Introduction to Management Questions and Answers [With PDF]

Every school, hospital, shop and company runs on management: someone sets goals, organizes people and resources, and checks that work gets done. This chapter explains what management is, what managers do, the levels of management, and why management is both a science and an art. Here are 25 important questions with clear answers, tables and examples, ready for exams, vivas and interviews.

This is Chapter 1 of our Management course. Continue with Management Principles afterwards.

Meaning, Features and Importance

Q1. What is management?

Management is the process of planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling the people and other resources of an organization to achieve its goals efficiently and effectively. It is a social process because it works through people and involves people.

Q2. What are the features of management?

• It is a process: a connected series of activities.
• It is a social activity, carried out by and through people.
• It is goal-oriented. It aims to achieve the objectives of the organization.
• It is a technique for getting work done through others.
• It is a separate body of knowledge, taught as a subject.
• It is continuous, because managers keep planning, organizing and controlling.

Q3. What is the importance of management?

• It increases production and efficiency.
• It ensures the proper use of resources and reduces waste.
• It improves the skills of workers through training.
• It establishes rules, discipline and coordination.
• It creates job opportunities.
• It encourages research and innovation.
• It helps the organization adjust to change and improves the working environment.
• It provides systematic control.

Functions of Management

Q4. What are the functions of management?

Henri Fayol, the father of modern (administrative) management, identified five functions: planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating and controlling. Modern books usually list:

• Planning (including forecasting)
• Organizing
• Staffing
• Directing (leading)
• Coordinating
• Motivating
• Controlling

Q5. What is planning?

Planning means deciding in advance what to do, where, when, how and by whom. It bridges the gap between where we are and where we want to be. Example: a shop owner decides in January to open a second branch by December.

Q6. What is organizing?

Organizing means grouping the work, assigning duties, giving authority and bringing human and non-human resources together so that the plan can be carried out.

Q7. What is staffing?

Staffing means recruiting, selecting, training and developing suitable people to fill the positions in the organization, so that it has a competent and efficient workforce.

Q8. What is directing?

Directing means guiding, supervising, instructing and leading employees so that they do their work according to the plan. It includes telling employees what to do, when and how, and inspiring them to do it well.

Q9. What is motivation?

Motivation is the process of inspiring employees to work willingly and give their best effort. Organizations motivate people through financial rewards (salary, bonus), non-financial rewards (recognition, promotion, a good working environment) and a fair hearing of their problems.

Q10. What is coordination?

Coordination means linking the work of different people and departments so that they all move toward the same goal without conflict or duplication. Example: the production, sales and accounts departments agreeing on delivery dates.

Q11. What is controlling?

Controlling is the function of checking whether actual results match the plan, finding any deviations and taking corrective action. It is usually the last step of the management process, but its findings feed into the next plan.

Resources, Levels and Managers

Q12. What are the resources of management?

Management resources are the inputs a manager uses to get work done. They are often called the Ms of management: Men, Materials, Machines, Money and Methods. Some books add a sixth, Market.

Q13. What are the levels of management?

Managers work at different levels of authority. Together these form a management hierarchy:

Q14. What is top-level management?

The group of senior executives who take the most important decisions: setting goals, making policies and strategy, and being answerable to the owners or shareholders.

Q15. What is middle-level management?

The managers between top and lower levels. They put the goals, plans and policies of top management into action, coordinate departments and supervise lower-level managers.

Q16. What is lower-level management?

The managers who work at the operating level. They carry out the plans of middle management, guide workers directly and report on day-to-day results.

Q17. Who is a manager?

A manager is a person responsible for getting work done through other people. A manager plans, makes decisions, organizes resources, leads and controls the work of the people under him.

Q18. What skills do managers need?

Nature of Management

Q19. Is management a science, an art or a profession?

• Science: it has an organized body of knowledge, principles and cause-and-effect relationships. It is not an exact science, because human behaviour cannot be predicted perfectly.
• Art: applying the knowledge needs personal skill, creativity and practice.
• Profession: it is developing into one, with training and ethics, but unlike medicine or law it does not require a licence.

So management is both a science and an art.

Q20. What is a profession?

A profession is an occupation that needs specialized knowledge and formal training, is governed by a code of ethics, and usually has a recognized professional body whose membership is required. Doctors, lawyers and chartered accountants are examples.

Q21. What is the universality of management?

Management is needed in every kind of organization: businesses, schools, hospitals, governments and clubs. The same basic principles and functions apply everywhere, although the way they are applied varies.

Q22. What is the management cycle?

The management cycle is the repeating sequence of managerial functions: plan, organize, direct, control, then plan again, using the results of control to improve the next plan.

Q23. Why is management considered a process?

A process is a series of connected and continuous activities aimed at a goal. Management is a process because planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling are linked: each depends on the one before and influences the next. The final result depends on how well all of them work together.

Q24. How is management a social process?

Because management is carried out by people, through people and for people. Its functions depend on the cooperation of owners, employees, customers, suppliers, government and society. Management also develops people through recruitment, training and incentives, since people are the most valuable resource.

Q25. Why are planning and controlling called the two sides of a coin?

The management process begins with planning and ends with controlling. Planning sets the targets that control measures against. Control checks results and finds mistakes that improve the next plan. Planning without control is a plan nobody follows, and control without planning has nothing to compare against, so the two cannot be separated.

Quick Revision Points

• Management = planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling resources to reach goals.
• Henri Fayol is the father of modern (administrative) management.
• Three levels: top (strategy), middle (implementation), lower (daily supervision).
• Skills: technical, human and conceptual.
• Management is both a science and an art, and it is a continuous process.

Test yourself with the chapter quiz below, then continue to Management Principles.