MANAGEMENT THEORY AND PRACTICE

Answer 1.

INTRODUCTION:
Management means managing men at work or managing the people tactfully. It is doing of
things in systematic and most efficient manner. So it is an art of creating an environment where
people can perform the given duties in order to attain ultimate organizational goals.
According to F.W. Taylor, Management is the art of knowing what you want to do and then
seeing that it is done in the best and cheapest way.
According to Harold Koontz and Cyrill O’Donell, Management is the creation and maintenance
of an internal environment in an enterprise where individuals, working in groups, can perform
efficiently and effectively towards the attainment of group goals.
APPROACHES TO MANAGEMENT:
Two common Approaches to Management has explained the concept of Management in a
different way:
Classical
Approach
approaches to
Management
Modern
Approach

Classical Approach: It emphasizes on finding best ways to perform the jobs as production can
be increased by improving the efficiency of an organization.
Modern Approach: It emphasizes on employee satisfaction. As per this approach, employees
not only work for money , rather they like to be respected at the workplace which automatically
leads to increase their productivity and finally contributes towards the success of the
organization.
Being hired as a trainer by Sachin Ethanol, the following Principles of Management will guide
and direct the newly recruited employees. It will ultimately help the organization to achieve its
goals.

DISCUSSION.
Henri Fayol’s 14 Principle of Management are as follows:
1. Division of work: In an organization, the work should be divided as per the skills,
talents and potentials of the employees. If an employee is given the same task repeatedly
he becomes efficient in it which brings more productivity in return.
2. Authority and responsibility: Authority and responsibility go hand in hand so there
must be a balance between authority and responsibility given to the managers.

Authority means power of giving commands and orders. Responsibility means being
accountable for decisions taken. If a manger is given more authority he may misuse it and
if given more Responsibility he may be overburdened. So it is necessary that these two
are balanced.
3. Discipline: In every organization, discipline has very important place. It means
employees must obey all rules and policies framed by the management. So, to implement
the same judicious application of penalties and good supervision is necessary at all levels.
4. Unity of command: Every employee should receive orders and be accountable to one
boss. It helps to avoid confusions and conflicts.
5. Unity of Direction: It means there should be one head and one plan for a group of
activities with same objectives. It brings coordination in the enterprise as the employees
have a clear direction where they should move.
6. Subordination of Individual interest to general interest: Individual’s personal
goals/interests should align with organizational goals/interests. In case of any conflict
between the two, organizational interests should prevail over personal interests.
7. Remuneration: The amount of remuneration and method of remuneration must be just
and fair. Various factors must be considered while calculating the remuneration for
employees so that both employer and employees are satisfied.
8. Centralisation: Centralization means concentration of authority at the top level of
management. Dispersal of authority at lower levels means decentralization. So there must
be appropriate balance between centralization and decentralization.
9. Scalar Chain: Scalar chain means the hierarchy followed from top management to
employees at lower levels. All communication should pass through this chain. In case
there is any delay in communication due to hierarchy then provision for cross
communication should be there.
10. Order: This principle is about arrangement of things and placements of people. There
should be a place for everything and everything should be in its proper place. similarly, in
social order, there should be an appointed place for everyone and everyone should be in
his or her appointed place. So , management must follow this principle for optimum
results.
11. Equity: This principle means that all employees in the organization should be treated
fairly. Managers should be impartial towards the employees. It helps to create cordial
relations between management and workers which further leads to smooth functioning of
the organization.
12. Stability of tenure of personnel: Employees must be assured of stable tenure by
providing them job security. An employee cannot render worthwhile services if he is
removed from the job before he is accustomed to it. So management must try to motivate
them by assuring stable tenure.
13. Initiative: Every human being likes to be heard and likes to get appreciation for the job
done. Employees must be free to share their ideas and opinions. They should be
 encouraged to take initiative in their fields. It leads to belongingness with the
organization and satisfaction at work.
14. Esprit de corps: It refers to harmony and mutual understanding among employees.
Management should not follow the policy of ‘Divide and Rule’, rather they should
believe in Unity is Strength. It can be achieved through proper communication and
cooperation among the employees.
CONCLUSION:
Fayol stated that the above principles are not hard and fast laws. Rather these are flexible
guidelines which may be modified as per the situation arises. These principles should be
followed carefully. In nutshell, these principles can guide the management and employees to
work in a proper direction and help achieve the organizational goals.

ANSWER 2
INTRODUCTION:
Management aims to accomplish organizational goals effeciently and effectively through
optimum utilization of resources. The newly set up management team is divided on a certain
topic. It requires the Chairman to throw some light on the concept whether Management is an art
or a science or both. There are different viewpoints of different Management expert on the nature
of management. So it can be fairly discussed.
DISCUSSION :
MANAGEMENT AS AN ART:

Art refers to practical application of personal skills and knowledge to achieve desired results. So
it is a practical way of doing specific things. For example, a Carpenter shapes raw wood into
furniture using his skills. A Goldsmith shaping gold into ornaments. Similarly, any dance form,
music or painting are all examples of art. So art is a personalized process and every artist has
own style. It is based on practice and to gain perfection continuous practice is required.

So main elements of art are:

1.Personal skills
2.practical know-how
3.Result orientation
4.Creativity
5.Continuous practice
Management can be called as an art due to the following reasons:
1. A Manager applies his knowledge and skills to coordinate the efforts of people, like any
other artist does.
2. Management aims to achieve concrete results e.g. profits, growth of organization etc.
3. Like any other art, Management is being creative i.e. to bring out new situations and
converting resources into production.
4. Management is personalized. Every manager as per his own perception and given
conditions, adopts a suitable approach to get his work done.
5. Effective management results into realization of organizational goals. The success of a
manager is measured in terms of results achieved. Through continuous practice,
managerial art can be refined.
Some management experts have given their viewpoints on management as an art.
 Henry Mintzberg: He advocated the thought that management is an art. He stated that
management is an art as managers do not necessarily have routine behavior instead they
use their own social and political skills to solve problems and find appropriate solutions.
 Peter Drucker: He referred management as liberal art as it involves practice and
application of knowledge and wisdom.
MANAGEMENT AS A SCIENCE:
Webster’s College Dictionary defines science as any skill or technique that reflects a precise
application of facts or a principle. Thus management is also called as science it includes
application of methods of enquiry and analyzing the available information to make decisions.
The essential elements of science are as follows:
1. Science is a systematic body of knowledge relating to particular field of enquiry. It
establishes cause and effect relationship between different variables.
2. It involves principles and theories developed through experimentation and research.
3. The principles are universally accepted. They are verifiable and lead to predictable
results.
4. It can be taught and learnt in classroom and outside. Physics, chemistry etc are some
examples of science.
Now on the basis of above essentials we can say Management is also science:
1. There is a systematic body of knowledge. Principles and theories are available in
management. For example , Principle of Unity of command states that every employee
should receive orders and be accountable to one boss. It helps to avoid confusions and
conflicts.
2. Principles of management have evolved through practical experiences and theoretical
research over the years.
3. Managerial principles have wide range of application
 4. Management theory and principles can be taught in classrooms and in any organization.
Management is considered as a social science as it involves the study of human behavior.
Principles of management are not hard and fast laws like physics or chemistry etc. rather they are
flexible guidelines which can be modified as per the situations. These cannot predict with
certainty future behavior. The reason is that human behavior cannot be studied under controlled
laboratory conditions. validity of principles cannot be tested through experiments. This is true
not only for management but for all social sciences.
Also, management is growing and it is young as it was developed in 20 th century. Management
scientists cannot explain clearly why and how a human being behaves in a particular way and
how he will behave in future. Therefore, management is called an inexact science.

CONCLUSION:
The management is neither exclusively an art nor exclusively a science but a combination of
both. “Essentially, managing is the art of doing and management is the body of knowledge which
underlines the art.” Management is called as oldest of arts and youngest of sciences. But science
and art are both complimentary to each other.

ANSWER 3 (A)
Lemon Tree, a renowned hotel chain in India, is losing in the market due to the conflicts among
the employees in organization. Conflicts can exist in all organisations and it can take many
forms. It may be due to disagreements, contradiction or incompatibility between individuals and
groups in organization. According to Robins,” Conflict is a process in which an effort is
purposefully made by one person or unit to block another that results in frustrating the attainment
of other’s goals or the furthering of his or her interests.”
In coming section we will discuss the nature and types of Conflicts that can arise in an
organization:
DISCUSSION:
Nature of organizational conflict:
1. Conflict occurs when two or more parties pursue mutually exclusive goals.
2. Conflict refers to deliberate behavior. If one person does not block the achievement of
goals of others deliberately, it does not lead to conflict.
3. Conflicts may exist at latent or overt levels.
4. Conflict is different from competition. In competition one party gets a chance to interfere
with others’ opportunity to acquire resources. Whereas in competition, both parties try to
win but not to interfere others’ activity.
5. Conflict is opposite of cooperation.
TYPES OF CONFILICTS:
 1. Intrapersonal conflicts: intrapersonal conflict is the conflict which an individual
face within himself or it may be between two or more individuals. For example when
he/she is uncertain about what is expected or wanted, or there is a sense of being
inadequate to perform a task. It may also arise due to difference in roles. An
individual may have difficulty in choosing from alternative courses of action,
2. Interpersonal conflicts: Interpersonal conflict arises when two or more individual
interact with one another. Such interaction may be between superior and subordinate
or between colleagues. Conflict may arise if subordinate resists the control exercised
on him by his superior. Conflict may arise due to difference between the choices
made by them. Sometimes it may arise because the organization have put them in
such a situation. For example, the quality control inspector is expected to find errors
in work of employees. Interpersonal conflicts are classified as:
 Vertical conflicts: conflicts between manager and his subordinates.
 Lateral conflicts: conflict between any two individuals at the same position.
 Diagonal conflicts: conflicts between people at different positions.
3. Intergroup conflicts: when any clashes take place among different groups in the
organization are called as intergroup conflicts. These groups may be formal or
informal groups.
4. Intragroup conflict: conflicts between the individuals of the same group or
department are called as intragroup conflicts. Such conflicts affect the performance of
the whole group.
Any conflicts may lead to negative impact on the performance of individuals and as a result
overall performance of the organization may be affected. So, management should emphasize on
better communication in organization and work on organizational growth.

ANSWER 3(B)
Any conflicts if not handled in time may affect the performance of employees, which ultimately
affects the organization’s performance. To manage conflicts, there are a number of techniques
used by organisations. There are three different approaches to handle conflicts.
1. Conflict stimulation
2. Conflict prevention
3. Conflict resolution
1. Stimulating conflicts: conflict may be stimulated when there is too much lethargy in an
organization. Following methods can be used:
 Reorganizing: changing the structure of the organization may help. When work
group and departments are reorganized , new responsibilities arise. Employees
may try to readjust themselves in new environment.
 Communication: Managers may manipulate messages in such a way to stimulate
conflict. Threatening message e.g. a department is to be abolished can reduce
 apathy, stimulate new ideas. Rumours can be intelligently planted in the informal
communication system.
 Encouraging competition: Healthy competition may be stimulated among
employees. Bonus, incentives and awards for excellence can foster competitive
spirit in the organization.
 Bringing in outsiders: Management may bring in people whose attitudes, values
and style differ significantly from the prevailing norms.
2. Preventing conflicts: following techniques may be employed to prevent conflicts.
 Superordinate goals: Difference in goals is a common cause of conflicts in
organization. It can be avoided by establishing mutually agreed goals. This is
another effective method. A superordinate goal is a common goal that appeals to
all parties and cannot be achieved by resources of a single party. In order to
achieve superordinate goals, conflicting parties come together and cooperate each
other.
 Reducing interdependence: The conflicts may be high if two or more
departments have to work in an interdependent manner and share available
resources. Therefore, conflict may be reduced by removing this interdependence
among departments. Departments may be provided with sufficient independent
resources and those using the same resources can be put together.
 Exchange of personnel: Rotation of employees between interdependent
departments can improve the mutual understanding. Employees can exchange
view point with one another. Employees become more considerate.
 Liaison group: Intermediaries may be appointed to mediate between the
conflicting group. A liaison officer has no vested interest and can speak the
language of both the parties. Sometimes, third party consultants may be
appointed.
3. Resolving conflicts: preventive measure help to minimize the occurrence of conflicts and
curative measures given below are useful in resolving conflicts.
 Problem solving: Conflicting parties are brought together and they share the
mutual problem. Focus is on the sharing of information to avoid misunderstanding
and to find out areas of common interest. This method is suitable to solve
problems arising out of misunderstandings.
 Smoothing/accommodating : It is the process of suppressing differences existing
between parties to conflict and emphasizing common interest. They share their
opinions and misunderstandings are resolved. This method is used when conflict
is related with aggressive feelings among the parties.
 Compromise: This is a traditional method of resolving conflict. Here the parties
negotiate on the basis of give and take to arrive at some agreement. Each party is
expected to sacrifice something in exchange, so there is no winner or looser. This
method is used where conflicts are arising out of values or attitudes.
 Avoidance: In this methods, parties to conflict try to avoid such a situation which
leads to any problems. If they fail to arrive at any solution, they detach themselves
from the conflict showing mature behavior. Other reasons for avoidance may be
 not to hurt others’ feelings. But here the conflict is neither resolved nor
eliminated.

CONCLUSION:
After discussing the conflicts with concerned employees, the above solutions are
provided to Lemon Tree to resolve these conflicts. Having effective
communication system, healthy work environment may lead to a successful
organization.