Management – Nature, Types, Tasks and Responsibilities

To modern view, management covers wide range of business related activities. It is considered as a process, an activity, a discipline and effort to coordinate control and direct individual and group effort towards attaining the cherished goal of the business. Management may also play the role as science, as an art, as a profession and as a social process.

As a participant in any management programme, one may either be a practicing manager or aspiring to be one. Responsibility and performance are really the key words in defining a manager’s role. Performance implies action, and action necessitates taking specific steps and doing the following tasks to produce desired results.

1. Providing purposeful direction to the firm.

2. Managing survival and growth.

3. Maintaining farm’s efficiency.

4. Meeting the challenge of increasing competition.

5. Managing for innovation

6. Coping with growing technological sophistication.

7. Maintaining relation with various society segments etc.

An agribusiness is a social institution. Its very existence is dependent upon its harmonious relationship with various segments of the society. This harmonies relationship originates from the farm’s positive responsiveness to the various segments and is closely associated with the tasks a manager is expected to perform. The process of evolving this mutual relationship between agribusiness farms and various interest groups begins by acknowledging the existence of the responsibilities of manager. These responsibilities are towards consumers, suppliers, distributors, workers, financiers, government and the society.

Nature of Management

It is regarded as science and having tools and techniques which are scientific. It is also taken as profession which is based on proven, systematic body of knowledge and thus requires intellectual training. It should maintain experimental attitude towards information and thus requires a search for new ideas. Moreover, the nature of management is:

1. Multidisciplinary

2. Dynamic nature of principles

3. Relatives and not absolute principles

4. Science or art -- both

5. Management as profession
6. Universality of management