Management is as old as mankind and needed at all the places wherever there is an organized activity. The practice of management was known to the people since the earliest time living in different parts of the world. Management practices in business with the birth of industrial Revolution in England in the mid 18th century. By the end of 19th century much had been written, practiced and preached about management. Numerous schools of management thought have evolved. With the advent of Frederic W. Taylor and the scientific management school of thought began the formal study of management as a discipline for evolving the concept of scientific management.
Management is an art of knowing what you want to do and then observing that they do it in the best and cheapest way to secure maximum results with the minimum of efforts with a view to securer maximum prosperity and happiness for both employer and employee and give the best possible service to the society. It is concerned with creating the conditions and relationship, which bring about the full utilization of all resources of an organization. Inadequacies of management have been among the most important factors for the delay and inefficiency in the implementing of projects and under utilization of capacity. Management is an interesting subject as it deals with setting, seeking and reaching objectives.
Management can be defined as working with people to determine, interpret and achieve organizational objectives by performing the functions of planning, organizing, staffing, leading and controlling. Management provides a way to reach on organizational and personal objectives. The need of management in an organization is nicely expressed by Lawrence A. Appley, past President of American Management Association, when he observed, “The basic function of management is to attain objectives through action taken by the members of the organization. Since dynamics are the forces which produce the action and demotion, it follows that the dynamics of management are those forces which produces the action which is required…(Those) forces of management do not just happen. They must be given impetus by…. (managers)”