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Management as a Profession-Nature Of Management
Management Concepts & Organisational Behaviour - Nature Of Management
Management as a Profession-Nature Of Management
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These are the days where we hear a lot about professional managers and their contribution to the economic development of the nation.
Management as a Profession
These are the days where we hear a lot about professional managers and their contribution to the economic development of the nation. Therefore, it is appropriate to know whether management is a profession. McFarland gives the following characteristics of a profession:
1. existence of an organized and systematic body of knowledge,
2. formalized methods of acquiring knowledge and skills,
3. existence of an apex level body with professionalization as its goal,
4. existence of an ethical code to regulate the behaviour of the members of the profession,
These are the days where we hear a lot about professional managers and their contribution to the economic development of the nation. Therefore, it is appropriate to know whether management is a profession. McFarland gives the following characteristics of a profession:
1. existence of an organized and systematic body of knowledge,
2. formalized methods of acquiring knowledge and skills,
3. existence of an apex level body with professionalization as its goal,
4. existence of an ethical code to regulate the behaviour of the members of the profession,
5. charging of fees based on service, and
6. concern for social responsibilities.
6. concern for social responsibilities.
A closer examination of
management as a profession reveals that unlike medicine or law, management has
to go a long way to attain universally acceptable norms of behaviour. There is
no uniform code of conduct that governs the behaviour of managers. The apex
level body, the All India Management Association (AIMA) or NIPM [National
Institute
of Personnel Management] provides only guidelines and does not have any controlling power over the erring members. Managers also differ widely in respect of their concern for the ethics and values of the society in which they function. Many a time, in their obsession with profit, the societal interests are either neglected or compromised. However, as in the case of other professions, it is implied that managers are expected to set an example in doing good to the society. While making decisions, they should be conscious of the impact of their decisions on the society. The larger interests of the society must be given top priority rather than short-term temptations. After all, given the enormous resources they have at their command, the expectation that managers should address themselves to the problems of society is not unnatural.
It must, however, be remembered that unlike professions like engineering, medicine, law, accountancy, etc., the entry to management profession is not restricted to individuals with a special degree. In other words, one need not necessarily possess M.B.A or any other management degree or diploma to practice management. To quote Peter Drucker, “no greater damage could be done to an economy or to any society than to attempt to professionalize management by licensing managers or by limiting access to management to people with a special academic degree”.
In spite of the growing number of management institutes and the large number of people trained in the management, it is an irony that we still hear the debate - “whether managers are born or made”. The successes achieved by a few visionaries and great entrepreneurs are often sighted in support of the argument. It is true that many founding fathers of the industry in India and elsewhere too did not study management in the formal way. The native wisdom coupled with their vision in understanding the market and organizing the enterprises helped them earn name and fame. Huge industrial empires were built with sheer business acumen and commonsense. The Marwaris and Parsees in the north and Chettiars, and Naidus in the south India, the Jews in the west and the Samurai community in Japan, for instance, offer a classic example of such success stories. The successes achieved by the pioneers in these cases amply demonstrate that success in business requires much more than academic degrees.
At the same time, it may be realized that the achievements of the pioneers of the industrial development need not shadow the importance of management as a profession. In arguing for and against, we must not ignore the context of the business. There has been a sea change in the environment of the business. The modern business has become more complex due to the uncertainties arising mainly from:
1. Ever increasing competition for the markets not only domestic but international as well;
2. Rapid technological changes affecting all facets of human life;
3. Increased sophistication and rapid obsolescence of technology;
4. Expansion in the size of organizations and consequently the market, and
5. The unexpected changes in the socio-cultural and political factors influencing the business.
All these variables which have a significant bearing on the functioning of a business point to the need for formal training and acquisition of skills by pursuing management education. More so, at a time when people are talking about “borderless management” in the context of globalization of business.
of Personnel Management] provides only guidelines and does not have any controlling power over the erring members. Managers also differ widely in respect of their concern for the ethics and values of the society in which they function. Many a time, in their obsession with profit, the societal interests are either neglected or compromised. However, as in the case of other professions, it is implied that managers are expected to set an example in doing good to the society. While making decisions, they should be conscious of the impact of their decisions on the society. The larger interests of the society must be given top priority rather than short-term temptations. After all, given the enormous resources they have at their command, the expectation that managers should address themselves to the problems of society is not unnatural.
It must, however, be remembered that unlike professions like engineering, medicine, law, accountancy, etc., the entry to management profession is not restricted to individuals with a special degree. In other words, one need not necessarily possess M.B.A or any other management degree or diploma to practice management. To quote Peter Drucker, “no greater damage could be done to an economy or to any society than to attempt to professionalize management by licensing managers or by limiting access to management to people with a special academic degree”.
In spite of the growing number of management institutes and the large number of people trained in the management, it is an irony that we still hear the debate - “whether managers are born or made”. The successes achieved by a few visionaries and great entrepreneurs are often sighted in support of the argument. It is true that many founding fathers of the industry in India and elsewhere too did not study management in the formal way. The native wisdom coupled with their vision in understanding the market and organizing the enterprises helped them earn name and fame. Huge industrial empires were built with sheer business acumen and commonsense. The Marwaris and Parsees in the north and Chettiars, and Naidus in the south India, the Jews in the west and the Samurai community in Japan, for instance, offer a classic example of such success stories. The successes achieved by the pioneers in these cases amply demonstrate that success in business requires much more than academic degrees.
At the same time, it may be realized that the achievements of the pioneers of the industrial development need not shadow the importance of management as a profession. In arguing for and against, we must not ignore the context of the business. There has been a sea change in the environment of the business. The modern business has become more complex due to the uncertainties arising mainly from:
1. Ever increasing competition for the markets not only domestic but international as well;
2. Rapid technological changes affecting all facets of human life;
3. Increased sophistication and rapid obsolescence of technology;
4. Expansion in the size of organizations and consequently the market, and
5. The unexpected changes in the socio-cultural and political factors influencing the business.
All these variables which have a significant bearing on the functioning of a business point to the need for formal training and acquisition of skills by pursuing management education. More so, at a time when people are talking about “borderless management” in the context of globalization of business.
Tags : Management Concepts & Organisational Behaviour - Nature Of Management
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