Nature & Significance of Management (Material No.

: 04)
Nature of Management
Management is an ART: Art is the skillful and personal application of existing knowledge to achieve
desired results. It can be acquired through Study, Observation, Experience and some kind of
Ingenuity and Creativity to practice the basic principles learnt. Some features of art are:
(a) Existence of Theoretical Knowledge: Literature (basic principles & theories) on dancing, acting,
public speaking or music is widely available and recognized. Therefore, art presupposes the
existence of certain theoretical knowledge.
(b) Personalized Application: The use / application of this basic knowledge various from individual to
individual. Hence, two dancers, two speakers, two actors or writers will always differ in
demonstrating their art.
(c) Based on Practice and Creativity: Art involves the creative practice of existing theoretical
knowledge. i.e. all music is based on seven notes and what makes the unique / different
composition by a musician is depends on his continue practice and creativity.
*A successful manager practices the art of management in the day-to-day job of managing an
enterprise based on Study, Observation and Experience. There is a lot of literature available in
various areas of management like marketing, finance, human resources etc. which provides many
universal principles and theories.
*Application of principles and theories of management into a given situation, issue or problem is
differ from manager to manager. A good manager works through a unique combination of practice,
creativity, imagination, initiative and innovation.
*A manager achieves perfection after a long practice. In the light of the realities of a given
situation, a manager evolved different styles of management by continue anticipation and
interpretation of varied situations.
Therefore, management is an art.
Management is SCIENCE: Science is a systematic body of knowledge that explains certain general
truths or the operation of general laws.
(a) Systematized Body of Knowledge: Principles of science are based on a cause and effect
relationship. i.e. falling of an apple from a tree towards ground is explained by the law of gravity.
(b) Principles based on Experimentation: Principles of science are developed through observation and
tested through repeated experimentation under controlled conditions.
(c) Universal Validity: Principles of science have universal validity and application.

*Management has its own theories and principles (systematized body of knowledge) that have
developed over a period of time. It has own vocabulary.
*The principles of management have evolved over a period of time based on repeated
experimentations and observation in different types of organisations. Such as principles & techniques
of scientific management developed by F. W. Taylor and principles of functional management by Henri
Fayol.
*Principles of management are not as exact as the principles of science. They have to be modified
according to a given situation.

# Management deals with human beings and human behaviour, the outcomes of experiments
are not capable of being accurately predicted. The achievement of desired results mostly
affects by the level of experience, competency, mind set, interest, emotion and behaviour of
manager. To achieve the desired end results, there is need to modify the principles of
management according to given situation. Therefore, management is not exact science like
physics or chemistry, it is a behavioral science.