This is my article for the first Student Conference in Management Development Institute of Singapore in Tashkent, 18th April, 204.
"Management
is considered both art and science. It is science as it has some laws,
principles to follow, it produces results with facts and reason; it is art with
subjective and highly personal, it needs skills and practice, deals with
emotions and communication with people. There is controversy about whether the
management is one or the other but a mere understanding that both rules apply
can make management process even more effective. The manager should apply the
knowledge of science and the art of applying in order to solve the problems
faced by the organization. (Pattnayak, 2013)
Management
has characteristics of science with universal laws and systemized knowledge but
it is not exact science like physics as it deals with people which are very
difficult to predict from behavioral standpoint. Thus, management can be
classified as social science. Besides, it has features of scientific principles
such as cause and effect relationships, experimentation and observation, nowadays
more quantitative based decision making has also become popular as to help
managers to cope with increasingly complex problems. Many computer softwares
are created to help in this condition such as Enterprise Resource Planning
integrated business management software with different components to help
managers in a number of fields. (Khandkar,
2012)
Managers
should be lifelong learners and learn how to learn which is key aspect of
scientific quest. As Chrys Agyris,HBS professor, pointed out that any manager
who wants to succeed in tougher business environment must be based on learning
but most corporations fail to learn, Strikingly those who are thought to learn
usually fails most, even smart managers seem to resist learning from mistakes. He
further clarifies that most people narrowly define learning with problem-
solving but Agyris gives the double loop learning definition where managers
look inward to find the solution to the problem and reflect critically on
behavior, identify what is leading to organization problem and then act, change
the wrong behavior. Defining problems is good but taking critical feedback and
fixing the hole is more important. The very success of professionals at education
helps explain the problems they have with learning (Argyris, 1991)
Moreover,
managers should be proactive to activities that encourage people to work even
more. The recent buzzword has been meditation (Gonzalez,
2014).
Most people seem to underestimate or misunderstand the breadth of knowledge of
meditation. Slight practice can impact the workplace even more. As mindfulness
increase rational thinking and being less emotional, it helps to avoid stress
and thus increase management efficiency but rarely we see such managers. It is
especially useful top prevent the risk of heart attack and stroke as pressure,
stress and anger reduced afterwards. Therefore, management is not only about
managing organization and human capital but managers themselves. (Bancarz, 2013)
Necessary
knowledge is tipping point for the difference between effective and ineffective
managers.Take for example, studies showed that understanding The One Minute Manager turn out be very
useful for management transformation (Johnson & Blanchard, 2008). The book states
that the dilemma in management: to win people or to reach the result. Most of the
time, managers cannot gain each extremity thus are deemed ineffective. Then the
book suggests three principles which are One Minute Goals, One Minute
Praisings, One Minute Reprimands. Hence, surely management can be categorized
as science: knowledge, principles and rules.
Nevertheless, you cannot simply follow a set of rules to be
successful. Management is about expertise, instinct, passion and
dedication. You have to manage in a way that meets your personality,
because if you try to make your manager persona different than your personality
you will likely be unsuccessful. Thus, management is an art based on
principles. Art indeed denotes to the way of doing specific things; it
indicates how an object can be achieved. In the words of George R. Terry,
"Art is bringing about of a desired result through the application of skill."
Art is, thus, skillful application of knowledge which entirely depends on the
inherent capacity of a person. This ,in turn, comes from within a person or is
learned from practice and experience.
Recent
studies confirmed that Emotional intelligence theory give a hand for managers.
Managers need to be aware of their emotions, body language and others’
emotions. It includes interpersonal skills such as
ability to motivate others and ability to manage up/down and teamwork - ability
to work well with teammates, to assist with teammates, and ability to gain
support from others on a team. This
also shows intelligence itself is no sure indicator of success. According to a
study cited in Daniel Goleman’s book Working with Emotional Intelligence,
employers cited oral communication skills, interpersonal abilities, teamwork ,
and adaptability among the skills most valued in workplace. Oratorical skills,
memory, remembering daily routine and being absent from absent-mindedness are additionally labeled as crucial factor in productive
organization. (Goleman, 2010)
There is also difference between
management in developed and developing countries. As Uzbekistan is considered
developing country, there is a gap between how management is conducted from
highly developed countries. That is why there is higher demand of training for
managers in developing countries to understand and implement effective methods.
One such example could be Management Training Program in Uzbekistan by European
Union in order to increase efficiency in management. (Uzbekistan,
2013).
Besides, training employees by managers can also be pivotal to increase
efficiency as investment where training makes the company innovative and labor
become more productive resulting in raising human capital. The role of managers
in this investment is also huge if they want to be at progressing. Training
helps employees understand their weakness thus avoid them in future, more
worker satisfaction, reduction in cost and supervision by managers so overall
increased productivity. In these instances, it is considered as an art of
managing people.
All in all, management mixes up
features of both science and art within itself. It is not enough for managers
to possess knowledge and principles but also to apply them in the run; managers
must act, build, train and make the team unite for greater benefit: efficiency.
Hence, efficient manager is the one in this world who combine many skills and
principles to follow."
Bibliography
Argyris, C. (1991). Teaching Smart People How to
Learn. Harvard Business Review, Volume 4, Number 2 REFLECTIONS.
Bancarz, S. (2013). Meditation can Reduce Risk of
Heart Attack and Stroke. Retrieved March 30, 2014, from Spirit science
and metaphysics:
http://www.spiritscienceandmetaphysics.com/meditation-can-reduce-risk-of-heart-attack-and-stroke/
Goleman, D. (2010). Emotional Intelligence : why
it can matter more than IQ. Chicago: Bloomsberry.
Gonzalez, M. (2014, March 31). Mindfulness for
People Who Are Too Busy to Meditate. Retrieved March 31, 2014, from
Harvard Business Review:
http://blogs.hbr.org/2014/03/mindfulness-for-people-who-are-too-busy-to-meditate/
Johnson, S., & Blanchard, K. (2008). The one
minute manager. New-York: The Berkley Publishing Group.
Khandkar, S. (2012). Management is an art as well
as science. Retrieved April 11, 2014, from Publishyourarticles:
http://www.publishyourarticles.net/knowledge-hub/business-studies/management-is-an-art-as-well-as-science.html
Pattnayak, S. (2013). Management as a Science and
as an Art and as both. Retrieved April 10, 2014, from Classle: learning
is social:
https://www.classle.net/content-page/management-science-and-art-and-both
Uzbekistan, E. U. (2013). Management Training
Programme (MTP) – Capacity building for SME management In Uzbekistan .
Retrieved April 10, 2014, from Delegation of EU to Uzbekistan:
http://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/uzbekistan/press_corner/all_news/news/2013/20131216_en.htm
