Management Anatomy

The term ‘management’ has been used in different senses. Sometimes it refers to the process of planning, organizing, staffing, directing, coordinating and controlling, at other times it is used to describe it as a function of managing people. It is also referred to as a body of knowledge, a practice, and discipline. There are some who describe management as a technique of leadership and decision-making while some others have analyzed management as an economic resource, a factor of production or a system of authority. Mary Parker Follett: “Management is the art of getting things done through others.” Follett describes management as an art of directing the activities of other persons for reaching enterprise goals. It also suggests that a manager carries only a directing function. Henry Fayol: “To manage is to forecast and plan, to organize, to command, to coordinate, and to control.” Fayol described management as a process of five functions such as planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating and controlling. Modern authors, however, do not view co-ordination as a separate function of management.