Various Definition of Management

There is no common agreement among its experts and practitioners about its precise definition. Although management as a discipline is more than 80 years old, many management experts have tried to define management. But, no definition of management has been universally accepted. Yet, a definition of management is necessary for its teaching and research, and also for improvement in its practice.

Some of the leading definitions of management: (In no specific Order)

Louis Allan, “Management is what a manager does.”

Peter F. Drucker defines, "management is an organ; organs can be described and defined only through their functions". The Principles of Management.

According to Terry, "Management is not people; it is an activity like walking, reading, swimming or running. People who perform Management can be designated as members, members of Management or executive leaders."

Ralph C. Davis has defined Management as, "Management is the function of executive leadership anywhere."

According to Mc Farland, "Management is defined for conceptual, theoretical and analytical purposes as that process by which managers create, direct, maintain and operate purposive organization through systematic, co-ordinated co-operative human effort."

Henry Fayol, "To manage is to forecast and plan, to organize, to compound, to co-ordinate and to control." Industrial and General Administration

Harold Koontz says, "Management is the art of getting things done through and within formally organized group." The Management Theory Jungle.

Howard M. Carlisle, "Management is defined as the process by which the elements of a group are integrated, coordinated and/or utilized so as to effectively and efficiently achieve organizational objectives."

William Spriegal, "Management is that function of an enterprise which concerns itself with direction and control of the various activities to attain business objectives. Management is essentially an executive function; it deals with the active direction of the human effort."

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 organization under which the enterprise is to operate and the selection of the principal officers."

Sir Charles Reynold, "Management is the process of getting things done through the agency of a community. The functions of management are the handling of community with a view of fulfilling the purposes for which it exists."

E.F.L. Brech, "Management is concerned with seeing that the job gets done, its tasks all centre on planning and guiding the operations that are going on in the enterprise."

Koontz and O'Donnel, "Management is the creation and maintenance of an internal environment in an enterprise where individuals, working in groups, can perform efficiently and effectively toward the attainment of group goals. It is the art of getting the work done through and with people in formally organized groups."

James Lundy, "Management is principally a task of planning, coordinating, motivating and controlling the efforts of other towards a specific objective. It involves the combining of the traditional factors of production land, labour, capital in an optimum manner, paying due attention, of course, to the particular goals of the organization."

Wheeler, "Management is centered in the administrators or managers of the firm who integrate men, material and money into an effective operating limit."

Theo Haimann, "Management principles are universal. It may be applied to any kind of enterprises, where the human efforts are coordinated."

J.D. Mooney and A.C. Railey, "Management is the art of directing and inspiring people."

J.N. Schulze, "Management is the force which leads guides and directs an organization in the accomplishment of a pre-determined object."

Oliver Scheldon, "Management proper is the function in industry concerned in the execution of policy, within the limits set up by the administration and the employment of the organization for the particular objectives set before it."

Keith and Gubellini, "Management is the force that integrates men and physical plant into an effective operating unit."

Donald J. Clough, "Management is the art and science of decision-making and leadership".

Ralph, C. Davix, "Management is the function of executive leadership anywhere."

Association of Mechanical Engineers, U.S.A., "Management is the art and science of preparing, organizing and directing human efforts applied to control the forces and utilize the materials of nature for the benefit to man."

F.W. Taylor, "Management implies substitution of exact scientific investigation and knowledge for the old individual judgment or opinion, in all matters in the establishment."

Newman, summer and Warren, "The job of Management is to make co-operative 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."

G.E. Milward, "Management is the process and the agency through which the execution of policy is planned and supervised."

Ordway Tead, "Management is the process and agency which directs and guides the operations of an organization in the realizing of established aims."

Mary Parker Follett defines management as the "art of getting things done through people". This definition calls attention to the fundamental difference between a manager and other personnel of an organization. A manager is one who contributes to the organization’s goals indirectly by directing the efforts of others – not by performing the task himself. On the other hand, a person who is not a manager makes his contribution to the organization’s goals directly by performing the task himself.

George R. Terry. He defines management as a distinct process "consisting of planning, organizing, actuating and controlling, performed to determine and accomplish the objectives by the use of people and other resources".