors concluded that managers should get control over the time and content of their roles to ensure the management of their time effectively.
• Why the Poor Stewardship of Time? When asked by my teacher why I was a notorious timekeeper I used to answerer, “my home is the furthest and I could not make it early as my colleagues”.
• Time Management: How to Beat Your Procrastination? In order to manage time effectively the following solutions can be applied: The most popular solution is to make a schedule to keep track of important facts and ideas that can be of any use […]
• The Just-in-Time Management Concept The concept of Just-in-Time is a comparatively recent addition to the array of manufacturing strategies that are supposed to help reduce the waste levels in the organization, at the same time improving the product quality […]
• Students’ Time Management Strategies Students should keep track of the time they have to meet their responsibilities. The third strategy involves keeping reminders to keep students focused on their assignments and their deadlines.
• Time Management and Building Team The strength of the article is that it takes more time in explaining what a team is and what many think a team to be.
• Time Management: Lesson Pacing To begin with lesson pacing can be described as a given rate or speed at which a teacher tends to present a task to pupils in a class.
• Achieving Objectives Through Time Management
• Developing Good Time Management Skills
• Adulthood: Time Management and Transition
• Apply Time Management Technique to a Project
• Conflict Resolution and Time Management
• Time Management and Its Suitable Strategies for Adult Learners
• Unpreparedness and Time Management in the US Army
• Problems Associated with Poor Time Management for Students
• Analyzing Better Time Management Skills
• The Personality Assessment and the Time Management Section
• The Strengths and Weaknesses of Time Management and Their Relationship with Stress in the Workplace
• Becoming a Better Learner Through Time Management
• Time Management Is a Crucial Component of the Art of Nursing
• Importance of Planning and Time Management Techniques
• The Impact of Time Management and Causes of Stress in the Workplace
• Punctuality: Time Management and Cardinal Virtue
• Business and Effective Time Management Uses
• The Challenge of Time Management and Its Effects on Adult Learning
• The Interference Caused by Time Management, the Internet, and Sports on Education
• Expectations for Time Management and Involvement
• The Relationships Between Scope Definition and Time Management
• Effective Time Management: Identifying and Correcting Time Wasters
• The Importance of Time Management: Priorities, Being Organizing and Setting Goals
• Time Management Is an Important Ingredient for Success
• The Reality of the Effectiveness of Time Management from the Perspective of the Employees of the Beauty Clinic of Dentistry
• Problems with Time Management, Distractions, and Procrastination
• Effective Communication and Time Management for a Patient
• The Importance of Spoken Communication, Written Communication, and Time Management
• Effective Management Versus Effective Time Management
• Influence of Work Motivation, Leadership Effectiveness, and Time Management on Employees
• The Effects of Technology on Poor Time Management and Sleep Deprivation Among Students
• The Key Aspect of Time Management and Productivity
• The Different Techniques for Effective Time Management
• The Process of Improving Time Management
• Comparison of Time Management Perception of Students Studying at the Department of Physical Education and Sports Teaching and Program in Primary School Education
• Importance of Time Management and Deadlines to the Work of Public Relations
• The Importance of Effective Time Management
• The Relation Between Time Management and Academic Performance Among University Students
• The Importance and Challenges of Time Management for Today’s Student Leaders
• Good Study Skills and Time Management Dissertation or Thesis Complete
• How to Solve Time Management Problems?
• How Have Sports Taught Me Time Management?
• Is Procrastination a Problem of Time Management?
• What Does Time Management Mean?
• Why Is Time Management Important?
• What Time Management for Adult Students?
• How Can Technology Improve One’s Time Management Skills?
• How Can Time Management Skills Effect Educational Achievement?
• How Better Time Management Aids?
• How Can Students Improve Their Self-Discipline and Time Management Skills?
• Can Poor Time Management Make a Student-Athlete Fail?
• Why Student-Athletes Struggle with Time Management?
• What Are Important Aspects of Time Management?
• What Connection Between Time Management and Unpreparedness in the Army?
• How Does Time Management Work?
• What Does Time Management Mean to Me?
• Why College Students Use Their Time Management and Study Skills?
• What Can Time Management Bring to Your Personal Growth?
• What Are the First Two Key Steps of Controlling Time Management?
• How Can Expectations Influence Time Management?
• What Is the Biggest Academic Challenge of Time Management?
• Who’s Got the Monkey: Concept of Time Management
• What Is the Relationship Between Time Management and Stress Management?
• How Does Social Media Effect Time Management?
• Why Time Management Is a Leader, Success Is All About Growing
• How to Prioritize and Manage Time?
• How to Use Effectively Time Management Within Education?
• How to Enhance Academic Performance with Time Management
• How Can Hospitality Organizations Successfully Apply the Skills and Principles of Time Management?
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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How to write a Management Essay

Some people still think that management is a study only CEOs or actual management professionals can benefit from. This, however, could not be farther from the truth — management is a skill everyone uses, on a daily basis. Sure, organization and planning are essential for any corporation. Still, they may come in handy in daily communication with people and even in planning and assessing a variety of tasks we come across.

In a real-life business environment, any employee with management skills becomes a highly valuable asset. Even despite this, many students mistakenly believe that reading a couple of books on the subject will teach them everything they need to know about management. In practice, this is a skill that can only be mastered outside the classroom. The good news here is that having a strong theoretical background helps a lot when it comes to real-life professional environment. And, writing management essay is one of the surest ways to get this so much required knowledge. So, let’s try and see what it takes a write a great management essay that will not only get you an A+ but also give you some valuable skills for the future career.

WRITING A MANAGEMENT ESSAY: THE BASICS

A management essay is not very much different from any other academic paper. Just like any academic assignment , the primary purpose of a management essay is to assess students’ knowledge of a particular subject in question. The major difference lies in attempting to understand if the student possesses some of the practical skills, though — as compared to the vast majority of academic assignments aimed to evaluate theoretical knowledge in the first turn.

In other words, a management essay calls for some critical thinking, which, in turn, makes it a rather creative task. The first thing to focus on is the question the prompt is asking you. Your goal to see the question within a question and react with the most efficient response to the prompt. Ideally, this response should indicate a student’s ability to apply theoretical knowledge to practice. So, restating a bunch of stats and sticking to bookish terms will not do you much good in a management essay — if you plan to land a higher than a C-grade, of course.

THE STRUCTURE OF A MANAGEMENT ESSAY

Now that you understand that a management essay should highlight your ability to ACT in a real-life business environment, let’s take a closer look at the structure of this academic paper.

Even though a management essay does have some peculiarities of its own, it is still — first and foremost — an academic assignment, and it has to follow a conventional academic writing format. Here’s what a structure of any management essay should look like:

• Quickly introduces the topic of the paper and its importance
• Briefly discussed the aspects of the topic under analysis
• Presents a clearly formulated thesis statement
• Introduction of the first argument (topic sentence)
• Supporting evidence for the first argument
• Logical transition to the second argument
• Introduction of the second argument (topic sentence)
• Supporting evidence for the second argument
• Logical transition to the third argument
• Introduction of the third argument (topic sentence)
• Supporting evidence for the third argument
• Logical transition to the fourth argument (optional) or conclusion
• Logical transition to the conclusion
• Quickly restates the main points of body paragraphs
• Rephrases a thesis statement
• Proves the relevance of a thesis statement in real-life business environment

MANAGEMENT ESSAY WRITING TIPS

Now that you double-checked the structure of a management essay, it’s time to get down to writing. Here are some practical tips that will prove helpful in the process.

Introduction

An introductory paragraph of a management essay can be especially problematic for those students who rely on theoretical knowledge instead of putting their practical thinking to test. To put it simply, management is a practical skill, and so, management essay introduction cannot be based on pure theory. Even though you are to quickly introduce the problem, you are to highlight the practical meaning of the question you are about to discuss. So, right from the very start of your essay , you are to display some creative thinking.

After you’ve managed to hook the reader with the practical relevance of your subject, you can continue to a brief summary of the problem you plan to discuss. While the summary should indeed be brief (2-3 sentences tops), you are to actually present a full overview of the aspects you are going to analyze.

Finally, you are to proceed to a thesis statement, which is — basically — the main argument of your entire paper. You are going to discuss it in greater detail in the main body of your management essay.

Body paragraphs

It is incredibly important to have only one logical thought/argument per paragraph here. You cannot just jump from one idea to another, as this will seriously affect your paper flow and will disrupt the logic of your assignment. That is why you are strongly encouraged to outline your argument before you sit down to write the actual paper.

Each paragraph should start with a topic sentence that quickly sums up the gist of the whole paragraph. This technique is especially useful if your professor is not the only person who is going to read the paper. Topic sentences at the beginning of each paragraph give a chance to quickly skim through the essay without paying close attention to every sentence.

Of course, you should make sure that each new argument logically follows the preceding idea. To do so, be encouraged to use transition words — this will ensure smooth paper flow and will positively reflect on your academic score.

A conclusion is a brief summary of your management essay that does not analyze any new information. Even though you are sometimes encouraged to emphasize the possibility of further research on the subject, you are not to ask any new questions here. In fact, the main purpose of your conclusion is to make sure that every question you posed in the introductory and paragraphs has been given a comprehensive answer to.

Traditionally, a conclusion also relates the thesis and proves it right (if that was the goal of your paper). When it comes to the summary of previously analyzed points, you do not have to dig into too many details. Of course, if you are working on a lengthy research paper, it could be a wise idea to sum up the major points you’ve already analyzed — just to make sure you and the reader are still on the same page. If however, you’ve been working on a short, three to five pages, essay, you do not need to fill the conclusion with the info that is (most likely) still fresh in your reader’s mind.

CHOOSING SOURCES FOR A MANAGEMENT ESSAY

Next thing to remember is the quality of the sources you choose for an essay . Even though management is a relatively new science, do not forget that you are still working on an academic paper. So, choose your sources accordingly.

First and foremost, avoid Wikipedia. While it can be a very useful tool on the research stage, it is not a valid academic source — after all, anyone can edit its articles. Next, stay away from blog posts — these, too, are mostly written for entertaining purposes; so, they are not considered valid in the academe.

Where do you look for sources, then? You can start with respectable online magazines, like Huffington Post, for example. Previous academic publications also count, and you can find them both online and in your college/university database. A local library is also an option, even though it might not be the best one for a management essay.

Finally, you can always make use specialized search engines, like Google Scholar.

POLISHING UP YOUR ESSAY

Last but the least — do not forget to carefully proofread your work . Plus, pay attention to the formatting guidelines — even though they might seem a trifle to you, your professor will be obliged to take some points off for not complying with the academic formatting requirements.

Typically, a management essay can be structured and formatted in the variety of academic writing styles — from APA to MLA. If the assignment prompt does not specify anything, double-check with your professor.

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Leadership Essay

27 August, 2020

12 minutes read

Author:  Richard Pircher

As a college student, you must write essays on a regular basis since the latter is one of the most common types of home assignments. All this means is that in order to get good grades and be successful with writing the papers, you need to have a sound understanding of the structure. Additionally, what you should never neglect is the variety of essay types. Indeed, your essay will significantly differ from one type to another: description essay will most likely have a structure that is slightly different from an argumentative one.

What you may have already encountered in your academic life is the work on a leadership essay. Although it sounds pretty complicated and vague, it is mostly possible to master an essay on leadership. Below is a guide for you to get an insight into this particular essay type.

What is a good leadership essay?

A good leadership essay is the one in which the essay writer has fully covered the topic of leadership and understood its core ideas. More specifically, to end up with a flawless leadership essay, you will need to indicate what makes a person a good leader. For achieving the latter, you will most likely need to conduct research and trace how a particular person reaches his or her goals. In other words, the task is to discover which actions the person undertakes, what their followers say about him or her, and how the person organizes the work. So, a leadership essay implies providing real-life success examples and further revealing them.

Above all, a good leadership essay is the one that follows a precise, clear, comprehensive structure. Structuring your essay about leadership in the most coherent way leads to a win-win situation: you have fewer troubles and barriers to writing a brilliant essay, and your teacher is able to comprehend the essay easily. This guide is what you will need to refer to to get an insight into how the flawless structure for a leadership essay looks like and how it will let you take a benefit.

How to write a Leadership essay?

To write a leadership essay that stands out, you first need to brainstorm all the ideas that you have and come up with a topic for your essay. If you are struggling with this step, you may think of some of the most influential people, read about them, and find out what makes them unique. Or, you can pick any topic which is mentioned at the end of this article. After you have chosen an issue, it is time to structure your essay appropriately.

As you already know, an essay constitutes three essential sections: introduction, main body, and conclusion. Below is the more detailed description of each of the parts.

Introduction

Of course, your leadership essay introduction will always vary depending on the topic of the essay. However, you can always begin by stating your vision of leadership regardless of the topic. Additionally, to motivate the reader and instantly catch his or her attention, you may use a quote of a famous leader, or simply a quote which you find relevant to the topic. Be aware that you should avoid outlining the essence and the role of the leadership in your introduction; leave it for the body paragraphs.

What you may also do in your leadership essay is ask a question, which will most likely intrigue the leader. Or it will at least give your reader an overview of what you will dwell on  in your essay.

Body Paragraphs

You will need to divide the main body into 3-5 paragraphs to make the structure more comprehensive. What you have to do at this point  is  give your reader a sound understanding of your ideas. Therefore, try to fit each idea in a single body paragraph so that you do not confuse your reader. Do not hesitate to indicate your examples to strengthen your arguments. For instance, you may explain a fact that makes a particular person you are writing about a real leader.

Also, always stick to your thesis statement and don’t forget that the body paragraphs should reveal the parts of your thesis statement.

As you may already know, you need to restate your opinion and briefly summarize all the points from the main body in conclusion. For instance, if you wrote your essay on qualities of an effective leader, state the most fundamental qualities and indicate why they matter the most. Besides, try not to copy what you have already written in the body – it is better to restate your opinion using different words. And, of course, beware adding any new and extra information; indicate only those points that you have already outlined in the text. Finally, keep in mind that it is always favorable to keep your concluding remarks short.

Leadership Essay Examples

Writing a leadership essay requires some research and time. In case you feel the necessity to go through an essay example, below is a leadership essay sample you can refer to.

Is leadership an inborn or an acquired feature?

Is everyone capable of becoming a leader, or is this ability innate? A lot of researchers have been struggling to answer this question. One assumption about leadership implies that the leader is the person who possesses particular characteristics. Another assumption claims that leaders are capable of acquiring specific features over their life span. As the evidence shows, leaders own many features that distinguish them among others and make more and more people become their followers. These might be cognitive abilities, psychological traits, professional qualities, and a lot more, and all of them will be either acquired or innate. Based on the importance of leadership qualities, such as commitment, stress resistance, and the ability to make quality decisions, it is reasonable to claim that leaders are made, not born. 

One can deem commitment as one of the top fundamental qualities of the leader. In essence, such a feature indicates that a person is passionate about the common goal, strives to be a team player, and makes every effort to reach a shared goal. As the history shows, none of the successful companies was uncoordinated by an influential, committed leader: Apple, Amazon, Microsoft – all of these companies are examples of dominant teams led by a dedicated leader. A committed leader also inspires his or her team to achieve common goals and put more effort into the shared activity. Besides, commitment is unlikely to be an innate feature; it instead comes with experience. This is so, since commitment implies dedicating oneself to the shared task, and one can reach it only via learning and continuous self-improvement.

Stress resistance is another incredibly important feature that every good leader should possess. This is because only a stress-resistant leader has sufficient capabilities to overcome any complexity and not let the anxiety and stress prevent him or her from making proper decisions. Besides, such a leader will most likely have a positive influence on the team, as long as leading by example will motivate the team members to attain the same emotional stability. What is so far familiar about stress resistance as an effective leader’s feature is that it can be either innate or attained. However, although some researchers admit that emotional stability is something one is born with, it is not entirely true; many people still put a great effort into self-improvement, changing the attitude to unfortunate situations, and so on. Therefore, being resistant to stress can be mostly attributed to a personality.

An ability to make high-quality decisions most likely determines the chances for an enterprise’s success. In particular, such quality is incredibly fundamental for a company of any size and professional orientation. Additionally, it is one of the top tasks of a good leader to make final decisions. What he or she should do implies brainstorming, discussing various opinions in the group, making forecasts, analyzing all the pros and cons. However, the leader is the one to make a final decision. Thereby, he is in charge of researching the market, discovering all the hidden truths, and analyzing the organization’s potential and capabilities to result in the most effective decision. As it flows logically from the latter, an ability to make sound quality decisions is purely a professional quality. This leads to the conclusion that one has to work hard to become a genuine leader and master the skill of making effective decisions. 

Overall, the leader may possess a multitude of different skills and master them perfectly. However, what has so far become transparent is that any leader, regardless of which team he leads, must possess three essential qualities. These qualities are commitment to the common goal, ability to handle and resist stress, and, finally, an ability to make effective decisions. All of the three qualities are most likely to be acquired over a lifetime. The statement below leads to the conclusion that even though some qualities can be innate, most are not the ones that leaders are born with. Hence, this answers an essential question: leadership feature is acquired, and not necessarily inborn.  

20 leadership essay topics

When coming up with your next leadership essay topic, it is imperative to brainstorm ideas and think of what leadership might be related to. If you are struggling with a topic of the importance of leadership essay or any relevant type of essay, you may quickly take a look at some of the possible topics we prepared for you:

• What are the main qualities of the leader?
• Successful Time Management as a feature of an effective leader
• The role that rhetoric plays in leadership
• The most exceptional leader in the history of the 20-th century
• The role of female leadership
• What are the challenges of the leader of the 21-st century?
• How college helps students develop leadership skills?
• Qualities of the leader that motivate people to follow them 
• Top things to avoid doing to become a team leader
• Examples of effective and ineffective leadership in the history
• Top techniques for developing leadership skills
• The interconnection of creativity and leadership 
• Is a university’s role fundamental in developing leadership skills?
• Dictatorship as an anti-example of leadership
• Liberal vs Authoritative leadership: which one works better?
• The influence of the leader’s role model on the followers’ mindset
• Main difficulties that the new leader may face in a new team
• Leadership of today vs leadership of the past: what has changed?
• Reasons why I want to become a member if the leadership program
• The role of cognitive abilities for the leader 

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Essay on Management: Top 9 Essays

Here is a compilation of essays on ‘Management’ for class 9, 10, 11 and 12. Find paragraph, long and short essays on ‘Management’ especially written for school and college students.

Essay on Management

Essay Contents:

• Essay on the Importance of Management

1. Essay on the Introduction to Management :

Management is a vital aspect of the economic life of man, which is an organised group activity. It is considered as the indispensable institution in the modern social organisation marked by scientific thought and technological innovations. One or the other form of management is essential wherever human efforts are to be undertaken collectively to satisfy wants through some productive activity, occupation or profession.

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It is management that regulates man’s productive activities through co-ordinated use of material resources. Without the leadership provided by management, “the resources of production remain resources and never become production”.

In the words of Drucker manager is the life-giving dynamic element in every business. Productive resources-men, money, materials-are entrusted to the organising skill, administrative ability and enterprising initiative of the management.

Modern business is the complex scene of forces of change constantly at work. The size, strategy, structure, motivation of modern enterprises underline the need of creative touch in successfully piloting their affairs. New products, new methods and techniques appear day-after-day to cater to the ever-changing trends of consumers’ tastes and needs. The ceaseless competitive drive to capture markets necessitates intellectual handling of refined requirements of consumers.

Management today is not just an exercise of blind authority or bossism but it implies scientific thinking, accurate planning and meticulous control to ensure quick and better results. Management has become a profession in view of the modern business becoming more sophisticated.

As ownership gets divorced from management, specialisation in business operations becomes more marked. Proprietors, shareholders and even their directors remain comparatively in the background and experts specialising in delicate and intricate matters of industrial techniques play increasingly positive and prominent role in running the business. Professional experts like engineer, scientist, market surveyor, trained executive, researcher, technician, occupy important place in running the affairs of an enterprise today.

Management now a days, therefore, consists of cadre of experts who performs a profitable job to build-up the competitive strength of the firm and they strive to “develop and expand the assets and profits” of the proprietors. According to Drucker, “Management, which is the organ of society specially charged with making resources productive, that is, with the responsibility for organised economic advance, therefore, reflects the basic spirit of the modern age.”

2. Essay on the Meaning and Definition of Management:

It is not an easy job to give the exact meaning of management.

Different writers have used the term “Management” in different senses, which will be clear from the following discussion:

Management as a Process :

In the words of George R. Terry, “Management is a distinct process consisting of planning, organising actuating and controlling performed to determine and accomplish objectives by the use of human beings and other resources.” The elements of management are: planning, organising, actuating (directing) and controlling.

These are also called the functions of management. It is through the performance of these functions that management is able to effectively utilise manpower and physical resources such as capital, machines, material, etc. to produce goods and services required by the society.

This has been shown in Fig. 1:

Henri Fayol has defined management as a process consisting of five functions: “To manage is to forecast and plan, to organise, to command, to coordinate and to control.”

However, modern authors do not view coordination as a separate function of management. They consider it as the essence of managing. Koontz and O’Donnell have classified the functions of management as follows: planning, organising, staffing, directing and controlling. These functions are inter-dependent and interrelated. There is no fixed sequence of their performance. They are performed more or less simultaneously.

Management is regarded a process because it involves a series of functions as shown in:

It starts with planning and ends with controlling. But it does not mean that managerial functions are followed in a specific sequence. A manager performs all the managerial functions simultaneously. Moreover, Management is a never-ending process.

There are three features of management as a process:

(i) Management is a social process as it deals with human beings.

(ii) Management is an integrating process as it organises human resources for the efficient use of other resources like capital, materials, technology, machines, etc.

(iii) Management is a continuous process. It is always involved in identifying the organisation problems and solving them.

“Management is the technique of getting things done.”

“Management is the art of getting things done.”

Marry Parker Follet defined management as “an art of getting things done through others”. This is a traditional definition of management. It emphasises that management directs the workers for getting results from them and supervises their performance. The workers are treated merely as a factor of production like materials, machines and capital.

This definition is insufficient in the modern world because of the following reasons:

(i) The above definition is incomplete because workers are treated as a mere means to organisational goals.

(ii) The management tries to manipulate the behaviour of the workers.

(iii) The needs and aspirations of the workers are not considered.

People are not mere cogs in the wheel and so they should not be treated as commodity or mere means to certain ends. Needs and aspirations of the people working in an organisation should not be overlooked. They must be satisfied so as to obtain sustained and consistent effort towards organisational objectives.

Management may be defined as a technique of getting things done through others by satisfying their needs and providing them opportunity for growth and development. According to Harold Koontz, “Management is the art of getting things done through and with people in formally organised groups. It is the art of creating environment in which people can perform as individuals and yet cooperate towards attainment of group goals.”

In order to accomplish results, management must create opportunities, and encourage growth and development of employees and provide guidance and assistance, wherever necessary. All this demands skillful application of the basic principles of the science of management. Managers must have conceptual, technical and social skills in translating the abstract organisational philosophy into concrete action.

Management is the dynamic life-giving element in every organisation. It is the activating element that gets things done through people. It provides the force necessary to transform the resources of a business organisation into desired goods and services. The primary job of management is to convert the disorganised resources of men, machines and materials into a productive organisation.

Management as a Group :

In the words of sociologists, management is a group or a class who together carry out various managerial activities.” Thus, management refers to the group of people in an enterprise who are carrying out management functions.

In other words, all individuals occupying managerial positions are collectively known as management. A manager is a person who performs the managerial functions of planning, organising, staffing, directing and controlling.

Since a manager performs the managerial functions, he is a member of the management of the organisation. Used in this sense, management includes all those who manage the affairs of an organisation. But in practice, the term ‘management’ is used to indicate the top management consisting of chairman, managing director or chief executive and Board of Directors.

Management as a Discipline :

As a discipline, management refers to the body of knowledge and a separate field of study. Management is an organised body of knowledge which can be learnt through instructions and teaching. It entails the principles, practices, techniques and skills of management which help in achieving organisational objectives. This discipline is taught widely in schools and colleges in most of the countries of the world.

Management has acquired the status of a discipline because of the following two reasons:

(i) A lot of research is being carried out by the scholars in the field of management. The results of research will be useful for future managers.

(ii) It is a specialised body of knowledge, which is studied and practised in management institutions.

Management as an Activity :

Management is an activity concerned with getting things done through people and directing the efforts of individuals towards a common objective. In the words of Harold Koontz, “Management is the art of getting things done through and with people in formally organised groups.”

Management gets results from the people by satisfying their needs, and expectations, and providing them opportunity for their personal growth. Management is a distinct activity in any organisation which is necessary for the achievement of its objectives.

According to another functional classification management activities are classified as:

Classification of Management Activities

1. Informational Activities:

Management has to act as a communicative link between subordinates and superiors. On one hand management receives, requests explanations, statements and suggestions from their subordinates and on the other hand it also receives orders and instructions from superiors. In their informational role as managers the requisite information is passed on to both subordinates and superiors.

2. Decisional Activities:

Management being both administrative and executory has to take routine and strategic decisions regarding various operational activities so that the organisation work is executed smoothly. In their decisional role as managers, management can also be termed as innovators, resource allocators, negotiators and crisis managers.

3. Inter personal Activities:

Management being a team work and group activity requires cooperation, coordination and harmonious relationship between individuals and departments. In order to integrate and charrelise best efforts of individuals to attain predetermined objectives of the enterprise, managers in their interpersonal role act as a figure head of the enterprise, as a leader and as a liason.

Other Definitions of Management:

Various writers have given various definitions of the management.

The following are some of the important definition:

According to E.F.L. Brech, “Management is the process of planning and regulating the activities of an enterprise.”

According to Lawrence A. Appley, “Management is the development of people and not the direction of things management is personnel administration.”

According to Koontz and O’Donnell, “It is the task of manager to establish and maintain an internal environment in which people working together in groups can perform effectively and efficiently towards the attainment of group goals.”

According to Kimball and Kimball, “Management embraces all duties and functions that pertain to the initiation of an enterprise, its financing, the establishment of all major policies, the provision of all necessary equipment, the outlining of the general form of organisation under which the enterprise is to operate and the selection of the principal officers. The group of officials in primary control of an enterprise is referred to as “the management.”

According to William Spriegel, “Management is that function of an enterprise, which concerns itself with the direction and control of the various activities to attain the business objectives.”

According to Keith and Gubellini, “Management is the force that integrates men and physical plant into an effective operating unit.”

According to S. George, “Management consists of getting things done through others. Manager is one who accomplishes the objectives by directing the efforts of others.”

According to Newman, Summer, Warren, “The job of management is to make cooperative endeavour to function properly. A manager is one who gets things done by working with people and other resources in order to reach an objective.”

3. Essay on the Characteristics of Management:

The main characteristics of management are as follows:

(i) It is Goal-Oriented:

The important goal of all management activities to achieve the objectives of a business concern. The objectives of the business may be economic, social and humane.

(ii) It is a Process:

When it is used in the sense of a process, it refers to what management does. In other words, it refers to the process of managing, planning, organising, staffing, guiding, directing supervising and controlling.

(iii) It is a Group Activity:

For the success of a business, it is necessary that all human and physical resources are co-ordinated to achieve the maximum levels of productivity. We all know that the combined productivity of various resources will always be higher than the total productivity of each resources.

(iv) Management is Universal:

It is required in all types of organisations, e.g., family, club, university, government, army, business. The basic principles of management are applicable in business as well as in other organisations. However, these principles are flexible and they can be modified to suit different situations.

(v) It is an Art and Science:

It consists of both the elements of science and art. The science of management gives a body of principles or laws for guidance in the solution of specific management problems and objective evaluation of results. The management as an art consists of this use of skill and effort for producing desirable results or situations in specific cases.

(vi) It is a Factor of Production:

Not only the land, labour and capital are of effective use for the production of goods and services but the managerial skills are also used effectively for this purpose.

(vii) Management is Dynamic:

Management denotes is an ever-changing environment, It involves adoption of an organisation to changes in its environment, and modifying the environment for the benefit of the organisation. Therefore, management is a constantly growing process.

(viii) Management is a Profession:

Management is considered to be a profession as it possesses all the attributes of profession as:

(i) A systematic corpus of knowledge,

(ii) A period of apprenticeship, and

(iii) A code of conduct.

(ix) Management is an Important Organ of Society:

Management has become an important organ of society. Management of large scale undertakings influence the economic, social, moral, religious, political and institutional behaviour of the members of the society.

(x) It is a System of Authority:

In every organised group supreme authority must rest somewhere. There should be a clear line of authority from the supreme authority to every individual in the group.

4. Essay on the Nature of Management:

A study of literature of management often gives rise to a question as to whether management is a science or an art. The brief discussion which follows leads us to the conclusion that it is both a science and an art.

Management as a Science :

Science is by definition a body of knowledge gathered by experimentation and observation, artificially tested and expressed in the form of general principles.

Following are the essential features of science:-

1. Systematised Body of Knowledge:

Science being ‘systematic’ is based on cause and effect relationship. It consists of theories and principles which have the capacity to give reasons for past happenings and at the same time, can be used to predict the result of specification in future.

2. Scientific Methods being used:

Personal opinions and individual likes and dislikes don’t influence scientific principles. They are obtained through scientific investigation and reasoning. They are critically tested and can be scientifically proved at any time.

3. Principles based on Experiments:

Observation and testing the validity and truth through experimentation makes a statement, a principle.

4. Universally applicable:

Scientific princAples may be applied in all situations and at all times, exceptions though may be logically explained. These principles, under required given conditions never fail at any place or point of time.

The debate about whether or not managing is a science continues. The answer to this question depends largely on the degree to which the scientific method is used to determine managing principles and solve managing problems.

Management satisfies many of the scientific principles, for e.g.:

1. Management is a systematised body of knowledge. Its principles explaining cause and effect relationship between various variables, e.g., Principle of Unity of Command if not followed leads to inefficiency, confusion and duplication of work.

2. Management principles are evolved on the basis of observation and repeated experimentation. For instance, it is being observed through experiments that if stability in tenure of an employee is not there, his working efficiency decreases.

But, at the same time, there exists many scientific features which do not coincide with those of management.

Briefly, the method of science consists of the following steps:

1. Facts or data are collected in an objective manner.

2. These facts are classified in some way, usually on the basis of similarities or dissimilarities, in an attempt to make the data more meaningful.

3. From the classifications, hypotheses are formulated establishing cause and effect relationships between various given factors.

4. The hypotheses are then tested to determine their reliability and validity.

5. After the hypotheses are verified and if they stand the test of time, they then have interpretive or predictive value when applied to similar phenomena.

In referring to the hope of dream that a true science of management may someday be achieved. Professor Mee states, “This hope probably will be realized in another chapter in another book in another century.” Perhaps the best that can be said is that a science of management is just beginning to emerge.

It has often been stated that even when management attempts to use the method of science (from which managing principles are also derived), management is neither as precise nor as comprehensive as the natural and social sciences.

There are several reasons why this is true:

1. The rational approach and the application of the method of science are relatively new in business and industry. As a result, managing has not developed the comprehensiveness found in other disciplines that have used the scientific approach for a much longer time.

In fact, one of the more significant developments in the last seventy-five years in the field of management has been the tendency toward using the rational approach in solving management problems.

2. Relatively few managers are trained or experienced in using the method of science. Those who are trained may find it too time-consuming and, because of this as well as other limiting factors, seek other ways to reach decisions and to solve problems.

3. Precision measuring instruments and tools are not always available in management. A manager is forced to use relative measurement where absolute measurement is not possible or feasible. To evaluate the performance of a group of supervisors, for example, he may have to use a relative measuring device such as a carefully prepared rating scale. For his purposes, however, the relative measuring technique is just as useful and effective.

4. In the physical sciences, the researcher works with a single variable, holding all other factors constant. Managers can seldom do this. They almost always deal with people, the human element with all its weaknesses. The human element can never be treated as a constant; hence precision is less than in the physical sciences, though equal to that of the social sciences. Businessmen are always dealing with the unpredictable: people, governments and nature.

5. Most importantly, managerial decision-making, unlike problem solving in the sciences, stresses action rather than truth. A manager’s decisions must have practical application. Managers strive for reasonable results under uncertain conditions rather than for perfection. A method, technique, or device only has to be “good enough” to get the job done.

Management as an Art :

Art refers to the skill to put into action a systematized body of knowledge for the achievement of a given task. To get mastery in any skill it is necessary to have the thorough knowledge of the principles of doing the particular task. At the same time it is necessary to possess the tact, the care to be taken, the discretion and proper judgement in applying the principles involved.

Presence of mind, promptness to react to the given situation and correct response demanded by the prevailing condition are all essential to perform skillfully the task undertaken.

Experiences and judgement add to this skill. Management is also an art as it is necessary to apply the principles of management in planning, organising, staffing, directing and controlling the whole series of activities all through the managerial process.

Throughout the stages of the process of decision-making and execution of these decisions all the individuals occupying various positions at different levels of management need all the skills involved.

Briefly, these skills are called the planning skills, the organising skills, the staffing skills, the directing skills (how to motivate, to communicate, and to lead) and the controlling skills. Sometimes it is said that a good manager is born and not made. But it has been now established and accepted that it is through learning and training process that skilled managers are developed.

As Koontz and O’Donnell have rightly pointed out the work of managing a business or any group activity is an art. But for this the organised body of knowledge is required. It is certainly a science. Thus art and science are not exclusive terms but complementary ones.

Management as an art has the following features:

(a) Personal Skill:

Human beings apart, there are other factors which vary in their effect and role in the achievement of the managerial tasks. Managers have to apply their skill to deal with them.

(b) Practical Knowledge:

Business enterprises involve risks. Only those who have experience can deal effectively with such risks.

(c) Result Oriented Approach:

Management as an process aims at achieving concrete goals. It aims at utilising available resources optimally by creating a congenial atmosphere.

(d) Personal Judgement:

No doubt there are useful principles of management, but it needs individual judgement to apply them properly and at appropriate time. It means art is necessary.

(e) Continuous Practice:

The art of management is much older than the science of management which as an organised body of knowledge is hardly about ninety to hundred years old.

Management: Both Science and Art :

Management is a combination of an organised body of knowledge and skillful application of this knowledge. According to Brech, “A systematic body of knowledge underlies the competent practice of management”.

Much of this knowledge are to be found in various academic disciplines. Competent performance of various management functions necessarily needs an adequate basis of knowledge and a mature scientific approach.

Thus management is both a science and an art. It is a science because it uses certain principles. It is an art because it requires continuous practice to ensure the best possible result. Thus science and art in management are not mutually exclusive. Both of them exist together in every function of management.

Management as a Profession:

Profession is defined as a composite of intellectual and executive qualities applied to carry out successfully the specified activities for the benefit of others. It is an intellectual field. One enters into it to work without any expectation of a direct share in the profits earned out of the activities to carry out which one might be contributing his specialist knowledge or intellect.

According to George, “Profession is that which has a well-defined body of knowledge, which is learned, intellectual and organised, to which entry is restricted by examination, or education and which is primarily concerned with service to others above self-award.”

Features of Profession:

The above statement makes the following features of profession clear:

1. Existence of a body of knowledge, techniques, skills and specialised knowledge.

2. Formalised methods of acquired training and experience.

3. The establishment of a representative organisation with professionlisation as its goal.

4. The formation of an ethical code for the guidance of its conduct.

5. The charging of fees based on the nature of service extended.

In the light of what has been said above management can be said to be a profession.

The arguments in favour of this statement are given below:

1. Body of knowledge:

All over the world there is marked growth of an organised systematic body of knowledge about management as a process.

2. Formal methods of teaching:

The establishment of professional schools of management in which management as a body of knowledge can be taught is seen everywhere. India is no exception to it as is clear from the establishment of Indian Institutes of Management at Ahmedabad, Calcutta, Bangalore, Lucknow and Post­graduate Departments of Management as well as Institutes/Colleges of Management being established in different parts of the country.

3. Fee as remuneration:

The number of management consultants is increasing Even a large number of well reputed firms are establishing their consultancy agencies.

4. Existence of ethical code:

There is growing emphasis on the ethical basis of management behaviour.

5. Establishment of representative organizations:

Both at the national and international levels management associations have been formed with their membership rules, codes of conduct, etc. All India Management Association, New Delhi.

National Institute of Personnel Management, Calcutta, Institute of Marketing and Management, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, New Delhi, Institute of Costs and Works Accountants of India, Calcutta are the well established associations in India. And many more organisations in the specialised fields/ branches of management are being organised.

Management as Profession: A Controversy :

However, there is no agreement on this point. Questions are asked: Is management a profession? Is it becoming a profession? As it is well known, a large number of business units are operating as sole traders and single entrepreneurship enterprises. By definition and in practice they are managed by proprietor-managers. So is the case with partnership firms and joint Hindu family firms.

But company form of business enterprises in India and corporate organisations in USA and other countries are even by definition the enterprises in which ownership is divorced from management. Even then question remains if all of them are managed by professional managers. As things stand, under law it is the shareholders who elect the Board of Directors from amongst themselves.

Thus the topmost group at the top level management of a company or corporate body are not professional managers. But all the big companies operating on large scale do appoint executives and managers on salary-cum-perks basis. Thus they are the professional managers.

In large companies even the Vice Presidents of marketing, finance, etc. who are on the Board of Directors are the professional managers. So are all those working at the middle level and lower level of management. In case of public undertakings management is in effect with the professional managers. Exceptions to it are Departmental Undertakings such as Railways. Posts & Telegraphs etc. which are controlled by the various departments of the Government.

But there also other than the Minister-in-charge all those looking after the management are professionals. A new trend is becoming more and more marked. Proprietary managers are becoming more interested in acquiring the latest knowledge and technique of management. They are sending their own sons, daughters and other close relatives abroad to acquire degrees and diplomas in management.

Others are joining short- term courses in management run by organisations like Administrative Staff College, Hyderabad. All India Management Association etc. Such persons are now occupying positions at the topmost layers of the managerial hierarchy.

Are these persons to be regarded as proprietary managers or professional managers ? No doubt all the features of profession are not applicable to them. But they do possess other features.

In conclusion, it may be said that all the requirements of profession are not satisfied by managers at the top. But management is, by and large, becoming professionalised, it is more so in the developed nations. But even in India large number of managerial cadres are getting professionalised.

This is applicable to both the public and private sectors. Even the case of smaller enterprises, which are run by proprietary managers, assistance of professionals such as chartered accountants, cost accountants and lawyers are being utilised to a great extent.

5. Essay on the Objectives of Management:

Objectives can be divided into three categories: Individual, Social and Organisational. Recognising the three categories and reacting appropriately to each is a challenge for all modern managers.

(I) Individual Objectives :

Individual objectives are the personal goals each organisation member would like to reach through activity within the organisation. These objectives might include high salary, personal growth and development, peer recognition, and societal recognition.

(II) Social Objectives :

Social objectives deal with the goals of an organisation toward society. Included are obligations to abide by requirements established by the community, such as those pertaining to health, safety, labour practices and price regulation.

Further, they include goals intended to further social and physical improvement of the community and to contribute to desirable civic activities.

It should be noted that most business houses in achieving their primary goals also contribute to their respective communities by creating needed economic wealth, employment and financial support to the community.

(III) Organisational Objectives:

Drucker indicates that the very survival of management may be endangered if managers emphasize only a profit objective. This single-objective emphasis encourages managers to take action that will make money today with little regard for how a profit will be made tomorrow.

In practice, managers should strive to develop and attain variety of objectives in all management areas where activity is critical to the operation and success of the system. Following are the eight key areas in which Drucker advises managers to set management objectives.

1. Market Standing:

Management should set objectives indicating where it would like to b£ in relation to its competitors.

2. Innovation:

Management should set objectives outlining its commitment to the development of new methods of operation.

3. Productivity:

Management should set objectives outlining the target levels of production.

4. Physical and Financial Resources:

Management should set objectives with regard to the use, acquisition and maintenance of capital and monetary resources.

5. Profitability:

Management should set objectives that specify the profit the company would like to generate.

6. Management Performance and Development:

Management should set objectives that specify rates and levels of managerial productivity and growth.

7. Worker Performance and Attitude:

Management should set objectives that specify rates of worker productivity as well as the attitudes workers possess.

8. Public Responsibility:

Management should set objectives that indicate the company’s responsibilities to its customers and society and the extent to which the company intends to live up to those responsibilities.

6. Essay on the Levels of Management:

More of the authors have conceived of three levels of management in any fairly-sized business undertaking.

These are as follows:

1. Top Level Management

2. Middle Level Management

3. Lower level Management

Management is considered as a Three-tier activity. The top tier centres round the determination .of objectives and policies, the middle tier concerned with implementation of policies through the assistance of lower tier of the organisation.

The various tasks in a business enterprise “become structured somewhat like a pyramid, with the highest level of management centred at its apex”.

The managerial set-up of any undertaking, therefore consists of three levels – Top Management, Middle Management and Operating Management or Lower Level Management.

The following chart illustrates Levels of Management in a company form of enterprise of fairly large size:

This gradation of level of management is not a watertight arrangement but represents a hierarchy of authority and responsibility designed to secure a systematic sequence of operations. Each level is blended into another through its functions and all the layers of authority constitute an integrated arrangement.

The demarcation of the levels is only to analyse the range of responsibility and span of control and it underlines the principle of specialisation in administrative executive processes.

A. Top Level Management:

Top level management is made up of Board of Directors, its Chairman, Managing Director or General Manager and other key officers responsible for smooth and systematic conduct of the affairs of the enterprise.

The top level management is a concept of functions concerning the manner in which the enterprise should be shaped.

In view of large size of modern companies, the key functions cannot be performed by a single person, and hence a compact group of elected office-bearers, experts and executives form the top management level of enterprises these days. Board of Directors is assisted by Managing Director, General Manger etc. in directing the company’s operations.

Top level management’s work is a creative process and it also involves commitments of high order of responsibility. As Allen observes “top-management work is a work which must be performed at the apex of the organisational pyramid because it cannot be carried out effectively at lower levels.”

Top management is also described “as the policy-making group responsible for the overall direction and success of all company activities.” It is a chief custodian of the property of the enterprise. It is the main mobiliser of resources in men and materials essential for the inception, maintenance, operations and expansion of the undertaking.

It is more basically a panel of planning the company’s operations and in due course shall develop into an evaluating and controlling medium for securing the maximum possible performance. It is concerned with the problems and policies of the entire enterprise.

The functions of top management include:

“Identifying key factors for the survival and growth of the company and devising basic objectives, policies and programmes for dealing with these factors: being sensitive to the inter-dependence of the numerous actions and maintaining a strategic balance in these actions; and keeping an eye on how current activities of the company will cutting with predicted changes-social, political, technological and competitive-and adopting company plans to the anticipated environment.”

Functions of the Managers at the Top Level Management :

The fundamental functions of mangers of the top management may be classified into the following categories:

(1) Determining the objectives.

(2) Framing the policies and making plans to carry out the objectives and policies.

(3) Setting up an organisational framework to conduct the operations as per plans.

(4) Assembling the resources needed to put the plans into operation.

(5) Controlling the operations through organisation.

1. Determining the Objectives :

Objectives are goals which every enterprise seeks to achieve. Most of the companies describe in detail the nature of their activities in the objects clause of their Memoranda of Association. But by and large the general objectives which top management should aim at are survival, profit, business growth, prestige or status and social acceptance.

Production of particular product of specific quality, satisfaction of customer’s needs, earning of profit by production and sales, looking out for expansion and diversification of business, building up an image or reputation of the company in the eyes or estimation of the society are the broad objectives set up by top management.

Objectives also may be specific. They relate to types of activities. Specialty in workmanship, competitive pricing, marketing method, widening the area of sales abroad, relations with the workers, customers, public, government, etc.

2. Framing of Policies :

The objectives are realised through policies framed by the management. Policies signify the decisions taken by the management on different strategic aspects of company’s operations or activities.

Production policy indicates the schedules of production to meet the market demand.

Product policy lays down the standards, specifications, size, design, colour shapes etc. of the product.

Marketing policy describes the channels of selling the product (direct sale or dealership, agency etc.), advertising and sales promotions techniques to be adopted, the sales targets to be attained etc.

Pricing policy emphasises the quality aspect of the product as well as the comparative competitive nature of the rates quoted, discounts allowed etc.

Personnel policy deals with recruitment, placement, training, remuneration, promotion, rewarding and regulating the productivity of the personnel.

Financial policy is concerned with procuring funds required for investment in fixed assets or required to be held over for working capital needs, sources of finance, e.g., borrowing, self-financing, issuing additional capital etc.

Top management has also to devise plans and schemes for precise execution of policies within a given time. Plans set out the course along which operations in different departments are to be conducted as per the criteria laid down in the respective policies.

production schedule, sales campaign, financial arrangements, personnel motivation have to be drawn as to focus and guide the activities of the company in the direction of the realisation of the basic objectives.

3. Organising:

Organisation means division of functions, allocation of duties to the personnel, fixation of range of their responsibility and the scope of their authority and co­ordination of the activities of the departments of the undertaking. Standardisation of administrative procedures is the main task of organising the enterprise.

Systems and procedures are the methods intended to govern the departmental activities of a company. Organisation ensures smooth flow of work from one stage to another, or from one department to another, so that the whole undertaking is enabled to achieve the targets to the benefit of the company and satisfaction of customers.

4. Assembling the Resources:

Prior to the launching of the plans, the resources of money, men and materials have to be assembled. Executives and operatives are appointed after careful selection on the basis of their merits and the nature of jobs to be handled.

Money capital has to be raised through issue of shares, debentures, etc. and arrangement for working capital has to be made through reserves, bank advance etc.

Then the physical resources-machinery, tools, furniture, buildings, water supply, power, other ancillary equipment-have to be collected as per estimated needs. The management has to find out the sources of finance for implementing the plans and programmes.

5. Controlling :

Top level management does not directly execute work. But the Chief Executive in the top management has the responsibility of exercising supervision over all the departments to make sure that the middle and lower managements are functioning as per the plans.

By controlling we mean instituting checks or comparisons of actual results with the planned targets. It implies evaluation or measurement of the work turned out in each section or department with reference to the goals envisaged in the basic plans and policies of the company.

The top level management lays down the standards of performance for the purpose of comparison of the actual results with the planned performance. Standard cost per unit, sales quotas, net profit per unit of sales are some of the reliable criteria for comparison.

Top level management finds out to what extent the performance has been upto the mark and identifies in the course the sources of strength and weakness in the different phases of organisation and operations.

Top level management has to act as coordinator and regulator of the activities of the undertaking in its different dimensions. It will call for reports, statistical data, special studies, accounting records to know the position of performance and to apply regulatory checks wherever and whenever necessary.

B. Middle Level Management:

Middle level management is concerned with the task of implementing the policies and plans chalked out by the top management. Middle management comprises departmental heads and other executive officers attached to different departments.

These departmental managers and officers are expected to take concrete steps for actual realisation of the objectives and operational results visualised in the plans finalised by the top officers of the organisation. “This group is responsible for the execution and interpretation of policies throughout the organisation and for the successful operation of assigned division or departments.”

Managers at the middle level management level exercise the usual functions of management in respect of their own departments. They have to plan the operations, issue instructions to their assistants, collect the resources required and control the work of the men under them and evaluate the results achieved by their department with reference to the plans formulated by the top management.

If the top management is endowed with the authority of policy-making, middle management is entrusted with the programming of efforts essential for implementing the basic pre-determined policies.

Functions of Managers at the Middle Level Management :

The functions of the managers at the middle level management can be broadly summarised as follows:

(i) Interpretation of policies framed by top level management.

(ii) Preparing the organisational set-up in their departments for fulfilling the objective implied in various business policies.

(iii) Finding out the suitable personnel and assigning duties and responsibilities to them for the execution of the plans of the concerned departments.

(iv) Compiling detailed instructions regarding operations and issuing them to the assistants and operatives to focus and guide their efforts accordingly.

(v) Motivating the personnel for higher productivity and rewarding them for their merit, capacity or calibre.

(vi) Cooperating with other departments so as to evolve a smoothly functioning organisation.

(vii) Collecting reports, statistical information and other records about the work turned out in respective departments and forwarding the same with their observations to the top level management.

(viii) Recommending to the top management, new or revised policies for their departments to secure better performance.

Middle level management managers are responsible for all the leading functions within each department. They provide “the guidance and the structure for a purposeful enterprise”.

The top management’s plans and ambitious expectations cannot be fruitfully realised without the key officers at the middle level management.

Managerial Structure at the Middle Level Management :

Generally the following functions at the middle level management are performed through the various departments under the departmental managers or heads.

1. Production department headed by works manager is concerned with the following functions:

(i) To collect the work orders and issue them to concerned sections.

(ii) To guide the foremen, and prescribe methods and process to be followed in execution of the work allotted.

(iii) To devise a system of inspection of factory functioning, the components, semi-finished and finished products.

(iv) Assembling the tools, equipment, plant, qualified personnel etc. to execute the production’s plan.

(v) Controlling the factory expenses.

2. Engineering Department headed by chief engineer has to perform the following functions:

(i) Production-planning, routing, scheduling.

(ii) Plant layout suited to the execution of production plans.

(iii) Designing the products, their specifications, standards, quality, workmanship etc.

(iv) Research in methodology of production for improving technical efficiency.

(v) Plant and tools maintenance and development of the full capacity of production.

(vi) Economy in production costs and resource consumption.

3. Personnel Department:

It is headed by the chief personnel officer, labour officer. He has to devise selection procedure and training schemes: he has to maintain service records of the staff and formulate methods of remuneration in conformity with the productivity and cost of living. He has to assure wholesome working conditions to the personnel and look after their social and economic security and welfare.

4. Stores Department headed by stores manager is concerned with systematic organisation of purchasing raw materials, stores articles, tools, equipment, spare parts, etc. and proper custody of the materials with the responsibility of issuing them to the requisitioning departments.

He has to sort and arrange neatly the stockpile of materials etc. and keep an up to date record of materials, stores, tools, etc. received, issued, consumed, balance held in stock, etc.

5. Office Manager is in-charge of secretarial work of correspondence, filing, indexing, use of office appliances, maintenance of records and reports pertaining to the different departments.

6. Accounts Department:

The chief Accountant is responsible for maintaining up-to-date accounts of financial transactions and recording sales, purchases, receipts and payments.

He is also required to compile periodically the Trading Account, Profit and Loss Account and Balance sheet of the firm.

He should ensure that monthly financial statements indicating the position of the firm are placed before the Board and other top management officials.

7. Costing Department:

In bigger enterprises a separate department for costing is constituted and cost accountant is appointed to administer the functions of the section.

Costing department is entrusted with the main functions of ascertaining the prime and supplementary costs and submission of cost-sheets to the top level management for appraisal.

Costing department keeps detailed records of costs of completed jobs in progress, costs of materials, labour, factory overhead costs and sales on cost. It helps the management to find out the disparity between estimated costs and actual costs and the reason thereof so that remedial measures can be adopted.

8. Sales Department:

This section is the life-blood of the enterprise because the sales are the barometer of business profits and reputations of the firm. The work of the department is to create demand for the goods for promoting maximum possible sales at quick pace in wider markets.

The vital functions of the department are as follows:

(i) Market research to find out the needs, tastes and buying habits of the consumers.

(ii) Looking out for new markets for the goods.

(iii) Organising advertisement campaigns and other sales promotion activities for creating, maintaining and expanding the demand.

(iv) Collecting orders from the customers through agents, dealers or salesmen.

(v) Executing the orders by timely despatch of goods.

(vi) Supervision of salesmen’s efforts, training and stimulation of salesmen.

(vii) Organising after-sale service and similar sales promotion efforts.

(viii) Looking after proper warehousing, packing and despatch of goods.

(ix) Attending to customers’ complaints and suggestions.

C. Lower Level Management (Operating Management) :

It is described as the lowest level in the administrative framework and actual operations are the responsibility of the rank and file constituting this level of management.

Foremen, supervisors and sub-departmental executives assisted by a number of workers, clerks etc. carry out the actual operations as per schedule. Their authority and responsibility is limited and they have to follow the lines drawn by the higher levels of management.

The plans and policies of the top level management will fail if the foremen and operatives do not fully realise the spirit of sustained work. The quality of the workmanship and quantity of output will depend on the hard labour, discipline and loyalty of the operating personnel. The foremen or supervisors are responsible for executing the work orders allotted to their respective sections.

They pass on the instructions of middle level management to the working force, procure the materials, tools etc. required for the jobs, assign specific duties to individual workmen and guide them in acting upon the instructions and handling the job on hand with ability and accuracy.

They seek to maintain precise standards of quality, prevent wastage of materials by negligent workmen, look to the safety of machines and equipment and ensure steady flow of output as per plans and programmes prescribed by the top level and middle level managements.

They are also responsible for maintaining discipline among the respective batches of workers, preserving and boosting their morale and fostering the team spirit in them.

7. Essay on Theo Haimann’s Three Notions about Management:

According to Theo Haimann management is used in three different senses:

(i) It is used as a noun. It refers to the group of managerial personnel of an enterprise.

(ii) It refers to the processes of managing, planning, organising, staffing, guiding, directing, supervising and controlling.

(iii) It is used apart from the above two—personnel and activity- but it describes the subject, the body of knowledge and the whole practice, the discipline.

I. Management is an art of getting things done through other people :

It is a process of activity consisting of some basic techniques for getting the objective of an enterprise fulfilled through the efforts of people. It is the activating element in any concern for getting things done through people. But today it is thought to be against humanity. At present: “It is the art of getting things done through and with the people informally organized groups.”

The job of management is to give active leadership that unites the productive but passive resources into a fruitful organization.

As per E. Peterson and E.G. Plowman:

“It is a technique by means of which the purposes and objectives of a particular human group are determined, clarified and effectuated.”

As per E.F.L. Breach it has been said as:

“A social process entailing responsibility for the effective of efficient planning and regulation of the operations of an enterprise, such responsibility involving a judgement and decision in determining plan and using data to control performances and progress against plans. The guidance, integration, inspiration and supervision of the personnel comprising enterprise and carrying out its operations.”

Breach signifies that it is not possible to take management in relation to things or mechanical operations of machines but only in relation to the people who are employed to operate or use such things.

As per Prof. Harold Koontz it is:

“The art of getting things done through and with people informally organized groups. It is the art of creating an environment in which people can perform as individuals and yet co-operate towards attainment of groups’ goals. It is art of removing blocks to such performance, a way of optimizing efficiency in reaching goals.”

II. Management is what management does:

The three functions of management are:

(i) Planning,

(ii) Implementing, and

(iii) Controlling.

Planning includes formation of policy and its translation into plans. Implementing includes the execution. Controlling means exercising administrative control over the plans.

In the words of Dr. James Lundy:

“Management is principally a task of planning, co-ordinating, motivating and controlling the efforts of others towards a specific objective. It involves the combining of the traditional factors of production (land, labour and capital) in an optimum manner, paying dues attention, of course, to the particular goals of the organization.”

This definition includes three major management activities of:

(1) Planning is the ascertainment of the course or objectives of a business, division or department to attain maximum profit effectiveness, the establishment of policies and continuous seeking and finding out new and better ways to do things.

(2) Implementing seeks to the doing phases, after preparation of plans, personnel attend their jobs with training of motivation not do rightly. Activities must run to the planning, supervision and direction of the subordinates and at the same time groups efforts are coordinated.

(3) Lastly, controlling seeks to evaluate acts of those who are responsible for executing the plans agreed upon. It consists of: (a) Controlling adherence to plans (b) appraising performance.

III. Management is the development of the people:

Business is not the management of things. As Appley Lowrence puts it: “The development of people and not the direction of things.” It is the selection, training supervision and development of people. These days most of the large as well as medium-sized enterprises are managed by the professional managers i.e., the managers who have got either little or no share in the ownership of the enterprise. They take management as a career.

Mcforland has noted following characteristics of a profession:

1. A body of principles, techniques, skills and specialised knowledge.

2. Formal methods of acquiring training.

3. Laying down of certain ethical codes of guidance of conduct.

4. Charging of fees according to the nature of services rendered.

And management is truly a profession in the sense that it fulfills all these conditions. Management these days is very much a systematised body of knowledge (science) and is an identifiable discipline. It has also developed a number of its tools and techniques.

In India, now there are a number of management institutes and university departments imparting formal management training. But management still, at last so in our country, does not fulfill the last time requirements of being a profession. There is, for example, still no unified ethical code of conduct for the managers as is there for the doctors and lawyers.

8. Essay on the Functions of Management:

Various authors have given various functions of management according to the time and development of the management science.

All these can be classified into the following categories:

(i) Planning

(ii) Organisation

(iii) Direction

(iv) Co-ordination

(v) Control.

These functions of management have been discussed in detail in the following paragraphs:

(i) Planning:

It is deciding in advance what is to be done, how it is to be done and when it is to be done. Planning involves projecting the future course of action for the business as a whole and also for the different sections within it. It helps in bridging the gap between the present and the future.

Planning is possible whenever there is a question of choosing and planning process is possible only when alternatives are there. In fact planning is an intellectual process. It signifies use of rational approach to the solution of problems. The important aspects of planning process are defining and establishing objectives, policies, procedures methods, rules, budgets, programmes and strategies.

(ii) Organisation:

Organisation is the structural relationship in an enterprise between the various factors i.e., men, material and management which combine to achieve the objectives set by the enterprise. In a dynamic society like ours, the organisation is not fixed. If it does not promote the objectives of the enterprise, it must be modified.

(iii) Direction:

Direction consists of command, execution, control, supervision and motivation i.e., achieving the good results. It is concerned with to use Lawrence H. Appley’s maxim “that management is essentially getting things done through the efforts of other people.”

It needs the personal touch. A good manager has to see that his orders are properly carried out and have achieved the desired results. It will need proper supervision by him and control of all the levels below him.

Moreover, his order must always create motivation among subordinates. It is only possible when his orders are of the right type and at the right moment. For it, more of initiative, sincere and tact is required than aggressiveness. A good executive must always be a good leader.

(iv) Co-Ordination:

Co-operation permeates all operating organisations and makes their entire structure more effective by harmonizing and property timing the various activities. It means synchronising the activities of all persons and functions in the enterprise and rooting out personal prestige and vested interests.

Proper co-ordination presupposes a number of conditions which can be summed up as:

(i) Fixed responsibility

(ii) Adequate authority at each executive level

(iii) Organisational structure facilitating

(iv) Co-ordination.

(v) Control:

This includes the setting of the targets or standards and comparing the actuals with standards in order to know the deviations, analysis and probing the reasons for such deviations, fixing of responsibility in terms of persons responsible for negative deviation, and correction of employees performance so that group goals, and plans devised to achieve them are accomplished.

9. Essay on the Importance of Management:

Management is absolutely essential if human efforts are to be effective to meet all round development of the society through productive activity, occupation or profession. It is essential in all organisations and at all levels of organisation in an enterprise. Without the enlightened guidance and leadership made available by management “the productive resources will remain resources and shall never become production”.

Management is a dynamic element which gives life to a business enterprise. The productive resources such as materials, men, and money are entrusted to the administrative ability, enterprising initiative and organising skill of management.

In short, management is important for the following reasons:

(i) Provides Effectiveness to Human Efforts:

It helps achieve better equipment, plants, offices, products, services, human relations. It keeps abreast of changing conditions, and it supplies foresight and imagination. Improvement and progress are its constant watch-words.

(ii) Critical Ingredient in Nation’s Growth:

An underdeveloped nation usually lacks adequate managerial know-how. National development is not solely one of transferring capital, technology, and education to citizens of an undeveloped nations. It is also supplying or developing management which provides the generation and direction of effective human energies. Management know-how utilizes the available resources effectively toward achievement of basic needs.

(iii) Brings Order to Endeavours:

By means of management, apparently isolated events or factual information or beliefs are brought together and significant relationships discerned. These relationships bear on the immediate problem, point out future hurdles to be overcome, and assist in determining a solution to the problem.

(iv) Provides Judgement and Courage:

To determine worthwhile goals, carefully select and utilize resources efficiently by means of applying planning, organising, directing and controlling require a high degree of judgement and the exercise of great courage.

From time to time, gadgets and aids are offered to replace management, but actually at best they assist and do not represent management. Serious consideration of such devices usually points out the need for more management judgement and courage to be used. Nothing takes the place of management.

(v) Helps in Achieving Group Goals:

Management touches and influences the life of nearly every human being. Management makes us aware of our potentials, shows the way toward better accomplishment, reduces obstacles, and causes us to achieve goals that we probably would not otherwise attain.

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Essay on Time Management

• Updated on  
• Aug 27, 2022

“Time isn’t the main thing, it’s the only thing”- Mile Davis.

Time management is a prestigious topic for budding subconscious minds. It is one of the most crucial skills that you must inculcate from early on. This skill has vital importance when you move into a professional setting. It is extremely important to manage time efficiently as not managing time can create many problems in your day-to-day life. It is also a common essay topic in the school curriculum and various academic and competitive exams like IELTS , TOEFL , SAT , UPSC , etc. This blog brings you samples of essays on time management with tips & tricks on how to write an essay.

Essay on Time Management in 200 words

Time stops for none and is equal for all. Everyone has the same 24 hours in a day but some people make better use of time than others. This is one of the most important reasons some people are experts in what they do. Therefore, time management plays a vital role in both personal as well as professional lives.

Time management is basically an effort made consciously to spend a certain amount of time performing a task efficiently. Furthermore, it is estimated that to have better results, one needs to do productive work. Thus, productivity is the key focus here. Moreover, maintaining a careful balance between professional life, social life, and any other hobbies or activities is a great example of efficient time management.

Time management is also crucial for students from an academic perspective as students require to cover many subjects. Thus, efficiently managing time is an important skill in everyone’s life.  Around the world, there are two views for time management – linear time view and multi-active time view. The linear time view is predominant in America, Germany and England, and it aims at completing one task at a time. Whereas a multi-active view aims at completing a number at once and is predominant in India and Spain. Nevertheless, time management is one of the important traits of a successful individual, students are advised to follow whichever is convenient for them.

Essay on Time Management in 300 Words

Time Management is a key skill for job opportunities as employers recruit candidates who have this efficient skill. Thus, it is advised to initiate inculcating this vital skill as soon as possible. In the academic setting, time management plays a vital role and helps in the accomplishment of tasks efficiently and effectively.

Time management is the process of planning and performing pre-scheduled activities with the aim of increasing productivity, effectiveness and efficiency. Different cultures hold different views on Time Management. However, a multi-active time view and a linear time view are the two predominant views. In a linear time view, the aim is set to complete one particular task at a time whereas, in a multi-active view, the focus is on completing a greater number of tasks at once. Emphasis is given on productivity and effectiveness, but students are free to choose their own view of time management.

Time management is crucial as it is helpful in setting a timeline for achieving a particular goal. Moreover, it also increases the efficiency of the tasks at hand. It becomes necessary for working professionals as they need to balance their personal and professional life. Thus, they do not have time to dwell on each and every detail in every task. In such cases, a multi-active view is one of the helpful methods. Time management works best when a goal or target is set. For instance, a student becomes far more effective at learning when they decide to assign 2 hours for learning a particular concept. This is effectively a method of benchmarking progress. So, every time the activity is performed, one can measure themselves and improve upon various aspects of their tasks.The clear conclusion is that time management is a crucial skill for students and working professionals. Thus, everyone must practise time management to improve productivity and efficiency of tasks.

Tips for Writing an Essay on Time Management

To write an impactful and scoring essay here are some tips on how to manage time and write a good essay:

• The initial step is to write an introduction or background information about the topic
• You are required to use the formal style of writing and avoid using slang language.
• To make an essay more impactful, write dates, quotations, and names to provide a better understanding
• You can use jargon wherever it is necessary as it sometimes makes an essay complicated
• To make an essay more creative you can also add information in bulleted points wherever possible
• Always remember to add a conclusion where you need to summarise crucial points
• Once you are done read through the lines and check spelling and grammar mistakes before submission

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Lastly, we hope this blog has helped you in structuring a terrific essay on time management. Planning to ace your IELTS, get expert tips from coaches at Leverage Live by Leverage Edu .

Sonal is a creative, enthusiastic writer and editor who has worked extensively for the Study Abroad domain. She splits her time between shooting fun insta reels and learning new tools for content marketing. If she is missing from her desk, you can find her with a group of people cracking silly jokes or petting neighbourhood dogs.

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Essay on Time Management for Students and Children

500+ words essay on time management.

Essay on time management-In today’s scenario people are so busy in their lives that they are not getting time for themselves. Due to which time management has become the need of the hour. Time management is playing a vital role in mankind . Time management creates discipline or vice versa. If you want to be successful in life then you need to manage your time. As a result, various billionaires teach about time management.

The Meaning of Time Management

In our daily life, we have got only twenty-four hours in a day. Therefore we cannot do everything in one day. This creates limitations in our everyday work. In order to manage work, social life and sleep, division of time is important. In a particular way division of time is the need. This will help the person to complete all his tasks. You should write your tasks in a schedule.

Designing has to be in a way that each task gets enough time. Your work should have the highest priority. The second priority should sleep. And the last but not the least your social life. Your social life includes family and friends.

In order to live a happy and peaceful life socializing is important. Too much workload can make a person ill. So, give your mind a little rest. Spending time with family can help you with this. Moreover, the main purpose to work is to fulfill the needs of the family. Since the fulfillment of needs is important. Which makes a person happy.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Importance of Time Management for Students

Though adults are working, the students are not spared with work. The students today have many studies to do. Because of this, they are not getting time to enjoy their childhood. Time management for students has become a crucial need. Education has become vast. Therefore proper scheduling of time is important.

A good student knows the importance of studies . But he should also know time never comes back. Thus a student should take out time for personal development too. Since personal development is important for their proper growth. Moreover, personality development is also important for a student. They should at least take out one hour for sports. Sports teach student teamwork. Since it is enjoyable it lessens the stress of the day.

The daily routine is School or college, and then coaching. This leaves with no time of self-studies. Self-study is an important aspect of education. The student should not neglect this. As the day ends, they get too tired. Due to which there is no energy left. This degrades the performance of the student.

There is a difference between a topper and an average student. That difference is proper time management. A topper student schedules his time. While an average student does not do that. And because he never manages time, he gets no time for self-study. Which in turn leaves him behind.

How to Manage Time?

A person should eliminate unnecessary activities from their daily schedule. On weekends you should do it. Especially should socialize on weekends. Also, include traveling time in the schedule. This ensures accuracy.

Most Noteworthy, make a time table on paper. In which you should write your daily activities. This will create discipline in your life. Moreover, you should complete the task daily. However, there will be some changes in the schedule with time.

Finally, your schedule needs to be practical. You cannot make a schedule unless you know your daily timings. Each persons’ schedule is unique if you copy you won’t progress in life.

{ “@context”: “https://schema.org”, “@type”: “FAQPage”, “mainEntity”: [{ “@type”: “Question”, “name”: “What is time management?”, “acceptedAnswer”: { “@type”: “Answer”, “text”: “It is the scheduling of task in a time table.” } }, { “@type”: “Question”, “name”: “Why is it important for students?”, “acceptedAnswer”: { “@type”: “Answer”, “text”:”Because it helps them to complete studies and take out time for themselves.”} }] }

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