

Introduction: What is Management?
Management is important for both personal life and business success. Good management is what makes companies successful. In life, it’s about taking the right steps to reach your goals. In a business, it’s about working with others to achieve the company’s goals.
To put it simply, the nature and significance of management is about organising and coordinating the efforts of a team or company to reach set goals most effectively. Whether in life or at work, good management helps get things done and ensures everything runs smoothly.
Nature of Management
Universal Process: Management is needed wherever people are working toward goals. Without good management, an organisation’s goals can’t be achieved.
The Factor of Production: Skilled and experienced managers are essential for using resources like money and labour effectively.
Goal-Oriented: The main goal of management is to achieve the company's objectives. These goals should be realistic and achievable.
Supreme in Thought and Action: Managers set clear goals and oversee the actions needed to achieve them. They rely on support from all levels of management to get things done.
System of Authority: Clear rules and guidelines are needed to ensure that decisions are made efficiently. Each person should know their role, what is expected of them, and who they report to.
Profession: Managers need to have the right knowledge and training. They must follow ethical guidelines and be aware of their responsibilities to both people and society.
Process: Management involves a series of activities aimed at reaching a specific goal. It requires organising and directing resources to get results.
Importance of Management
Achieving Goals: Management helps set clear goals and makes sure everyone works together to achieve them.
Using Resources Wisely: Good management ensures that money, time, and people are used in the best way, avoiding waste.
Coordination: Management keeps different teams and departments working well together, avoiding confusion and overlap.
Adaptability: It helps businesses adjust to changes in the market or customer needs, keeping them competitive.
Better Decisions: Managers make smart decisions that help the business grow and reduce risks.
Employee Happiness: Good management provides clear direction and support, making employees feel valued and motivated.
Innovation: Management encourages new ideas and improvements that help the business grow and stay ahead.
In short, management is key to keeping things running smoothly, making smart decisions, and ensuring long-term success.
Significance of Management
Achieving Group Goals: Management encourages teamwork and coordination among employees. By aligning both organisational and personal goals, it helps in achieving the company’s overall objectives.
Increases Efficiency: Management improves productivity by using resources effectively, reducing costs, and enhancing performance.
Creates a Dynamic Organisation: Management helps the company adapt to changes by ensuring they are accepted by employees and managing any resistance to change.
Achieving Personal Goals: Management motivates and leads employees, helping them achieve their personal goals while contributing to the organisation’s success.
Development of Society: Management plays a key role in improving society by producing quality goods, creating job opportunities, and driving innovation.
Features of Management
After learning about different definitions of management, we can identify a few basic elements that define its core aspects:
Management is goal-oriented: Every organisation has clear goals that guide its purpose. These goals must be specific and easy to understand. For example, a retail store may focus on increasing sales, while an organisation like The Spastics Society of India aims to provide education for children with special needs. Management helps bring the efforts of everyone in the organisation together to achieve these goals.
Management is universal: The activities involved in managing a business are the same across all types of organisations, whether it's a financial institution, a cultural centre, or a hospital. A petrol pump needs to be managed just like a school or a healthcare facility. While the approach to management may differ due to cultural, historical, or regional differences, the core principles remain the same.
Management is a continuous process: Management involves a series of ongoing tasks such as planning, organising, staffing, controlling, and directing. These activities are carried out at the same time by all managers, making management a constant cycle of responsibilities.
Management is an intangible force: Management is not something that can be physically seen, but its impact is felt in the smooth running of business operations. A well-managed organisation will meet its targets, keep employees happy, and operate efficiently, creating order instead of chaos.
Management is a group activity: Management is not the work of just one person. It is a collective effort where a group of people work together to achieve the organisation’s objectives. Therefore, management is a team effort that requires collaboration and cooperation from everyone involved.
FAQs on Nature and Significance of Management: Features and Importance
1. What is management and what are its key features according to the CBSE Class 12 syllabus for 2025-26?
Management is the process of coordinating the efforts of people to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively. Its key features are:
- Goal-Oriented: It integrates the efforts of all individuals in the organisation to achieve specific, pre-set objectives.
- Universal: The fundamental principles of management are applicable to all types of organisations, whether economic, social, or political.
- Continuous Process: It involves an ongoing series of functions like planning, organising, staffing, directing, and controlling.
- Group Activity: It requires the coordinated effort of a group of people to manage and achieve organisational goals, not just an individual's effort.
- Intangible Force: Management cannot be seen but its presence can be felt through the orderliness, efficiency, and achievement of goals within the organisation.
2. Why is management considered important for an organisation's success?
Management is crucial for an organisation's success because it helps in achieving group goals by providing a common direction to individual efforts. It increases efficiency by making the best possible use of all resources like men, money, and materials, which reduces costs and increases productivity. Furthermore, it creates a dynamic organisation that can adapt to changing environments, which is essential for survival and growth in a competitive market.
3. How can management be considered both an Art and a Science?
Management is considered a Science because it has a systematised body of knowledge with well-defined principles that are based on cause-and-effect relationships. However, it is also an Art because the application of these principles depends on the manager's personal skill, creativity, and practical experience. Just as a doctor uses scientific knowledge with personal skill, a manager uses management principles creatively to solve unique organisational problems. Therefore, it is a blend of both.
4. What is the significance of management in helping employees achieve their personal objectives?
Effective management plays a significant role in aligning employee's personal objectives with the organisation's goals. Through motivation and leadership, a manager helps individuals develop team spirit and a sense of belonging. When an organisation prospers, it can offer better salaries, promotions, and recognition, which helps employees fulfill their personal goals. A good manager creates an environment where personal growth and organisational success go hand-in-hand.
5. Can a business succeed without formal management? Explain with reference to it being an 'intangible force'.
A business is highly unlikely to achieve long-term success without formal management. This relates to management being an intangible force. You cannot physically touch management, but its effects are clearly visible. In an organisation with good management, you can see order instead of chaos, employees are happy and satisfied, and goals are met efficiently. Without it, resources would be wasted, efforts would be uncoordinated, and the organisation would struggle to adapt or grow, eventually leading to failure.
6. How does management contribute to the overall development of society?
Management contributes significantly to the development of society in several ways. It helps provide quality goods and services at fair prices, which improves the standard of living. By running businesses effectively, management creates employment opportunities, helping to reduce poverty. It also fosters innovation and adopts new technology, which leads to national growth and a better future for society as a whole.
7. Why is management described as a 'group activity' rather than an individual task?
Management is a group activity because an organisation is a collection of diverse individuals working together. It is not the responsibility of a single person but a collective effort of all managers and employees. The role of management is to coordinate the skills and efforts of these different individuals and channel them towards a common organisational direction. Success depends on the teamwork and coordination of the entire group, not the actions of one person.
8. What does it mean for management to create a 'dynamic organisation'?
Creating a dynamic organisation means that management helps the business adapt and respond to changes in its external environment, such as new technologies, changing customer needs, or new government policies. An organisation must change to survive and grow. Management helps overcome resistance to change from employees and ensures that the organisation evolves its goals and activities to remain competitive and successful over time.

















