The Real Essense of Management by Rogelio G. Dela Cruz, Ph.D (July, 2006)

Management is as old as civilized man. It has been defined as the task of creating the internal environment for organized effort to accomplish group goals. It is the same process in all forms of enterprise and at every level of each organization. The challenge to effective management increases as the numbers of involved people increases; as the geographic territory organized expands; as specialization of activities proliferates; and as a hierarchy of authority develops.

In his fascinating book, Management and Machiavelli, Anthony Jay cited that management is not a new basic institution at all. It is a very ancient art. The new science of management is in fact only a continuation of the old art of government. Other public officials and men of affairs who practiced public administration thought about it and generalized about it long before professors began any systematic study and critique.

It has often been stated that the real genius of the Roman Empire derived from its ability to organize. The City of Rome was an early utilizer, if not the original developer, of the concept of the delegation of authority. Other institutions that contributed to the techniques of management and administration include the military and the religious. The modern concept of the General Staff can be traced to the Prussian armies of the nineteenth century. A noteworthy early example of efficacious formal organization is the Roman Catholic Church. Its successful practices include the establishment hierarchy of authority, functional specialization and the utilization of the staff device in its organizational structure.

Management, as with all the social sciences, is at best an inexact science. Much of its present generalizations are simply the distilled experiences of perceptive managers. Many of its postulates still require testing under controlled conditions before they can be classed as proven truths. Despite the lack of an all-encompassing economic theory of business enterprise, despite the fact that management is foreordained to remain always more of an art than a science, there is no doubt that the principles of management, even as they exist today, are of inestimable value to all who would improve their mastery of the art of management. For science and art are complementary in this field, as in most. A better knowledge of an explanation of the processes of management can only result in an improved ability to be a more successful practitioner of the art.

The traditional approach to the definition and study of management is to identify the functions common to almost all managers, and to all who perform these functions, give the label 'managing.' Ability and skill in carrying out these functions mark the successful manager. They have most often been listed as including the activities of: planning, organizing, staffing, supervising and control.

Management has been defined as getting things done through the efforts of other people, and that function breaks down into at least two major responsibilities, one of which is planning, the other control. Management principles have been formulated to govern managers in the prosecution of their assigned activities. The proper use of these principles should help to bring about desired results and to avoid common mistakes, when applied in appropriate circumstances. A major skill of expert managership is the ability to select the right principle, process or technique from the fund of knowledge that the science of management can provide. Of course, an intimate and perceptive comprehension of one's own organization is the touchstone for maximum beneficial results.

Management, in the last analysis, is intangible. It is compounded of knowledge, intelligence, communication, emotional maturity, courage and the willingness to accept responsibility, and the view that accepts every problem as a challenge and opportunity.