Business Laws and Management · Functions of Management

Introduction to Management and Its Nature for CSEET

Updated 11 October 2026 · Fact-checked

Management is the process of getting things done through people by planning, organising, staffing, directing and controlling, to reach set goals efficiently. It is goal-oriented, universal and continuous. To solve MCQs, match each statement to a feature, an objective, a level, or the art, science or profession test.

Understand Introduction to Management and Its Nature

Management is the process of using people and resources to reach goals in an effective and efficient way. Effective means doing the right task. Efficient means doing it at the least cost of time, money and effort. A manager does not usually do the work personally. A manager makes sure the work gets done.

Think of a Tata Motors plant. Workers assemble cars. Supervisors guide them. Plant heads plan production. Top executives set the company's direction. All of them are part of management, but at different levels.

The main features are: it is goal-oriented, pervasive (needed in every organisation, business or not), multidimensional (work, people and operations), continuous, a group activity, dynamic (it adapts to change), and an intangible force (you see its results, not management itself).

Objectives are usually grouped as organisational (survival, profit, growth), social (quality goods at fair prices, jobs, care for environment) and personal (needs of employees such as fair pay and growth). Management is important because it helps reach group goals, raises efficiency, creates a dynamic organisation, and helps society.

There are three levels: top (board, CEO, managing director: sets goals and policy), middle (departmental heads: turns policy into plans and links top and lower levels) and lower or supervisory (supervisors, foremen: directs workers day to day). On the art, science or profession question: management is an art because it needs skill and creativity, it has science features because it has organised principles but they are not exact, and it is an emerging profession because it lacks full legal control such as a compulsory licence for all managers.

Key formulas to remember

Definition in one line: Management = Planning + Organising + Staffing + Directing + Controlling, aimed at goals; Use this to answer any 'what is management' question. Some texts list coordination separately.
Levels of management: Top (policy) → Middle (implementation) → Lower (supervision); Top level makes policy. Middle level carries it out. Lower level deals directly with workers.
Objectives: Organisational + Social + Personal; Organisational objectives include survival, profit and growth.
Art test: Art = theoretical knowledge + personalised application + creativity + practice; Management meets these features, so it is called an art.
Science test: Science = systematic knowledge + experiments + universal validity; Management has principles, but they are flexible and not exact, so it is only a partial science.
Profession test: Profession = body of knowledge + formal education + professional body + code of conduct; Management lacks a single compulsory body and licence, so it is an emerging profession, not a full one.

How to solve Introduction to Management and Its Nature questions

Most questions on this topic ask you to identify a feature, objective, level or the art, science or profession status. Use a fixed method.

1Read the question and mark the key word: feature, objective, level, importance, art, science or profession.
2If a statement is given, decide what it describes: a goal, a process, a person's rank or a skill.
3For level questions, ask who the person is. Board or CEO means top. Departmental head means middle. Supervisor or foreman means lower.
4For art, science or profession questions, check the statement against the test list: skill and creativity point to art, tested principles point to science, formal body and code point to profession.
5For feature questions, look for clue words: 'every organisation' means pervasive, 'ongoing' means continuous, 'cannot be seen' means intangible.
6Eliminate options that overstate, such as 'management is a pure science' or 'management is a full profession'.
7For a written answer, define first, list points with one-line explanations, then add a short example.

Quickest way: Clue-word matching

When to use it: Use this in the OMR paper, where each question gets about a minute or less.

Spot the clue word in the stem.
Link it: 'everywhere' to pervasive, 'policy' to top level, 'implement' to middle level, 'workers' to lower level.
For nature questions, remember: art yes, science partly, profession emerging.
Drop absolute options with words like 'only' or 'purely'.
Pick the remaining option and move on.

Common mistakes in Introduction to Management and Its Nature

Calling management a full science or full profession.
Students remember that it has principles and a code of ethics in some fields.
Fix: Say management is an art, has some features of science, and is an emerging profession.
Mixing up the middle and lower levels.
Both deal with plans and people, so they look alike.
Fix: Middle managers head departments and turn policy into plans. Lower managers supervise workers directly.
Confusing effectiveness with efficiency.
Both words sound like 'doing well'.
Fix: Effectiveness is doing the right task. Efficiency is doing it with the least input.
Treating management as limited to business firms.
Examples in books are mostly companies.
Fix: Remember it is pervasive. Hospitals, schools, clubs and government offices also need it.
Saying profit is the only objective of management.
Business is linked closely to profit.
Fix: Name all three groups: organisational, social and personal.

Worked examples

Example 1

The plant manager of an Indian steel company divides the annual production target among departments and tells each department head to prepare monthly schedules. At which level of management is the plant manager working, and what is the role of the department heads?

Show the solution

Dividing a target among departments and asking for schedules is turning goals into plans.
A plant manager who passes goals to departments is placed at the middle level if the goals come from the board.
Department heads prepare schedules and pass instructions to supervisors, so they also act as middle-level managers.
Middle managers link top management with lower management.

Answer: The plant manager works at the middle level, since the goal was set by top management and is being implemented. The department heads also act as middle managers, preparing schedules and guiding supervisors.

Example 2

Explain whether management is an art, a science or a profession.

Show the solution

Art: management needs skill, creativity and practice. A good manager applies knowledge in a personal way. So management is an art.
Science: management has organised principles from observation, but they cannot be tested under controlled conditions and are not exact. So it is only a partial science.
Profession: a profession needs a defined body of knowledge, formal education, a controlling body and a code of conduct. Management has knowledge and training, but no single compulsory licence or body for all managers. So it is an emerging profession.
Conclude by combining the three views.

Answer: Management is an art, has some features of science, and is an emerging profession rather than a full one.

Exam tips

In MCQs, the nature question nearly always rests on the three-part verdict: art, partial science, emerging profession.
Learn one clue word per feature, such as pervasive, continuous, intangible and dynamic.
Match job titles to levels. Board or CEO is top, department head is middle, supervisor is lower.
For written answers, start with a definition and add one example from an Indian company.
Use the 15 minutes of reading time to mark easy Part B questions first, since there is no negative marking.

Practice questions from Functions of Management

Introduction to Management and Its Nature: frequently asked questions

Is management an art or a science?

It is both in part. It is an art because it needs skill and creativity in applying knowledge. It is a partial science because its principles are not exact or fully testable.

Is management a profession?

It is treated as an emerging profession. It has a body of knowledge and training, but there is no single compulsory body, licence or code covering all managers.

What are the three levels of management?

Top level sets goals and policy, middle level implements them through departments, and lower level supervises workers in daily tasks.

What are the main features of management?

It is goal-oriented, pervasive, multidimensional, continuous, a group activity, dynamic and an intangible force. Learn one clue word for each.