Unit 3. Management as a Matter of Fact.

1. Read and translate the text "Management as an Art, a Science and a Profession."

Text a. Management as an Art, a Science and a Profession.

Is management an art or a science? This question is often asked by both practicians and students. The answer is that mana­gement is both an art and a science.

As an art, management requires the use of behavioral and judgmental skills that cannot be quantified or categorized the way scientific information in the fields of chemistry, biology and physics can. Management involves communicating, motivating people, leading, and using qualitative judgment, intuition, and other non-quantifiable abilities. In this respect, management is similar to another art, the art of acting.

A manager can be described as an actor in an organizational setting. Just as the actor tries to sway the audience, the manager tries to influence those with whom he or she comes into contact in the enterprise. Both have objectives, both strive to plan and execute their strategies, and both are judged by a group of critics. A major difference, however, is that the actor can go home after a poor performance with the resolve of doing better the next day. The manager often finds that yesterday's mistakes remain and have to be dealt with today and tomorrow.

Management is a science, in that it requires the use of lo­gic and analysis. The manager arrives at a solution by systematically observing, classifying, and studying facts in relation to the problem at hand. The scientific aspects of management have been greatly advanced by the development of computers and applicable mathematical formulas. Today there are quantitative techniques that can be used for dealing with a variety of management-related problems, ranging from the control of inventory to the reduction of customer waiting time.

When dealing with people, managers approach management as an art; when dealing with material things, they approach it as a science. The approach used most often varies at different levels of the organizational hierarchy. At the lower levels of an organization, managers most often face problems that can be resolved using scientific techniques, for example, problems in work flow, machine replacement, and overall efficiency. At the upper levels, managers most often solve problems using judgment, reflection, thought, and intuition. Successful managers at all levels of the hierarchy, however, need to employ both the art and science of management.

In addition to being an art and a science, management is a profession. To be qualified as a profession, an occupation must meet five major criteria. It must accumulate knowledge about the field and require competent application of that knowledge. It must also accept social responsibility, exercise self-control, and receive community sanction. In ways that vary according to the kind of business, management meets all of these criteria.

Management meets the first criterion because a large fund of information has been accumulated on the subject. Particularly during the last ten years, the amount of management-related research and writing has risen dramatically. Articles, books, college courses, and degree programs all make this information available to man­agers.

Management encourages competent application of knowledge, using a system of on-the-job controls. Other professions such as medicine and law ensure competent application by certifying people for practice. Management provides no such preliminary screening process. Today, more than ever, business is aware of its social role. Without neglecting obligations to stockholders, companies are trying to be good citizens. They demon­strate this intent in various ways, for example, by contributing time and money to charitable organizations, by developing voluntary ecological programs to protect the environment, and by setting up consumer clinics to help customers understand how to use the company's products and services better.

Business exercises self-control through both industry codes of conduct and the ethical codes of managers. Industry codes are developed by industry representatives to protect the image and reputation of all the industry's firms. Managers’ ethical codes depend on their personal standards, and, according to research, most executives believe that their ethical standards are higher than ever before.

Management is now widely recognized as a profession. The public knows of businesses contributions to social programs. More generally, it knows how important effective management is to the free enterprise system.