Before we look at the importance of management, we need to understand who a manager is and what he does (management).

Who is a Manager?

A manager is someone who works with and through other people by coordinating their work activities in order to accomplish organizational goals. Responsible for planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling.

What is Management?

Simply speaking, management is what managers do. We define management as the process of coordinating and integrating work activities so that they are completed efficiently and effectively with and through other people. The process represents the ongoing functions of primary activities engaged in by managers. These functions are typically labeled planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. Let us remember it by POLCA.

Harold Koontz defines Management as an art of getting things done through and with the people in formally organized groups. It is an art of creating an environment in which people can perform and individuals and can co-operate towards attainment of group goals‖. According to F.W. Taylor, ―Management is an art of knowing what to do, when to do and see that it is done in the best and cheapest way.

Management plays the following roles in an organization:

1. It helps in Achieving Group Goals – It arranges the factors of production, assembles and organizes the resources, integrates the resources in effective manner to achieve goals. It directs group efforts towards achievement of pre-determined goals. By defining objective of organization clearly there would be no wastage of time, money and effort. Management converts disorganized resources of men, machines, money etc. into useful enterprise. These resources are coordinated, directed and controlled in such a manner that enterprise work towards attainment of goals.
2. Optimum Utilization of Resources – Management utilizes all the physical & human resources productively. This leads to efficiency in management. Management provides maximum utilization of scarce resources by selecting its best possible alternate use in industry from out of various uses. It makes use of experts, professional and these services leads to use of their skills, knowledge, and proper utilization and avoids wastage. If employees and machines are producing its maximum there is no under employment of any resources.
3. Reduces Costs – It gets maximum results through minimum input by proper planning and by using minimum input & getting maximum output. Management uses physical, human and financial resources in such a manner which results in best combination. This helps in cost reduction.
4. Establishes Sound Organization – No overlapping of efforts (smooth and coordinated functions). To establish sound organizational structure is one of the objective of management which is in tune with objective of organization and for fulfillment of this, it establishes effective authority & responsibility relationship i.e. who is accountable to whom, who can give instructions to whom, who are superiors & who are subordinates. Management fills up various positions with right persons, having right skills, training and qualification. All jobs should be cleared to everyone.
5. Establishes Equilibrium – It enables the organization to survive in changing environment. It keeps in touch with the changing environment. With the change is external environment, the initial co-ordination of organization must be changed. So, it adapts organization to changing demand of market / changing needs of societies. It is responsible for growth and survival of organization mainly through innovation.
6. Essentials for Prosperity of Society – Efficient management leads to better economical production which helps in turn to increase the welfare of people. Good management makes a difficult task easier by avoiding wastage of scarce resource. It improves standard of living. It increases the profit which is beneficial to business and society will get maximum output at minimum cost by creating employment opportunities which generate income in hands. Organization comes with new products and researches beneficial for society.