Characteristics and objectives of management

Characteristics of management:

• Goal-oriented: it exists to achieve goals.
• All pervasive: it is needed in every kind of organisation, in every country, at every level.
• Multidimensional: it manages work, people (as individuals and as groups) and operations.
• Continuous: its functions go on all the time.
• Group activity: it unites people with different needs towards common goals.
• Dynamic: it adapts to a changing environment. McDonald's changed its menu for India, for example.
• Intangible force: you cannot see management, but you can feel its effect: targets met, happy workers, order instead of chaos.

Objectives of management fall into three groups:

• Organisational: survival (earning enough to cover costs), profit (to cover risks and grow), and growth (in sales, number of employees, products, or capital invested).
• Social: creating benefit for society: using environment-friendly methods, giving jobs to the disadvantaged, providing schools and health care. ITC's e-Choupal, which links farmers directly to markets, is an example.
• Personal: meeting employees' financial needs (pay), social needs (recognition) and higher-level needs (growth), while keeping them in line with the organisation's goals.