The main characteristics of management are as follows:
(i) Management is an activity:
Management is an activity which is concerned with the efficient utilization of human and non-human resources of production.
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(ii) Invisible Force:
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Management is an invisible force. Its existence can be felt through the enterprise or institution it is managing.
(iii) Goal Oriented:
Management is goal oriented as it aims to achieve some definite goals and objectives. According to the Haimann, “Effective management is always management by objectives”. Managers and other personnel officers apply their knowledge, experience and skills to achieve the desired objectives.
(iv) Accomplishment through the efforts of others:
Managers cannot do everything themselves. They must have the necessary ability and skills to get work accomplished through the efforts of others.
(v) Universal activity:
Management is universal. Management is required in all types or organizations. Wherever there are some activities, there is management. The basic principles of management are universal and can be applied anywhere and in every field, such as business, social, religious, cultural, sports, administration, educational, politics or military.
(vi) Art as well as Science:
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Management is both an art and a science. It is a science as it has an organized body of knowledge which contains certain universal truths and an art as managing requires certain skills which apply more or less in-every situation.
(vii) Multidisciplinary Knowledge:
Though management is a distinct discipline, it contains principles drawn from many social sciences like psychology, sociology etc.
(viii) Management is distinct from ownership:
In modern times, there is a divorce of management from ownership. Today, big corporations are owned by a vast number of shareholders while their management is in the hands of paid qualified, competent and experienced managerial personnel.
(ix) Need at all levels:
According to the nature of task and scope of authority, management is needed at all levels of the organization, i.e., top level, middle and lower level.
(x) Integrated process:
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Management is an integrated process. It integrates the men, machine and material to carry out the operations of the enterprise efficiently and successfully. This integrating process is result oriented.