Characteristics of Management

Concept First

Once we understand what management is, a few common threads run through every definition of it. These threads are the basic characteristics of management — the features that appear in every organisation, from a small shop to a large multinational, wherever management is at work.

Management is a goal-oriented process; it is all-pervasive, needed in every kind of organisation; it is multidimensional, covering the management of work, of people and of operations; it is a continuous process of interlinked functions performed all the time; it is a group activity that unites diverse individuals towards a shared organisational goal; it is a dynamic function that must adapt to a changing environment; and it is an intangible force …