Global Challenges for Business, Management & Leadership - Essay Example

Within a realistic context, it is not easy to define the term management. In the academic circles there exist as many definitions of management as there are the books on the subject. It goes without saying that there are many genuine reasons behind this dilemma. The first and foremost, management pertains to a very vast and expansive subject. It is indeed very extensive. It is, therefore, not possible to outline all the essential features of management in a single formula. Besides, management is a subject that has primarily to do with human beings, which in a behavioural context tend to be highly unpredictable.

Moreover, management is a discipline that is still in the nascent stages of its development and, hence, the concepts associated with it are continuously changing. Yet, there is no denying the fact that the most of the definitions of management tend to emphasise one common idea that the discipline of management is concerned with the accomplishment of objectives through the efforts of people performing certain functions. The primary function of the managers is to create conditions and environment that enable the organizations to survive, thrive and grow.

In that context it will be really interesting to attempt a viable definition of management by taking into consideration varied theories of management. Boddy defines management as “Management is the activity of getting things done with the aid of people and other resources” (Boddy 695). The one attribute of management that pops up from Boddy’s definition of management is that management seeks to achieve certain goals. These goals may be economic or non-economic. For instance in a business organization the primary goal is to produce and distribute goods with the aim and objective of earning profits.

On the contrary, in a service organization like hospitals, educational institutions, etc, the goal might be to extend customer service. Another salient feature of management embodied in Boddy’s definition is that management also happens to be a social process because it deals with people. To make the best use of human efforts, managers are required to give way to close cooperation and coordination amongst the employees in an organization. Managers are required to look after the interests of employees, shareholders, investors and the community at large.

Also management happens to be a group activity. Management is concerned with getting things done through people. People join in groups in order to achieve results collectively.