I still remember my first lecture of subject “Management” in my college - “The. K.P.E.S College”.
He (Sorry, I can’t expose his name) started the lecture with the above boring phrase. “Management is an art and Science, it is an art because …... and it is a science because ………..” after that I could not make out a single sentence what was he trying to convey.
He read out the some pages from a book and announced that the topic was over.
I think he was getting 100 to 200 rupees per hour to deliver a lecture, and not to read lecture.
I can bet, he does not know relation between management and art- science.
I am explaining it……I learned this topic from my face book friend – Harry bell, studying in Cambridge B-School
Newton’s third law says – “every action has equal and opposite reaction”. This same scientific principle can be applied in the field of management also. For instance: taking decision has a reaction, scolding or talking to employee has a reaction, increasing a price has a reaction, budget has a reaction on business, terrorist attack has a reaction, strike has a reaction on business…..and so on….
Same ways there are many scientific principles that work on the management, and therefor management is also known as science.
When I tell management is an art, it reminds me of a case study that Harry mailed me…..
A soap production company received a complaint from retailer that a lot did not have soaps; it was only empty wrappers in a carton delivered to the retailer. The company checked the whole batch and encountered that; entire batch was delivered in the market only with empty wrappers.
The company suffered a heavy loss, not only financially but also reputation, supply chain was in a mess. (This is also a reaction)
The company called the meeting of all the technical engineers and after a research, a scanner machine was been developed that was fixed above the rolling belt that scans the packet and if it is empty, the scanner would beep an alarm.
A good solution, but expensive and lethargic……
The same problem occurred in other company. They also founded, a whole batch been delivered to the market with just empty wrappers in the carton, and no soap.
The solution adopted by this company was quick, easy and cheap.
A table fan was been place against the rolling belt that enables easy throwing away of the light weighted wrappers that did not have soap in them and prevents the empty wrappers to fill the carton.
So here is the art of management. I don’t think, the manager has read this solution in any of the books of management. But application of the principles of management or science is an ART.
The problem is not with the system or syllabus, but the problem is the quality faculties and quality teaching. If that faculty had explained both theories with some relevant examples, it will not only help to score university ranks but also learn the APPLICATION OF MANAGEMENT.
